| 单词 | 语境 |
| 释义 | 〔haywire〕It may seem oddthat the wordhaywire should have come to describe something or someone that is not functioning properly. Haywire originally was in fact simply a compound of the words hay and wire, denoting wire used to bale things such as hay or straw.The term is first recorded as a noun in a debate that occurred in the Canadian House of Commons (1917);hence it is a Canadianism, or since it soon thereafter appeared in a United States publication, a North Americanism.We find an earlier (1905) attributive use,however, in the phrasehay wire outfit, a term used contemptuously for poorly equipped loggers. What lies behind this term is the practice of making repairs with haywire.Haywire is found in other contexts with the general sense "makeshift, inefficient,” from which comes the extended senses "not functioning properly" and "crazy.”看起来或许很奇怪，haywire 一词竟可以用来形容某物或某人不能正常运转。 事实上，haywire 是由 hay 和 wire 两个词组成的一个简单复合词， 指用来捆绑诸如干草或麦秆的铁丝，这个词在1917年加拿大众议院的一次辩论中第一次以一个名词的形式被记录下来，因此这是一个加拿大俗语或者说是北美俗词，因此这词很快就出现在美国出版物中。我们可以找到一个更早的（1905年）形容性用法，词组hay wire outfit, 是对装备不足的伐木工人的鄙称。 这个词的内涵是指准备用铁丝捆干草的工作。在其它语境中，haywire 被用来表示“临时的，效率低的”这种笼统的意思， 由此扩展出“不能正常工作的”以及“疯狂的”这些意义〔blatant〕 Certain contexts may admit either word depending on what is meant:a violation of international law might be eitherblatant or flagrant. But writers who refer tothe blatant torturing of animals or the flagrant liberal bias of the media have implied something other than what they presumably intended. In the first case, the writer is probably more troubled by the enormity of the mistreatment of animals than by the failure to conceal it,so thatflagrant would have been the better choice. In the second case, by contrast, the writer probably wants to draw attention to a moral failing in the media's unapologetic refusal to hide its bias,rather than to the iniquity of the bias itself,an implication that would have been conveyed more successfully byblatant. Blatant should not be used to mean simply "obvious,”as inthe blatant danger of such an approach. 某些语境下两个词都可以用，但意思不同：对国际法律的违反既可能是blatant（公然的） 也可能是 flagrant（无耻的）。 但是提到the blatant torturing of animals（肆无忌惮地虐待动物） 或者 the flagrant liberal bias of the media（媒体公然的、不严谨的偏见） 的作者已经暗示了他们本来意图以外的意思。 在第一种情况下，作者可能对大量虐待动物的行为所困扰而不是为隐藏这种行为的失败而困扰，因此flagrant 应该是更好的选择。 相反地，在第二种情况下，作者可能是要着重指出新闻媒介对其偏见一概否认的这种道德上弱点，而不是针对偏见本身的不公正性，这种含义若由blatant来表达的话会更加正确。 Blatant 不应仅仅表示“明显的”，就象在the blatant danger of such an approach（这种方法明显的危险性）中。 〔methodology〕Methodology can properly refer to the theoretical analysis of the methods appropriate to a field of study or to the body of methods and principles particular to a branch of knowledge.In this sense,one may speak ofobjections to the methodology of a geographic survey (i.e., objections dealing with the appropriateness of the methods used) or of themethodology of modern cognitive psychology (i.e., the principles and practices that underlie research in the field). In recent years, however,methodology has been increasingly used as a pretentious substitute for method in scientific and technical contexts, as inThe oil company has not yet decided on a methodology for restoring the beaches. This usage may have been fostered in part by the tendency to use the adjectivemethodological to mean "pertaining to methods,” in as much as the regularly formed adjectivemethodical has been preempted to mean "orderly, systematic.” But the misuse ofmethodology obscures an important conceptual distinction between the tools of scientific investigation (properly methods ) and the principles that determine how such tools are deployed and interpreted—a distinction that the scientific and scholarly communities, if not the wider public,should be expected to maintain.Methodology 可指对一个学科的研究方法进行的理论分析， 也可指一个学科特有的一整套方法与步骤。在这种意义上，人们可以说对于一个地理调查所用方法提出的异议 （即，关于所用方法是否适当所提的异议）， 也可以说现代认知心理学的研究方法 （即，形成一门学科的研究基础的原则和方法）。 然而，近些年来，在科学、技术语境中，methodology 越来越多地被用做颇带炫耀夸张色彩的 method 的替换词， 如说石油公司尚未决定恢复海滩环境的方法。 这种用法可能部分地起因于用形容词methodological 来表示“与方法有关的”意思的倾向， 因为用常规方法构成的形容词methodical 已先行意味着“有序的，有系统的”。 但是methodology 的这种错误用法模糊了一个重要的概念区分，那就是科学研究的方法（正确的说法应是 methods )和决定这些方法如何运用和阐释的原则之间的区分——这个区分， 如果不为更多的大众所认识，至少应为科学和学者圈子所坚持〔said〕The adjectivesaid is seldom appropriate to any but legal or business writing, where it is equivalent to aforesaid : the said tenant (named in a lease); said property. In similar general contextssaid is usually unnecessary, andthe tenant or the property will suffice. 形容词said 除了法律或商业用语外很少用，在法律和商业用语中它等于 aforesaid（上述的） ： the said tenant（该承租人） （用于租约）； said property（上述财产）。 在类似的普通语境中said 通常不必要， 只说the tenant 或 the propety 就够了 〔Hispanic〕There are a number of words denoting persons who trace their origins to a Spanish-speaking country or culture.Hispanic is the broadest of these terms, encompassing all Spanish-speaking peoples in both hemispheresand emphasizing the common denominator of language between communitiesthat sometimes have little else in common.It is widely used in both official and unofficial contextsand is entirely acceptable,although like the termSpanish American, it has occasionally been criticized as unduly emphasizing the role of European influences in shaping ethnic identity to the neglect of indigenous cultures.Latino is also in wide use, but it is somewhat less formal in most contextsand is generally restricted to persons of Latin-American descent.See Usage Note at Chicano 有许多单词表示那些来历或出身可以溯及西班牙语国家或文化的人，Hispanic 是这些词中应用最广泛的， 包括了两个半球所有讲西班牙语的民族，并且强调不同团体的语言上的共同特征，尽管它们在别的方面共同点很少。这个词被广泛地用于官方和非官方的语境中，并且被完全接受，尽管象Spanish American 一样， 偶然会有人批评它过分地强调在形成忽视本土文化的种族特性的欧洲影响。Latimo 应用得很广泛， 但在大多数语境下它不太正式，并且一般只限于有拉丁美洲血统的人 参见 Chicano〔graffito〕The formgraffiti, based on the Italian plural, is far more common than the singular form graffito. Graffitiis often used as a singular noun. When the reference is to a particular inscription (as inThere was a bold graffiti on the wall ), the formgraffito would be etymologically correct but might strike some readers as pedantic outside an archaeological context.There is no substitute for the singular use ofgraffiti when the word is used as a mass noun to refer to inscriptions in general or to the related social phenomenon. The sentenceGraffiti is a major problem for the Transit Authority Police cannot be rewordedGraffito is . . . (since graffito can refer only to a particular inscription) or Graffiti are . . . , which suggests that the police problem involves only the physical marks and not the larger issue of vandalism.In such contexts,the use ofgraffiti as a singular is justified by both utility and widespread precedent. 基于意大利语的复数形式graffiti 远比单数形式 graffito更普遍。 Graffiti常用作单数名词。 当意指一特定涂鸦物（如在墙上有一处下流的涂鸦 中）， graffito 的形式在词形变化上是正确的， 但可能会在古文化语境外使一些人显得迂腐。graffiti 的单数作物质名词使用来指涂鸦的总称或相应的社会现象时，是没有替代词的。 句子：涂鸦是公共交通警察局遇到的主要难题 ， 不能用Graffito is … 来替换（因为 graffito 只能指一具体的涂鸦）或用 Graffiti are … 来替换， 因其意指警察的问题只涉及存在的标记而不是破坏公物的大问题。在这些语境中，graffiti 作为单数形式的使用是被广泛使用的先例所证实的 〔shakedown〕In 1969 a majority of the members of theAmerican Heritage Dictionary Usage Panel felt that the noun shakedown in the sense "extortion" and the related phrasal verb shake down were acceptable in writing, though both are now labeledslang. It would seem that certain usages take a while to attain respectability because of the company they keep.Shake and the verb phrase shake out of already meant "to steal" in Middle English. This usage ofshake is still found in the 19th and 20th centuries. Bothshake and shake out of in the sense "to steal" are clearly related to shake down, which is first recorded in 1872, shake down being glossed "to extort money from individuals.” This is a slang usage,probably occurring, as had the verbshake, largely in contexts having to do with criminal or corrupt behavior. As our Panel realized,the verb and the later nounshakedown (first recorded in 1902 in the United States) have now moved from the lingo of criminals, loan sharks, and politicians into wider currency. 1969年，大多数美国经典辞书 用法研究小组的成员认为名词 shakedown （意为“敲诈”）及相关的短语动词 shake down 在写作中是可接受的， 虽然现在两者均被标以俚语。 与之有关的意义似乎有些用法需要一些时间来获得社会的承认。在中世纪英语中，Shake 和 shake out of 已经意味着“偷盗” 。 shake 的这种用法仍见于19世纪和20世纪。 Shake 及 shake out of （意为“偷盗”）明显与 shake down （首次记载于1872年）有所联系。 shake down 被解释为“从个人处敲诈金钱”。 这是俚语用法，很可能如动词shake 一样，大量用于与犯罪或腐败行为有关的语境中。 正如我们的用法研究小组所意识到的，该动词及后来的名词shakedown （在美国最早记载于1902年）已从罪犯、高利贷者及政客的语汇发展到更广泛的使用领域 〔Kanaka〕Kanaka, which simply means "human being" in Hawaiian, is mostly found today in historical contextsand is not usually appropriate in ordinary discourse.As with many terms that refer to ethnic identity,Kanaka can suggest ethnic pride in some contexts while in others it may be taken as derogatory.Kanaka 在夏威夷语中意思是“人”。 现今该词主要在历史语境中出现，通常不适用于普通的交谈中。正如许多指称种族特性的术语，Kanaka 在某些语境中含有种族自豪的意思， 而在另一些语境中也许被当作贬义语〔he〕Traditionally, English speakers have used the pronounshe, him, and his generically in contexts in which the grammatical form of the antecedent requires a singular pronoun, as inEvery member of Congress is answerable to his constituents; 传统上，说英语的人一般把代词he，him 和 his 用在先行词的语法形式要求跟一个单数代词的语境中， 如国会中每一位成员都应对 其 选民负责； 〔quote〕As a transitive verbquote is appropriately used to describe the use of an exact wording drawn from another source. When the original source is paraphrased or alluded to,the more general termcite is usually preferable. · The nounquote is well established as a truncation of quotation, though many critics regard it as unduly journalistic or breezy.As such, it is best avoided in formal literary discussions.The use of the noun was acceptable to only 38 percent of the Usage Panel in the sentenceHe began the chapter with a quote from the Bible. But the usage is less objectionable in informal contexts or in reference to less august sources;the word was acceptable to 53 percent of the Panel in the sentenceHe lightened up his talk by throwing in quotes from Marx Brothers movies. · The nounquote is sometimes used as a synonym for "dictum, saying,” as inHis career is just one more validation of Andy Warhol's quote that "in the future, everybody will be famous for fifteen minutes.” This example was unacceptable to 76 percent of the Usage Panel.作为一个及物动词，用quote 一词来指从另一出处中抄取完全一样的用语是很恰当的。 当原文出处被意译或是间接提及时，一个意义更广泛的词cite 更可取。 quote 这名词形式是由 quatation 削减而来，也已被普遍接受， 虽然许多批评家认为这个词染有不恰当的记者文风或不太正式。因此，在正式的文学讨论中最好避免使用。在用法专题使用小组的调查中，只有38%的人认为这个名词在这章的开始他引用了《圣经》中的一段 文字 这个句子中的用法是可行的。 但在不正式的语境下或提及的出处不很严肃时，对于这种用法的反对意见要少一些。在他插入了一段引自马克斯兄弟电影中的 话 来活跃谈话气氛 这个句子中， 53%的小组成员认为这个词可以接受。 Quote 这个名词有时也可用作“格言、名言”的同义词， 如在他的一生再一次证实了安迪·霍尔的 格言 “将来，每个人都将享有十五分钟的知名度” 这个句子中， 用法专题使用小组中76%的成员认为这个例句无法接受〔healthy〕Therefore, bothhealthy and healthful are correct in these contexts: a healthy climate, a healthful climate; a healthful diet, a healthy diet. 所以在这样的语境中，healthy 和 healthful 都是正确的： a healthy climate，a healthful climate； a healthful diet，a healthy diet 〔turn〕Revolve can have the same meaning asrotate, while in certain contexts it is distinguished from rotate as involving orbital movement: Revolve 的意思与rotate 大致一样，但在特定的语境中，它涉及到在轨道上的运动，因此与 rotate 有所区别： 〔lifestyle〕As such, the word has won the occasionally grudging acceptance of the Usage Panel.Fifty-three percent of the Panelists accepts the word in the sentenceBohemian attitudes toward conventional society have been outstripped and outdated by the lifestyles of millions of young people, and fully 70 percent accepts the word in the sentenceSalaries in the Bay Area may be higher, but it may cost employees as much as 30 percent more to maintain their lifestyles, where the economic context makes more apparent the need for a word that denotes categories based on consumption practices.基于这些，这个词获得了用法委员会偶尔略显勉强的承认。53%的专家小组成员接受这个词在句子千百万年轻人的生活方式超越了对于传统社会的放荡不羁的态度，并使之过时 中的用法， 70%的专家小组成员接受其在句子旧金山湾地区的薪水可能高一些，但员工们需要多于30%的薪水来维持其生活 中的使用。 在这里，简练的语境明显地需要一个基于消费习惯的表示分类的词〔Quonset〕A trademark used for a prefabricated portable hut having a semicircular roof of corrugated metal that curves down to form walls. This trademark often occurs in attributive contexts in print:"a Quonset building that once stored grain" (Chicago Tribune); "an unassuming assemblage of clapboard buildings, Quonset storage huts, and docks" (Christian Science Monitor). It sometimes occurs in lowercase: 匡西特活动房屋：一种用来指由预制件组成的可移动小屋的商标。小屋屋顶为半圆形，为波纹金属，卷下来可组成墙壁。在印刷品中，这个商标经常出现在表定语的语境中：“曾用来贮藏粮食的匡西特式建筑物” （芝加哥论坛）； “一堆毫不起眼的隔板建筑物，匡西特储藏屋和船坞” （基督教科学箴言报）。有时它也以小写出现： 〔sierra〕Perhaps in formal contextsit is wise after mentioning a mountain range such as the Sierra Nevadato refer to it next asthe Sierras rather thanthe Sierra Mountains, sincemountains is inherent in sierra. Nonetheless, many Californians and Nevadans in particular will be very familiar with phrases such asthe Sierra Mountains. Such phrases are used because to a non-Spanish speakersierra does not necessarily have a meaning, unless one is familiar with the English wordsierra, "a rugged range of mountains having an irregular profile,” borrowed from Spanish. In Spanishsierra originally meant "saw" and so was aptly applied to a range of hills or mountains rising in peaks that suggested the teeth of a saw.It comes from Latinserra, "saw,” to which can also be traced our wordserrated. 也许在正式的语境中，提到了一山脉如内华达山脉之后，紧接着再提到时称为the Sierra ， 而不是the Sierra Mountains ， 因为mountains 是包含在 sierra 之中的。 尽管如此，许多加利福尼亚人，尤其是内华达人对类似the Sierra Mountains 这样的词组很熟悉。 使用这样的词组是因为对一个非西班牙语的人来说，sierra 一词并不一定有意义， 除非是一个熟悉这个从西班牙语中借用来的英语单词sierra （一崎岖的山脉，有曲折的轮廓）的人。 在西班牙语中，sierra 原意为“锯子”， 所以很恰当地被用来指峰峦叠起，使人联想起锯齿的山脉或群山。这个词来源于拉丁文serra （锯子）， serrated 也可以追溯到这个拉丁词 〔Velcro〕A trademark used for a fastening tape consisting of a strip of nylon with a surface of minute hooks that fasten to a corresponding strip with a surface of uncut pile, used especially on cloth products, such as outerwear, luggage, and athletic shoes. This trademark sometimes occurs in print in lowercase:"dart boards with velcro balls for darts" (American Banker). It also occurs as a verb: "We might Velcro the camera to the window, to steady it" (Washington Post). The trademark occurs in figurative contexts as well: 维可牢：一种尼龙刺粘搭链的商标，该搭链由一条表面有细小钩子的尼龙条与表面有毛圈的对应的尼龙条粘合面构成，尤指用于布制品上，如外套、箱包以及田径鞋等。该商标有时用小写母排印：“在掷镖游戏中用的带维可牢球的靶” （美国银行家）。它也以动词的形式出现： “我们可以把照相机用维可牢粘在窗上，使其固定下来” （华盛顿邮报）。该商标也同样出现在象征性的语境中： 〔black〕Use of the capitalized form has the advantage of acknowledging the parallel with other ethnic groups and nationalities,such asItalian and Sioux. It can be argued thatblack is different from these other terms because it was derived from an adjective rather than from a proper name.However, a precedent exists for the capitalization of adjectives used to denote specific groups,as in theReds and the Whites (of the Russian Civil War) or the Greens (the European political party). The capitalization ofBlack does raise ancillary problems for the treatment of the term white. Orthographic evenhandedness would seem to require the use of the uppercase formWhite, but this form might be taken to imply that whites constitute a single ethnic group,an issue that is certainly debatable.On the other hand, the use of the lowercase formwhite in the same context as the uppercase form Black will obviously raise questions as to how and why the writer has distinguished between the two groups.There is no entirely happy solution to this problem.In all likelihood, uncertainty as to the mode of styling ofwhite has dissuaded many publications from adopting the capitalized form Black. See Usage Note at color 大写字母的好处在于对于其他种族和民族平等关系的承认，如意大利人 和 苏人。 有人可以争辩说black 与其他词不同， 因为他是由一个形容词而不是专有名词派生而成的。但是，大写形容词意指一组人已有前例，如Reds 和 Whites （俄国内战中）或 Greens （欧洲政党）。 大写的Black 确实引起了该如何对待 White 一词的有关问题。 正字法的公正要求使用White 的大写形式White， 但这种形式可能被认为暗示白人组成了单独的种族，这是会引起争论的问题。另一方面，在有black 大写形式White出现的相同语境中使用 White 的小写形式white， 显然会引起如何及为什么作者要对这两组人区别对待的问题。这一问题尚无令人满意的解决办法。White 书写方式的不确定性很可能已经使许多出版物不再采用大写形式的 Black 参见 color〔people〕Used as a pluralpeople is a form with no exactly corresponding singular. (English is not odd in this respect:the equivalent word is anomalous in Spanish, Italian, Russian, and many other languages.)In the past, grammarians have sometimes insisted thatpeople is a collective noun that should not be used as a substitute forpersons when referring to a specific number of individuals, as inSix people were arrested. Butpeople has always been used in such contexts, and the distinction is now so widely ignored in general writingthat it seems pedantic to insist on it.Persons is still preferred in quasilegal contexts, however, as inVehicles containing fewer than three persons may not use the left lane during rush hours. Only the singularperson is used in compounds involving a specific numeral: People 用做复数时无确切的单数形式。 （在此方面英语是不固定的：在西班牙语、意大利语和许多其它语言中相应的词是不规则的。）过去，语法学家曾坚持说people 是集合名词， 不能替代描述特定数量个体的persons ， 如在六个人被捕了 中。 但是people 常用在这样的上下文中， 其区别在一般的书面语中被大大忽略了，再坚持其区别则显得多余。Persons 仍多被用在法律性的语境中， 例如在交通高峰期容纳少于三个人的汽车不允许使用左单行道。 只有单数person 用在与具体数目有关的复合词中： 〔any〕Used as a pronoun,any can take either a singular or plural verb, depending on how it is construed:Any of these books is suitable (that is, any one ). But are any (that is, some ) of them available? · The constructionof any is often used in informal contexts to mean "of all,” as inHe is the best known of any living playwright. In an earlier survey this example was unacceptable in writing to 67 percent of the Usage Panel. ·Any is also used to mean "at all" before a comparative adjective or adverb in questions and negative sentences: 用作介词的any 既可接单数动词又可接复数动词， 这取决于怎样翻译：Any of these books is suitable?（这些书的任一本都合适） （这里是指 any one（任何一本） ）。 But are any（但是他们中） （意指 some（任何一些） ） of them available（任何一些都合适吗）？ of any（任一的） 这个结构经常用于非正式语境中来表示“所有的”的意思， 如在句子他是在世剧作家中最著名的一位。 在早期的调查中67%的用法使用小组成员，认为这个例子作为书面语不能被接受。Any 也用于比较级形容词或副词前表示“全然，压根儿”，这一用法适用于疑问句和否定句中： |
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