又中又英——“cliffhanger”

　　Last Wednesday morning Hong Kong time, as Americans were still voting in some states, and other states had started counting votes, I checked the latest results every hour. The results showed a very close race between President Donald Trump and his Democratic Party challenger Joe Biden. I looked at the headlines in several major US newspapers and television networks. They all used different expressions to say the race was so close it was hard to predict who would win. One of the most popular headlines was “on a knife edge”. If something is “on a knife edge” it means it is very exciting, worrying, or difficult because the result is uncertain.
　　Another popular headline was “cliffhanger”. This has a similar meaning to “on a knife edge”. The word “cliffhanger” is often used to describe the ending of an episode of a TV drama. But it can also be used to describe a situation, such as an election, or the final moments of a very close sports contest. When used to describe the ending of an episode of a TV drama, it means a very exciting ending that keeps viewers guessing what will happen in the next episode. When used to describe an election or sports contest, the word “cliffhanger” means very suspenseful, exciting, or uncertain until the last moment when the outcome is known.
　　Many newspapers and TV stations used the expression “too close to call”. The word “call” when used for an election, particularly a US election, means to declare who has won. TV stations in the US use this word when they decide a presidential candidate has won a state or an election. For example, all the US media “called” New York for Biden and Florida for Trump. This means they decided, from their studies of voter preferences, that Biden won New York and Trump won Florida before all the votes were counted. If an election is “too close to call”, it means the race is too close and either side could win.
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　　香港时间上周三的早上，当某些州份的美国人还在投票，而另一些州份已在点票时，我每隔一个小时便去查看一下最新的选举结果。结果显示，总统特朗普和他的民主党挑战者拜登的选情叮当马头。我又看了几间主要的美国报章与电视频道的头条，他们都用了不同的习语，去形容这场选举斗得有多难分难解，实在很难预测谁胜谁负。其中一个最热门的标题是“on a knife edge”。若某事是“on a knife edge”，意即正在紧张关头，令人非常焦急、坐立不安，因为结果难料。
　 另一个热门的标题是“cliffhanger”，它跟“on a knife edge”的意思相近。Cliffhanger一字常被用来形容电视剧某集的结尾；但它也可用来形容一个情况，例如选举，又或一场势均力敌的体育赛事的最后阶段。当用来形容电视剧某集的结尾时，它的意思就是留有一个悬念式的结局，吊吊观众的胃口，令他们猜测下一集会发生甚么事；当用来形容一场选举或体育赛事时，cliffhanger就解作非常悬疑、紧张、难以预料，不到最后一刻结局揭盅，也不会知道。
　　许多报章和电视台则用了另一个习语“too close to call”。在选举尤其是美国选举时用到call一字，意思就是去宣判谁获胜。当美国的电视台判定了某位总统候选人赢得某个州又或选举时，就会用到这个字。譬如，所有的美国媒体都“called” New York for Biden and Florida for Trump，意思即是说，根据他们研究过的选民取向，在所有点票完成之前就已判定了拜登赢取了纽约，特朗普赢取了佛罗里达。若某场选举是“too close to call”，意即候选人斗得难分难解、叮当马头，都有可能胜出。中译：七刻

Michael Chugani 褚简宁