美国习惯用语 | foul-play

昨天去我姐姐家,看到我的小侄女噘着嘴不高兴。一问才知道她得重新考期中考。为什么呢?原来,他们班好多人在最近的考试中都得了好成绩,老师怀疑有人漏题,所以全部人都要重考。这让我想到一个习惯用语。那就是:foul-play。

foul play这个短语的意思是“不正当的行为,严重犯规”。就像上面提到的情况,老师认为不可能所有人成绩都这么好,所以怀疑有人舞弊。在下面的例子里,一名公司主管谈到他看到办公室一团混乱之后的反应:

  • When I got back to my office, my papers were scattered. I found my file cabinet had been opened and my computer turned off. My first thought was that it was a case of foul-play. But, it turned out to be rather innocent; just my colleague's kids playing around without any supervision.
    当我回到办公室的时候,桌上的纸撒了一地。我发现我的档案柜被打开,电脑也被关了。我第一反应是有人闯进了办公室。但后来我发现这只是虚惊一场,是我同事的孩子在没有大人看管的情况下,在我办公室里玩着。

大家可能已经注意到了,foul play也经常被用在犯罪行为上,意思就是非法的暴力行径。我的一个朋友就跟我讲过,去年圣诞节他们整个社区都遭到了一场洗劫:

  • She discovered that thieves had broken in, and other neighbors had reported similar incidences of foul-play.
    她发现小偷破门而入,其他邻居也有类似遭遇。

所以说,居住的社区真的很重要呢!

上面提到,foul play经常被用在犯罪行为上。下面的例子就提到了这样一起犯罪:

  • Police discovered the woman's body in the river. Her husband claimed she had accidentally fallen out of a canoe. Soon enough, it was determined that foul-play was involved. She had been struck on the head with a rock and left to die. The husband murdered her and intended to collect an expensive insurance policy!
    警方在河里发现一具女尸。死者丈夫说,她是不小心从独木舟掉到河里去的。但是不久后,警方发现这其中其实参杂了非法行为。死者的头部是被石块击中,然后流血而死。她的丈夫谋杀了她,是为了一大笔保险费!

太可怕了!不过到最后,这个丈夫肯定也被绳之以法了。这就像英语里一句俗语说的:

  • Crime doesn't pay.
    犯罪得不偿失。