又中又英 | Unsightly smudge | 褚简宁

　　Have you ever tried throwing spaghetti at your wall to see if it sticks? I never have and never will. The spaghetti may or may not stick but some sauce will for sure. It doesn't matter if it's Bolognese, a red sauce, or Alfredo, a white sauce. The sauce will leave an unsightly smudge on your wall that could be difficult or impossible to clean. A smudge is a large or small dirty mark on a surface, such as a wall. The word "unsightly" means ugly or unattractive to look at.

　　I have never heard of anyone throwing spaghetti at a wall but have read about US President Donald Trump throwing his lunch at the wall of his White House dining room in a fit of rage. To be in a fit of rage means to be suddenly very angry. Trump's lunch left an unsightly smudge on the wall. Cassidy Hutchinson, a White House aide at the time, told a Congressional hearing into the January 2021 storming of Congress by Trump supporters that Trump threw his lunch at the wall after his Attorney General told him there was no voter fraud in the 2020 election when Joe Biden defeated him. Cassidy said she helped clean up ketchup on the wall.

　　The idiom “throw spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks” means to try many ideas or strategies at the same time to see which one works. Some political commentators have used the idiom to describe Trump and his Republican Party trying different ideas to see which one will win back voters now that polls show Democrats will likely win the November 3 Congressional elections because of Trump’s unpopular policies.

＊＊＊＊＊＊

　　你可有试过将意粉抛掷上墙，看看它可会贴在墙上？我不曾试过，也不会尝试。意粉或许会或不会贴在墙上，但或多或少一定会有些酱汁黏着，不论那是红酱的肉酱意粉（Bolognese），还是白酱的芝士白汁意粉（Alfredo）。酱汁会在墙上留下一个unsightly smudge，很难清洁甚或无法清除。A smudge 是在某一表面，例如墙壁上的一块大或小的污渍。Unsightly则指有碍观瞻、难看的。

　　我就从未听说过有人把意粉抛掷上墙，但就读到美国总统特朗普在其白宫的饭厅内，大发雷霆（fit of rage）将他的午餐砸上墙。To be in a fit of rage 是指突然暴怒。特朗普的午餐在墙上留下了一抹很难看的污渍（unsightly smudge）。在有关2021年1月特朗普支持者闯入国会大楼的国会听证会上，时任白宫助理卡西迪•哈钦森诉说，当司法部长跟特朗普说2020年祖•拜登击败他的选举中并无舞弊后，他就将午餐砸上墙。哈钦森说她得帮忙清除墙上的茄汁。

　　成语“throw spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks”是指同一时间试试各种不同的想法或策略，看看哪一个成功。一些政治评论员也用这个成语，去形容特朗普和他的共和党，正在尝试各种方法去赢回选民的欢心，因为现在的民调显示，因着特朗普诸多不受欢迎的政策，民主党极有可能在11月3日的国会选举中获胜。

[email protected]
Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻