讓貓兒教你英文成語 Cat Talk (學人精、啞巴與迷途少女的英文都跟喵星人有關哪！)

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u Cat

貓也可稱之為feline，通常cat指的是家裡面養的貓咪，比較小隻的那種。不過大家知道嗎？如果用貓來形容女人，是帶有貶意的。Cat在英文有妓女之意。以前早期的妓院，英文都叫做cat house。

This word for any feline or, specifically, the small domesticated species became a term of contempt for a woman and slang for a prostitute (brothels have been called cat houses)

跟貓有關的英文，似乎都沒有甚麼好下場。Catcalls指的是在觀看比賽時，觀眾叫囂抗議的聲音。這個字可能源自於貓咪在求愛時發出的怪叫聲。

Similarly, noisy protests from spectators at a performance or competition are referred to as catcalls, presumably from the unpleasant sound of cats howling out during fighting or courtship.

另外，在黑人英語中，cat這個字跟fellow或是guy(傢伙)是同義字。後來只要是對爵士樂有狂熱的人a jazz aficionado，也稱之為cat.

Cat also came, first in Black English and then in more widespread usage, to be synonymous with fellow or guy and became a label for a jazz aficionado.

大家熟悉的肥貓fat cat，用來描述人，不禁讓人聯想起一個肚子渾圓，模樣福泰的中年大叔。肥貓通常指那些有錢且過得快意舒服的人。

A fat cat is, by analogy with the physical aspect of an obese feline, a wealthy, self-satisfied person.

u Cougar

cougar是個蠻新的字，原來的意思是充滿攻擊性的母貓，經常被影射為年長且有事業成就的女人，旁邊帶隻小狼狗。這就是典型的cougar woman.

This relatively recent slang term, from an analogy with feline predation, refers to older women who seek younger males as sex partners.

u Kitten

小貓這個字帶有一種性的誘惑力。A sex kitten就是一個性感女人的意思。中文的「性感小貓」我覺得就是從英文直接翻譯來的。

The word for a young cat applies to a seductive or alluring woman; it’s sometimes expanded to “sex kitten.”

u Lion

同屬貓科動物的獅子，被稱之為萬獸之王不是被喊假的。通常跟lion有關的字都比較正面，且令人聯想到威儀。不過這個字也有獨裁或是貪婪的意思。英文的to lionize就是指奉承某人，狗腿一個人、盡往對方臉上貼金的意思。

Because of this animal’s regal nature, its name is used to celebrate noble bearing; the word also alludes to bravery (as in the epithet Lionhearted) but also to greed or tyranny. The verb lionize refers to adulation.

u Tiger

老虎tiger，有著兇猛的天性，通常這個字也比較正面。通常描述一個人有著不屈不撓的毅力或是競爭的企圖心。不過大家都熟知的紙老虎，paper tiger確實是英文翻譯過來的詞彙。

The ferocious nature of the tiger has inspired the use of its name to express admiration for a person’s tenacity or competitive spirit. By contrast, a paper tiger is just what the idiom suggests: an apparently powerful entity that is not a force or a threat.

跟貓咪有關的英文成語

1.     形容一個人(尤其是女人)脾氣壞

A bag of cats - A bad-tempered person, especially a woman.

例句： "She's a real bag of cats this afternoon!"

2.     為達目的有時得不擇手段

A cat in gloves catches no mice - Sometimes you can't accomplish a goal by being careful and polite.

An idiom attributed to Ben Franklin in Poor Richard's Almanac

3. 成名前大家都差不多(都是無名小卒)

All cats are gray in the dark - All persons are undistinguished until they have made a name.

English proverb

4. 迷路的貓(有時也指迷途少女)

Alley cat - A stray or homeless cat.

The "alley" portion probably refers to prostitutes, who at one point literally carried a mattress around with them.  The "cat" probably alludes to the mating habits of female cats.

5.  完全不是同一掛的

Another breed of cat - something different from anything else

6.  毫無希望或是機會

As much chance as a wax cat in hell - There is no chance at all.

7.  忙到幾乎要瘋掉

Busier than a one-eyed cat watching two mouse holes - Very busy, almost to the point of being frantic

Busier than a three legged cat in a dry sand box - Very busy, almost to the point of being frantic

8. 動作非常靈巧熟練且安安靜靜的竊賊

Cat burglar - A nimble, silent, sneaky thief

Refers to the way cats are able to sneak up and steal their prey

9.  觀眾在觀賽場邊的噓聲與叫囂聲

Catcalls - Booing bad acting

The expression goes back to the theater of Shakespear's time, when men criticized the acting by making noises that sounded like a fence full of cats.

10. 怎麼啦？變啞巴啦？

Cat got your tongue?- Why aren't you talking?

The phrase probably comes from a custom in the Mideast hundreds of years ago, when it was common to punish a thief by cutting off their right hand, and a liar by ripping out their tongue.  These severed body parts were given to the king's pet cats as their daily food.

11. 如履薄冰

Cat ice - Thin, dangerous ice

Ice that would not support a cat, similar to the phrase "skating on thin ice."

12. 完全沒指望

Cat-in-hell chance - No likelihood of success

It originally referred to the hopelessness of fighting with inadequate weapons.  (The complete phrase is: "No more chance than a cat in hell without claws.")

13. 小睡一下/瞇一下(打個盹兒)

Catnap - Sleeping for a short period of time

Reference to the ability of a cat to sleep frequently and lightly

14. 貓眼石(一種珍貴的半寶石)

Cat's eye - Precious or semi-precious gems that have a changing luster; also road markers which reflect car lights (invented by Englishman Percy Shaw)

Refers to the coloring similar to a cat's and to the reflecting of light in a cat's eyes

15. 吵鬧喧嘩聲

Cat's concert / cats in chorus / cat's melody - Making harsh noises or cries

Probably came from Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night: “What a caterwauling do you keep here!”

16. 傑出的/亮眼的/啵棒的

Cat's meow - Something considered to be outstanding

Coined by American cartoonist Thomas a. Dorgan (1877-1929) whose work appears in many American newspapers.

Cat's whiskers - Something considered to be outstanding

Coined by American cartoonist Thomas a. Dorgan (1877-1929) whose work appears in many American newspapers. (see also Cat's meow)

17. 女人的八卦陣(一群女人聚起來說別的女人的壞話)

Catty remarks - Comments made by a woman, usually about another woman

The phrase came about when a man named Heywood, in the middle 1500's wrote "A woman hath nine lives like a cat."  Soon, a woman who gossiped about other women was said to be making "catty" remarks about them.

18. 走台步(如模特兒一般搖搖擺擺地行走)

Catwalk - A narrow walkway

Termed as such because of a cat's ability to balance in very narrow places

19. 學人精(抄襲他人的人)

Copycat - A person who copies others

Probably a reference to the way kittens learn by copying their mother's actions.

20. 當心好奇心會害死你

Curiosity killed the cat - Be cautious when investigating situations.

The saying originally was "care kills a cat," and began in the 16th century.  "Care" was a warning that worry is bad for your health and can lead to an early grave; the phrase was a recognition that cats seem to be very cautious and careful. Over time, the word "care" evolved into "curiosity."

21. 瞎到連貓都會笑(貓是不會笑的，所以影射為超瞎的事情)

Enough to make a cat laugh - Something that is ridiculously silly.

Cats don't laugh.

22. 肥貓

Fat cat - A wealthy and privileged person

Cats that are well-fed and cared for are seldom skinny; hence, a person living the good life is a fat cat.

23. 激烈的爭辯(請想像一下貓狗大戰的情境)

Fight like cats and dogs - To quarrel viciously.

24. 脾氣壞且得理不饒人的女人

Hellcat - A bad-tempered woman

Refers to the hissing and spitting of an angry feline

25. 真相大白(秘密已經守不住了)

The cat's out of the bag - To pass along a secret.

In medieval England, piglets were sold in the open marketplace.  The seller usually kept the pig in a bag, so it would be easier for the buyer to take it home. But shady sellers often tried to trick their buyers by putting a large cat in the bag. If a shrewd shopper looked in the bag - then the cat was literally out of the bag. (By the way, the bag was called a "poke," which is likely where the phrase "a pig in a poke," which nowadays means buying an unknown, came from.)

26. 小心翼翼地走

Walk like a cat on eggs - Tread very lightly

27. 虛弱不堪

Weak as a kitten - Very weak, ineffective, fragile.

In the early 1800s the expression was weak as a cat

28. 貓大爺不在，老鼠樂翻天(一不被盯就胡搞瞎搞)

When the cat's away, the mice will play - Without supervision, people misbehave