Some US newspapers are accusing Republicans and Democrats of playing “gotcha politics” when they should be paying serious attention to the country’s enormous debts. Here’s what a Rochester, Minnesota newspaper, wrote: “We’re sick of gotcha politics, which consists of one side saying "What's your plan to rein in entitlement spending?" then sending emails to senior citizens saying, "The other guys want to cut your Medicare benefits!"

美国某些报纸指责共和党和民主党本应严肃对待当前巨额赤字，却玩起了“捉人政治”。明尼苏达州的一家报纸写道：我们厌倦了“捉人政治”，一方说“你有什么计划来限制福利支出？”然后另一方就发电邮给老年人告状：“那些家伙想要削减您的医疗福利！”

Gotcha is slang for another slang term “got you.” It means I caught you doing something wrong, and I’m gloating (happy) about it. That’s why gotcha usually has an exclamation point after it. If you catch your boyfriend cheating on you, you can walk up and declare, Gotcha! “Gotcha politics” means one side will embarrass someone by catching them make a mistake, or just make it look like the other side made a mistake. Then the other side will make a “Gotcha” statement.

Gotcha是“抓住你了”这个俚语的另一种说法，意思是说你在做坏事的时候被我逮个正着，我在一旁沾沾自喜。所以通常gotcha后要加上感叹号。如果你发现男朋友对你不忠，你可以走过去向他宣告：Gotcha！Gotcha politics意思是说一方抓住另一方犯错，令其难堪，或者看上去像另一方犯了错误。随后另一方就会发一份“Gotcha”声明。

In China, netizens like to play “gotcha,” too. They will expose some politician for spending too much money on cigarettes by taking a picture and then posting it all over the Internet. Gotcha also can mean I understood. Someone will ask, Understand me? You can say I get it, or I got it, which is another way of saying I understand. Get it? Gotcha!

在中国，网民们也很爱玩“捉人”。他们将某些官员吸“天价烟”的照片发到网上曝光。Gotcha还可以指“我明白了”。有人会问，明白了吗？你可以说I get it或I got it，这是I understand的另一种说法。Get it？Gotcha!

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（中国日报网英语点津 实习生沈清 编辑：Julie）

About the broadcaster:

Renee Haines is an editor and broadcaster at China Daily. Renee has more than 15 years of experience as a newspaper editor, radio station anchor and news director, news-wire service reporter and bureau chief, magazine writer, book editor and website consultant. She came to China from the United States.