如何高级又委婉地表达“你很蠢”？ 7 Nicer Ways to Say 'Stupid'

如果有人对你说“You are a real blinkard”，那你可注意啦，对方并不是认为你眼神不好，而是在diss你的智商。

英语中有很多委婉表达“某人很蠢”的句子，比如最常见的，the light is on but nobody is home（灯亮着，家里没人）,a few cards short of a deck（一副扑克里少了几张牌），等等。

此外，高端人士还会使用一些我们平时不太用的词语来嘲笑别人的智商。我们还是很有必要了解一下的。

1. Anserine (adj.) [ 'ænsə,raɪn ]

Definition: stupid, silly
释义：呆的，愚笨的

Anserine comes from the Latin anser, meaning "goose." The word is indeed used on occasion to mean "resembling a goose," but the 'silly as a goose' sense preceded this by a considerable length of time.
Anserine起源于拉丁语anser，意思是“鹅”。人们偶尔的确会用这个单词形容“像鹅的”，但在此之前相当长时间，anserine就有“像鹅一样蠢”的意思。

2. Cretinize (v.) [ 'kri:tənaiz ]

Definition: to reduce to a condition of extreme stupidity
释义：（使）变成白痴

The word cretinize comes, rather obviously, from the older word cretin. This older word is most commonly used today in the sense of “a stupid, vulgar, or insensitive person,” although it initially meant “one affected with cretinism” (a genetic abnormality, and using cretin in this sense is now considered quite offensive).
很显然，cretinize来自于古代单词cretin。Cretin现在通常用来指代“愚蠢的、粗俗的、迟钝的人”，但其最初的含义是“呆小症”（一种遗传畸形，现在用cretin来指代这种遗传病是很不礼貌的）。

3. Blinkard (n.)

Definition: a stupid, slow-witted, or obtuse person
释义：蠢人，呆子，头脑迟钝的人

The original meaning of blinkard was “one that blinks with or as if with weak eyes,” which soon added the pejorative meaning listed above. If you are a person who blinks often please accept our apologies for the English language, which can on occasion be needlessly cruel.
Blinkard本来的意思是指“眯着眼睛的弱视者或像弱视一样眯着眼睛的人”，不久后又包含了“笨人、蠢人”这层贬义。如果你是一个经常眯眼睛的人，我替英语向你表示歉意，它有时太过“毒舌”了。

4. Dunderheaded (adj.)

Definition: being a dunderhead
释义：蠢的，笨的

What is a dunder, and why do we use this word to insult people in a somewhat mild fashion? Alas, this is but one more unknowable in a long line of things that etymology has not yet figured out. It may come from the Dutch word for “thunder” (donder), but no one is sure about that. What we are sure about is that there are a great number of words for “stupid” or “stupid person” ending in -headed or head. A partial list includes the following: airhead, blockhead, bonehead, bullhead, bubblehead, buffle-headed, butthead, chucklehead, deadhead, fathead, flathead, hammerhead, heavy-headed, idleheaded, ironhead, jolt-headed, jughead, knucklehead, loggerheaded, lunkhead, meathead, muddlehead, pinhead, pinheaded, ramhead, saphead, sheepheaded, sheepshead, thickhead, and wooden-headed.
Dunder是什么意思，为什么人们要用这个词委婉地羞辱人？唉，这也是众多尚未弄清词源的单词之一。Dunder可能起源于荷兰语donder，意思是“雷声”，但还没有确切的证据。我们可以肯定的是，很多表示“愚蠢”、“蠢人”的单词都是以-headed或-head结尾的。比如下面列出的部分单词：airhead, blockhead, bonehead, bullhead, bubblehead, buffle-headed, butthead, chucklehead, deadhead, fathead, flathead, hammerhead, heavy-headed, idleheaded, ironhead, jolt-headed, jughead, knucklehead, loggerheaded, lunkhead, meathead, muddlehead, pinhead, pinheaded, ramhead, saphead, sheepheaded, sheepshead, thickhead, wooden-headed都表示“愚蠢”、“迟钝”或“呆子”的意思。

5. Addlepated (adj.) [ 'ædl,peitid ]

Definition: stupid and confused, mixed up, or eccentric
释义：头脑不清的，愚蠢的，怪僻的

The pate portion of addlepated comes from an older word for "head," in use since Middle English, and of uncertain origin. The addle portion may be traced back to the Old English word adela, meaning “filth, filthy or foul-smelling place.” As an adjective addle first had the meaning of “foul smelling and putrid” (specifically said of an egg), and later came to mean “confused or muddled.”
Addlepated的前半部分来自于中古英语中表示“头部”的单词，其词源不能确定。Addle可能起源于古英语单词adela，意思是“肮脏、污秽和恶臭的地方”，做形容词时最早用来形容“恶臭的、腐烂的气味”（尤指臭鸡蛋的味道），后来又包含了“困惑的、混乱的”意思。

6. Nescient (adj.) [ 'nesiənt ]

Definition: exhibiting or characterized by nescience: ignorant, agnostic
释义：无知的，没有知识的

Nescient, science, and omniscient all share a root: each comes in part from the Latin word scire, meaning “to know.” Nescience, then, is "lack of knowledge or awareness."
Nescient, science（科学）和 omniscient（无所不知的）的词根都是拉丁语单词scire，意为“知道，了解”。Nescience则是“无知”的意思。

7. Bêtise (n.) [ be'ti:z ]

Definition: an act of foolishness or stupidity
释义：愚蠢的行为

Bêtise came to English from the French word bête, which has the meaning in that language of "idiot," or, more literally, "beast". In addition to an act of stupidity, bêtise may refer to stupidity or ignorance in general.
Bêtise来自于法语单词bête。Bête在法语中表示“白痴”，更字面的解释是“畜生”的意思。除了指愚蠢的行为外，bêtise一般也可以表示“蠢”或“无知”。

英文来源：merriam-webster.com
翻译&编辑：董静
审校：yaning