今天给大家介绍的是:to throw a wet blanket on something。
A wet blanket就是一张湿的毯子。To throw a wet blanket on something就是消除别人的热情或者是破坏别人的享受。那么,这个俗语是从那儿来的呢?大家可能都注意到,每当发生火灾的时候,人们往往用湿的毯子来灭火。这个俗语还经常被用来形容那些让人感到扫兴的客人,请听下面这个例子:
"Let's not invite Dick to the dance--he is such a wet blanket with that sour look on his face and his boring talk."
这个人说:“我们开舞会可别请迪克,他那愁眉苦脸的样子,还老说那些没有人感兴趣的话,太扫兴了。”
下面这个例子是一个人在谈论国家经济动向的问题:
"Bad news today: the government says that corporate earnings weren't as good as expected the last quarter. That'll throw a wet blanket over plans of investors to get into the stock market."
这句话的意思是:“今天的消息可不好。政府说,上一季度私营企业的盈利并没有期望中那么好。这个消息对那些想在股票市场投资的人来说就像泼了一盆冷水一样。”
spite on one's own blanket
搬起石头砸自己的脚