又中又英 | An itch you can’t scratch | 褚简宁
It is extremely annoying to have an itch you can't scratch somewhere on your back because your hands can't reach it. When I was a young boy growing up in Hong Kong, my paternal grandmother, which means my father's mother, had a wooden stick with one end shaped like a hand which she used to scratch her back. It's called a back scratcher. I haven't seen a back scratcher in many years. But the expression "an itch you can't scratch" also has another meaning. It means a frustrating problem you can't solve or a desire you can't achieve.
US President Donald Trump has an itch he can't scratch. He wants to broker a peace deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the Ukraine war. The expression “broker a deal” means to negotiate or arrange an agreement as a middleman between two sides. But Putin, who ordered the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has shown little interest in reaching a peace deal with Ukraine even though he has said he wants to end the war.
Trump claimed during the presidential campaign that he was friendly with Putin and could end the war in one day if elected. But he now admits Putin is an itch he can't scratch. He told the media he got a lot of bullshit from Putin. It’s not the first time Trump has used a swear word. He used the word “f..k” recently when he criticized Israel and Iran for breaking a ceasefire deal had he arranged.
要是你背部有某处发痒却搔不着（an itch you can't scratch），因为两只手都碰触不到，真是极度恼人啊！当我还是小男孩，在香港长大的时候，我的 paternal grandmother，就是我的祖母，会用一根顶部形状像只小手掌的木棒来搔背，那叫作 back scratcher。我已经许多年没有见过不求人（back scratcher）了。但习语「an itch you can't scratch」还有另一个意思，它是指一个你解决不了，使人心烦懊恼的问题，又或是一个你达成不了的渴望。
美国总统特朗普就有一个「搔不着的痒处」（an itch he can't scratch）。他想做中间人，促成跟俄罗斯总统普京的一个和平协议（broker a peace deal），去结束乌克兰战争。习语「broker a deal」是指去做两边的中间人，居中斡旋、谈判或安排协议。但于2022年下令俄罗斯入侵乌克兰的普京，对于达成与乌克兰的和平协议兴趣不大，虽然他曾说他想结束战争。
特朗普曾在竞选期间声言，他跟普京很友好，要是当选，就可以在一天内结束战争。但他现在承认，普京是那个搔不着的痒处（an itch he can't scratch），是非常棘手的问题。他跟传媒说，普京对他说了许多屁话。这不是第一次特朗普用上粗言秽语了。他最近就用「f..k」一字去批评以色列与伊朗违反他所安排的一个停火协议。
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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻
