BBC地道英语:Knickers in a twist 因小事而不高兴

Will: Hello, I'm William and here I am in Li's garden to present the programme today…

Li: Hi Will! Yes, I'm Li, and well, 在开始今天的节目之前我需要先把这些刚刚洗过衣服都挂起来!

Will: No problem, it's actually quite handy to have you doing that as we have an expression to teach today that many people might even find a little bit amusing. To get your knickers in a twist!

Li: My knickers in a twist! No, Will, 我的短裤 knickers 没有拧在一起呀，你看我的短裤这不都平平整整地挂在绳子上吗，还有我的衬衣，牛仔裤，还有台布，你批评我挂衣服不平整吗? Don't you think I'm doing my washing right?

Will: No, I don't mean that. I even like these pink pyjamas with yellow polka dots that I can see hanging further down the line. People can probably see them from the moon! Oh dear, they are a bit too bright for my taste, Li.

Li: I see, 你瞧你这又在取笑我的审美观。其实是我妈的审美观，因为这些睡衣都是我妈给我的圣诞礼物… 其实我并不喜欢，不过我不想让我老妈感到扫兴，她总在问起这些衣服。 It's annoying!

Will: Don't get your knickers in a twist!

Does this washing line look perfect?

Li: There you go again! 行了行了，别没完没了地数叨我的短裤了! 我倒想问问你的短裤什么样? Maybe they are twisted!

Will: Look, I must confess that sometimes… maybe lots of times actually, I get my knickers in a twist. And it's not when I am hanging up my washing. Knickers is a British word that refers to underwear – they're what Americans call panties, ladies' underwear. But actually 'to get your knickers in a twist' has got nothing to do with underwear.

Li: 这么说 to get your knickers in a twist 只是一个短语，和短裤没有任何关系呀，那是不是男女都能用?

Will: Yes, you can. It's an expression in English that you use when you want to say that someone is getting upset about things that are not important, trivial matters. Let's listen to some examples:

Examples

(Phone ringing)

Female 1: Your phone's been ringing all morning and you haven't bothered to pick it up.

Female 2: Alright! Alright! I will do it now. Don't get your knickers in a twist!

Male: My teenage son is very sensitive. Whenever I tell him to tidy up his room he gets his knickers in a twist and slams the door!

Li: Ah, getting your knickers in a twist has nothing to do with knickers! 这个短语的意思是因为一些鸡毛蒜皮的小事而烦恼或生气。

Will: That's right! And by the way, the knickers that you have hanging from your washing line are not twisted either. You are doing a really good job there, Li.

Li: Thank you, Will. But 真糟糕，要下雨了。我花了20分钟刚刚把这些衣服全都晾起来，现在又要全部摘下来! 看起来这可是场大雨，哎呀，我明天没衣服穿了… 真讨厌! 这鬼天气，总下雨！ 真不公平，我好不容易才抽出时间把所有的脏衣服都洗了，瞧，这件粉红的睡衣，多难看，我妈怎么不给我买双袜子或着其他什么东西呢？她从来都不允许我穿我喜欢的衣服，我十几岁的时候想穿短裙，我妈就是不让！

Will: Here we go again! Knickers in a twist! Goodbye.

Li: Goodbye. 不过我们为什么总是要匆匆忙忙地结束呢，我们的听友喜欢这档节目喜欢学英语，不是吗？ 我们的节目时间放的长一点这样我们不就能教更多的地道英语了，不是吗？这对我们忠实地的听友多不公平，花时间上我们的网页来不就是要尽快地多学点东西吗？…