When used to describe a person, 'slippery' means someone who is clever but dishonest, making them untrustworthy. It often carries a negative connotation and is associated with being deceitful or cunning.
In everyday contexts, 'slippery' is commonly used to describe something that is smooth or slick, such as a slippery sidewalk. It warns of potential hazards like slipping or falling.
In English, 'slippery' is often associated with animals like eels or snakes to describe someone as deceitful (e.g., 'as slippery as an eel'). In Chinese, the equivalent expression typically uses the fox ('as cunning as a fox'), reflecting cultural differences in metaphorical imagery.
The phrase 'slippery customer' implies someone or something that is deceitful, cunning, or difficult to deal with. It doesn't necessarily refer to a literal customer but rather to a person or entity that is untrustworthy.
An example is: 'He's as slippery as an eel—you can never get a straight answer out of him.' This sentence illustrates how 'slippery' is used to describe someone who is evasive and untrustworthy.
【句子】Honey, you know how slippery they are. 【Desperate Housewives S2E8】
【发音】/ˈhʌn.i/ /ju:/ /nəʊ/ /haʊ/ /ˈslɪp.ər.i/ /ðeɪ/ /ɑː(r)/
【发音技巧】暂无;
【翻译】亲爱的,你知道他们有多狡猾。
【适用场合】
今天节目中我们一起来看看slippery这个单词的用法。大家日常生活中可能会在一些提醒大家“小心地滑”的牌子上看到slippery这个词,因为它有形容词“光滑的;滑溜溜的;易滑落的”这样的词义;
比如说:
eg: a slippery sidewalk
一条打滑的人行道
而今天视频中,slippery的用法,明显是形容词性另外一个意思:“靠不住的;狡猾的;滑头的;”
这个词经常用来描述人,而且充满了贬义色彩。
someone who is slippery is clever but dishonest, so that you cannot trust them;
在口语中,当slippery当作这个意思理解,一般经常还会跟eel鳗鱼或者snake蛇这样的动物形象联系在一起,我们会说as slippery as an eel,或者as slippery as a snake字面意思是:“像一条鳗鱼一样狡猾”;“像一条蛇一样狡猾”;
在中文当中,我们通常会说“像狐狸一样狡猾”,这个时候就能体会出来中英文文化当中的表达差异了。
eg: He's as slippery as an eel—you can never get a straight answer out of him.
他啊,狡猾得跟狐狸一样,你从他嘴里套不出来一句直率的答案。
大家从这句话中就能看出来同样表达“狡猾的;滑头的;不可信赖的”这样的意思,但是中英文中选择的意象明显不同。
eg: Their embezzling CEO has been slippery as a snake, but we've finally got some hard evidence on him now.
他们那个挪用公款的首席执行官狡猾得很,但是我们终于拿到了一些他犯罪的铁证。
eg: Of course that guy took everyone's money and left town—he's as slippery as a snake.
当然,那家伙拿走了所有人的钱,离开了小镇。他特别狡猾。
eg: Don't sign a lease with that landlord. I think he's as slippery as an eel.
别跟那个房东签租约,他太狡猾了。
而当别人说slippery customer的时候,其实此时的customer也不一定就是“顾客”的意思;
slippery customer 就是指“一个狡猾、滑头的人或者事物、组织”;
eg: Don't believe what he says—he's a slippery customer.
别相信他说的话,他这个人啊,狡猾得很!
【尝试翻译以下句子,并留言在文章留言区】
Companies like this are slippery customers, coming up with all sorts of elaborate means of getting around regulations.