【英文】Bird, Dog, Cat, Mouse (v.)

今天又學到好幾個普通名詞當動詞的用法：在早晨的 sales meeting 上，大老闆說，“… Sales can bird the accounts.” （業務知道怎樣鳥客戶？）

會議結束後回到座位上查字典，發現 bird 的動詞用法有兩個解釋，分別是 “賞鳥” 與 “抓鳥” 的意思。

To observe and identify birds in their natural surroundings.
To trap, shoot, or catch birds.

用在上述 context 真是非常貼切：客戶或潛在客戶像鳥一樣在天上和樹林裡飛來飛去sales 使出渾身解數，辨認出我們要抓的鳥，偷拐搶騙把他們網下來…

後來我舉一反三，又查了其他動物名稱的動詞用法。不出所料，狗 (dog) 有 “緊咬不放”，“緊追不捨” 的意思，例如：“The police dogged the suspected thief.”（警察跟蹤偷竊嫌疑犯）。

可是優雅神秘的貓 (cat) 當動詞用時，竟然跟抓老鼠這檔事一點關係也沒有，反而跟 “叫春” 比較有關：To look for sexual partners（尋找 “砲友”）；have an affair or affairs （偷情）。字典上的例句是： “catting around with every lady in sight.” （跟身邊所有的女人有一腿）—— 這種事應該狗也會做吧（人也會），為什麼都算到貓身上，真奇怪…

反倒是老鼠 (mouse) 當動詞用的時候，跟我原先想像中的貓動詞比較接近：

To hunt mice. （例句: Cats go mousing at night. 貓晚上去捉老鼠）
To search furtively for something; prowl. （暗中來回尋覓, 潛行）

好玩的英文單字…

留言:

Guava 於 2006-01-10

Did you know “duck” has also a very funny meaning behind it similar with “cat”.

Selina Ko 於 2006-01-11

Hi, Guava, No, I didn’t know that… Thanks for your comment; it’s interesting.

PS: 在我的印象裡，講到鴨子首先聯想到澡盆裡小孩最愛的玩具，不然就是母鴨帶著一群小鴨、一付母慈子孝的畫面…

Guava 於 2006-01-11

Selina, I learnt that, actually, from the movie 《Honey》. If you have that DVD… you might want to check it out. It is really funny on when and what the real meaning is. I use my “Dr. Eye” to check and I don’t think they have that in the translation. It is a kind of slang for “black” guys.

BTW, in case you didn’t know. I am a friend of W.

Selina Ko 於 2006-01-12

Hi, Guava,
很高興有新朋友加入，而且是好朋友的朋友… 幾個常在這個版上出沒的人都把這裡當做我們 “心照不宣的秘密花園”，想必你一定是 W 很好的朋友…

說到 “黑話”，有一陣子我很喜歡看電視重播 Will Smith 主演的喜劇影集《The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air》，超好笑，而且聽久了就比較聽得懂黑人腔英文了。

我最近訂了 Blockbuster Online 的 “DVD 寄到家” 服務，立志每個月看 10-15 部電影，下次我會把你推薦的片子加到片單上；現在我的片單上大概一半是我喜歡的無腦喜劇片，一半是 W 推薦的，還沒看就覺得一定心情會很沉重的片… But I’ll try. 有好電影請踴躍推薦給我吧！

Guava 於 2006-01-13

Hi Selina,

I like Will Smith too… and his recent movie 《Hitch》 is supper funny and if you haven’t taste it, you should add that in your list with priority!

I am even thinking about open up a business like what he is doing in the movie….LOL!

Selina Ko 於 2006-01-13

Hi, Guava,

我從《Hitch》的預告片出現時就一直很期待，上上禮拜終於看到 DVD 了，結局有點爛（所以在我心目中的排名還是比不上經典的《MIB》第一集），但是劇情和對話的確是 super funny! 人生苦短，有時間可以浪費的話，就應該浪費在這種看完心情大好的電影上。

希望儘早看到你的 consulting firm 開張 —— 這個世界上的 “遜咖男” 實在是太多了，拜託救救他們吧…

Guava 於 2006-01-13

Selina,

TGIF! Wishing you have a wonderful weekend in finding “The One”!

After reading your article of “The Advanture in the Jungle of Human Body”, I think, the chances of finding “The One” that fits you may be less than in the % single digit range…

Well… don’t be upset too quick. I think you are just too good to the Internet Mating. Most of them are probably in the “遜咖” level. You might end up with just a hand full of resumes.

But, what the hell! It is an advanture, after all. And the process of getting it through is more interesting than what will be the end result, don’t you think.

Go out and taste life is more important than analysing what the next step should be. That’s my theory.

Like a movie, I tend to forget what the ending is and put my focus on what are the contents to take it back with me. Most of the movies are for those “Ordinaries” and the rule of thumb of making money is to have a “Big Happy Ending”.

Love, similar with movies, if people knew the ending, fewer people really wanted to try it. So, put on your Nike and “Just Do it”….LOL

Everything has its ending. Here is mine of the day.

The real love is when a woman makes a man “Want to Be a Better Man”. If you would all agree with me of the above, Chiasa’s real love is you when he admit the confession on “我只想要不輸給妳”… haha… people tend to forget the profound meaning while living in a comfort zone… da,da,da..That’s all, folks!

Selina Ko 於 2006-01-15

Hi, Guava,
謝謝你的留言。我很感動，真的。
也祝你有一個愉快的週末。