有一種遺憾叫 「close，but no cigar」

close, but no cigar

接近，但不對；差點勝利；功虧一簣

(of an attempt) almost, but not quite successful

1800 年代在美國舉行的遊園會中，射擊、扔球、賽跑等比賽項目獲勝者會獲得雪茄作為獎品。得不到第一名就自然拿不到雪茄。因此，close, but no cigar最開始是指差一點就能贏得雪茄，後來引申為差點取得勝利、功虧一簣等意思。

Pretty close, but no cigar, as they say.(The Nottingham Post)

mad as a hatter

瘋得像個帽匠；像帽匠一樣癲狂；非常瘋狂

completely insane

十七、八世紀時，帽匠(hatters)經常因為水銀中毒而精神失常發瘋，這也是製造氈帽的副作用之一。約翰尼·德普扮演的「瘋帽子」(The Mad Hatter )也是迪士尼電影《愛麗絲夢遊仙境》及續作《愛麗絲夢遊仙境2：鏡中奇遇記》中的主要角色。

Paolo』s comments should be taken with a pinch of salt because he』s as mad as a hatter.(The Evening Standard)

burning the midnight oil

開夜車；聚螢映雪；熬夜學習工作

to work till late night

在用電尚未普及的年代，夜晚照明完全依靠蠟燭或燈油等。人們熬夜工作時，經常會在半夜把燈油燒完。因此，burning the midnight oil也就用來指代熬夜學習、工作等。

「There were some periods when they finished their exams before me, and I was still burning the midnight oil,」 she said with a laugh.(The Straits Times)

jump(or climb) on the bandwagon

趕時髦；隨大流；見風使舵

to join others in doing something or supporting a cause that is fashionable or likely to be successful.

1800年代中，馬戲場在正式搭檯子之前，會在花車的帶領下圍繞市鎮巡遊宣傳，吸引大批市民圍觀。政治家會抓住這個大好的宣傳機會，跳上事先安排好或租來的花車，與市民面對面宣揚自己的觀點並拉選票。

Maybe when people resist change, it』s not because they are stubborn or old-fashioned, but because there is something going on in the workplace that makes it difficult for them to jump on the bandwagon.(The Globe and Mail)

take it with a grain(pinch) of salt

別全當真；持點懷疑態度

to accept it while maintaining a degree of scepticism about its truth.

來源：公元77年，人們認為一撮鹽不僅有助於食物消化，還可以作為毒品解藥的成分。羅馬時代的龐培將軍發現一種解毒劑必須和著一小把鹽才服得下去。於是，take it with a grain of salt 用來描述一些不靠譜、值得懷疑的觀點，必須「和著鹽」才能勉強接受。

I am not sure where you stand on polls, but I believe there are four basic categories that polls fall into: love, hate, take with a grain of salt or believe as gospel.(The San Luis Obispo Tribune)

圖片來源：pixabay，僅供參考。

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