Michael Chugani 褚简宁 - doesn't hold water｜又中又英
Michael Chugani 褚简宁
2022-11-24 00:00 HKT
字體大小
While watching TV recently I heard an expression I had not used or heard in a long time. I had to Google it to remind myself what it meant. The expression I heard was “won’t hold an ounce of water”. The actual expression is “doesn’t hold water” but the person on TV said “won’t hold an ounce of water” to make his point stronger. If something doesn’t hold water, it means it is not true or logical. If you tell your teacher your dog urinated on your homework, your teacher will likely say your reason for not having your homework doesn’t hold water.
The person on TV said “won’t hold an ounce of water” to make clear he doesn't believe even a little bit of what he was being told. He used the word “ounce”, which is a small amount, to emphasize he doesn’t believe even a small amount of what he was being told. The expression “doesn’t hold water” has been in use since the 1600s. Water in a bucket full of holes will, of course, leak out. The bucket, therefore, doesn’t hold water and is useless. That may be how the expression originated because an excuse can be so full of holes it cannot be believed.
The expression “full of holes” is similar to “doesn’t hold water”. It is used to describe something that is unconvincing or hard to believe. If you tell a judge you were late because the taxi driver didn’t know where the court was, the judge could say your excuse is full of holes.
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
最近看电视时，听到一个我已很久没有用或听别人用的习语了。我要用谷歌搜寻，提醒自己它是何意。那个我听到的习语是“won’t hold an ounce of water”。这个习语真正的说法应为“doesn’t hold water”，但电视上的那人说成“won’t hold an ounce of water”去强调他的观点。若某事doesn’t hold water，意即那事不属实或不合理，根本站不住脚。若你跟你的老师说，你的狗撒尿在你的功课上了，你的老师很大可能会说，你欠交功课的理由实在站不住脚（doesn’t hold water）。
电视上那人说“won’t hold an ounce of water”，去清楚表明他压根儿不相信他听来的东西。他用上“ounce”一字，是很小的单位「安士」，去强调他毫不相信他所听来的，哪怕是一丁点。习语“doesn’t hold water”自十七世纪便已有人在用。一个千疮百孔的水桶想当然会漏水，因此那个水桶就doesn’t hold water ，不再能盛水，是无用的。这也许是这习语的由来，因为一个满是漏洞（full of holes）的借口实不足信。
习语“full of holes”跟“doesn’t hold water”相似，是用来形容某事有许多破绽，不能令人信服或难以置信。若你跟法官说，你迟到是因为的士司机不晓得法庭在哪里，法官也可以说你的借口是full of holes，漏洞百出。
Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁
The person on TV said “won’t hold an ounce of water” to make clear he doesn't believe even a little bit of what he was being told. He used the word “ounce”, which is a small amount, to emphasize he doesn’t believe even a small amount of what he was being told. The expression “doesn’t hold water” has been in use since the 1600s. Water in a bucket full of holes will, of course, leak out. The bucket, therefore, doesn’t hold water and is useless. That may be how the expression originated because an excuse can be so full of holes it cannot be believed.
The expression “full of holes” is similar to “doesn’t hold water”. It is used to describe something that is unconvincing or hard to believe. If you tell a judge you were late because the taxi driver didn’t know where the court was, the judge could say your excuse is full of holes.
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
最近看电视时，听到一个我已很久没有用或听别人用的习语了。我要用谷歌搜寻，提醒自己它是何意。那个我听到的习语是“won’t hold an ounce of water”。这个习语真正的说法应为“doesn’t hold water”，但电视上的那人说成“won’t hold an ounce of water”去强调他的观点。若某事doesn’t hold water，意即那事不属实或不合理，根本站不住脚。若你跟你的老师说，你的狗撒尿在你的功课上了，你的老师很大可能会说，你欠交功课的理由实在站不住脚（doesn’t hold water）。
电视上那人说“won’t hold an ounce of water”，去清楚表明他压根儿不相信他听来的东西。他用上“ounce”一字，是很小的单位「安士」，去强调他毫不相信他所听来的，哪怕是一丁点。习语“doesn’t hold water”自十七世纪便已有人在用。一个千疮百孔的水桶想当然会漏水，因此那个水桶就doesn’t hold water ，不再能盛水，是无用的。这也许是这习语的由来，因为一个满是漏洞（full of holes）的借口实不足信。
习语“full of holes”跟“doesn’t hold water”相似，是用来形容某事有许多破绽，不能令人信服或难以置信。若你跟法官说，你迟到是因为的士司机不晓得法庭在哪里，法官也可以说你的借口是full of holes，漏洞百出。
Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁
更多文章
