The princess diaries《公主日记》1 精讲之五

SUKI: It was just last night that San Francisco's own little princess partied at the beach but what started out as innocent fun soon turned into allegedly too much fun. This is Suki Sanchez for KPFW.

MIA: Please say something.

CLARISSE: Well, there's not much to say. A picture's worth a thousand words and you have two pictures.

MIA: I embarrassed the family, didn't I?

CLARISSE: Not to put too fine a point on it, yes, you did. I think you're making a wise decision to abstain from the job.

MIA: I suppose I won't come to the ball.

CLARISSE: Of course you should come. You're still family. Just because you don't want to be our princess doesn't mean we're sending you into exile. Your mother's planning to come. All your guests are invited. Except for your beach friends. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm meeting with the press to do some damage control. You can come in now.

JOE: If I may say so that did not go very well.

CLARISSE: Is this the way a princess should act?

JOE: My information tells me that boy was using her. The kiss was merely a device so that he could get his 15 minutes of fame. And her friends didn't help, either. Anna, Falana, Banana, Bandana, Montana...

CLARISSE: I have no idea what you're talking about. Why didn't she have enough common sense to deal with this?

JOE: She's only 15 but today, she acted beyond her years. She showed great respect and gracefully accepted your criticism.

CLARISSE: You're saying that as a queen, I was too harsh on her. I was critical of the person who could become the next ruler of my country.

JOE: No. I'm saying, as a grandmother you might have been too harsh on your granddaughter.

CLARISSE: Do you think she can do it?

JOE: Oh, I have no doubts, ma'am.

CLARISSE: I thought so, too.

妙语佳句，活学活用

1. Not to put too fine a point on it

看了剧情，你有没有猜出来这个片语是什么意思呢？没错，就是“to mean exactly what is said 说得没错”，例如：Her performance, not to put too fine a point on it, was terrible. （豪不夸张地说，她的表现太糟了。）

Not to put too fine a point on it 也用来表示“原谅我说得很直接excuse me for making a pointed comment”，后面加表示转折的句子，例如：Not to put too fine a point on it, but you were the one who suggested we should split up so we could search the creepy old house more efficiently for the axe murderer. （原谅我这么说，但是是你建议我们分开行动，好更有效地搜查这所恐怖的房子找到用斧子杀人的凶手的。）

这个用法和片段中下文的 if I may say so的功用差不多，是一种委婉的开场白。

2. If you'll excuse me…

当你要结束和某人的谈话而转去做其他事实，就可以说If you'll excuse me…，是一种请求对方谅解的表达，例如：If you'll excuse me, I should be getting back. 抱歉，我得回去了。

3. 15 minutes of fame

从字面上大家可以看出来，15 minutes of fame 指“短暂的出名/名声”。15 minutes of fame (or famous for 15 minutes) is an expression coined by the American artist Andy Warhol. The expression is a paraphrase of Andy Warhol's statement in 1968 that "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes." It refers to the fleeting condition of celebrity that attaches to an object of media attention, then passes to some new object as soon as the public's attention span is exhausted. It is often used in reference to figures in the entertainment industry and other areas of popular culture.

4. Beyond one's years

这里的意思是“超越了年龄（的限制）”，例如：Copper is clearly a child, but in some ways he's wise beyond his years. 考伯无疑是个孩子，但在某些方面他的聪明超过了他这个年龄应有的。