名人教英文:和脚有关的惯用语
foot解作「脚」,又可解作「呎」(因为古时英国人以脚掌为长度单位)。foot衍生出许多字词及惯用语。例如以前一呎长的菲林有16个画格,刚好构成一秒的片段,于是现在电影片段叫footage。另外,许多惯用语(idioms)都和foot有关。
get off on the wrong foot即一开始便不顺利或出错,意思就如「落笔打三更」。例如:our basketball team got off the wrong foot when they suffered a landslide defeat in the first match of this season.
这个惯用语也比喻一开始的印象或关系不好。例如:mr chan got off on the wrong foot with his client by arriving late.
not put a foot wrong即没有半点差池。如:the presidential candidate did not put a foot wrong despite the tough questions posed by the host during the interview.
catch someone flat-footed解作catch someone uNPRepared or by surprise,中文就是「杀个措手不及」。一些运动的准备姿势是要脚跟离地,脚掌平放(flat-footed)即还没有准备好。例如:kodak was caught flat-footed by the shift (转移) from film cameras to digital cameras.