頭條日報 頭條網 - Blue Moon by Michael Chugani

Is the correct spelling "color" or "colour"? It depends on whether you prefer American or British spelling. The American spelling is "color" and the British spelling is "colour". Many words are spelt differently in American and British English. It is difficult for people whose mother tongue is not English to know which is correct. Both are correct. Many English expressions contain color words, such as "white" and "black". I used some of these expressions in previous columns, such as "white knight" and "black magic". Last week I used the expression "shout until you are blue in the face". If you shout until you are blue in the face, it means you are wasting your time even if you shout very loudly because no one will listen. Many Hong Kong residents complain until they are blue in the face about the rising number of mainland visitors but the government never listens to their complaints.

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he word "blue" is used in many English expressions. If something happens only once in a blue moon, it means it happens very rarely. For example, it's only once in a blue moon that you will find a wallet full of money. The expression comes from "blue moon", which means an extra full moon in a month. It is rare for there to be two full moons in a month. If something happens "out of the blue", it means it happens very suddenly or unexpectedly. Out of the blue, a good friend I had not seen for many years phoned me.

        If you're feeling blue, it means you are feeling sad or unhappy. Cold and rainy days often make me feel blue. Blue-collar workers are people who do lower-class work, such as factory workers and street cleaners. White-collar workers are people who work in offices. The expression "blue blood" refers to people from families of the highest social class. Even though Microsoft founder Bill Gates is the world's richest man, he is not blue blood. But Queen Elizabeth, her children, and grandchildren are all blue blood because they are from the highest social class in Britain.

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        正確串法應是 color抑或colour？那就取決於你想要美式抑或英式串法了。美式串法是color而英式則是colour。許多字的美式和英式英語的串法都有異。母語並非英語的人要分辨哪個正確，是困難的，但其實兩者都正確。許多英文習語也包含顏色的詞彙，例如白色和黑色。我在之前的專欄中就有用過幾個這樣的習語，例如white knight（白武士）和 black magic（黑魔法）。上星期，我用上習語「shout until you are blue in the face」。若你吶喊至blue in the face，是說即使你喊破喉嚨也是白費時間的，因為根本無人理睬。許多香港居民就着內地訪客人數不斷上升，投訴至面色發青（blue in the face），政府卻從未真正聆聽過他們的不滿。

        藍色blue在許多英文習語中也會用到。若某事只會once in a blue moon的出現，即是說它很偶然才會發生。譬如，很罕有地（once in a blue moon）你才會發現自己的荷包滿是錢鈔。此習語來自藍月blue moon，意指在某月份出現一個額外的滿月。要一個月出現兩個滿月，是極之難得的。若某事在「out of the blue」的情況下發生，即是指它發生得很突然或晴天霹靂。出人意表地（out of the blue），一位多年不見的好友忽然打電話給我。

        若你感覺有點blue，即是說你感到傷心。冷雨天總是令我感到有點鬱悶（blue）。Blue-collar workers 就是藍領工人，做的是低下階層的工作，例如工廠工人或清道夫。White-collar workers就是在辦公室工作的白領。習語 blue blood是指來自貴族的人。即使微軟創辦人比爾．蓋茲是世上最富有的人，他還不是名門望族（blue blood）。但伊利沙伯女王、她的兒女和孫兒就都是貴族（blue blood），因為他們來自英國最高的社會階級。

        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=319392§ion_name=wtt&kw=126