你见过那种拿着翻盖手机还当宝贝的人吗?或者遇到死活不肯用移动支付的倔强长辈?就是这个贼形象的美国俚语——horse-and-buggy!字面意思是"马和马车",实际专指老掉牙的过时玩意儿!就像中文里说"老马拉破车"那种感觉。别小看这个词,它背后藏着美国从马车到汽车的整个科技革命史,还能精准吐槽你身边那些"活在上个世纪"的人和事。
直译: 马 + 马车(buggy指轻便马车)
真意: 形容老掉牙的、过时的、该进博物馆的东西
▷ 历史背景冷知识:
1908年福特推出T型车,马车瞬间变"古董"
1920年代美国马车数量暴跌90%,汽车成了新宠
这个词诞生在汽车碾压马车的时代转折点
▷ 使用场景三大类:
老派思想:拒绝新观念的顽固派
淘汰技术:像软盘、胶卷这类过气科技
复古生活方式:刻意不用现代设备的群体
▶ 怼人专用:
My boss still insists on faxing documents - it's so horse-and-buggy!
我老板还坚持发传真,简直老掉牙!
▶ 科技吐槽:
Using Windows XP in 2023? That's totally horse-and-buggy technology.
2023年还用XP系统?纯纯的古董级技术啊!
▶ 文化现象:
Her horse-and-buggy attitude towards online dating is preventing her from finding love.
她对网恋的老古板态度,导致根本找不到对象。
▶ 原著例句精讲:
A large Amish community steadfastly perpetuates a 19th century horse-and-buggy lifestyle.
庞大的阿米什社区仍坚持延续19世纪老式马车的生活方式
★ 阿米什人:拒绝汽车/电器的宗教群体,活生生的"活化石"
| 英文表达 | 中文对应 | 杀伤力对比 |
|---|---|---|
| horse-and-buggy | 老马拉破车 | ★★★★★(自带历史画面感) |
| old-fashioned | 老派/过时 | ★★☆☆☆(常规描述) |
| outdated | 过气的 | ★★★☆☆(稍正式) |
| antiquated | 陈旧的 | ★★★★☆(学术感强) |
| behind the times | 落伍的 | ★★★☆☆(口语常用) |
想温柔点就说"old-fashioned",想毒舌吐槽直接甩"horse-and-buggy"!
学会骂"过时",也得会夸"新潮":
cutting-edge (尖端的) → This AI tech is cutting-edge!
state-of-the-art (顶尖的) → Our lab has state-of-the-art equipment
trendy (时髦的) → That cafe is so trendy right now
innovative (创新的) → Her design approach is innovative
阿米什人生活图鉴:
? 禁用汽车:马车出行,车尾挂反光三角牌
? 拒绝电网:用煤气灯、太阳能充电
? 服装统一:女性长裙+围裙,男性吊带裤
? 手机禁令:仅限公用电话亭
? 社区自治:16岁后可选"入世体验"再决定是否回归
★ 冷知识:阿米什人不用保险,社区互助基金覆盖医疗费
职场吐槽:
Insisting on paper reports in our digital office is such a horse-and-buggy approach!
在无纸化办公室还坚持纸质报告,老古董做派!
家庭战场:
Grandpa's horse-and-buggy TV with antennas still sits in his living room.
爷爷客厅还摆着带天线的古董电视机。
科技迭代:
Flappy Bird feels horse-and-buggy compared to today's mobile games.
比起现在的手游,像素鸟简直原始得像石器时代。
练习1:填空选择题
My professor still uses ______ methods like chalkboards and overhead projectors.
A) high-tech
B)horse-and-buggy
C) innovative
D) digital
练习2:中译英挑战
舅舅坚持用胶卷相机拍照,简直太老派了!
(提示:insist on, film camera)
练习3:情景创作
假设你同事拒绝用协同文档,坚持邮件往来。写段50字英文对话吐槽,必须包含"horse-and-buggy"
示例开头:A: Why do you keep emailing documents? We have shared folders...
练习1: B)horse-and-buggy
练习2:
My uncle insists on using a film camera - it's so horse-and-buggy!
练习3参考:
A: Why do you keep emailing documents? We have shared folders now.
B: I'm used to emails, it's more reliable.
A: Come on, that's so horse-and-buggy! Real-time collaboration saves hours!
B: Fine... show me how this "modern magic" works.