Crocodile tears?

中国日报网 2018-06-29 11:32

分享到

 

Reader question:

Please explain “crocodile tears” in this sentence: They weep crocodile tears for the poor and disadvantaged but are basically happy with things as they are.

My comments:

Here, “they” can be anyone who gets emotional talking about the poor but is actually happy with the status quo, i.e. will do nothing to change the system – or to actually help the poor by, for example, creating and finding jobs for them.

In other words, their tears are insincere, just for show.

That’s why they’re called “crocodile tears”.

Since ancient times, people have noticed that crocodiles shed tears while feeding and have therefore wondered why these cold-blooded beasts are so remorseful and sorry for their victims.

Well, those tears are not remorseful or sorrowful. They are just there to moisten their eyes – or insofar as science has found out. As for exactly why they are shed while crocodiles are feasting on a prey, it is perhaps just another odd fact of animal life.

At any rate, when humans shed tears that are considered insincere, those tears of emotion are called crocodile tears. For example, a middle-aged prince may wale about the demise of the king in public and shed a lot of tears for everyone to see, some of those tears are those of a crocodile because in secret, this particular heir to the thrown has long been pining for his father’s death for years.

In literature, the metaphorical crocodile tears first appeared in print, according to The Phrase Finder (phrases.uk.org), in 1563:

All of the very early citations refer directly to the myth of crocodiles weeping. It isn’t until the 16th century that we find ‘crocodile tears’ used with our current figurative meaning - that is, one where no crocodiles are present. Edmund Grindal, Archbishop of York and of Canterbury was the first to use the phrase with the implication of insincerity, in 1563, (re-published in Strype’s Life of Grindal, 1711):

“I begin to fear, lest his humility ... be a counterfeit humility, and his tears crocodile tears.”

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) made use of “crocodile tears” quite a few times. This, from Wikipedia:

Shakespeare regularly refers to the concept. He uses both of Topsell’s versions of the motive, as a trick and as fake repentance. A prominent example is in Othello, Act IV, Scene i, in which Othello convinces himself that his wife is cheating on him.

If that the earth could teem with woman’s tears, Each drop she falls would prove a crocodile.

He also refers to the version about tricking prey in Henry VI, Part 2, Act III, Scene i, in which a character refers to the faked emotions of the Duke of Gloucester:

“Gloucester’s show / Beguiles him, as the mournful crocodile / With sorrow, snares relenting passengers.”

In Antony and Cleopatra, Act II, Scene vii, Mark Antony chides Lepidus, who has asked him what crocodiles are like, with a meaningless description ending with the words “And the tears of it are wet”.

Here are a few present-day examples of crocodile tears in the media:

1. THEY are the guilty who are caught in the spotlight – partners or relatives of crime victims who weep crocodile tears at police press conferences while all the time THEY are the ones the cops are hunting.

That was the case with Mick and Mairead Philpott, who cried for the cameras even though they had killed their six children themselves.

Here ANTONELLA LAZZERI profiles other tearful fakers who turned out to be hiding the darkest of secrets.

Karen Matthews

WHEN nine-year-old Shannon Matthews vanished on her way home from a swimming pool on February 19, 2008, her mum Karen made a plaintive appeal.

Wiping away tears, she said: “Shannon, we love you so, so much. Please come home.”

Relatives and friends mounted a huge campaign to find the missing girl but police were suspicious from the start. They kept close tabs on Matthews, who spent most of her time away from the cameras partying with friends.

The difference in her behaviour on and off camera even made one of her best friends suspicious and she eventually confronted Matthews in a police car, saying she believed she knew where her daughter was.

Matthews broke down and admitted the kidnap was a sham, aimed at securing a £50,000 reward for the girl’s return. On March 14 she was found hidden in the base of a bed at the nearby home of Paul Donovan, uncle of Matthews’s boyfriend, in Dewsbury, West Yorks.

In November 2008 both were tried and convicted of kidnapping, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice. Both were jailed for eight years.

Gordon Wardell

GORDON WARDELL pleaded for help in finding the killers of his wife Carol, a building society manager murdered in September 1994.

Wardell, of Meriden, West Mids, claimed a gang had captured her. A month later he was arrested and in December 1995 he was jailed for life, with a minimum of 18 years.

John Tanner

JOHN TANNER told reporters of his desperation when his girlfriend, Oxford student Rachel McLean, 19, vanished in April 1991.

But cops were amazed at his ice-cool calm and found her body under floorboards at her home, where he had hidden it.

At his 1991 trial Tanner, 22, admitted murder and was jailed for life.

- After the Philpotts’ shameless crocodile tears, here are other monsters caught crying their lies out, TheSun.co.uk, April 4, 2013.

2. While Amanda Knox gave her first live TV interview, the family of Meredith Kercher, the woman Knox is accused of murdering, also spoke out, expressing deep anger about Knox’s just-published book.

“We are not interested in this book, and we will not read it,” the Kerchers said in a statement. “Meredith is the victim in this tragic case.”

On Good Morning America, Knox replied, “I still hope they’ll read my book because in it I talk about Meredeth. I talk about the relationship I had with her, and that is the little amount that I could give to her.”

Reaction to Knox’s interviews, which began airing Tuesday night in a special with ABC’s Diane Sawyer, is pouring in from around the world.

When Sawyer asked, “Did you kill Meredith Kercher?”, Knox replied, “No.”

In Italy, where the killing took place, there was some condemnation. According to La Repubblica, someone said, “Knox certainly knows how to be cool and how to take advantage of it. In America she would have been sentenced to death.”

In England, where Meredith Kercher grew up, viewers criticized Knox’s demeanor. According to The Daily Mail, someone said, “Whether guilty or not, she comes across as selfish and unfeeling. Her look just says to me ‘Something is not quite right.’”

Here in America, reaction on Twitter was mixed.

“I believe she didn’t do it,” one user wrote. “Read the book, listen to her story.”

“How Italian police handled this case makes me sick. The incompetence...Sexism, & other factors are staggering,” another user weighed in.

We asked body language expert T.J. Walker to analyze Knox’s interview—which included an acknowledgement that she had lots of “casual sex” before her arrest in Italy.

“It was irresponsible. A child going about a very adult thing,” she said in the interview.

Walker said, “Looking down, once twice, three times within a couple of seconds. That could be that she’s not being honest, or it could be that she’s embarrassed. This is embarrassing stuff.”

Some believe Knox’s tears were crocodile tears when she said, “I was tired of them having to sacrifice everything for me.”

“She comes across very genuine here. She either is legitimately sharing her feelings, or she’s the world’s greatest actress,” Walker said.

- Viewers Weigh In on Amanda Knox’s TV Interview, InsideEdition.com, May 1, 2013.

3. Sportsmail pundit Martin Keown has slammed Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil for crying ‘crocodile tears’ following the Europa League semi-final defeat by Atletico Madrid on Thursday night.

Ozil was targeted after Arsenal lost 2-1 on aggregate following the second leg at the Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid.

A number of Arsenal’s players were pictured looking emotional when the full-time whistle was blown and Keown chose to focus on Ozil.

He said: ‘(Arsene) Wenger has invested an awful lot of money in this player and I’m not seeing a performance to go with it. He wasn’t fit to wear the shirt for me tonight and I’ve seen this a lot.

‘I’ve seen this a lot this season and it needs to be said because he needs to be dug out, because we expect better from him, he’s a World Cup winner and these are crocodile tears I’m seeing from the player, he’s not conning me.

‘Listen, I’ve had my say on it and I feel that he’s not giving enough for Arsenal Football Club and maybe Wenger should come out and say a little bit more about some of these players that should have performed for him, and he hasn’t.’

- Martin Keown slams Mesut Ozil for his ‘crocodile tears’ as he says the Arsenal midfielder isn’t ‘conning me’ after poor display against Atletico Madrid, DailyMail.co.uk, May 4, 2018.

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:

Crocodile tears?

Zhang Xin is Trainer at chinadaily.com.cn. He has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.

(作者:张欣 编辑:丹妮)

上一篇 : Run of the mill?
下一篇 : Snake oil?

 

分享到

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010-84883561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。

中国日报网双语新闻

扫描左侧二维码

添加Chinadaily_Mobile
你想看的我们这儿都有!

中国日报双语手机报

点击左侧图标查看订阅方式

中国首份双语手机报
学英语看资讯一个都不能少!

关注和订阅

本文相关阅读
人气排行
热搜词
 
精华栏目
 

阅读

词汇

视听

翻译

口语

合作

 

关于我们 | 联系方式 | 招聘信息

Copyright by chinadaily.com.cn. All rights reserved. None of this material may be used for any commercial or public use. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. 版权声明:本网站所刊登的中国日报网英语点津内容,版权属中国日报网所有,未经协议授权,禁止下载使用。 欢迎愿意与本网站合作的单位或个人与我们联系。

电话:8610-84883645

传真:8610-84883500

Email: languagetips@chinadaily.com.cn