时间:2019-02-09 作者:英语课 分类:美国俚语


英语课

   今天要学的习惯用语是: keep one's powder dry。在keep one's powder dry这个习惯用语里,powder指枪炮用的火药。以前步兵和水兵把火药装在火药桶里保持干燥,随时取用。要是哪个粗心大意的士兵忘了把火药桶盖子盖上,火药就可能受潮,装上这样的火药枪炮就开不了火了。于是军官时常会教训士兵:keep your powder dry,也就是要他们谨防火药受潮,随时备战。


  这就是keep your powder dry这个习惯用语的出典,但是如今这个习惯用语已经跟火药不相干了,而且不仅在军内还在民间流通。我们先来听以为军官在将军视察营房之后,正对不下讲话:
  例句1:Okay, men, the General liked what he saw. But we still may get a surprise inspection 1 any time! So keep your quarters clean and neat at all times. Remember the old rule, keep your powder dry.
  他说:好吧,各位,将军对看到的情况很满意。但是仍然可能随时对我们进行突击视察,所以大家得始终保持营房整洁。记住这条老规矩:有备无患。
  显然这里的习惯用语keep your powder dry是保持营房整洁,随时迎接视察。换句话说就是:有备无患。
  再看个例子,是有关邻里纠纷的。一场暴风雨吹倒Brown先生家的一棵大树。这棵树却把紧邻隔壁Green先生家的房子压坏了。这引起了两家的争执。后来请了几个房屋修理工来作房屋修复费用的估价。Brown最后终于同意偿付这笔修理费。这是Green先生在私下跟太太议论:他还是觉得放心不下。
  例句2:Honey, let's keep all our damages estimates handy. I don't trust Brown - he may find some excuse not to pay. Then we'll have to sue him in court so let's keep our powder dry.
  他说:亲爱的,我们要把所有的修理估价单据都保存在可随时取得的地方。我可不信任Brown那家伙,他会找个借口赖帐的。那时候我们就得上法庭告他了,所以我们得做好一切准备。
  显然这段话里的习惯用语let's keep our powder dry,意思是我们要把必要的证据保存在随手可得的地方,随时为索赔诉讼作准备。这里的习惯用语keep our powder dry还是有备无患的意思。

n.检查,审查,检阅
  • On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查,发现肉变质了。
  • The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。
标签: 俚语
学英语单词
2'-phosphodiesterase
a cutie pie
abnormal focal length
aggregation of individual preferences
air inlet valve of dredger's deliving pipeline
air-guns
alcala de la selva
archeri
Ariquemes
assinie
Auberger blood group system
Banbayan Pt.
bar rack
be food for worms
between-class correlation
Brachypodium sylvaticum
calex
capon test
carbon steel
catch copy
Central I.
chantha
chromophobic
couchful
day disk
deformational stress
detonation point
deutscheland
drive out of
duramatral
echymose
Elephanta Island
expected yield
fadged
fermentation inhibitor
floating point unit
folded and grooved seam
go hard or go home
half titles
harker lines
hideosities
Higher bid
imperialls
insinuate
iris detachment
Jeans viscosity equation
lactocidin
lbgs
lead metasilicate
left atrium failure
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
lock cylinder
loi-cadre
M.H.R.
macromitrium ferriei
marie dolores eliza rosanna gilberts
membranogenesis
mesh side cutter
Minskian
nodes
nonitemized
normal congruence
observantially
order parameter
pachometers
papular pruritic gloves and socks syndrome
paroxysmal coliky pain
patent licence-agreement
Phulsāri
pioneering work
plain ashlar
plant ledger card
pork fillet
preconising
PSD (power spectral density)
ragtop
relish
residual valency
Santa Maria, I.
satish
scientific data processing
search and seizure
Seawater Quality Standards
sharpness of focusing
side-by-side
Simonart band
Sleepwell
smazes
spherochromatism
starch slurry
stop-and-direction-indicator-lamps
storage cathode ray tube
sweetkin
tabby-cats
teamkillers
tetracontagons
tip clearance area
Tossåsen
uppermost part
us sea
water ejection tube
you're a star