请讲普通话第一季

做听写时发现一个熟悉的用法

My feet are killing me.

之前见过的类似表达是：My dogs are killing me.

▲成寒《躺着学英语2》

文中提示，dogs即是“脚”的俚语。

但是，dogs和feet究竟有什么关系，它怎么就成了“脚”的俚语了？

▍首先查询俚语词典Urban Dictionary，可以找到这个条目：

▲Urban Dictionary

dogs可以指“a person's feet”，可还是没有说明缘由。

▍接着查询词源网站Online Etymology Dictionary：

▲Online Etymology Dictionary

此时终于有了一点头绪，“feet”，from rhyming slang dog's meat.

▍什么是rhyming slang呢？来看维基百科的解释：

Rhyming slang is a form of slang word construction in the English language that uses rhyme. It is especially prevalent in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. It started in the early 19th century in the East End of London; hence its alternative name, Cockney rhyming slang. In America, it is used in the underworld, where it is known as Australian slang. The construction of rhyming slang involves replacing a common word with a phrase of two or three words, the last of which rhymes with the original word; then, in almost all cases, omitting, from the end of the phrase, the secondary rhyming word (which is thereafter implied), making the origin and meaning of the phrase elusive to listeners not in the know. ——Wikipedia

这里还有一个简明易懂的rhyming slang示例：

The form that is followed is made clear with the following example. The rhyming phrase"apples and pears" evolved to mean "stairs". Following the pattern of omission, "and pears" is dropped, thus the spoken phrase "I'm going up the apples" means "I'm going up the stairs". ——Wikipedia

▍更多关于rhyming slang的故事和例子，可以在以下网站找到：

http://www.cockneyrhymingslang.co.uk/ http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/cockney-rhyming-slang.html //www.le.ac.uk/ee/glossaries/2008/cockney/index.html

其中第一个网站十分可爱有趣，里面还有一个Cockney translator的小工具。

▍发现rhyming slang通常是指Cockney rhyming slang之后，我马上想起了这部英剧Mind Your Language，该剧讲述的是一群异国学生在伦敦某学校学习英语的喜剧故事。剧中有一个看门人Sid，他在剧中经常使用这种rhyming slang，使得在这个学校学习英语的各国学生摸不着头脑，不明白Sid在说什么。

▲Mind Your Language S01E04

学校的英语老师Mr. Brown不得不给大家解释：

▲Mind Your Language S01E04

没错，看门人Sid告诉我们，plates of meat可以指“feet”。那么dog's meat呢？

▍查询维基词典，可以发现用dog's meat表示feet的说法是真实存在的：

▲Wiktionary

在Londontopia网站上，也有一篇文章Language: Top 100 Cockney Rhyming Slang Words and Phrases，列出了一些相似的Cockney rhyming slang，同样出现了dog's meat和feet：

▲Londontopia

回到最初，My feet/ dogsare killing me. 从feet到dogs，再到dog's meat，这部剧带给观众的乐趣，不仅在剧中，也在剧外。

— END —

LESSON 01 THE FIRST LESSON

I wasn't looking where I was going. （我走路没看路。）

punch up（揍）

LESSON 02 AN INSPECTOR CALLS

get into hot water（= get into trouble）

drop a clanger（失言）

LESSON 03 A FATE WORSE THAN DEATH

in the pudding club（怀孕）

be sold a pup/dummy（= be cheated or deceived）

【Figure of Speech（比喻）】

as quick as lightning

as light as a feather

as clean as a whistle（清脆）

as blind as a bat

as deaf as posts

as sly as a fox

as mad as a hatter（hatter：淘金者）

as drunk as a lord

as white as snow

as smooth as silk

LESSON 04 ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT

【Cockney rhyming slang: using words that rhyme with the word you wish to use.】

Mutt and Jeff = deaf

plates of meat = feet

Uncle Ned = head

mince pies = eyes

Uncle Dick = sick

Jack the Dandy = brandy

Brahms and Liszt = pissed (drunk)

Thelma Ritter = bitter（苦啤酒）

gold watch = scotch（苏格兰威士忌）

【练习R发音的绕口令】

Around the rugged rocks the ragged rascal ran.

【其他知识点】

flour与flower发音相同

put your shoulder to the wheel（努力）

【Mr. Brown 教给大家的两首歌】

一是“A Bicycle Built for Two”， 由英国作曲家 Harry Dacre 创于1892年 ，库布里克的经典电影《2001：太空漫游》中HAL9001在被关闭前用沙哑的声音唱了这首歌。（《2001：太空漫游》的这篇影评Daisy, Daisy介绍了创作背后的故事，很有趣。）歌曲链接：http://music.163.com/#/song?id=428649873

一是“We'll Meet Again”，1939年的英国歌曲，二战时被广为传唱，库布里克的《奇爱博士》中也用了这首歌。歌曲链接：http://music.163.com/#/song?id=5113342

LESSON 05 THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE

French letter（=condom）

the Employment Exchange（= job centre）

LESSON 06 COME BACK ALL IS FORGIVEN

many happy returns of the day（生日祝词）

fountain pen（钢笔）

holy cow（感叹语，天啊！）

toilet water（有香味的水，涂在脸上。好像和perfume并不是一种东西。）

fete与fate发音相同

coin a phrase（套用一句话）

give sb. the boot（开除，解雇）

give the bullet（解雇）

LESSON 07 THE CHEATING GAME

【英语名词的阴阳性】

3 classes of gender: masculine, feminine, neuter. (gender: the grammatical classification of the sex of proper nouns.)

lion~lioness

Duke~Duchess

monkey~monkey

【其他知识点】

pork/lamb chops（猪/羊排骨）

spend a penny（ 上厕所。旧时英国公厕的自动门须投一便士硬币后方行开启 ）

LESSON 08 BETTER TO HAVE LOVED AND LOST

beefeater（伦敦塔卫兵）

be swept off one's feet（因兴奋而不由自主、飘飘然）

May all your troubles be little ones.（It's an English expression. It means to hope you have a family, a baby. 百度给的结果是“愿你的一切烦恼都是小事”……）

The national sport of England is cricket.

beat about the bush（隐约其辞，绕弯子）

LESSON 09 KILL OR CURE

be laid up（= be struck down 病倒）

undertaker（殡仪员）

under the weather（身体不舒服）

bottoms up（干杯）

down to touch（好像也是“干杯”的意思，没查到。）

"Round the tip and throw the gun, look out dummy, here I come."（Ranjeet说的这个似乎是个俗语，但没查到。）

LESSON 10 HELLO SAILOR

through thick and thin（同甘共苦）

aspirate（the sound made by the letter H，送气音）

Get knotted.（滚开。）

make a clean breast（坦白）

change horse（做出重大改变。这个也没查到。）

head over heels（神魂颠倒）

LESSON 11 A POINT OF HONOUR

Holy Writ（=Bible）

knock out（击倒；淘汰）

epistle（= letter 书信）

in passing（顺便提及）

have green eyes（嫉妒）

"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."

syntax（= sentence construction）

LESSON 12 HOW'S YOUR FATHER

"What you never have, you never miss."

pain in the neck（某人很讨厌）

LESSON 13 THE EXAMINATION

jackpot（头奖）

haven't a cat in hells chance（毫无机会）

short hand typist（速记打字员）

在英语中，cat一律用she，dog一律用he。

1.the first lesson 2.the inspector calls 3the fate worse than death(ugly marriage system) 4all through the night(be locked in the classroom) 5the best things in the life(a mistake of lottery) 6come back all is forgiven(the main character is more popular than the new one) 7the cheating game(practice test) 8better to have loved and lost 9hello sailor(a Russian sailor wanted to be English) 10a point of honor(boxing with other teacher for potcting a student) 11how's ur father(a mistake of the main character's father) 12kill or cure(a bad cold and all the students and the headmaster came to visit the main character) although it is not difficult to find that this TV program wanted to say English culture is better than lots of other cultures in the world,this TV program still have many advantages like it makes people do not afraid of English learning in a way.