倒霉
1 go through a bad/difficult/rough/sticky patch 经历困难时期/倒霉时期
《摩登家庭》里有一句话:
I'm sorry. I went through a bad patch there, when I was trying to find the right balance with my Meds.
很抱歉,那是我的人生低谷,吃药吃的有点多。
Meds:abbr. medicines医药
例:Did you take your Meds?
你吃药了吗?
2 Just my luck! 真倒霉!
我们都知道英语单词luck所表达的意思是“运气”。所以看到It was just my luck.很容易就会理解为“那是我的运气”。
但实际上它正确的意思为“我一向的坏运气,霉运”。
例:
They sold the last ticket five minutes before I got there - just my luck!
在我到那儿的5分钟前他们卖掉了最后一张票——真倒霉!
3 Everything but the locusts 倒霉到家了,就差没闹蝗灾了
Locust ['lkst]是蝗虫,所以这个短语的意思就是:除了没闹蝗灾,什么都有了;可见还真不是什么好事儿啊。估计这个短语是辛勤劳动的农民伯伯发明的。因为啊,他们辛辛苦苦的种庄稼,这一年到头就怕闹蝗灾了。要是真是如此,那可是“pour water into a sieve(竹篮打水一场空啊)”。
例:
Oh, I've had everything but the locusts.
哎,今天真是倒霉到家了。
4 It's not my/his...day. 表示“今天真不吉利”。
如:
It's just not my day: the car wouldn't start; I was late for the meeting, and to crown it all I sprained my ankle.
我今天真不顺当,先是车打不着火,接着会议迟到,更糟的是把脚崴了。
5 It never rains, but it pours. 照字面意思:不是微微细雨,而是大雨倾盆。
也就是说:坏事接二连三的降临 (The bad things come in succession.) 这与咱们所谓的“祸不单行”或“屋漏偏逢连夜雨,船破又逢对头风”意思相似。