Meal and Meat

有人擇善固執，堅持正宗烹調，擁戴純正口味，所謂 authentic flavour；有人愛嘗試中西合璧的 fusion cuisine；有人具冒險精神，探幽覽勝，追求新鮮口味，to relish an adventurous palate of new flavour。中國菜、法國菜混然天成，可以說是世界飲食文化雙絕。英國人以家中三餐為樂，所謂 the three meals of the day。

 

A meal is an occasion when you eat, such as breakfast, lunch, or dinner. 這一日三餐，是早餐、午餐、晚餐。英語中，每一餐都有獨立的特別名詞。

 

 

早餐在英文中是 breakfast，這是一個由兩個名詞 break「破」和 fast「齋」組合而成的複詞，而且帶有宗教意味：日落之後就不進食的「守夜齋」這個西洋宗教習慣，一定要等到天曙黎明之後才再吃東西，break the fast。

 

午餐的叫法則有幾個：英國人稱午餐為 luncheon，縮短稱 lunch，也有人稱 tiffin，表示 a small meal，而稱晚餐為 dinner，兩頓餐有輕有重，午餐吃得少 lighter 而晚餐吃得多 heavier。美國人在較早一點的時代，也慣稱份量重的午餐為 dinner，而進食份量較少的一頓晚餐，則改稱為 supper。總的來說，份量最重的一餐用 dinner，the main meal of the day，一天的主餐。The whole family meets at meals 全家在進餐時聚在一起。

 

Brunch 是英文 breakfast 早餐與 lunch 午餐兩個名詞揉成的綜合體 portmanteau word。

 

Meal time is the occasion or time of eating a meal 進餐時間／吃飯時間。Out to meal 是出外用膳：He’s out to lunch with a client. A meal outside 指户外進行的 picnic or barbecue。Make a meal of something 是小題大做，或者做事過於認真，to spend too much time or effort doing something。Mealy-mouthed 指說話拐彎抹⻆，言不由衷，not willing or honest to speak in a direct and open way。

 

 

Meat 是來自獸類或禽鳥可供食用的肉類，常見的有：beef, veal, mutton, lamb, pork, chicken, poultry, venison。

 

某些動物的肉與動物本身名字不同。The meat from a cow is called beef. 母牛、奶牛 cow、公牛 ox, bull 的肉稱做 beef，小牛 calf 的肉稱 veal；豬 pig 的肉稱 pork 或 ham。供人作食用的牛，通常不稱 ox，亦不稱 bull 的，統稱為 cattle 食用牛。Cattle 這個字不分性別，母牛和公牛兩者通用。但在一般情況下，食用牛還是以雄性的佔大多數，因為雌性的牛，大半留作 milking 搾乳或 breeding 配種的居多，絕少食用。

 

羔羊、小羊 lamb 的肉稱 lamb，綿羊 sheep 的肉稱 mutton。有以下的習用語：Mutton dressed as lamb = an old woman who dresses to make herself appear younger than she evidently is.

 

鹿 deer 的肉稱 venison。鳥 birds 和魚 fish 本身及肉均用同一個詞：We have chicken and duck for dinner. Chicken a la king = diced chicken in a cream sauce with mushroom and peppers.

 

The meat is the important or interesting part of something. 有價值的事物、主意等，內容，實質，要點 valuable matter, ideas, etc. It was an interesting speech, but there was no real meat in it 這演說很有趣，可是沒有什麼真正的內容。

 

Meaty 有多個標準和口語化的不同用法和解釋：

 

contain a lot of meat，例如：a delicious meaty gravy 含多肉的汁；

a meaty taste 肉香的口味；a meaty soup 有很多肉的湯；

big and fat 肥碩的，例如：手臂 meaty forearms, with a lot of flesh；

meaty lecture, meaty article 是內容充實的演講、文章；containing a lot of interesting ideas or information；a meaty story 內容充實的故事；

meaty role 是吃重或容易討好觀眾的角色，an interesting or important character that an actor is playing in a play or film. Her first meaty role as an actress.

 

至於用上 meat 字的成語，比較有趣的：

 

1. dead meat 倒霉；

2. the meat and potatoes 最基本、最必要的部分，dealing with or interested in the basic matter of something; a meat-and-potatoes argument。例句：1. My father always was a meat-and-potatoes man (= a person who likes simple things). 2. Let’s get down to the meat and potatoes. How much are you going to pay me for this?

3. meat and drink 讓人非常開心的事；meat and drink to somebody = something that a person enjoys very much, or finds very easy to do because they have done it many times before。例句：1. Stories about the royal family are meat and drink to British journalists. 2. The first five questions in the quiz were about football, which was meat and drink to Brian.

4. The book is as full of errors as an egg is of meat 是那本書錯字連篇。

5. the real meat of the debate = the main and interesting part of it 辯論中的精彩部分。

 

內涵何在？這句 catchphrase 流行說法源自美國總統選舉一位侯選人之口，他質疑對手提出的競選口號和承諾，內容空洞，實質的東西欠奉。This is a watchword coined in the 1984 US presidential election campaign: Walter Mondale of the Democratic Party used “Where’s the beef?” to great effect in pointing out the inadequacies of his rivals’ arguments and promises. This phrase questions the substance of a statement or promise made by someone else.

 

牛肉是高級西餐館桌上無處不在（ubiquitous）的佳餚，喜歡野味 game 的朋友，不妨試試別具風味的 bison 野水牛。北美野牛 American buffalo，歐洲野牛 European wild ox，同樣滋味，前者比一般牛肉少脂肪，多蛋白質，味道更濃更勁，more robust flavour, leaner, sweeter and healthier，既健康，又好吃，值得向大家推薦。

 

Beef about 大發牢騷，經常抱怨 complain，例如：He is always beefing about the amount of work he has to do. What is his latest beef? 他最近在抱怨什麽？

 

Beef up 增强、擴大、加料，increase in size or amount or in strength; spend more money on something: That sales manager told his salesman to beef up their sales.

 

Slew in your own juice = suffer the consequences of your actions for a considerable length of time; slewing involves a slow, simmering process in cooking to produce a succulent and tasty meal.

 

本專欄逢周二、五發表