本期节目的topic:egg somebody on(to do something)
Egg him on是什么意思?
看到“egg him on”,您是不是很迷惑?给他鸡蛋?那是什么意思?事实上,这一短语和朝人身上扔鸡蛋根本不搭边儿。
Egg在英文字典中被解释为:the hard-shelled spheroidal reproductive body produced by females of animals such as birds,reptiles,fish,etc especially that of a domestic hen.即是指鸟类、爬行动物、昆虫等产的卵、蛋;尤指鸡蛋。
别着急,egg还可以做动词用,常见的形式为egg somebody on(to do something),意思是to incite,urge or strongly encourage sb to do sth用中文来说就是怂恿或鼓动某人做某事。
【例句详见】
He wouldn't have thrown that stone if the other boys hadn't egged him on.
要不是那些男孩子怂恿他,他不会仍那块石头。
I didn't want to do it but Tom kept egging me on.
我本不想做那件事,但汤姆一直怂恿我。
这个用法借自古代斯堪的纳维亚语,和现代英语的edge一词同源。从语义的角度来说,两者的联系似乎并不明显。但是在英文中,edge本身也能这么用。“to give an edge to”即为“to encourage”。
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