美国习惯用语 | blow hot and cold 不断改变主意

我老公几星期前突发奇想,说要装修厨房。我材料都看好了,可他又说,也许应该再等等,简直气死我了。我们今天要学的习惯用语,就特别适合形容这种举棋不定的态度:blow hot and cold。

blow是吹的意思,hot是热,cold是冷。blow hot and cold作为习惯用语,是“不断改变主意”,就象我老公。真希望他能赶快做出决定,不要这样摇摆不定。

不过显然,象他这种人并不少见。我们看看下面这个男子是怎么描述他的女朋友的。

  • While a lot of my friends are getting married, I don't know if I will be. You see, one minute my girlfriend talks about wedding plans, then the next she says it's better if we keep dating. The way she blows hot and cold really has me confused.
    尽管很多朋友都结婚了,但我真知道什么时候才会轮到我。我的女友这一分钟和我谈论结婚计划,下一分钟又说还是应该继续交往一段时间。她一会儿一个主意,真让我模不着头脑。

结婚是大事,当然要慎重。这让我想起我妹妹两口子。他们说要养只猫已经好几个月了,但一想到养猫要负的责任,就又缩回去了。They have been blowing hot and cold for months. 这么点小事他们都下不了决心。

blow hot and cold这个习惯用语的出处是一则伊索寓言,讲有个人冬天跟森林之神一起吃饭,先是在手上哈气取暖,后来又吹气让热汤凉下来,森林之神因此跟他断绝了关系,认为他反复无常,一会儿嫌冷一会儿嫌热。下面让我们来关心一下一家公司员工的命运:

  • First, we got an e-mail about possible layoffs in our department. Then came the announcement that the company was doing fine and jobs were safe. Now there's word that the boss is reconsidering letting some of us go. He's blown hot and cold for too long. A final decision has got to be made!
    刚开始的时候,我们收到电子邮件,说我们部门可能会裁员,然后公司又宣布,说公司业绩没有问题,工作能保得住,如今又有传言说,老板可能会让部分员工走人。他这么长时间来一直反复无常,也该做最后决定了。

一点儿没错。谁愿意在工作不稳定的环境下安心上班呢?我原来打网球,老是输,教练一会儿说我练得不够,一会儿又说我训练过度。真的可以说是,he blew hot and cold until I finally had enough and left the team,我只好退出网球队。

嗨,我刚收到老公的短信,让我下班跟他一起去买厨房的地板。你们说:

  • Does it mean he's no longer blowing hot and cold?
    是不是说他已经拿定主意了呢?