又中又英 | Skunk at a garden party | 褚簡寧

　　During my schooldays in Hong Kong many years ago, my siblings and I arranged a party for friends at our apartment. Some people we didn't invite or even know came to the party. They got our address and the day of the party by word of mouth. The expression "word of mouth” means people telling other people about something, such as a new restaurant or an upcoming event. Uninvited people at parties are called gatecrashers. Some of the gatecrashers at our party were polite and became friends with invited guests. But other gatecrashers rudely used our home to have their own party.

　　I was reminded of our party after I recently heard a US political commentor use the American expression “skunk at a garden party”. A skunk is a small animal which can spray a very stinky smell to defend itself when it is attacked. It would be embarrassing for the host of a garden party if a skunk gets into the garden and lets out a stinky smell! A skunk at a garden party means an unwanted or despised person who spoils the mood of a social gathering. The commentator used the expression to describe hecklers at a political rally.

　　A heckler is a person who loudly interrupts a speech or performance with insults, shouts, or bad language. My siblings and I had our party in our family apartment, not a garden. But the expression “skunk at a garden party” can also be used to describe the unfriendly gatecrashers who came to our party. They were skunks at our party.

＊＊＊＊＊＊

　　許多年前我還在學的時期，我跟兄弟姊妹在我們居住的單位內安排了一場給朋友們的派對。一些我們沒有邀請甚至不認識的人卻不請自來。他們口耳相傳（word of mouth），得悉了我們的地址和派對的日期。習語word of mouth是指人們口傳某事物，例如一間新的餐廳又或將要發生的一個活動。在派對不請自來的人被稱為gatecrashers。我們派對的不速之客（gatecrashers）當中，有一些是斯文有禮的，跟受邀的賓客結識做朋友；但另一些沒受邀就亂闖進來的人（gatecrashers），卻粗魯地用我們的家開自己的派對。

　　當我最近聽到一位美國政治評論員用美式習語“skunk at a garden party”後，就想起了我們的那場派對。A skunk是體型細小的臭鼬，當受到攻擊時就會噴發一股惡臭來保護自己。對於在花園辦派對的主人來說，如果有一隻臭鼬（skunk）闖入了花園再發出惡臭，都不可說不尷尬！A skunk at a garden party就是指一個多餘或被鄙視的人，毁掉了一個社交場合的雅興。那名評論員用這個習語來形容一場政治集會上的hecklers。

　　A heckler就是大聲用辱罵、喊叫或粗口打斷一個演說或演出的人。我和兄弟姊妹辦的派對在我們自己住的單位，而不是花園內，但習語“skunk at a garden party”也可以用來形容我們派對上那些不友好的不速之客（gatecrashers），他們都是我們派對裏的臭鼬（skunks）。

[email protected]
Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻