頭條日報 頭條網 - Put the cart before the horse by Michael Chugani

Which should be put in front, the horse or the cart? The horse should, of course, be put in front because it pulls the cart. The cart cannot pull the horse. Therefore, it cannot be put before the horse. That is how the common English expression "put the cart before the horse" originated. It means doing things in the wrong or opposite order. For example, you would be putting the cart before the horse if you buy a car before learning how to drive. Legislative councillor Cyd Ho Sau-lan mixed up the expression during an English language radio interview last week. She said "put the horse before the cart".

        T he reporter asked Ho Sau-lan why Hong Kong people are not trying to win the trust of the central government. She replied that the central government winning the trust of Hong Kong people should come before Hong Kong people winning the trust of the central government. She said it would be "putting the horse before the cart" for Hong Kong people to win the trust of the central government first. But by mixing up the expression in that way, she in fact said it would be in the right order for Hong Kong people to win the trust of the central government first. She should have said it would be "putting the cart before the horse" for Hong Kong people to first win the trust of the central government.

        In my previous column I said Ho Sau-lan was "off her rocker" (crazy, insane) for saying that Occupy Central protesters in Admiralty were proud to be living in a situation of anarchy. I know her quite well and she has been on my TV show several times. I hope she won't think I am taking a dig at her for writing about her in two back-to-back columns. The expression back-to-back means one right after another. I wrote two columns about her, one right after another. The expression "take a dig at someone" means to insult or criticize someone. I want Ho Sau-lan to know I am not taking a dig at her. I just want to explain English words and expressions so we can all learn.

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        馬跟馬車，哪個應放在前呢？當然是馬放在車前面，因為是由馬去拉車的；車不能拉馬，因此不能把它放在馬的前面。這就是英文常用習語 put the cart before the horse的來由，意思是前後顛倒、本末倒置。譬如，若你先買車，然後才去學駕駛，那你便是putting the cart before the horse了。立法會議員何秀蘭上星期在一個英語電台的訪問中，卻混淆了這個習語。她說"put the horse before the cart"。

        記者問何秀蘭，為何香港人沒有嘗試去贏取中央政府的信任呢？她回覆指，應是中央先去贏取港人信任，然後才到港人去贏取中央政府的信任。她說若先由香港人去贏取中央政府的信任，那就是"putting the horse before the cart"。可是，她這樣調亂了習語，反倒將港人先去贏取中央政府的信任，說成是正確的次序。她應該說，要由香港人先去贏取中央政府的信任，是"putting the cart before the horse"。

        在上一篇專欄中，我說何秀蘭瘋了（off her rocker），因為她說金鐘的佔中示威者自豪於活在無政府的狀態之中。我跟她頗為熟絡，她曾幾次上來我的電視節目。我連續（back-to-back）兩篇專欄寫到她，希望她不會以為我在奚落她（taking a dig at her）。習語back-to-back解作緊接的，而我則一篇接着一篇的寫了兩篇關於她的專欄。習語take a dig at someone指奚落或批評某人。我希望何秀蘭知道，我並沒有挖苦她（taking a dig at her）。我只是希望解釋英文詞語和習語，好讓我們都能學習。mickchug@gmail.com

        中譯:七刻

        Michael Chugani 褚簡寧

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Source: http://news.stheadline.com/dailynews/headline_news_detail_columnist.asp?id=306533§ion_name=wtt&kw=126