VOA慢速英语:Words and Their Stories: Feel The Pinch

I'm Susan Clark with the Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.
我是苏珊•克拉克，这里是美国之音慢速英语词汇掌故节目。

In the nineteen thirties, a song, "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?," was very popular in the United States. It was the time of the big Depression. The song had meaning for many people who had lost their jobs.
20世纪30年代的时候，一首叫做《兄弟，能借我一毛钱不？》的歌在美国非常流行。时值经济大萧条，这首歌对于很多已经失业的人来说有着特殊的意义。

A dime is a piece of money whose value is one-tenth of a dollar. Today, a dime does not buy much. But it was different in the nineteen thirties. A dime sometimes meant the difference between eating and starving.
一角钱（a dime）是1美元的十分之一。今天，一角钱买不了什么东西。但是在上世纪30年代情况就完全不同了。有时候一角钱意味着吃饱还是挨饿。

The American economy today is much better. Yet, many workers are concerned about losing their jobs as companies re-organize.
今天，美国的经济有很大好转。然而，随着公司重组，很多工人担心他们会失业。

Americans have special ways of talking about economic troubles. People in businesses may say they feel the pinch. Or they may say they are up against it. Or, if things are really bad, they may say they have to throw in the towel.
美国人在谈论经济困难时有很多特殊的表达法。商业人士可能会说感到手头拮据（feel the pinch），或者他们会说遇到经济困难（up against it）。再或者，若情况真的很糟糕，他们可能会说他们不得不认输（throw in the towel）。

A pinch is painful pressure. To feel the pinch is to suffer painful pressure involving money.
一撮儿（A pinch）是一种痛苦的压力。感到拮据就是要承受这种金钱方面的巨大压力。

The expression, feel the pinch, has been used since the sixteenth century. The famous English writer William Shakespeare wrote something very close to this in his great play "King Lear."
Feel the pinch这种表达方式早在16世纪就开始使用了。著名的英国作家威廉•莎士比亚在名剧《李尔王》里面有非常相似的表达。

King Lear says he would accept necessity's sharp pinch. He means he would have to do without many of the things he always had.
李尔王说，他将接受必需品短缺的痛楚。他的意思是，他将不得不接受失去很多曾经拥有的东西。

Much later, the Times of London newspaper used the expression about bad economic times during the eighteen sixties. It said, "so much money having been spent ... All classes felt the pinch."
很久以后，泰晤士报引用这个短语来表达十九世纪六十年代的经济萧条。报纸这样写道，“已经花了这么多钱，社会各阶层都感到手头拮据。”

Worse than feeling the pinch is being up against it. The saying means to be in a lot of trouble.
比“feel the pinch”更为糟糕的短语是“up against it”。这个短语的意思是陷入一堆麻烦中。

Word expert James Rogers says the word "it" in the saying can mean any and all difficulties. He says the saying became popular in the United States and Canada in the late nineteenth century. Writer George Ade used it in a book called "Artie." He wrote, "I saw I was up against it."
词汇专家詹姆斯•罗杰斯认为“it”在这个短语中的意思是任何，一切困难。 他说十九世纪末这种说法开始在美国和加拿大非常流行。作家乔治•艾德在《Artie》一书中用到了这个短语，他写道：“我看到我处于四面受困的状况。”

Sometimes a business that is up against it will have to throw in the towel. This means to accept defeat or surrender.
有时一个公司处于四面受困的状况，我们就不得不“throw in the towel”。 这个短语的意思是要接受失败或投降。

Throwing in the towel may mean that a company will have to declare bankruptcy. The company will have to take legal steps to let people know it has no money to pay its debts.
“throw in the towel”意思是公司不得不宣告破产。公司将通过合法方式让人们知道它已经没有能力偿还债务了。

Word expert Charles Funk says an eighteen seventy-four publication called the Slang Dictionary explains throwing in the towel. It says the words probably came from the sport of boxing, or prizefighting. The book says the saying began because a competitor's face was cleaned with a cloth towel or other material. When a boxer's towel was thrown, it meant he was admitting defeat.
词汇专家查尔斯•方克说在1874年出版的俚语词典中解释了“throw in the towel”这个短语。词典中这样解释：这条短语可能来自于拳击运动，或是职业拳击。参赛者是用毛巾或其他东西来擦脸的。当一个拳击手把毛巾扔了，那么就是他承认失败，投降了。

Most businesses do not throw in the towel. They just re-organize so they can compete better.
许多企业并没有认输，他们只是进行重组以便增强他们的竞争力。

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