当你偷听到老板谈论你是否能升职的时候,如果听到 fat chance 这个词,可千万不要暗自窃喜。
大伙们都知道 fat 的意思是“肥胖的”,“chance”的意思是“机会”。
那 fat chance 是不是指“机会很大”呢?
恰恰相反,fat chance属于反话,是一个习惯用语,是“没戏、不可能、大好机会舞团、希望渺茫”。(1)Fat chance you have of driving from London to Bristol in under an hour.你根本不可能在一个小时内驱车从伦敦到达布里斯托尔。(2)Fat chance he has of winning the title!(3)We will have a fat chance to win the game on Saturday.其实,描述 “机会渺茫” 的词组还有很多,比如啥谚语都能被套进去的小狗狗。这个不要直接翻译成 “狗的机会” ,真正意思是指 “机会渺茫、不太可能发生” 。例句:I probably won't have a dog's chance to change her mind.slim是 “苗条” 的意思,那 slim chance 是指 “机会渺茫” 。例句:I have a slim chance of getting a good grade.具有 “没可能发生,机会渺茫” 等意思,等同于中国的俗语 “男人靠得住,猪就会上树”。例句:I'll have finished it by tomorrow. And pigs might fly!例句:Paul can't drive so he was a fat lot of use when I broke my arm.