Michael Chugani 褚简宁 - thrown a tantrum｜又中又英

Children, and even adults, sometimes throw tantrums. I have thrown a tantrum many times as a young boy. I still throw tantrums sometimes even though I am a grown man. I last threw a tantrum a few months ago when I was trying to get my refund for a plane ticket I had cancelled. The airline told me my refund, after paying a cancellation fee, would be deposited into my credit card account within a few weeks. That did not happen but I patiently waited for many more weeks. I then called the airline again.

The person I spoke to was very unhelpful. He said he did not know why I had still not received my refund and the airline would have to start an investigation. That’s when I threw a tantrum. To throw a tantrum means to suddenly get very angry in a way you cannot control. Children sometimes do that. I threw a tantrum because I had bought an expensive business class ticket. The airline refunded me after I waited a few more weeks. I remembered that incident when I heard an interesting American slang expression last week while watching the TV news. The expression I heard was “hissy fit”. It has a similar meaning to “throw a tantrum”.

If you throw a hissy fit, it means you suddenly get very angry. When I lived in Washington DC many years ago a driver behind me did not stop in time when I stopped at a stop sign. He damaged the front of his car when he hit the back of my car. He accused me of being in the wrong even though I had to stop at a stop sign. He threw a hissy fit but I ignored him and continued driving. It is unclear how the expression originated but some experts believe it came from the word “hysterical”. If you are hysterical it means you are unable to control your feelings because of anger, fear, or excitement.
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小孩，甚至大人，有时会发脾气（throw tantrums）。我还是小孩的时候就发过脾气（thrown a tantrum）无数次。我现在有时仍会发脾气（throw tantrums），即使我已是成年人。我上一次发脾气（threw a tantrum）是几个月前，当时尝试为取消的机票取回退款。航空公司告诉我，在付了取消费用之后，那笔退款就会在几星期内退还至我的信用卡帐户内。那并没有发生，但我耐心地多等几个星期。然后我便打电话到航空公司。

那个跟我对话的人没甚帮忙，他说他不知道为甚么我还未收到我的退款，航空公司会需要展开调查。那一刻我发脾气（threw a tantrum）了。To throw a tantrum是指情绪失控而大发脾气，小孩子有时会这样。我大发脾气（threw a tantrum），因为我买的是昂贵的商务舱。多等了几个星期后，航空公司发还退款给我了。当我上星期收看电视新闻报道，听到了一个有趣的美式俚语时，就想到了这桩事件。我听到的习语是“hissy fit”，它跟“throw a tantrum”意思差不多。

若你 throw a hissy fit，意即你突然大发雷霆。许多年前我住在华盛顿特区，当我驾车停在一个停车的路牌前时，后面那个司机并未及时停车。他撞到我车的后面，损毁了自己车辆的车头。即使我必须在停车的路牌前停下，他却指责我做错。他大发脾气（threw a hissy fit），但我无视他，继续驾驶。这个习语的由来并不确定，但一些专家认为它来源自“hysterical”一字。若你是hysterical，那即是说你因为愤怒、恐惧或兴奋而歇斯底里、不能自已。

中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁