3月 02 2009

In the firing line, again

Published by at 00:57 under 咬文嚼字

在同一期的读者反馈上,《泰晤士报》的Sally Baker说自从上周有读者指出 in the firing line 是指“开火”而不是“被打”之后,又有读者来信说,in the firing line 也可以用来形容“被打”,证据是在《牛津简明英语辞典》上:

The Concise OED definition of ‘in the firing line‘ is: ‘1. The front line of troops in a battle; 2. A position where one is subject to criticism or blame.’

但是显然Sally Baker的字典(Collins English Dictionary)上没有这种说法。《卫报》的“文字规范”(Style guide)显然支持她的观点。原因很简单:他们用的同一本字典。

firing line
the people who do the firing; if they are aiming at you, you are in the line of fire not in the firing line.

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One Response to “In the firing line, again”

  1. Play With Words » In line of fireon 05 3月 2009 at 00:14

    […] In the firing line, agian […]

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