Michael Chugani 褚简宁 - To turn on a dime.｜又中又英
Michael Chugani 褚简宁
2022-07-12 00:00 HKT
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Hong Kong people who have visited the US will know a dime is a 10-cent coin, a nickel is a five-cent coin, a penny is a one-cent coin, and a quarter is a 25-cent coin because it is one quarter of a dollar. Most advanced economies, including the US, have moved towards becoming cashless societies. A cashless society is a society where most people use credit cards and electronic money transfers to pay for goods and services. The US is, to a large extent, a cashless society but many Americans still use pennies, nickels, and dimes. I once bought a small bag of potato chips in a convenience store and paid with a $5 bill because the cost was 59 cents.
I received several dollar bills and a lot of coins, including pennies, in change. Hong Kong has done away with (stopped using) the 5-cent coin. I think the US should do away with pennies and nickels. Even homeless people don’t want them. This column, however, is not about pennies, nickels, and quarters. It’s about dimes. There are several interesting American expressions using the word “dime” which I will explain. A dime is a small coin, similar in size to a Hong Kong ten-cent coin. To “turn on a dime” is a common American expression. It means to turn or move in a very small space because a dime is very small.
If your car can turn around in a very small space, you can say your car can turn on a dime. Only very small cars can turn on a dime. The other expression is “on someone else’s dime”. This means to do something with someone else’s money. If you go to an expensive steak restaurant with a friend and your friend offers to pay for the whole meal, you can say you had a good steak with wine on your friend’s dime. I love to eat in expensive restaurants on my friends’ dime!
曾经去过美国的香港人，都会知道a dime就是一个一角硬币，a nickel是五美分硬币，a penny是一美分硬币，而a quarter则是二十五美分硬币，叫作quarter因为它是一元的四分之一。大部份先进的经济体系，包括美国，已发展成为cashless societies，a cashless society意即该社会中大多数人都用信用卡和电子支付方式去购物和购买服务。美国很大程度上是个无现金社会（cashless society），但仍有许多美国人会用一美分（pennies）、五美分（nickels）和一角（dimes）等硬币。我就曾经在一间便利店买一包小薯片，价钱是五角九分，我就付了张五元纸币。
找续后我收到了几张美元纸币，以及许多碎银，包括一美分硬币（pennies）。香港已经废除（done away with）用五仙硬币。我认为美国也应该停用（do away with）那些一美分（pennies）和五美分（nickels）硬币。就连露宿者也不想要硬币。不过，这篇文章不是有关一美分（pennies）、五美分（nickels）和二十五美分硬币（quarters）的，而是关于dimes。我会解释几个用到“dime”一字的有趣美式习语。A dime就是一个细小的硬币，跟香港的一毫硬币差不多大小。To “turn on a dime”是个很常用的美式习语，意思是在极小的空间内转弯，因为一个dime是很细小的。
若你的车能在极小的空间内转弯，你便可以说your car can turn on a dime。只有迷你的车才能在极小的空间内转弯（turn on a dime）。另一个习语是“on someone else’s dime”，意思是用别人的钱去做事，算在别人的帐上。若你跟朋友去一间非常昂贵的扒房，而你朋友提出为整顿饭埋单，你便可以说on your friend’s dime，你朋友出钱让你享用了上等的肉扒与美酒。我就爱花朋友的钱（on my friends’ dime）上贵价的餐厅吃饭了！
中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁
I received several dollar bills and a lot of coins, including pennies, in change. Hong Kong has done away with (stopped using) the 5-cent coin. I think the US should do away with pennies and nickels. Even homeless people don’t want them. This column, however, is not about pennies, nickels, and quarters. It’s about dimes. There are several interesting American expressions using the word “dime” which I will explain. A dime is a small coin, similar in size to a Hong Kong ten-cent coin. To “turn on a dime” is a common American expression. It means to turn or move in a very small space because a dime is very small.
If your car can turn around in a very small space, you can say your car can turn on a dime. Only very small cars can turn on a dime. The other expression is “on someone else’s dime”. This means to do something with someone else’s money. If you go to an expensive steak restaurant with a friend and your friend offers to pay for the whole meal, you can say you had a good steak with wine on your friend’s dime. I love to eat in expensive restaurants on my friends’ dime!
曾经去过美国的香港人，都会知道a dime就是一个一角硬币，a nickel是五美分硬币，a penny是一美分硬币，而a quarter则是二十五美分硬币，叫作quarter因为它是一元的四分之一。大部份先进的经济体系，包括美国，已发展成为cashless societies，a cashless society意即该社会中大多数人都用信用卡和电子支付方式去购物和购买服务。美国很大程度上是个无现金社会（cashless society），但仍有许多美国人会用一美分（pennies）、五美分（nickels）和一角（dimes）等硬币。我就曾经在一间便利店买一包小薯片，价钱是五角九分，我就付了张五元纸币。
找续后我收到了几张美元纸币，以及许多碎银，包括一美分硬币（pennies）。香港已经废除（done away with）用五仙硬币。我认为美国也应该停用（do away with）那些一美分（pennies）和五美分（nickels）硬币。就连露宿者也不想要硬币。不过，这篇文章不是有关一美分（pennies）、五美分（nickels）和二十五美分硬币（quarters）的，而是关于dimes。我会解释几个用到“dime”一字的有趣美式习语。A dime就是一个细小的硬币，跟香港的一毫硬币差不多大小。To “turn on a dime”是个很常用的美式习语，意思是在极小的空间内转弯，因为一个dime是很细小的。
若你的车能在极小的空间内转弯，你便可以说your car can turn on a dime。只有迷你的车才能在极小的空间内转弯（turn on a dime）。另一个习语是“on someone else’s dime”，意思是用别人的钱去做事，算在别人的帐上。若你跟朋友去一间非常昂贵的扒房，而你朋友提出为整顿饭埋单，你便可以说on your friend’s dime，你朋友出钱让你享用了上等的肉扒与美酒。我就爱花朋友的钱（on my friends’ dime）上贵价的餐厅吃饭了！
中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁
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