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 > 专家点评

A fine kettle of fish

[ 2014-11-05 16:41] 来源:中国日报网     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

A fine kettle of fish真糟糕,钱忘带来了!

This is a fine kettle of fish! I forgot my money.

不理解,请教点评

My comments:

In other words, you’ve found yourself in a fine mess, i.e. a very awkward situation.

Further explanation, from Phrase.org.uk:

The earliest uses of the phrase, which apparently are examples of the ‘muddle’ meaning come from the English novelist Henry Fielding. In The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews, 1742, he writes:

“‘Here’s a pretty kettle of fish’, cries Mrs. Tow-wouse.”

and, in The History of Tom Jones, 1749:

“Fine doings at my house! A rare kettle of fish I have discovered at last.”

Should there be any doubt about the meaning of the expression in Fielding’s uses of it, there’s an unambiguous explanation of the phrase in Francis Grose’s Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, 1811:

“When a person has perplexed his affairs in general, or any particular business, he is said to have made a fine kettle of fish of it.”

Related stories:

Call it even

Half girl, half woman

Mere trifle

Fixer

Head on a spike

Take something with a pinch of salt

A breath of fresh air

Have a crystal ball

A slap on the wrist

Old timer

Guilty pleasure

Pancake people

Go to the mat for somebody

Go to the balcony

Go to Zhang Xin's column

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:

Zhang Xin(张欣) 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.

 
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

本文相关阅读

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