English 中文网 漫画网 爱新闻iNews 翻译论坛
中国网站品牌栏目(频道)
当前位置: Language Tips> 译通四海> 专家点评

Foregone conclusion

[ 2010-12-16 09:34]     字号 [] [] []  
免费订阅30天China Daily双语新闻手机报:移动用户编辑短信CD至106580009009

Foregone conclusion
Nelly Min

Reader's question:

Senior Senate Republican aides said that an extension of all the income tax cuts was a foregone conclusion.

Could you explain "foregone conclusion"?

My comments:

"Foregone conclusion" is an inevitable result, or a conclusion formed in advance of argument or consideration.

Example: Our victory was a foregone conclusion.

This idiom was probably invented by Shakespeare (in Othello), but scholars are not all agreed about this. Today we use it to mean "predetermined outcome" – something anybody could have anticipated, but how we got from Othello to this meaning is a mystery.

Stare in the face

Call balls and strikes

Cyber Monday

Stare in the face

With a grain of salt

Out of nowhere

Shove it under the carpet

the sky is the limit

hit it off

get my rib in my heart

With bells on

No harm, no foul

Pick up the slack

length and breadth of

get up to speed on something

Borrowed time

On a shoestring

Shake a leg

Sing to a new tune

Truth lies somewhere in the middle

For all intents and purposes

Kick sth.when it's down

Opening credits

God only knows

本文仅代表作者本人观点,与本网立场无关。欢迎大家讨论学术问题,尊重他人,禁止人身攻击和发布一切违反国家现行法律法规的内容。

About the author:

Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily website.

 

 
中国日报网英语点津版权说明:凡注明来源为“中国日报网英语点津:XXX(署名)”的原创作品,除与中国日报网签署英语点津内容授权协议的网站外,其他任何网站或单位未经允许不得非法盗链、转载和使用,违者必究。如需使用,请与010-84883631联系;凡本网注明“来源:XXX(非英语点津)”的作品,均转载自其它媒体,目的在于传播更多信息,其他媒体如需转载,请与稿件来源方联系,如产生任何问题与本网无关;本网所发布的歌曲、电影片段,版权归原作者所有,仅供学习与研究,如果侵权,请提供版权证明,以便尽快删除。
 

关注和订阅

人气排行

翻译服务

中国日报网翻译工作室

我们提供:媒体、文化、财经法律等专业领域的中英互译服务
电话:010-84883468
邮件:translate@chinadaily.com.cn