又中又英 | Have its clock cleaned | 褚简宁

　　Many of you will know about the clock tower which is a part of Parliament in London. I saw it numerous times as a reporter in London before the 1997 reunification when I went to Parliament’s press gallery. Most people call the clock tower Big Ben, but the official name since 2012 is the Elizabeth Tower to honour the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign. It was called the Clock Tower before 2012. Big Ben is the nickname of the Great Bell inside the clock tower. Some people still have a small alarm clock to wake them up in the morning.

　　But most people use their smartphone alarm nowadays. It is, of course, not necessary to clean your clock, unlike Big Ben and the clock tower near the Kowloon Star Ferry, which require regular cleaning. The expressions "clean your clock" and "get your clock cleaned" also have a different meaning from cleaning a clock. To clean someone's clock means to hit someone or totally defeat someone in a sporting event. If you had your clock cleaned, it means someone hit you or defeated you in a sporting event.

　　Donald Trump’s Republican Party now controls both houses of the US Congress. But the party fears it may have its clock cleaned by the Democratic Party in the November 3 midterm elections. Polls show the Democrats will likely win control of the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate. The political party that controls Congress usually loses midterm elections. Barack Obama's Democratic Party, which controlled Congress during his first term as president, got its clock cleaned by Republicans in the 2010 midterm elections by losing control of the House. Obama called it a shellacking, which means a complete defeat.

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　　许多人都知道那个包括在伦敦国会范围内的钟楼。九七回归前，我以记者身份去国会记者席时，就见过它无数次。大多数人都叫那钟楼为大笨钟（Big Ben），但它自2012年起，便有了一个官方名称为伊利沙伯塔（Elizabeth Tower），以尊崇伊利沙伯二世在位60周年。钟楼在2012年前则被称为 Clock Tower。Big Ben是钟楼内那个大钟铃的暱称。有些人还是会用一个细小的闹钟去唤醒自己早上起床。

　　但现在大多数人都用智能电话的响闹功能，那当然就没有需要去洗你的钟（clean your clock），不像大笨钟（Big Ben）和九龙天星码头附近的那个钟楼，它们都需要定期清洁。习语"clean your clock"和"get your clock cleaned"除了说清洁时钟以外，也有另外一个意思。To clean someone's clock是指去在比赛中击倒或彻底打败某人。若你 had your clock cleaned，意即某人在赛事中击倒你或打败了你。

　　特朗普的共和党现在掌控美国国会参众两院。但他们害怕会在11月3日的中期选举中被民主党击败（have its clock cleaned）。民调显示，民主党很可能夺回众议院的控制权，也可能同时取下参议院。能掌控国会的政党常常于中期选举中落败。奥巴马所属的民主党，在其第一任总统任期期间掌控了国会，亦在2010年中期选举中失去了两院的掌控权，被共和党人打得落花流水（got its clock cleaned）。奥巴马称之为shellacking，意即被彻底击败。

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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻