又中又英——Have Your Cake And Eat It Too

　　Former chief executive Leung Chun-ying said in a video on social media last week if Hong Kong people want a high degree of autonomy, they must also accept Beijing’s role in selecting candidates for the chief executive. He said we, as Hong Kong people, cannot have our cake and eat it too. The expression “have your cake and eat it too” means to have two good things at the same time that are impossible to have at the same time. It also means to have the good parts of something without having the bad parts. For example, if you want to keep fit, you must exercise regularly and avoid unhealthy foods. You can’t keep fit and eat unhealthy foods daily. In other words, you can’t have your cake and eat it too.
　　What Leung Chun-ying meant was Hong Kong people cannot enjoy a high degree of autonomy without accepting the fact the high degree of autonomy is granted by Beijing. His quote reminded me of many cake idioms. One of my favourites is “a piece of cake”. This means something that is easy to do. For example, it is a piece of cake for racing drivers to pass a driving test. Most people love eating cakes. Cakes are easy and enjoyable to eat for many people. That’s why the idiom means something that is easy to do. I seldom eat cake because of my digestive problems. That’s why eating cake is not a piece of cake for me!
　　Another expression using the word “cake” is “beefcake”. Men should be interested in this word. It means a good-looking tall man with big muscles. Gyms like to use beefcakes for advertising. Some women only want beefcakes but others prefer intelligent and loving men even though they are not beefcakes. Do women prefer beefcakes or intelligent men? Do men want to be beefcakes or intelligent? I don’t know. Maybe readers can tell me.
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　　前特首梁振英，上星期在社交媒体的一则影片说，若香港人想要高度自治，他们必须接受北京在挑选行政长官候选人上的角色。他说，我们身为香港人，cannot have our cake and eat it too。习语“have your cake and eat it too”，字面意思是「又想拥有蛋糕但又要吃掉它」，意即想要鱼与熊掌两者兼得，但两者其实不可兼得；它也指，又要马儿好，又要马儿不吃草。譬如，若你想健身，就必须恒常运动和戒吃不健康的食物，你不可能又减肥又每天吃垃圾食物，即是你不能两者兼得，you can’t have your cake and eat it too。
　　梁振英的意思是，香港人不能享有高度自治，而又不去接受一个事实：高度自治是由北京赋予的。他引用这句话令我想到了许多有关「蛋糕」的成语。其中一个我最喜爱的是“a piece of cake”，意即「小菜一碟」、非常容易办到的事。譬如，对于赛车手来说，要通过驾驶考试简直「当食生菜」、容易至极（a piece of cake）。大多数人也喜爱吃蛋糕，对许多人来说，蛋糕易入口，亦很好吃，因此这句成语就是指一件能轻松完成的事情。我因为消化问题，很少吃蛋糕，因此吃蛋糕对我来说可不是小菜一碟（not a piece of cake for me）！
　　另一个用到「蛋糕」的习语是“beefcake”。男士可能会对这个字有兴趣，它是指肌肉发达的高大帅哥。健身中心就爱用这些健男（beefcake）去拍广告。一些女人只喜欢健美的肌肉男（beefcakes），另一些女士则情愿要睿智而深情的男士，即使他们并非健美的肌肉男（beefcakes）。女人较喜欢肌肉发达的健美男（beefcakes）还是有才智的男士？男人又想做肌肉发达的健美男（beefcakes）还是聪明人？我不知道，或许各位读者可以告诉我。 [email protected]
中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁