【字面理解】在十一點鐘
【英文解析】the moment when it is almost,but not quite, too late to do something, avoid something etc.
【中文解析】最后關(guān)頭;最后一刻
【例句】① I thought I had lost out because I didn’t hear from the company after my interview. But at the eleventh hour, when I was packing to go back home, they called and said they wanted to hire me.起先我以為我已經(jīng)失 去機會了,因為在面談之后我一直沒收到公司方面的 回音。但是直到我在整理行裝準(zhǔn)備回家的最后一刻, 他們才打電話來說想要廣用我。
② She was asked at the eleventh hour, to step in and direct the play.在最后時刻,她被請來導(dǎo)演這部戲。
【注釋】源自《圣經(jīng)?馬太福音》心0第20章:天 國有個闊人想雇幾個人到他的園子里干活,他從早上 五點就開始雇人,雇到最后一個人時已經(jīng)是夜里很晚 了。干完活后付工錢,結(jié)果大早上來的和夜里來的都 得到了一枚銀幣。因此早來的人極為不滿,早知如此, 還不如夜里十一點鐘來呢,因為只要不超過十二點, 都能得到同樣的報酬。從此eleventh hour就喻指挽回 局面的關(guān)鍵時刻。變體:eleventh-hour (decision) 最后關(guān)頭的/最后一刻的(決定等)。