火龙果习语站 | A Dime A Dozen

编辑:火龙果写作        日期:2020-09-03

英语中的习语 (idioms)就像汉语中的成语一样,使用恰当时能更饱满地传达情绪,生动地表达含义,也让对方感到更加熟悉地道。和成语类似,很多英语习语并不能简单地望文生义,需要熟悉习语的含义和用法。

火龙果习语站火龙果智能写作软件产品组策划的一档英语习语系列博客。每天用5分钟时间,为你讲解容易误用的英语习语。让你无论在英语写作还是日常表达中,都更加地道,自信,游刃有余。

A Dime A Dozen表达“遍地都是”或“一文不值”

剑桥词典对它的释义是:To be common and/or of very little value.用中文来说,就是某样东西非常常见以至于一文不值。当你说某物是a dime a dozen的时候,你其实在表达这个东西很常见,或者很便宜,或者没什么特别之处。

A dime a dozen是一个“不合语法”的英语习语。特别需要注意的是,它在使用的时候要作为一个整体。为了更直观地了解这个习语,让我们来看一些例句。

Books like this are a dime a dozen.

像这样的书非常常见。

There is no need for you to pay $20 for that hair brush, the store down the street has them at a dime a dozen.

你不用花20美元买那个毛刷,这条街上的那家店多得是便宜的。

Answered the producer, People like that are a dime a dozen.

负责人回答道,那样的人一抓一大把,遍地都是。

Pagers were rare ten years ago, now they are a dime a dozen.

十年前,寻呼机挺少见的,但现在遍地都是了。

A Dime A Dozen的起源

相比a blessing in disguise,a dime a dozen的理解非常简单。A dime是十分钱(美元),也就是一毛钱;而a dozen是一打,也就是二十个,字面意思就是1毛钱能买12个,形容某物非常廉价不值钱。

一毛钱最早铸造于1796年。在19世纪,很多商品如鸡蛋或苹果都会以“一毛一打”进行广告宣传,后来就渐渐发展到形容物品由于非常普遍而不值钱了。

下面让我们来看几个真实语料中使用a dime a dozen的实例。

Superhero sequels are a dime a dozen at the cineplex, and they often suffer from quality-control issues. (The Washington Post)

I never really considered myself “smart” based on traditional measures, but as Walter Isaacson said “Smart people are a dime a dozen.” (The Huffington Post)

Belsky, author of Making Ideas Happen, tells us why ideas are a dime a dozen while execution is the real key to success. (The Business Insider)

There’s nothing English rugby doesn’t know about pools of death just now, and pools of death are a dime a dozen in the new Europe. (The Guardian)

Feuds are a dime a dozen on “The Real Housewives” series, but few are as tragic as the rift between sisters Kim and Kyle Richards on “Beverly Hills.” (The New York Post)

Being a bachelor degree graduate may have been enough 20 years ago, but these days they’re a dime a dozen, says Josh Licence. (The Sydney Morning Herald)

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