第754期:每个人都有自己不可告人的 pet peeve
我们每个人都有特别讨厌的事或行为,例如佛老特别讨厌人在公共场所大声讲话、讨厌在人行道上被两三个人并排慢悠悠走着的人挡道、讨厌人吃饭时发出很大的声音……
昨天我在Huffpost上看到一篇文章,作者跟我一样,当时我就笑了。
We all have our pet peeves ― like people who talk with their mouths full, line cutters,
interrupters and, of course, slow-walking tourists in New York City who
take up the entire sidewalk and insist on stopping every five steps to
take a photo (No? Just me?).
你难道不反感 line cutters(插队、加塞儿的人)吗?
这种反感就叫 pet peeve,每个人的pet peeve不一样。今天我们就来详细讲讲这个词。
A pet peeve is something one finds annoying, a particular thing that a person finds to be obnoxious.
Pet peeves are those little annoyances that get under our skin and we just can’t ignore, no matter how hard we try.
意思很好懂,pet peeve就是你特别反感,特别讨厌,特别不能忍受的东西、事情或行为。但在别人眼里,那些东西、事情或行为并不一定烦人。
为什么叫 pet peeve呢?
这个词跟宠物没关系,这里的pet不是宠物的意思。
Pet有很多意思,除了宠物,还有“心爱的”和“生气”的意思。例如 pettish 这个词意思就是“易怒的、爱发脾气的”。
Pettish有个近义词 peevish,如果你不认识,读完今天这一期就认识了。Peevish的意思是“易怒的、暴躁的”。
例如英语中有 in a pet的说法,意思是正在生气。
Hush, Mom is in a pet. 嘘,妈正生气呢。
He resigned in a pet. 他一气之下辞职了。(in a pet = in a puff)
知道了 pettish 和 peevish 这两个词都表示“易怒”,就不难理解 pet peeve了。
Pet peeve 也叫做 pet aversion 或 pet hate. 这里的 pet 取的意思是“心爱的”,something you cherish or prefer, 表示的是这个 peeve (annoyance)是你隐秘的心理,是你最不能忍受的事。
例如美剧《老友记》里面就有这样一句:
What’s Monica’s biggest pet peeve? 莫妮卡最受不了什么?
每个人都有自己独特的 pet peeve,这是很隐秘的心理,一般不会跟别人分享或讨论,只是默默地反感着。
再说说佛老自己的 pet peeve吧。
我在公司有一个关于email的 pet peeve —— 特别讨厌别人给我写邮件时,哪怕是很普通的邮件,也抄送我老板。
这种 email 行为特别讨厌,我特别反感 — My biggest email pet peeve is when someone emails you about a trivial thing but copies your boss on the email.
下面列举一些人们普遍的pet peeves:
- When a computer or phone won’t load a page fast enough.
- People who talk loudly on the phone.
- Noisy eaters.
- People who talk while their mouth is full.
- Couples who sit next to each other (instead of across from each other) in a booth.
- When the toilet seat is left up.
- When a light is left on in a room that isn’t being used.
- Slow drivers.
- Rude drivers.
- People who interrupt when you are speaking.
- Getting gum on your shoe.
- Dirty dishes in the sink.
- When you’re talking to someone and they won’t stop staring at their phone screen.
- When someone says “No offense, but…” and proceeds to say something offensive.
- When people sneeze or cough without covering their mouths.
- When you’re in a public bathroom but there is no toilet paper in the stall.
- When someone wakes you up in the middle of the night or ungodly early in the morning and asks, “Oh, did I wake you up?”
- Slow elevators.
每个人的内心都有厌烦的东西,你的 pet peeve有哪些呢?What are your pet peeves?你最讨厌什么呢?What is your biggest pet peeve?
小结今天的内容:
Pet peeves are some small little things that bother you and drive you crazy.
Pet peeve就是让你抓狂的事。