又中又英——“give someone the willies”
Michael Chugani 褚简宁
2021-08-19 04:18 HKT
字體大小
While watching an old movie on Netflix recently, I heard an American expression I had almost forgotten. The expression was “give someone the willies”. Hardly anyone in Hong Kong uses this expression. That’s why I had almost forgotten it. The expression “the willies” means a strong feeling of nervousness, discomfort, or fright. If you give someone “the willies”, it means you make them feel nervous or uncomfortable. Many people get the willies if they notice a stranger tailing them at night on a dark street. The word “tailing” used this way means following. Watching a horror movie can also give some people the willies. A horror movie is a movie that frightens people.
I watched a horror movie about Count Dracula when I was very young. It gave me the willies. The word “count” has many meanings and can be used in many ways but used this way as a noun it is a title for a person of noble birth in parts of Europe. A female is called a Countess. The British equivalent title of a Count is an Earl. Dracula is a novel by Bram Stoker published in 1897 about a Count living in an isolated castle in Transylvania, a region in Romania. Count Dracula is a vampire who travels to England where he sucks the blood of people until he is finally killed by a professor.
There are many spin-off movies and TV shows about Count Dracula but to me the original I watched as a young boy is still the scariest. The word “spin-off” used this way means a TV show, series, or a movie using similar characters as a previous TV show, series, or movie. Another expression for the willies is “the creeps”. If someone gives you the creeps, it means that person makes you feel uncomfortable or nervous. Yet another similar expression is “the jitters”. If you have the jitters, it means you have a feeling of extreme nervousness.
＊＊＊＊＊
最近在Netflix看一套旧电影时，听到一个美式习语，我几近忘记了。这个习语是“give someone the willies”。在香港，几乎没有人会用这个习语，因此我都差不多把它给忘了。习语“the willies”即一种紧张、不安或是毛骨悚然的感觉。若你give someone “the willies”，意即你使某人紧张不安。若是晚上在一条漆黑的街道上，发现有个陌生人尾随（tailing）自己，许多人都会心惊胆战、惶恐不安（get the willies）。Tailing在这里是指尾随、跟踪。观看一出恐怖片（horror movie），也可以令某些人感到毛骨悚然（the willies）。 A horror movie就是吓人的恐怖电影。
我还是很年轻的时候，看过一出关于德古拉伯爵（Count Dracula）的恐怖片（horror movie），它令我害怕得心里发毛（the willies）。Count一字有许多意思，亦可以有许多用法，但在这里是作名词用，是欧洲某些地区的贵族爵位名号；女伯爵则被称为Countess。英国相对应的伯爵（Count）称谓则为Earl。《德古拉》（Dracula）是一八九七年出版，由布拉姆‧斯托克所著的小说，描述一位伯爵（Count）住于罗马尼亚一个地区，外西凡尼亚一个与世隔绝的城堡内。德古拉伯爵（Count Dracula）是个吸血僵尸，会到英格兰吸人血，直至最终被一位教授杀掉。
关于德古拉伯爵（Count Dracula），有许多衍生的（spin-off）电影与电视节目，但于我而言，始终还是我男孩时候所看，原初的那一出最可怕。Spin-off在这里是指衍生的电视节目、电视剧或电影，是沿用之前的电视节目、电视剧或电影相同或类近的角色。The willies的另一个说法是“the creeps”；若某人gives you the creeps，意即那人令你寒毛直竖、害怕得起鸡皮疙瘩。还有一个类近的习语是“the jitters”；若你have the jitters，意即你极度紧张、神经兮兮、心烦意乱的。
[email protected]
中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁
I watched a horror movie about Count Dracula when I was very young. It gave me the willies. The word “count” has many meanings and can be used in many ways but used this way as a noun it is a title for a person of noble birth in parts of Europe. A female is called a Countess. The British equivalent title of a Count is an Earl. Dracula is a novel by Bram Stoker published in 1897 about a Count living in an isolated castle in Transylvania, a region in Romania. Count Dracula is a vampire who travels to England where he sucks the blood of people until he is finally killed by a professor.
There are many spin-off movies and TV shows about Count Dracula but to me the original I watched as a young boy is still the scariest. The word “spin-off” used this way means a TV show, series, or a movie using similar characters as a previous TV show, series, or movie. Another expression for the willies is “the creeps”. If someone gives you the creeps, it means that person makes you feel uncomfortable or nervous. Yet another similar expression is “the jitters”. If you have the jitters, it means you have a feeling of extreme nervousness.
＊＊＊＊＊
最近在Netflix看一套旧电影时，听到一个美式习语，我几近忘记了。这个习语是“give someone the willies”。在香港，几乎没有人会用这个习语，因此我都差不多把它给忘了。习语“the willies”即一种紧张、不安或是毛骨悚然的感觉。若你give someone “the willies”，意即你使某人紧张不安。若是晚上在一条漆黑的街道上，发现有个陌生人尾随（tailing）自己，许多人都会心惊胆战、惶恐不安（get the willies）。Tailing在这里是指尾随、跟踪。观看一出恐怖片（horror movie），也可以令某些人感到毛骨悚然（the willies）。 A horror movie就是吓人的恐怖电影。
我还是很年轻的时候，看过一出关于德古拉伯爵（Count Dracula）的恐怖片（horror movie），它令我害怕得心里发毛（the willies）。Count一字有许多意思，亦可以有许多用法，但在这里是作名词用，是欧洲某些地区的贵族爵位名号；女伯爵则被称为Countess。英国相对应的伯爵（Count）称谓则为Earl。《德古拉》（Dracula）是一八九七年出版，由布拉姆‧斯托克所著的小说，描述一位伯爵（Count）住于罗马尼亚一个地区，外西凡尼亚一个与世隔绝的城堡内。德古拉伯爵（Count Dracula）是个吸血僵尸，会到英格兰吸人血，直至最终被一位教授杀掉。
关于德古拉伯爵（Count Dracula），有许多衍生的（spin-off）电影与电视节目，但于我而言，始终还是我男孩时候所看，原初的那一出最可怕。Spin-off在这里是指衍生的电视节目、电视剧或电影，是沿用之前的电视节目、电视剧或电影相同或类近的角色。The willies的另一个说法是“the creeps”；若某人gives you the creeps，意即那人令你寒毛直竖、害怕得起鸡皮疙瘩。还有一个类近的习语是“the jitters”；若你have the jitters，意即你极度紧张、神经兮兮、心烦意乱的。
[email protected]
中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁
最Hit
更多文章