第450期：nitpick 鸡蛋里头挑骨头

今天我们来讲一个好玩的词：nitpick，意思是“鸡蛋里头挑骨头”，非常挑剔，没事找事儿，吹毛求疵这种行为。虽然只是一个简单的单词，却是一个非常地道的英语成语。

大概很多人不认识 nit 这个词，nit 就是虱子的卵——the egg or young form of a louse（虱子的英文是louse, 复数是lice）.记住了这个词，就可以马上记住nitpick这个词了。

最爱捉虱子的是猴子吧，nitpick这个词就是从这儿来的。猴子们每天没事儿就聚在一起互相捉虱子，捉的就是nit.

具体什么意思呢？

Collins字典的解释很好：If you refer to someone’s opinion as nitpicking, you disapprove of the fact that it concentrates on small and unimportant details,
especially to try and find fault with something.

完完全全就是中文里的“吹毛求疵”、“鸡蛋里头挑骨头”的意思。有人把“鸡蛋里头挑骨头”简单翻译成pick holes, 或者 find fault，甚至有人直译为 look for a bone in an egg. 这几种译法都不如nitpick精确。

你想想看，你在生活中或工作中有没有碰见这样一类人？他们对什么事都喜欢挑刺儿，你怎么做他们都不满意，总能找出你“不足”的地方。有时候遇到紧急的事，他们不管，仍然只是跟你纠缠不相干的细枝末节。这种人英语就叫 nitpicker.

我公司有个新加坡律师就是这样。经常在大家紧急讨论解决一个十万火急的问题时，他不仅不帮忙，反而纠缠大家的英文中有文法错误或拼写错误，然后来来回回扯来扯去，离题万里，完全不着边际地挑所有人的刺儿。关键是他挑剔的那些事跟大家要解决的问题毫无关系。大家背地里都亲切地称他为 nitpicker.

A nitpicker is a person who finds faults, however small or unimportant, everywhere they look. After seeing a movie, a nitpicker lists every tiny thing he or she didn’t like about it.

Nitpicker是一类人，而且现实中数量很多。这类人是十大difficult people里的一员。怎样handle nitpickers是个难题。下面的策略或许可以参考。

A nitpicker is highly critical and seems obsessed with finding
mistakes. Nothing is good enough. This person also seeks out and works
hard to find every little thing that is wrong with you or what you do.
Nothing will stop them from telling you what is wrong with everything.

How to deal with The Nitpicker:

• Insecurity is often at the root of their criticisms. At times, this
  person is looking for things to criticize externally to distract them
  from the negativity they feel about themselves internally.
• Try to sincerely build them up by pointing out the good you see in them.
• Avoid being defensive. Defensiveness is oddly affirming to the constant critic.
• Challenge them by saying, “I think you make some fair points, but
  I’d also like to know what you see as good and right about this too.”

怎么样？你找到对付你身边的nitpicker的办法了吗？

感谢你的阅读，明天见。