又中又英——Bark is worse than its bite

　　Most people who shop at Hong Kong's two big supermarket chains know the supermarkets fiddle with the prices. I have noticed this fiddling for a long time and have written about it. The supermarkets pretend some items are on sale but it's just a fiddling of the prices. They put a crossed-out higher amount on the price tag but sell it at the normal price to dupe (fool, trick) you into believing the item is on sale. They sometimes even sell the item at a higher price than normal. Another trick is to put a crossed-out higher amount on the price tag, then dupe you into believing if you buy two, you will save money.
　　But the fact is you will still be paying the normal price even if you buy two and pay a higher price if you buy one. The Consumer Council is a toothless tiger with no legal powers to punish the supermarkets for scamming the people. That's why the Consumer Council's bark is worse than its bite. The two supermarket chains have been raking it in during the coronavirus pandemic. Yet our government has given them hundreds of millions of dollars in wage subsidies even though the supermarkets have no plans to fire staff. A fiddle is a musical instrument. It is the same as a violin. But to "fiddle" someone means to cheat someone or to do something dishonest. To "scam" someone has a similar meaning.
　　If your "bark is worse than your bite" it means you make a lot of threatening noises but do not take any real action. The Consumer Council has held press conferences exposing the fiddling by supermarkets but that's all it can do. The expression "raking it in" means making a lot of money. People criticized the government for giving large amounts of wage subsidies to supermarkets that are raking it in. The supermarkets have agreed to give some money back to consumers through a lucky draw and discounts. They should give all the money back. The government should not have given them any subsidies.
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　　大部份有光顾香港两大连锁超市的人，都知道这些超市会在售价上弄虚作假（fiddle）。我很久以前就已留意到这种弄虚作假（fiddling），之前也曾写过。超市会佯装有些货品正在特价发售，但那其实只是在价钱上做手脚（fiddling）。他们会在价钱牌上划去一个较高的价钱，再以平日的价格去发售，欺骗（dupe）你去相信那件货品在做特价。他们有时甚至会用比平日更高的价格去卖那件货物。另一花招是去划走价钱牌上一个较高的价钱，然后欺骗（dupe）你去相信你买两件的话便可以悭钱。
　　但事实是，即使你买两件货品，你还是在付平日的价钱，若你只买一件的话，你是付一个较高的价格。消委会是只无牙老虎，没有法律权力去惩罚这些欺诈（scamming）市民的超市。因此，消委会只是雷声大雨点小（bark is worse than its bite）。两间连锁超级市场在新冠肺炎疫情期间猪笼入水（raking it in）。然而，我们的政府还是给予他们数以亿元计的工资补贴，即使超市并无计划要裁员。A fiddle是种乐器，即小提琴；但 to“fiddle”someone的意思是去欺骗某人，或弄虚作假。To“scam”someone的意思亦相近。
  若你的“bark is worse than your bite”，意即你在虚张声势，发出吓人的声响，却没有实际的行动。消委会曾召开新闻发布会，揭露这些超市如何弄虚作假（fiddling），但它所能做的就只有这些了。习语raking it in意即发大财、大捞一笔。人们批评政府在超市发大财（raking it in）的时候还向他们发大笔工资补贴，而超市则同意会将部份金钱，用抽奖和折扣优惠的形式去回馈消费者。他们理应将那笔钱全数奉还。政府不应给予他们任何补贴。
中译：七刻
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Michael Chugani 褚简宁