台灣俗語的智慧(16)

台灣俗語的智慧(16)

1)    舉杉壓竹 (Pronounced as: giah sam art dieh) (拿木頭來鎮壓竹子)

To fight against one’s enemy, one appeals to a stronger party. 『比喻借用或訴求較强勢力來克服頹勢或戰勝比自己優越的對手』-嘲笑他人之用詞，有「不得逞」，或負面之意。

2) 穿同領褲 (Pronounced as: ching tang nian koh) (利害或禍福與共，彷彿穿同一件褲子) -sharing risk and profit with each other. 註: 「同」應讀與『銅』同音。

3) 王莾篡漢(Pronounced as:wong bon chuan han) 非主權者篡奪或霸佔有主權者之權利-usurping someone else’s property or belongings

4) 一暝全頭路，天光無半步 (Pronounced as:jit mehn chuan tao loh, t’ng g’ng boh buan boh)- 「路」與「步」押韻
整個晚上，腦海中有很多的計劃，可是天亮以後，什麼也做不出來。-嘲笑他人只能紙上談兵，無法具體實現計劃

【註】：一暝(jit mehn)= 整晚上；天光=天亮。

Though many schemes are planned at previous night, nothing makes out at dawn.

5) 臭脚尻，驚人掩 (Pronounced as:tsao kah tseng giahn ran ern)

fearing that one’s misconduct or dishonor should be found out

【註】：脚尻= 屁股，ass hole，hips, or thighs，臭腳尻= stink ass holes，掩= 掩蓋= cover up- 「尻」與「掩」押韻

6) 進無步，退無路(Pronounced as:jin boh poh, twi boh loh)- in a desperate situation. One can neither advance nor retreat. 比較：伸手無路 (Pronounced as:chun chiu boh loh)伸手遇到壁-chun chiu tut dio piah) -財政困難，擬伸手借貸時遭拒(訴苦的話)，meeting refusal or denial , becoming helpless. 「步」與「路」押韻

7) 財子壽，難得求(Pronounced as:zhai zhu shu, ran dit kiu) It is hardly achievable for one to be wealthy, to have sons, and to have a long life span. (壽與求押韻) 。財=財富，子=子孫旺，壽=長壽

意謂：人難能樣樣如意：People can hardly be satisfied with everything lin life.

8) 掩人的喙袜密 (Pronounced as:omb ran eeh tsui buei baht)
乃指無法遮掩別人的嘴巴，也就是容易洩露祕密的意思。喙=嘴

直譯: It is hard to cover up people’s mouths.

意譯：People will talk.『人言可畏』。

9) 用指頭仔作門栓 (Pronounced as:yung zheeng tao ah tso m’ng s’ng) 用自己手指頭當作門閂來鎖門(比喻犧牲自己，為別人承受困苦與折磨)

直譯：People use fingers as door latches to close the door..

意譯：sacrificing oneself to prevent hardships and torture from inflicting on others (a metaphor 一種暗喻，表示抱怨)

10) 有則還，無則延 (按)  (Pronounced as:ooh zhieh han, boh zhieh ahn) 欠人財物時，有就立即還，沒有時要答應償還時間日期，不可無故拖延。If you are able to pay off a debt, do it now. If you are unable, set a date to repay. Do not procrastinate without setting a date.  「還」與「(延)按』押韻

11) 賊無情、婊無義  (Pronounced as:zhat boh ching, biao boh geeh)

此句等於『戲子無情』，限於演戲女子。台灣人把『盜賊』與『婊子』同列為無情無義的人。Both thieves and prostitutes are ungrateful, doing nothing in return. -

另外有『婊子喙胡累累』 (Pronounced as:biao zhu tsui hoh rui rui)- 指婊子滿口胡言

12) 人若衰，種匏仔生菜瓜  (Pronounced as:ran nah shui, jing puah s’eng tsai gui)- 「衰」與「瓜」押韻
種匏仔(bottle gourd)是不可能生出菜(絲)瓜(long crooked squash)來的，乃比喻人的運氣不佳，意思是明明看準了，做下去還是未能如願！ When one is down in luck, what he produces will be less productive than he expects.

比較：英語格言：As men sow, so shall they reap. (種瓜得瓜)

Justin Lai 編譯

06/26/2015