又中又英——On a knife edge

　　In my previous column I wrote about the media headlines which described the close US election race between President Donald Trump and Democratic Party challenger Joe Biden. One popular headline 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. It is now clear Biden won and has given a victory speech. But Trump has threatened to legally challenge the results. Before Biden's victory, some in the media used the expression "down to the wire" to describe the close race. This expression is used for a situation where the outcome is not known until the very last minute.
　　The expression originated from horse racing, where a wire was hung above and across the finish line to determine which horse won. If a horse race is very close, you can say it was "down to the wire". Another popular headline to describe the close election was "razor-thin". This expression means very thin. Smoked salmon is often sliced very thin, making the slices "razor-thin". The expression comes from the word "razor" which is a blade for shaving. The sharp part of a razor is very thin. But when used to describe an election, "razor-thin" means by a very small or thin margin. If a candidate wins an election by just 10 out of 1,000 votes, you can say the candidate won by a "razor-thin" margin.
　　Another word the media used in its coverage of the election was the word "flip". This word has several meanings. The most common meaning is turning something over one or more times. If you are grilling a hamburger, you have to flip it, or turn it over several times, to make sure both sides are cooked. But when used to describe an election, the word "flip" means voters changing from supporting one political party to another. Biden "flipped" several states in the election. This means he won in some states that Trump had won in 2016. Trump flipped many traditionally Democratic states in the 2016 election.
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　　在我的上一个专栏中，我写到一些传媒的头条是如何形容美国大选中，总统特朗普与民主党挑战者拜登斗得难分难解的选情。一个热门的标题是“on a knife edge”。若某事是“on a knife edge”，意即它在紧张关头，令人非常焦急又或坐立不安，因结果难料。现在已清楚了，是拜登胜出，发表了胜利演说。然而，特朗普威胁要用法律手段挑战选举结果。在拜登胜选之前，一些媒体用了习语“down to the wire”去形容激烈的战况。这个习语是用来描述一个情况，直到最后一刻，结果才会揭盅。
　　这个习语来源于赛马，在赛马跑道的终点会拉一条终点线，去决定哪只马匹首先冲过终点线而胜出。若两只马是叮当马头，你便可以说赛事真是“down to the wire”，不到冲线一刻也不会知道哪只马跑出。另一个形容选情激烈的热门标题是“razor-thin”，这个习语解作极薄的。烟熏三文鱼通常会切得很薄，令每一块都是“razor-thin”。这个习语来自“razor”一字，就是剃须刀。剃须刀的刀片（razor）是非常薄的。但当用来形容选举时，“razor-thin”就是指很小或微乎其微的差距。若一个候选人在一千票中只是以十票之微胜出，你便可以说那个候选人以 a“razor-thin”margin胜出。
　　另一个媒体报道大选时用到的字是“flip”。这个字有多重意思，最普遍的意思是翻动某物一次或多次。若你正在烤一块汉堡，你要将它翻转（flip）再烤好几次，确保两面都有烤好。但当用来形容选举时，“flip”就指选民由支持一个政党转軚去支持另一个。拜登在选举中“flipped”了几个州，意即它赢了几个特朗普在二○一六年赢得的州份。特朗普在二○一六年大选中也反转了（flipped）几个传统上属于民主党的州份。中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁