又中又英 | To shy away from doing something | 褚簡寧
US President Donald Trump doesn't shy away from using insults and even the F-bomb against his political enemies. To shy away from doing something means to avoid doing it for fear or lack of confidence. If you don't shy away, it means you have the confidence to do it. The F-bomb is a polite way to describe the swear word "f..k". When Hillary Clinton lost to Barack Obama in the 2008 primary elections to select a Democratic Party presidential candidate, Trump said Clinton got schlonged by Obama. The Yiddish vulgar slang word schlong means a man’s penis.
Trump used this word to rudely say Clinton lost badly to Obama. He called Clinton Crooked Hillary during the 2016 presidential race between him and Clinton, which Trump won. The word “crooked” used this way means dishonest. Trump called her Crooked Hillary because he accused her and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, of being corrupt. In recent weeks he has called former President Joe Biden a dummy and the Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell a knucklehead and a numbskull. The word “dummy” has several meanings but means a stupid person when used as a slang word.
The slang words “knucklehead” and “numbskull” also mean a stupid person. Trump used those words to criticize Powell because he wants the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, but Powell is reluctant out of concern that Trump’s tariff war will trigger higher inflation. Trump chose Powell to be chairman of the Federal Reserve during his first term as president. He now wants to fire Powell, but the law prohibits him from firing a Federal Reserve chairman.
美國總統特朗普從不畏縮（doesn't shy away）去用侮辱性甚或F-bomb去對付他的政敵。To shy away from doing something是指因為害怕或缺乏自信而迴避做某事；若你don't shy away，即你充滿自信的去做某事。F-bomb是委婉地形容"f..k"這個髒話。希拉里於2008年初選輸給奧巴馬，未能當上民主黨總統候選人，當時特朗普就說希拉里被奧巴馬schlonged——這意第緒言的粗俗俚語schlong是指男性的陽具。
特朗普用這個字，是粗俗地去說希拉里被奧巴馬狠狠地打敗。2016年他跟希拉里競逐總統之位，最終特朗普勝選，當時他就喚她為Crooked Hillary。Crooked在這裏解作不誠實的。特朗普叫她做Crooked Hillary，因為他指控她和她的丈夫，前總統比爾．克林頓，貪污腐敗。最近幾星期，他則稱前總統拜登為dummy，又稱聯儲局主席鮑威爾為knucklehead和numbskull。Dummy這字有許多意思，但作為俚語用時則是說某人是笨蛋。
俚語「knucklehead」和「numbskull」也是指呆笨的白癡或傻瓜。特朗普用上這些字眼去批評鮑威爾，因為他希望聯儲局減息，但鮑威爾不肯，因為擔心特朗普的關稅戰會觸發更高的通脹。特朗普在他的第一個總統任期就選了鮑威爾為聯儲局主席，現在他又想炒掉鮑威爾，但法律禁止他開除聯儲局的主席。
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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻
