又中又英 | Bogged down | 褚簡寧
Most politicians do not like to admit their mistakes. Some politicians never admit their mistakes even when the people they govern clearly see and suffer from those mistakes. It has been widely reported that US President Donald Trump won't ever admit to being wrong. Russian President Vladimir Putin has on rare occasions admitted to technical errors in preparations to invade Ukraine but prefers to be seen as a strongman who doesn't make mistakes. Russia and the US are bogged down in wars that Putin and Trump started.
To be bogged down used this way means to be stuck in a difficult situation that you can't get out of. Hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers are estimated to have been killed and wounded since Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. He thought he could easily win, but Russia has been bogged down for over four years. Trump thought the US would quickly win when he ordered the attack on Iran. But the US is bogged down after Iran shut the Strait of Hormuz, driving up global oil prices.
Trump and Putin have not admitted they made a mistake in starting their wars.
Most politicians don’t want to eat crow. To eat crow is an American idiom that means to admit you were wrong or to apologize for a mistake. To eat humble pie has a similar meaning. Virtually no one eats crow meat. That's how the idiom originated. Crows eat carrion, which means the decaying flesh of dead animals. That's why people consider it disgusting to eat crow meat.
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大部分的政客都不喜歡承認自己的錯誤。一些政客永不承認錯誤，即使他們管治的人清楚看見，亦受害於那些錯誤。有廣泛報道指，美國總統特朗普永不承認自己做錯。俄羅斯總統普京在極罕有的情況下，會承認在準備攻打烏克蘭之時犯下了技術性錯誤，但更願意被視為不會犯錯的強人。俄羅斯和美國都深陷（bogged down）於普京和特朗普所發動的戰爭泥沼之中。
To bogged down在這裏是指困於一個困境中難以脫身。自從普京2022年下令入侵烏克蘭以來，已有數以十萬計的俄羅斯士兵傷亡。他以為他可輕易取勝，俄羅斯卻深陷這僵局中（bogged down）逾4年了。特朗普下令攻擊伊朗的時候，也以為美國可快速取勝，可是當伊朗封鎖霍爾木茲海峽，推高全球油價之後，美國亦是深陷僵局（bogged down）之中。特朗普和普京都沒有承認，他們開戰是有甚麼錯。
大多數政客都不想「吃烏鴉」（eat crow）。To eat crow是個美式成語，意思是承認自己做錯了，或為自己的錯誤道歉。To eat humble pie都有相近的意思。實際上，沒有人真的會吃烏鴉肉，這就是這成語的由來。烏鴉喜吃carrion，就是動物屍體的腐肉。因此，人們認為吃烏鴉肉非常噁心。
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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻
