USING IDIOMS 活用成語

(台北時報記者林俐凱譯) ♢ 他本來已經要扣下板機了，幸好他懸崖勒馬， ... 英文練習in the nick of time; just in time The idiom 懸崖勒馬comes ... Home BilingualPages Tue,Jan03,2017page15 USINGIDIOMS 活用成語 Chinesepractice Toreininthehorseatthebrink AcarvinginZushihTempleinNewTaipeiCity’sSanxiaDistrict,takenonDec10. 新北市三峽清水祖師廟內的雕刻，攝於十二月十日。

Photo:PaulCooper,TaipeiTimes照片：台北時報記者古德謙攝 懸崖勒馬 xuan2yai2le4ma3 「懸崖勒馬」這句成語出自一部早期的文獻，即元朝鄭光祖的雜劇《智勇定齊》，原作「臨崖勒馬」。

書中原句為「呀！你如今船到江心補漏遲，抵多少臨崖勒馬纔收騎」，意即船開到江心，才要補漏，就像臨斷崖才知收住韁繩，讓馬停止前進，恐怕已經來不及了。

因此，「懸崖勒馬」後來用以譬喻到了危險的邊緣而能及時醒悟回頭。

在英文中類似的片語是「inthenickoftime」（在緊要關頭）、「justintime」（及時），或是「attheverylastmoment」（在最後一刻）。

此處所用之「nick」一字，可追溯至十六世紀，它指的是木頭上的一個小刻痕或是刻度，用作測度時間，標記事情發生的時刻。

「nick」一字現在已經沒有原來「thecriticalmoment」（關鍵時刻）的意思，其原義只在這個片語中保留下來。

這片語之後又進一步加上修飾語「oftime」，雖然狹義而言它原本單純指的是「在某一確切時刻」，但這個成語現今多用來指最後關頭。

(台北時報記者林俐凱譯) ♦他本來已經要扣下板機了，幸好他懸崖勒馬，沒有鑄下大錯。

(Hewasjustabouttopullthetrigger,butluckilyheldbackrightatthelastmoment,anddidn’tmakeahugeerror.) ♦幸好他們及時懸崖勒馬，停止濫墾濫伐，才沒有毀掉環境。

(Thankheavenstheystoppedthedeforestationrightatthelastmoment,anddidn’truintheenvironment.) 英文練習 inthenickoftime;justintime Theidiom懸崖勒馬comesfromquiteanearlywork,theYuandynastyplayZhiYongDingQibyZhengDehui.Intheplaythereistheline“呀！你如今船到江心補漏遲，抵多少臨崖勒馬纔收騎”,whichmeans,“oh,itisliketakingtheboattothemiddleoftheriver,andonlythenrepairingtheleaks,orracingtotheedgeofthecliffbeforerealizingthatyouneedtopullonthereinsandbringyoursteedtoahalt.Asaresult,theidiom懸崖勒馬isametaphorforarrivingatthebrinkofdangerbeforerealizingtherisk,anddecidingtopullback. TheequivalentEnglishidiomistodosomething“inthenickoftime,”“justintime”or“attheverylastmoment.”Theword“nick,”asusedhere,datesbacktothe1500s,andreferstoasmallcut,ornotch,madeinwood,usuallyasaprecisemarkeroftime,theexactmomentinwhichsomethingistohappen.Themeaningof“nick”as“thecriticalmoment”isnowobsolete,andsurvivesonlyinthisidiom.Theidiomwaslaterfurtherelaboratedwiththequalifier“oftime”and,whereasthestrictsenseofthefirstusagesimplymeant“ataprecisemoment,”theidiomnowmoreusuallyreferstosomethingthathappensatthelastpossiblemoment.(PaulCooper,TaipeiTimes) ♦Ah,you’rehere,andjustinthenickoftime.Breakfastisready. (啊，你來了，到得正是時候。

早餐已經準備好了。

) ♦Thepolicearrivedjustinthenickoftime.Anylater,andshewouldhavebeenagoner. (警察及時趕到。

再晚一步的話，她就沒救了。

) Commentswillbemoderated.Keepcommentsrelevanttothearticle.Remarkscontainingabusiveandobscenelanguage,personalattacksofanykindorpromotionwillberemovedandtheuserbanned.FinaldecisionwillbeatthediscretionoftheTaipeiTimes. MostPopular 1Closureof3Mchipcoolantplantcouldupsetsemiconductorsector:analysts 2Taiwanlaunchesnewpandemicresponsestrategy 3PelositoarriveonSunday,reportssay 4EvergreenaidingChinanavy:report 5Virusisolationcriteriatoberelaxed Youmightalsolike Hotelintroducesediblejosspapercakewithjosssticks清明節焚香空汙有解？「金紙蛋糕」不用燒還附三炷香！ 2022-04-04 OnTombSweepingDay,Taiwaneseusuallyvisittheirancestraltombstoworshipancestorsasatradition.Duetotherecentenvironmentalprotectionpolicytoreducejosssticksandjosspaperburning,ahotelinTainanhascomeupwithsomethingcreative. EvergreenPlazaHotelintroducedthe“josspapercake,”accompaniedbythreejosssticksmadeofchocolate.Originalandingenious,theshockinglyrealisticjosspapercakehasgainedmuchattentionandhasbeensharedbynetizensontheInternet. Theamazingcakecreationimmediatelywentviral.Thehotelbakerfirstusesmangopureeandapricotkernelflourtomakethesponge, PopdivaA-meifinallyreturnstoTaipeiArena流行歌后阿妹華麗回歸台北小巨蛋 2022-04-06 TheQueenofPopisback!TaiwanesepopdivaChangHui-mei,nicknamedA-mei,haslaunchedherASMRWorldConcertTourfromtheTaipeiArena,staging12showsbetweenlastFridayandApril16.“ASMR”istheacronymofautonomoussensorymeridianresponse,apleasanttinglingsensationthatoriginatesfromthescalp. A-meiisfinallytouringatthevenueagainforthefirsttimeinsevenyears,andallticketsweresoldoutinnineminutes.Shehadpreviouslybeenblockedbythevenuesince2015whenfans’jumpingupanddownreportedlytriggeredtremorsintheneighboringareas.Inorderto BritishMuseumfacinglegalactionoverParthenonsculptures3Dscanrefusal帕德嫩神廟雕像禁掃描　大英博物館挨告 2022-04-05 TheBritishMuseumisfacinglegalactionfromoneoftheUK’sleadingheritagepreservationorganizationsoveritsrefusaltoallowthe3DscanningofapieceinitsParthenonsculpturescollection. TheInstituteforDigitalArchaeology(IDA)saiditwouldserveaninjunctionagainstthemuseumimminently,raisingthestakesinthedisputebetweenthetwo. “WewillbefilingacomplaintbytheendoftheweekrequestingthecourttoordertheBritishMuseumtograntourrequest,”RogerMichel,theIDA’sexecutivedirector,toldtheGuardian.“Wewantthemtotreatourapplicationinexactlythesamefashion SPEAKUP!雙語會話 2022-04-06 Let’sstudyEnglishwithnewunitsfrom ‘BilingualTimes’(3/5) 一起看「雙語版」新單元學英文（三）A:WhatarethenewEnglishlearningunits? B:EverySaturdaywillfeaturebasic-tointermediate-leveldailyEnglish,inanewcollaborationbetweentheTaipeiTimesandEnglishOK. A:DoyouthinkIwillbeabletounderstand? B:Ofcourse.It’sperfectforjuniorandseniorhigh-schoolstudents. A:「雙語版」有什麼新單元？ B:他們每週六和《中學英閱誌》合作，推出了初／中級程度的生活英語。

A:我也看得懂嗎？ B:當然啦，它很適合國高中學生。

（TranslatedbyEdwardJones,TaipeiTimes／台北時報張聖恩） AudiorecordingsforSpeakUp!dialogueswillbesuspendeduntilfurthernoticeduetothepandemic. Copyright©1999-2022TheTaipeiTimes.Allrightsreserved.