拳擊短語(yǔ)

我們或許都知道世界著名的拳擊手拳王阿里、泰森等，而源自拳擊的英語(yǔ)短語(yǔ)我們又了解多少呢？本期《小詞大義》，我們來(lái)學(xué)習(xí)一些用于日常生活的拳擊短語(yǔ)吧。

The world of boxing gave us famous competitors like Muhammad Ali. It also gave us many expressions that we use in our everyday lives.

Years ago， a boxing match would begin when a boxer threw his hat into the boxing ring—the place where the fight was fought. That does not happen these days. But if you throw your hat into the ring， it does mean that you are signing up or agreeing to do something. You will often hear this expression in the world of politics.

“Is she running for mayor？”

“She is. She threw her hat in the ring last week.”

A boxing ring is surrounded on all four sides by ropes. A boxer trapped along the ropes gets hit a lot. So， to have someone on the ropes means to have them in a dangerous position.

During a fight， there are three people in the ring—two boxers and a referee. The referee makes sure the boxers obey the rules of the sport. He or she can cancel， or call off， a fight if things get too unsafe or risky for one of the boxers. And if a fighter is hit so hard that they fall down， the referee gives the person a count of 10 to get up.

● throw one’s hat in/into the ring字面意思是把帽子扔進(jìn)拳擊場(chǎng)。據(jù)說(shuō)在19世紀(jì)的拳擊比賽中，有人要和拳擊手較量，就把帽子扔進(jìn)拳擊場(chǎng)里。后來(lái)throw one’s hat in the ring就成了一種比喻，意思是參加競(jìng)賽或政治競(jìng)選。

● on the ropes 俚語(yǔ)，引申含義為：無(wú)計(jì)可施、毫無(wú)辦法、處于困境、四面楚歌、快要垮臺(tái)、就要完蛋等。上述含義均源自拳擊比賽，因?yàn)槿瓝衾夼_(tái)四面都用繩子圍起來(lái)，弱者常常被對(duì)手打得搖搖晃晃，靠在圍繩上無(wú)力還擊、節(jié)節(jié)敗退。這種被動(dòng)挨打的局面在英語(yǔ)里就叫做 on the ropes。

If the fighter gets up， the boxing match continues. If the fighter does not， the match is over. So when you are down for the count， you are not able to compete or not able to join in something. Here’s an example：

“Is George coming out tonight for drinks？”

“No， he’s got a fever of 102. So， for tonight， he’s down for the count.”

To go the distance is the opposite. It means a boxer was able to stay in the ring and not withdraw from the fight. Outside of the boxing ring， it means to see something through to its end.

If you do decide to leave your job， you throw in the towel. This expression comes from the fact that trainers can stop a match for their boxer by throwing a towel into the ring.

So it is good to have someone in your corner， a person looking out for you. That is where a boxer’s team stands during the end of each round—in his or her own corner. And yes， women’s boxing is becoming more and more popular in the United States.

A professional boxing match is made up of 12 periods， called rounds. At the end of each round a bell sounds. To be saved by the bell means you were saved from a bad situation by something—not necessarily a bell.

But let us imagine that you are a student in class. The teacher starts passing out a test. You get nervous， because you forgot to study. Suddenly the bell rings， ending the class period. In this case， you were， quite literally， saved by the bell.

● down for the count 徹底失敗。當(dāng)一名拳擊手被對(duì)方擊倒在地以后，裁判會(huì)站在他的旁邊慢慢地從一數(shù)到十，如果他不能在數(shù)到十之前掙扎著站立起來(lái)，繼續(xù)比賽，那么他就輸了，換句話(huà)說(shuō)，他就徹底失敗了。down for the count 常被用在工商界、政壇或者法律訴訟中，甚至還用于表示情場(chǎng)失意。

● go the distance 是堅(jiān)持到底、完成全部、貫徹始終的意思。

● throw in the towel 意思是認(rèn)輸，承認(rèn)失敗，宣告放棄，源于拳擊比賽。當(dāng)拳擊手打不過(guò)對(duì)方，他的教練就會(huì)拋一條毛巾入場(chǎng)，表示認(rèn)輸。

● have someone in your corner 有人給予你幫助和支持，有人為你著想。在每個(gè)回合結(jié)束時(shí)，拳擊手的團(tuán)隊(duì)就站在他（她）的角落。

● be saved by the bell 在緊要關(guān)頭得救的意思。這個(gè)習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)是來(lái)自拳擊比賽。比賽時(shí)負(fù)責(zé)計(jì)算時(shí)間的人一打鈴就表示一個(gè)回合的開(kāi)始，再打鈴表示這個(gè)回合結(jié)束。當(dāng)一個(gè)拳擊手被對(duì)方打倒在地的時(shí)候，裁判員就站在邊上，對(duì)著他開(kāi)始慢慢地從一數(shù)到十。要是計(jì)算時(shí)間的人在裁判員還沒(méi)有數(shù)到十的時(shí)候打鈴表示這場(chǎng)回合的時(shí)間已到，比賽就在短暫休息后再繼續(xù)進(jìn)行。