“cool heels”是“腳后跟發(fā)涼嗎”？可別在鬧笑話了！

我朋友前幾天去了趟醫(yī)院，回來(lái)跟我抱怨說(shuō)人實(shí)在是太多了。她提前在網(wǎng)上預(yù)約了號(hào)，到那也等了很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間。

I've been cooling my heels in the doctor's waiting room for at least an hour. 我在候診室等了至少一小時(shí)。

大家有沒有注意到這個(gè)表達(dá)呢，cool heels。heels是腳后跟的意思，cool是變得涼爽的意思，聽到cool heels，有沒有腳后跟發(fā)涼的感覺呢？

1. cool heels，which means to wait or be kept waiting. 我們可以通俗的翻譯成“害你久等”的意思。

To make a good impression, I got there half an hour early, but I had to cool my heels for more than two hours before anybody would see me.

為了留個(gè)好印象，我提前半小時(shí)到，但是等了兩個(gè)多小時(shí)都沒人來(lái)見我。

If you are cooling your heels, someone is deliberately keeping you waiting, so that you get bored or impatient.

如果說(shuō)cool your heels，是說(shuō)有人故意讓你久等，所以讓你感到厭煩，失去了耐心。

 

I spent an hour cooling my heels in the waiting room while the doctor saw other patients.

醫(yī)生在看別的病人時(shí)，我在候診室等了一小時(shí)。

All right, if you can't behave properly, just sit down here and cool your heels until I call you.

這樣，如果你不能好好表現(xiàn)，那就坐在這兒等著，等我叫你。

我們來(lái)看一個(gè)對(duì)話：

IPhone每次出新品的時(shí)候，體驗(yàn)店都是人山人海，很多人排隊(duì)搶購(gòu)。

Customer: I would like to buy an IphoneX right now, please.

我想買部IPhoneX。

Employee: I am sorry, but you have to cool your heels, sir. Lots of people have been waiting longer than you.

不好意思，先生。你需要等等，你前面還排著很多人。

2.to wait or take rest 這個(gè)意義上的等和“停下來(lái)休息”的意思差不多。

The man works so hard for his family, he deserves to cool his heels every now and then.

這個(gè)男人為了他的家拼命工作，他應(yīng)該偶爾停下來(lái)休息休息。

 

You need to cool your heels for a minute and stop yelling at the staff―they didn't do anything wrong.

你歇會(huì)吧，別吼這些員工了，他們又沒做錯(cuò)什么。

 

Their journey is still far from here. They will cool their heels tonight at a five star hotel to commence travelling again from morning.

他們的目的地離這還遠(yuǎn)呢，于是找了一家五星級(jí)酒店休息，明早再繼續(xù)出發(fā)。

我們有個(gè)詞叫“忙里偷閑”，以前被認(rèn)為是一個(gè)不好的詞，但我覺得有可以休息的機(jī)會(huì)，為什么不讓自己放松放松呢？一味地忙碌也不是好事。

You will burn yourself out if you do not cool your heels when you can.

可以休息的時(shí)候一定要休息，不然你會(huì)累成狗的。