英语俚语天天说 第47期:只涉小钱的,微不足道的 Nickel-and-dime
时间：2019-01-17 作者：英语课 分类：英语俚语天天说
英语课
介绍: NICKLE N I C K LE 镍 是美元中五分钱的硬币
Dime 1 D I M E是美元中十分钱的铸币
dime是值十美分的硬币。 dime的价值虽然是nickel的两倍， 但是dime也只是一枚很小的硬币，而且dime跟 nickel相比是既小又薄，原因是过去曾经用比镍贵重得多的银子来铸造dime。
Nickle-and-dime can be used as a verb 2, and it can also be used as an adjective 3. Let’s see what does it mean by knowing some examples. Suppose a dad is complaining about his kids that they often ask him for money.
Nickel-and-dime既可以被当作一个动词来用，也可以作为一个形容词。我们还是通过例句来领会它的意思吧。先看一位爸爸在抱怨自己两个十多岁的子女老向父母要零花钱，数目虽然不大， 但是长年累月、积少成多，也成为负担了。请注意他话里的习惯用语nickel-and-dime是个复合动词：
例句1：Our kids Bill and Susie nickel-and-dime my wife and me to death. It's just a few dollars every time, but it never stops and after a while it adds up to so much money it makes quite a hole in our pockets.
他说：他们的孩子Bill和Susie老问他和太太来要零花钱，烦得要命。虽然每回只是几美元，但是没完没了，长此以往， 就成了一大笔钱，好象他们口袋里有个窟窿似的。
这段话里的复合动词nickel-and-dime意思显然是零打碎敲地长期消耗，而花费了大笔钱财。刚才说过习惯用语nickel-and-dime也可以当形容词用。比方说，在这句话里：
例句2：He has a little nickle-and-dime business that makes just enough money to put food on the table and pay the rent.
这句话是说一个人有个小本经营的小买卖，挣来的钱刚够饭钱和房租。
这里的nickle-and-dime描绘business，是形容词，意思就是“小本经营的”，或者“微不足道的”
n.（指美国、加拿大的钱币）一角
- A dime is a tenth of a dollar.一角银币是十分之一美元。
- The liberty torch is on the back of the dime.自由火炬在一角硬币的反面。
n.[语]动词
- The sentence is formed from a verb and two nouns.这句子由一个动词和两个名词构成。
- These are the finite forms of a verb.这些是一个动词的限定形式。
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