醉人奇異的綠
散文家朱自清有一篇〈綠〉的美文:「梅雨潭閃閃的綠色招引着我們;我們開始追捉她那離合的神光了……我的心隨潭水的綠而搖蕩。那醉人的綠呀!彷彿一張極大極大的荷葉鋪着,滿是奇異的綠呀。」
翠綠的碧潭,青葱的草原,綠油油的農田,都展現一片大自然的綠色。英語 green colour 綠色,可以有:grass green, leaf green, sea green, pea green, moss green, bright green, dark green, deep green, peacock green, emerald green, olive green, apple green 等不同色澤。
綠的顏色,出現於蔬果名稱:例如 green bean 四季豆,green onion 嫩洋葱,green pepper 青椒,greengage 青梅等綠色植物(greenery)。Green salad 是蔬菜沙律;greengrocer 是水果商,greengrocer’s 是蔬菜水果店。未成熟的生果,我們用 green 來表達,例如青番茄是 green tomatoes;green in food means young and not ready to eat;所以,不成熟,幼稚和缺乏經驗的人,naïve, inexperienced or very green 我們說 greenhorn 新手,有時也可指容易受騙者和新移民;green paper 綠皮書,則是政府發出的文件,供公眾討論的初步報告。
綠手指
擅長園藝,擁有種植花木蔬菜高超技能,喜歡侍弄花草的人,英語說綠手指:they have a green thumb(American English)或者 they have green fingers(British English)。
綠色和環保的關係最密切,城市周圍的綠化地帶叫 green belt;any political group advocating strong protection of the environment 通稱 green party 綠黨:a party member or supporter of the green party is often called a Green 綠黨成員;綠色革命是 green revolution;加拿大政界增加環保意識的過程,可以說 the greening of Canadian politics。反之,true blue conservative 是忠實的保守黨成員:somebody committed to the politics and policies of the Conservative Party。
二氧化碳是地球變暖、温室效應的元兇。温室:greenhouse is a glass shelter for growing plants;温室效應:greenhouse effect is the trapping of heat and solar radiation in the atmosphere by excess carbon dioxide with the projected long-range effect of warming the earth’s overall climate and the rising sea level by melting the polar ice caps;環保審計:green audit is an official examination of the effect of a company’s business on the environment。
Green with Envy
綠色在西方傳統還有 envy 妒忌的含意,green with envy 妒忌別人所有的東西,或他的成就,appearing jealous or envious;the green-eyed monster 是嫉妒的幽默慣用語:Do you think John’s criticisms of Jack are valid or is it just a case of the green-eyed monster?
假如計劃和行動亮了綠燈,表示有權力做決定的人批准放行:somebody has given something the green light = an approval or permission is given for the project to go ahead。
藍天白雲 鬱鬱不樂
藍天白雲,深藍色的海洋,蔚藍色的天空,都有美麗的聯想。
但是,感到鬱鬱不樂,愁眉苦臉的樣子,也用上 blue,you feel blue or you look blue:You look like you feel blue. What’s wrong?
所以,源於美國南部黑人、節奏感强、緩慢幽怨的布魯斯音樂,通稱 the blues 藍調歌曲:they are originally a form of jazz song, characterized by sad themes, a slow tempo, and strong rhythms, developed by African American musicians in southern United States。
非常突然,出乎意料之外(unexpectedly)可以有幾個不同版本的說法:out of the blue; out of a clear blue sky; to appear or happen out of the blue。
戰爭中誤傷已方的說法 blue on blue 相等於 friendly fire:in a war, an attack in which people are hit by a bomb or weapon that is fired by your own side。
非常稀罕 千載難逢
非常稀罕,千載難逢,我們習慣說 once in a blue moon:very seldom, only on very rare occasions. You get a chance like this only once in a blue moon 像這樣難得的機會,真是千載難逢。
大聲喧嘩,尖聲慘叫 = blue murder;災難性的事情,僅用於 scream bloody murder,彷彿有人被謀殺似的,在大聲驚呼或歇斯底里地尖叫。
至於和藍色扯上關係的詞語,一些有趣的例子:blue Monday 沮喪的周一,因為星期一又要開始工作了;blue ribbon 比賽中的藍綬帶,一等獎,最高榮譽的勳章;blueprint 藍圖,行動計劃;blue chips 盈利、安全、可靠的上市公司;Blue Mountain 藍山咖啡;blue jokes 色情笑話。
本專欄逢周二、五發表