BBC地道英语｜To wash your dirty linen in public 家丑外扬
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Hello and welcome to The English We Speak with me Feifei…
大家好，欢迎收听地道英语，我是菲菲…
…and me, Rob.Hello! Hey Feifei, you know that expression ’to wash your dirty linen in public’?
…还有我，罗布。大家好！嗨，菲菲，你知道“在公开场合洗你的脏衣服”这个表达方式吗？
Yes. The expression ’to wash your dirty linen in public’ describes someone who talks about private matters in public – so everyone can hear them. You wouldn’t catch me doing that!
知道。“在公开场合洗你的脏衣服”这个表达方式描述的是公开谈论私事的人，以至于每个人都能听到。你不会看到我这样做的！
Nor me –I always keep private matters private -but anyway it’s exactly what Daisy and Tom have been doing.
我也不会这样做，我总是会保护隐私，可不管怎么说，黛西和汤姆可确实是这样做了。
What? They’ve been washing their dirty linen in public –you mean they’ve been arguing?
什么？他们在公开场合谈论私密的事情了吗？你的意思是他们吵架了？
Well not exactly –but yesterday, they were out in the garden making lots of noise.
也不完全是这样的，但是昨天，他们在花园里弄出了很大的噪音。
Oh I see.Actually Rob I think…
噢我明白了。罗布，实际上我觉得…
…and I’m sure Daisy said something about hanging Tom out to dry.
…而且我确定黛西说了把汤姆害苦了之类的话。
Rob, Rob. There’s a simple explanation. But let’s hear some more examples of this phrase first…
罗布，罗布。这件事解释起来很简单。不过我们还是先听几个关于这个短语的例子吧…
Tim kept discussing his brother’s drinking problem at the pub but I told him not to wash his dirty linen in public.
蒂姆一直在酒吧谈论他哥哥的酗酒问题，但我告诉他不要将家丑外扬。
I know he’s having an affair but do they have to wash their dirty linen in public?
我知道他有外遇，但他们一定要将家丑外扬吗？
Don’t wash your dirty linen in public, save your argument for when you get home!
家丑不可外扬，你还是省着等回家再吵吧！
So the expression ’to wash your dirty linen in public’ means you discuss private matters in public. But Rob, I don’t think Daisy and Tom were talking about their family problems in the garden.
所以“家丑外扬”这个表达方式意思是说你在公共场合谈论私事。但是罗布，我不觉得黛西和汤姆是在花园里谈论他们的家事。
Well I could hear what was going on.
好，可我能听到发生了什么呀。
Are you sure? Because I spoke to Daisy and she said their washing machine had broken downand they were actually washing their clothes outdoors, in the garden. I think the noise was just them having a laugh.
你确定吗？因为我和黛西谈过话了，她说他们的洗衣机坏掉了，并且他们确实是在室外洗衣服，就是在花园里洗的。我想那个噪音就是他们在笑吧。
But what about Daisy saying she was going to hang Tom out to dry?
可黛西说她要把汤姆害苦了是怎么回事呢？
I think she meant she was going to hang Tom’s clothes out to dry. You need to mind your own business and then you won’t hear people washing their dirty linen in public – either literally or metaphorically!
我想她的意思是要把汤姆的衣服晒出来晾干。你要管好你自己的事，并且不要再听别人在公众场合谈论私密的事了——不管是从字面意思来说，还是从比喻的角度来说都不要了！
Thanks for the advice Feifei. Bye-bye.
谢谢你的建议菲菲。再见。
Bye.
再见。