又中又英 | Throws people under the bus | 褚简宁

　　It is very upsetting to see a traffic accident victim pinned down under a bus. I covered serious traffic accidents during my younger days as a frontline reporter. One accident I covered many years ago as a TV reporter was so tragic that it still haunts my memory sometimes. An entire family was killed in a car accident on the first day of Chinese New Year. I am much older now and don’t have the stomach to cover such things anymore. The expression “pinned down” used this way means being trapped and unable to move.

　　If something haunts your memory, it means you keep on remembering an unpleasant memory. If you don’t have the stomach for something, it means you don’t have the courage or desire to do something unpleasant. Being thrown under the bus can also haunt someone’s memory. The expression “thrown under the bus” has nothing to do with traffic accidents. To throw someone under the bus means to betray, blame, or abandon a friend, colleague, or ally for personal gain, revenge, or to protect yourself.

　　America’s left leaning media and YouTubers often use the expression when they discuss US President Donald Trump. They say he often throws people under the bus when they disagree with him or when they are no longer useful to him. They point to Venezuela’s opposition leader Maria Corina Machado as the latest example. She had hoped Trump would make her Venezuela’s new leader after the US captured Nicolás Maduro. She even gave Trump her Nobel Peace Prize. But Trump threw her under the bus by making Maduro’s vice president Delcy Rodríguez the new leader.

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　　目睹交通意外伤者给压在（pinned down）巴士底下，令人非常难过。我年轻的时候做前线新闻记者，会报道严重的交通意外。许多年前我做电视记者的时候，曾报道过一宗意外，悲惨得它缠绕在我记忆之中，偶尔仍会想起（haunts my memory）。那是农历大年初一， 一整个家庭在一场车祸中丧生。我现在年纪大了许多，已不再有胆量（don’t have the stomach）去报道这样的事情。习语“pinned down”在这里是指被困其中而动弹不得。

　　若某事haunts your memory，意即你总会记起一段不快的往事。若你don’t have the stomach for something，意即你没有勇气或渴望去做某样不愉快的事。Being thrown under the bus也可以长留某人记忆中而挥之不去（haunt someone’s memory）。习语thrown under the bus却跟交通意外毫不相关。To throw someone under the bus是指为了个人利益、报复又或保护自己，而出卖、嫁祸或背弃一个朋友、同事或盟友。

　　当美国的左倾媒体和YouTubers谈论到特朗普的时候，就不时用上这个习语。他们说，当某些人不认同他，或他们对他来说再无用处时，他便时时牺牲他们（throws people under the bus）。他们点名委内瑞拉反对派领袖玛丽亚．科丽娜．马查多为最新例子。美国抓捕了尼古拉斯．马杜罗之后，她曾希望特朗普会使她成为委内瑞拉新任领袖。她甚至将自己的诺贝尔和平奖赠送给他。然而，特朗普却让马杜罗的副总统德尔西．罗德里格斯当上新领导，完全抛弃了马查多（threw her under the bus）。

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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻