中式英語之鑑:他一向嘴硬,從不認錯

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他一向嘴硬，從不認錯。

[誤] He has always got a hard mouth and never admit a fault.

[正] He never says uncle.

注：say (cry) uncle: to give up or in; to surrender; to admit defeat. Mainly used by boys, as when fighting。

主要是男孩們打架時的用語，當一方想制服另一方時，就用命令的口氣說：“Say uncle!”這時，有的孩子爲了表示不服輸，就是不說。後來，say uncle 就成了“服輸”的代名詞，而 not say uncle 就相當於“嘴硬”了。