日韩精品久久一区二区三区_亚洲色图p_亚洲综合在线最大成人_国产中出在线观看_日韩免费_亚洲综合在线一区

您現在的位置: Language Tips> Columnist> Zhang Xin  
   
 





 
Gone south?
What does this quote describing a basketball game – "Our offense has gone south completely in the second half" – mean?
[ 2008-04-08 10:52 ]


Gone south?

Reader question:

What does this quote describing a basketball game – "Our offense has gone south completely in the second half" – mean? And "gone south" in particular?

My comments:

It means they have been unable to score – they could during the first half, but their hot hands have since gone cold.

As I prepared for writing this morning, I received an email (a junk mail in fact) titled "Don't let everything go south".

Ah well, you'd better not.

Go south?

Well, on the map, north points upward, south down. The first map makers obviously were from the northern hemisphere. Henceforth we (in the northern hemisphere) talk of going to Inner Mongolia "up in the north" and Guangzhou "down in the south". North is up, south is down. Up is good. We talk of the stock market going up – not now, of course. Down is no good – we talk of someone going downhill. Likewise, when someone looks down, he's depressed.

When situations look up, the future is brighter than it is now. In David Copperfield, Mrs. Micawber talks of her poor (yes, poor in every sense of the word) husband as "a man of great talent". Here's the passage:

"My family are of opinion, that, with a little interest, something might be done for a man of his ability in the Custom House. The influence of my family being local, it is their wish that Mr. Micawber should go down to Plymouth. They think it indispensable that he should be upon the spot."

"That he may be ready?" I suggested.

"Exactly," returned Mrs. Micawber. "That he may be ready - in case of anything turning up."

If anything GOOD turns UP, that is, the Micawbers' fortunes will turn for the better. Well, worse situations might also "turn up" (happen), but for the sake of our present argument, just remember that up stands for optimism. When something goes south, on the other hand, the situation deteriorates.

There's no such saying as "going north", by the way, for things looking up, just "going south" for situations getting worse – count it as just another oddity of the English language.

Here are media examples of things heading south, each followed by an explanation.

1. A headline: Mexicans who went north see jobs go south (International Herald Tribune, October 14, 2004).

Explanation: "Jobs go south" – no jobs. A play of words here. Mexicans who went north to the United States and Canada could not find jobs there because they saw jobs "go south". Literally so, too. Thanks or no thanks to NAFTA, the free trade agreement between Canada, United States and Mexico, Canadian and US jobs had gone to Mexico, down in the south.

2. It was the close of a balmy day in the French capital. You had to remind yourself that this was autumn and the swallows had already gone south. It was somewhat less of a surprise that Ireland's World Cup chances had gone south with them. Three weeks of deepening crisis had prepared us for the worst. In winning by a 30-15 scoreline that didn't flatter them, the Argentinians just put us out of our misery.

- Game over as Irish fighting spirit flies south for winter, Ireland.com, October 1, 2007.

Explanation: "chances had gone south" – hopes had vanished.

3. Another headline: Baker went east; his game went south (Sporting News, December 16, 2002).

Explanation: "his game went south" – he does not play as well as before.

Supersonics star Vin Baker left Seattle in the west coast to join the Celtics, which is in the Eastern Conference of the NBA, in Boston in the east coast. Meanwhile his play dropped.

我要看更多專欄文章

 

About the author:
 

Zhang Xin is Trainer at chinadaily.com.cn. He has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: [email protected], or raise a question for potential use in a future column.

 
英語點津版權說明:凡注明來源為“英語點津:XXX(署名)”的原創作品,除與中國日報網簽署英語點津內容授權協議的網站外,其他任何網站或單位未經允許不得非法盜鏈、轉載和使用,違者必究。如需使用,請與010-84883631聯系;凡本網注明“來源:XXX(非英語點津)”的作品,均轉載自其它媒體,目的在于傳播更多信息,其他媒體如需轉載,請與稿件來源方聯系,如產生任何問題與本網無關;本網所發布的歌曲、電影片段,版權歸原作者所有,僅供學習與研究,如果侵權,請提供版權證明,以便盡快刪除。
相關文章 Related Story
 
 
 
本頻道最新推薦
 
新加坡開展促友善全民教育活動
小長假的前一天 virtual Friday
英語中的“植物”喻人
Burying loved ones deadly expensive
經濟危機時期入讀哈佛難上加難
翻吧推薦
 
論壇熱貼
 
“學會做人”如何翻譯
做作怎么翻譯
美國人電話留言精選
大話西游中英文對白
夜宵怎么翻譯比較地道

 

主站蜘蛛池模板: 久草免费色站 | 九草在线视频 | 江苏少妇性BBB搡BBB爽爽爽 | 天堂av资源 | 香蕉成人啪国产精品视频综合网 | 99精品99| 看国产毛片 | 免费黄色av | 亚洲国产视频网站 | 毛片a级| 精品欧美一区二区精品久久久 | 亚洲日本香蕉 | 亚洲国产一区二区三区四区 | 欧美日韩精品一区二区在线线 | 澳门一级毛片免费播放 | 欧美激情精品久久久久久变态 | 公么吃奶满足了我苏媚 | 亚洲视频在线视频 | 91成人亚洲 | 精品免费福利视频 | 亚洲成人网在线观看 | 久久国产婷婷国产香蕉 | 色婷婷网 | 亚洲精品第一综合99久久 | 日韩精品一区二区在线观看 | 日本精品久久久久久久久免费 | 九九热国产精品视频 | 欧美另类视频一区二区三区 | 久久国产精品超级碰碰热 | 婷婷六月天激情 | 国产精品片aa在线观看 | 综合第一页 | 超碰一区 | 黑人狂躁日本妞无码A片 | 天天摸天天舔 | 午夜精品毛片 | 国产一精品一av一免费爽爽 | 99久久久国产精品露出 | 日本黄在线观看 | 九九视频高清视频免费观看 | 日日夜夜精品视频 |