to get off on the wrong foot
to put one's foot in one's mouth
有的人一開(kāi)始就給人一個(gè)壞印象是怎么說(shuō)的呢? You should say: to get off on the wrong foot。 To get off on the wrong foot,這是指某人一開(kāi)始就沒(méi)給人一個(gè)好印象,或一開(kāi)始由于某種行為而把事情弄糟了。下面這句話里說(shuō)的這個(gè)人就是一個(gè)例子:
例句-1: When Joe went to his new job, he got off on the wrong foot. On the first morning he upset his new boss by arriving at the store two hours late. And right now he's out looking for a job again.
這個(gè)人說(shuō):"喬找到了一份新的工作,可是他剛開(kāi)始到那家店里去上班時(shí)就給人一個(gè)壞印象。第一天上班他就晚到兩個(gè)小時(shí),讓他的老板好不高興?,F(xiàn)在他又在找工作了。"
To get off on the wrong foot這個(gè)俗語(yǔ)實(shí)際上可以適用于任何情況。下面一個(gè)例子是一個(gè)男學(xué)生在說(shuō)他交女朋友的情況:
例句-2: I finally got a date with that new girl in class but I sure got off on the wrong foot with her: I had car trouble and got to her place almost two hours late.
他說(shuō):"那天我終于和班上新來(lái)的那個(gè)女同學(xué)約好了出去玩??墒?,當(dāng)天我的車出了問(wèn)題,晚了兩個(gè)小時(shí)才去接她,所以我一開(kāi)頭就把事弄糟了。"
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有意無(wú)意做錯(cuò)事、說(shuō)錯(cuò)話的情況是很經(jīng)常的。下面我們要講的一個(gè)俗語(yǔ)就是無(wú)意中說(shuō)錯(cuò)了話而傷害了別人,或者叫自己很不好意思。這個(gè)俗語(yǔ)就是:to put your foot in your mouth。
我們來(lái)舉個(gè)例子看看什么樣的情況才 to put your foot in your mouth:
例句-3: When Sally told that silly joke about the sailor with one leg she really put her foot in her mouth. She didn't know the man across the dinner table had a brother at home in a wheelchair.
這句話翻成中文就是:"沙莉吃晚飯時(shí)說(shuō)了一個(gè)笑話,拿一個(gè)只有一條腿的水手開(kāi)玩笑。她可不知道坐在飯桌對(duì)面那個(gè)人的哥哥就是個(gè)殘廢,行動(dòng)都得靠輪椅。"
Sally如果事后了解情況的話,她肯定會(huì)說(shuō): "Well, I certainly have put my foot in my mouth."
下面我們?cè)賮?lái)舉一個(gè)例子:
例句-4: I certainly put my foot in my mouth at the party last night when I asked Mister Brown to say hello to his wife for me. Somehow I'd forgotten that his wife died six months ago.
這人說(shuō):"我昨晚在那個(gè)聚會(huì)上無(wú)意中說(shuō)錯(cuò)了話。我讓布朗先生替我向他的太太問(wèn)好。不知怎么回事,我忘了他太太已經(jīng)在半年前去世了。"