英汉互译术语（英汉语习语互译）

【英语习语】

(not) get a word in edgeways

【习语注释】

edgeway表示“边缘通道；路边；路侧”，get a word in edgeways的意思是“join a conversation in which another is speaking continually and leaving little opportunity for others”，即“加入一个某人不停地讲话而不给别人留机会的谈话”，即“插嘴；插话”。

【习语运用】

When Mary starts talking, no one else can get a word in edgeways.

玛丽讲起话来，别人谁也插不上嘴。

He spent all the time talking and they could not get a word in edgeways.

他一直说个不停，他们都插不上嘴。

Honestly, that man could talk the hind legs off a donkey. I couldn't get a word in edgeways.

坦率地说，那个男人简直是口若悬河，我一句都插不上。

【闲话习语】

该习语有一个变体说法，即“get a word in edgewise”，源自十九世纪的英国。该习语最早的意思是“edging sideways through a crowd, seeking small gaps in which to proceed through the throng”，即“侧身穿过人群，寻找穿过人群的小空隙”。该习语当前含义的相关用法较早出现在David Abercromby所写的《话语艺术》（Art of Converse，1683）里：

Without giving them so much time as to edge in a word.

而该习语本身的书面运用较早出现在话剧《多佛之夜》（A night at Dover，1821）里：

Sir F. (Aside.) Curse me, if I can get a word in edgeways!

那么，你还知道英语里“插不上嘴”的其它说法吗？欢迎留言探讨。

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