台灣俗語的智慧(23)
1) 《鷄嘴變鴨嘴》：(Pronounced as: geh chui ben/b'n ah chui)
由雄辯變成啞口無言以對。公鷄的鷄鳴，震撼其他動物引起注意，故有『聞鷄起舞』。當一個人得理不饒人時，說話振振有詞，但當他後來知到理屈時，則像鴨子緊閉其嘴。
【直譯】：A rooster’s mouth is converted to a duck’s.
【意譯】： In the beginning, one is asserting and arguing as eloquently as a rooster. But when he finds his argument or assertion is groundless, he keeps his mouth shut like a duck. The Taiwanese uses a metaphor;鷄嘴-rooster’s mouth to mean eloquence。
註：鴨嘴- duck’s mouth meaning silence or speechlessness.
Compare one mouth with the other (比較兩張嘴的不同)；one wide open; the other totally shut!
2) 《窮到鬼要拖去》：(Pronunced as: sand gao beh hoh kui tua kih)
形容人的窮，有用「窮小子」，「窮光蛋」，「一窮二白」，「窮得要死」。英國人用 “as poor as a church mouse” 『窮得像教堂的老鼠』(每周教徒來作禮拜僅一次，才送一點捐献) 。台灣人認為人死成鬼，什麽都沒有，故也用『窮鬼』(pronounced as: sand kui)，但英文確無poor ghost或poor Satan之用法，可能既已成鬼，即一無所有。
教堂裡的老鼠? 本人一貧如洗(但仍帶珍珠項鍊? ) 空袋空空如也
【直譯】：One becomes so poor that he/she will be dragged off by ghosts.或Someone is as poor as if he/she will be accompanied by reluctantly hauled away a ghost. (原句的拖去，含不情願地被拉走)
【意譯】： Someone is poverty itself. = Someone is very poor. = Someone is poverty stricken. Someone is as poor as a church mouse.
3. 《好花插牛屎》(Pronounced as：hoh hui chat gooh sai)
台灣人想出的妙喻，雖然不雅，確形容得淋漓盡致，意謂極不搭(速) 配。花通常插在花瓶內(vase) 、頭髮上、衣服上，但當然不會插在牛的糞便上 (droppings)。
好花 
插在牛屎上的花
【直譯】：putting beautiful flowers on a pile of bull droppings. 當然也可以用bullshit，但此字英美人士也認知是無意義的(nonsense) 或胡扯、虛假、倒霉。
【意譯】：It is sheer incompatibility. = It is totally incompatible and wasted. (完全不配)- 古代若貌美的祝英台下嫁醜陋的馬俊，即適合本句之比喻(metaphor)
**台灣話另用『渚屎』（念作tuh sai）表示一件好的東西被人『比下去』，而失去光輝或競爭力之義。英文含 “When compared, something is downgraded to nothingness.”之義。或 “ It is shamefully inferior to others by comparison.”
4. 《三八假厚禮》：(Pronounced as:sam pat gei kao leh)
註：台語「三八」可以指男、女，含不正經、不正常或行為不端正之意。厚禮意謂禮數過分周到(over polite)。假乃假冒或冒充也 (a fake or a counterfeit)。
左：禮貌不花錢卻賺盡一切 右：有禮走遍天下。
【意譯】：Pretending to be very courteous, one is actually behaving inappropriately. 或
One is nuts about pretending that he is showing excessive politeness. (nuts很接近三八之意) 。有一對『芋仔蕃薯』(外省先生+台灣太太)的夫妻十分恩愛，丈夫叫妻子「三八的」，妻子則叫丈夫為「四九的」，雖然四九與『死狗』同音，卻不影響他們的感情。類似的俗語是『梨子假蘋果』與『牛欄假鹿鞭』。(見前列文)
5. 十二月甘蔗雙頭甜 (Pronounced as: Chap-ji/li-gueh kam-chia siang-thau-tin.)
字面意思(literal meaning)：十二月份的甘蔗頭部與尾部都是甜的因此月對甘蔗而言是逢時的作物 (seasonal and seasonable plant)
【直譯】：Both ends of sugar canes ripe in December taste most sweet.
Things in season are sweet and tasty.
因節氣的關係，夏天時期的甘蔗，中下段較甜，末段則清淡如水；冬末(尤其
農曆十二月)整支甘蔗頭尾都甜。同樣的宜蘭所生產的蒜，到了冬季整支入口
即化，是一種享受。
【意譯】：本諺語用於指人生歷經努力，一旦機運來臨則是左右逢源、名利雙收。
After working hard the whole life, one becomes wealthy and prosperous when met with good chances.
6. 前手接錢，後手空 (Pronounced as: Cheng-chhiu chiap-chin, au-chhiu khang.
＊ 字面意思：前手接錢，後手花光，喻：生活困頓，或浪費成性，一接到錢很快就花光了。
【意譯】：入不敷出
One is such a spendthrift that he/she can hardly make both ends meet.
比較：正手入，左手出(pronounced as: Chian-chhiu jip, to-chhiu chhut.)
= (右手進、左手出)。註：台語正手=右手，左，白話念成toh,但，左營(地名)，則念zho yiang.
7. 千算萬算，呣值著天一劃 (pronounced as: Chheng-sng ban-sng, m-tat-tioh thin chit-oe.
【意譯】：However good at planning in advance, one can rarely achieve success as planned.
God may not necessarily comply with one’s wishes.
(人算不如天算。善有善報，惡有惡報。生死有命，富貴在天。天不從人願)。
8. 千金買厝，萬金買厝邊(Pronounced as:Chhean-kim beh chhu, ban-kim be chhu-ping)
遠親不如近鄰
註: 厝邊，即鄰居，日語叫となり。
【直譯】：One spends thousands of dollars buying a house while spending tens of thousands of dollars buying good neighborhood.
【意譯】：Good neighborhood is much more important than the value of a house.＊形容敦親睦鄰之重要。
9. 千斤健，毋值著四兩命 (Pronounced as:Chhean-kin-kiang, m tat-tio si-niu-mia.)
註：千斤健，喻謂體健=very healthy; One is as healthy as if one weights one thousand kilogram
【意譯】：He who is born with a silver spoon in mouth by fate is more important or luckier than the one simply with a very strong and healthy body.
＊另解：一个人費盡千斤之力獲得之成就，猶不如天生所賦予个四兩命，強調自然的力量。台諺又云：『命好呣免人賢(命好勝過有才幹) –(Pronounced as：miah hoh m ben ran gao)
10. 千富萬富，呣值著家己厝 (Pronounced as:Chhean-pu ban-pu, m-tat-tioh ka-kih-chhu.)
註：呣值著：不值：家己=自己的；厝=房子
【意譯】：However magnificent a big house is, its warmth and comfort is less comparable with that of one’s own house. (However humble a home may be, home is home.)
客家話：千好萬好，毋當自己屋下好。
類似比喻台語：豬岫呣值狗岫穩。(Pronounced as: dit/dut shu m tat- tioh gao shu wun)
【直譯】：A swine’s house is less stable or comfortable as a dog’s.
意謂：水是故鄉甜，人是故鄉親，月是故鄉明。
【意譯】：Water in one’s hometown tastes sweeter; people there are friendlier and the moon there appears brighter.
如Tom Jones之名曲，“Green, Green Grass of Home” 請聽他高歌一曲，年紀雖大，中氣依然十足…..
Justin Lai (賴正雄) 編著於美國南加州
11/03/2015
