Michael Chugani 褚簡寧 - thrown a tantrum|又中又英

Children, and even adults, sometimes throw tantrums. I have thrown a tantrum many times as a young boy. I still throw tantrums sometimes even though I am a grown man. I last threw a tantrum a few months ago when I was trying to get my refund for a plane ticket I had cancelled. The airline told me my refund, after paying a cancellation fee, would be deposited into my credit card account within a few weeks. That did not happen but I patiently waited for many more weeks. I then called the airline again.

The person I spoke to was very unhelpful. He said he did not know why I had still not received my refund and the airline would have to start an investigation. That’s when I threw a tantrum. To throw a tantrum means to suddenly get very angry in a way you cannot control. Children sometimes do that. I threw a tantrum because I had bought an expensive business class ticket. The airline refunded me after I waited a few more weeks. I remembered that incident when I heard an interesting American slang expression last week while watching the TV news. The expression I heard was “hissy fit”. It has a similar meaning to “throw a tantrum”.

If you throw a hissy fit, it means you suddenly get very angry. When I lived in Washington DC many years ago a driver behind me did not stop in time when I stopped at a stop sign. He damaged the front of his car when he hit the back of my car. He accused me of being in the wrong even though I had to stop at a stop sign. He threw a hissy fit but I ignored him and continued driving. It is unclear how the expression originated but some experts believe it came from the word “hysterical”. If you are hysterical it means you are unable to control your feelings because of anger, fear, or excitement.
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小孩,甚至大人,有時會發脾氣(throw tantrums)。我還是小孩的時候就發過脾氣(thrown a tantrum)無數次。我現在有時仍會發脾氣(throw tantrums),即使我已是成年人。我上一次發脾氣(threw a tantrum)是幾個月前,當時嘗試為取消的機票取回退款。航空公司告訴我,在付了取消費用之後,那筆退款就會在幾星期內退還至我的信用卡帳戶內。那並沒有發生,但我耐心地多等幾個星期。然後我便打電話到航空公司。

那個跟我對話的人沒甚幫忙,他說他不知道為甚麼我還未收到我的退款,航空公司會需要展開調查。那一刻我發脾氣(threw a tantrum)了。To throw a tantrum是指情緒失控而大發脾氣,小孩子有時會這樣。我大發脾氣(threw a tantrum),因為我買的是昂貴的商務艙。多等了幾個星期後,航空公司發還退款給我了。當我上星期收看電視新聞報道,聽到了一個有趣的美式俚語時,就想到了這樁事件。我聽到的習語是“hissy fit”,它跟“throw a tantrum”意思差不多。

若你 throw a hissy fit,意即你突然大發雷霆。許多年前我住在華盛頓特區,當我駕車停在一個停車的路牌前時,後面那個司機並未及時停車。他撞到我車的後面,損毀了自己車輛的車頭。即使我必須在停車的路牌前停下,他卻指責我做錯。他大發脾氣(threw a hissy fit),但我無視他,繼續駕駛。這個習語的由來並不確定,但一些專家認為它來源自“hysterical”一字。若你是hysterical,那即是說你因為憤怒、恐懼或興奮而歇斯底里、不能自已。

中譯:七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
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