又中又英｜flogging a dead horse. - Michael Chugani 褚简宁

People who understand the meaning of idioms don’t normally say them incorrectly. That’s why I was taken aback when Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor used a common idiom incorrectly. She said it in such a wrong way that it made me guffaw. If you are taken aback it means you are surprised or shocked. To guffaw means to laugh very loudly, especially when someone says something stupid. During a press conference last week the chief executive said “kill two stones with one bird” when discussing the vaccine pass and Leave Home Safe app. I guffawed because it is impossible to kill stones. They are not alive. My mind imagined the chief executive holding a bird and throwing it at two stones to try to kill them.

The correct idiom is kill two birds with one stone. Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s incorrect use of the idiom made me wonder if she understands what it means. To kill two birds with one stone means to achieve two different things at the same time with a single solution or action. For example, if you go to a doctor’s clinic for a flu shot and a regular body checkup you are killing two birds with one stone. The chief executive said at the press conference that a Legislative Council member had used the idiom and she was repeating it. Did the Legco member also say it wrong or was it only the chief executive who said it wrong? I don’t know.

Animal rights groups now say the idiom, as well as others such as “flogging a dead horse”, are offensive. The group PETA, which stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, says such idioms should be considered as unacceptable as racist words. To flog or beat a dead horse means to waste time or effort on something when there is no chance of success. PETA suggests that instead of saying “kill two birds with one stone” say “feed two birds with one scone”. I think that is very clever!
＊＊＊＊＊

那些明白成语真正意思的人，通常都不会用错成语，因此当特首林郑月娥错误地说出一个很常用的成语时，我相当吃惊（taken aback）。她说的时候错得令我捧腹大笑（guffaw）。若你是taken aback，即你被吓一跳、大吃一惊或感到出乎意料。To guffaw即是大声地笑，尤其是当某人说了一些愚蠢的话时。上星期在一个记者会期间，特首在讨论疫苗通行证和安心出行程式之际，说了一句“kill two stones with one bird”。我放声大笑（guffawed），因为要杀掉石头是不可能的，它们不是生物，我脑中想像出一个画面，是特首手持一只雀，向着两块石头抛掷出去，尝试要「杀石」。

正确的成语是kill two birds with one stone。林郑月娥错误使用了成语，令我疑惑她到底是否明白成语的真正意思？To kill two birds with one stone即是一石二鸟、一箭双雕：只做一件事便达到两个目的，或单单用一个方案便解决了两个问题。譬如，若你去一间医务所便能同时打了流感针又做了例行身体检查，你便是killing two birds with one stone。特首在记者会说，一个立法会议员用过这个成语，她在复述之，那是立法会议员说错了，抑或只有特首说错了？我不知道。

保护动物权益团体现在说，这个成语连同另一些如“flogging a dead horse”的成语，都是具冒犯性的。PETA，即善待动物组织，说这类成语应该像种族歧视字眼般，被视作不能接受的。To flog or beat a dead horse是指白费劲、做徒劳无益之事，就如鞭打一只死马要牠奔驰一样。善待动物组织建议，与其说“kill two birds with one stone”，不如说“feed two birds with one scone”，用一块松饼就能同时喂养两只雀鸟——我觉得非常聪明！
中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁