前言 (Foreword)
(重发声明，以免说是我抄别人的连载)( Materials in this serial were previous published in the “Collection of Interesting words and phrases” of the Learning Exchange and “Comic Strip English” in the Community Center of the Rainlane BBS /www.rainlane.com。贴者： Yeti** )
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Fell free to add your own. If it is a 贴者, please follow the rule of : “请尊重别人的劳动成果 不管该文来自何处，拜托请注明转贴，注明作者及出处”
(Just like a prescription where the first dose is a step dose, I will post two installments today.)
Day I: ( My own reference Part3-#97) The Swiss Army Knife of...
The other day I read on the newspaper, “the Swiss army knife of….” (I have forgotten “of what” by now.) The meaning, however, is clear. A Swiss army knife is a multi-purpose knife, so “a Swiss army knife of…” means “multiple use, multi-application”, or “something for all occasions.”
I decided to check it out on the Internet, and sure enough, the metaphor is quite common. Here are a few examples:
(The following are found by using www..com with the search phrase "the swiss army knife of". search?q=%22the+swiss+army+knife+of%22&hl=en&lr=&start=0&sa=N)
The 2006 Porsche Cayman S is the Swiss Army Knife of high-performance sports cars.
Elevator Speech is the Swiss Army Knife of Job-Search Tools
The Swiss Army knife of DVD player is the Snazio SZ-1350 Net DVD Cinema HD from Snazzi
SmartDraw: The Swiss Army Knife of Business Diagramming Software.
EuroVan as versatile as a Swiss Army knife:...Volkswagen calls EuroVan the <b>Swiss Army knife of minivans</b>, as it not only provides ample interior room for storage, but also comfort and amenities that make it a true travelling vehicle.
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作者：雨横山2 回复日期：2006-3-29 15:04:25 | |
Oops. Now all of them show up. Would the moderator please delete two of them for me. Thanks.
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#2 Two conflicting cliches:
#2：(my own reference c-10, floor 17) Many years ago, a high school classmate of mine nicknamed "Shakespeare" used to say "Absence makes the heart grow fonder; frequent visits kills love." I have not been able to find the "frequent visits kills love" part. I don’t know if that was a quote or he made it up.
Two contradicting clichés are depicted in the cartoon below: “Absence makes the heart grow fonder”, and “Out of sight, out of mind.”
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作者：雨横山2 回复日期：2006-3-30 05:09:54 | |
#3 The "Dead Cat Bounce " Stock investing has become popular in China, so here are a few terms that may interest you. (Dead Cat Bounce, Bargain Hunters, Bottom Fishing,)
The Dead Cat Bounce
This term only came into the investor’s vocabulary in the mid-1980s. When a stock (or the stock market as a whole) has fallen sharply, it will bounce back for a day or two (or even a week) and then resume its downward fall. The temporary reversal is called a dead cat bounce. The stock is “dead.” The phrase might have come from “When a dead cat is dropped from high enough, it will give a little bounce when hitting the floor.” (Or something like that.)
The dead cat bounce is the result of “bargain hunters” who are going “bottom fishing” (=looking for bargain in the bottom of the market) They think they are buying the stock at bargain basement prices (In the old days, in many department stores in North America, the basement floor is reserved for “bargains.”), but in fact, they are buying the stock on its temporal, and short-lived, rebound.
The phrase has since gone into mainstream English to mean a temporal revival of fortune that is actual a false signal of an actual revival.
In a way, it is similar in meaning to 迥光反照: the one last moment of vigorous but brief revival before the final breathe.
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作者：北陡之光 回复日期：2006-3-30 08:58:31 | |
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作者：不空 回复日期：2006-3-30 10:43:21 | |
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作者：雨横山2 回复日期：2006-3-31 3:42:33 | |
作者：北陡之光 回复日期：2006-3-30 08:58:31
这么少,还没看够没看过瘾就没了...
(More are coming. I am adding only one or two per day. I have over 200 hundred of these, collected over 3 years, at the Rainlane English Corner font>
If you are in a public place, in a party, or in front of a group of people, and someone (hopefully, a friend), comes up to you and whisper “XYZ.” What does he want to tell you?
Well, my friend, your fly is open. (Fly=the zipper in man’s pants.) XYZ=Examine Your Zipper.)
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And now, from the web page: funp/20/fly2.html
Twenty ways to say "Your fly is open."
Dr. Kimble has escaped!
I can see the gun of Navarone.
The cucumber has left the salad.
Your pod bay door is open, Hal.
Your soldier ain’t so unknown now.
Elvis Junior has LEFT the building!
You’ve got Windows in your laptop.
I’m talking about Shaft, can you dig it?
The Buick is not all the way in the garage.
Paging Mr. Johnson... Paging Mr. Johnson...
Sailor Ned’s trying to take a little shore leave.
You’ve got a security breach at Los Pantalones.
Mini Me is making a break for the escape pod.
You’ve got your fly set for "Monica" instead of "Hillary."
Our next guest is someone who needs no introduction...
Quasimodo needs to go back in the tower and tend to his bell.
Ensign Hanes is reporting a hull breach on the lower deck, Sir!
Someone tore down the wall, and your Pink Floyd is hanging out.
You need to bring your tray table to the upright and locked position.
and...
I thought you were crazy; now I see your nuts.
What you just posted it XXX rated! :-)
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作者：雨横山2 回复日期：2006-3-31 7:30:49 | |