問:「黃牛黨」英文怎麼說?
答:炒賣車票、入場券等的人,英文叫( ticket) tout,美式英文則叫(
ticket) scalper。 Tout任動詞,可解作「大吹大擂的兜售或招徠」,帶貶義; scalp作動詞,本義是「把(某人)整幅頭皮剝下」,以被剝頭皮比喻被黃牛榨財,也夠慘了,例如:(
1) Lawyers are not allowed to tout for business(律師不得自吹自擂招徠生意)。( 2) He was scalped
alive by the Indians(他活生生被那些印第安人剝下頭皮)。( 3) As soon as we arrived at the football stadium, we were
surrounded by ticket touts/ ticket scalpers(或 people
touting/ scalping tickets)(我們一到足球場,就遭黃牛包圍)。
賣黃牛票者,無論有沒有組織,隨便一點,都叫做「黃牛黨」。假如專言有組織的黃牛黨,英文可說 ticket touting/ scalping
gang(或 syndicate)。
問:有報紙報道某葉太退出行政長官競選,標題是 Ip Drops out of Race for Chief Executive,那 race之後為什麼不用 of?用 for,不是說「葉某為了行政長官而退出競選」嗎?
答: For的確有「為了」的意思,但這個 for修飾的是 race而不是 drop out,所以標題不可解作「退出是為了行政長官」。凡是說「角逐某職位」,英文都用
for帶出那職位名稱,例如:( 1) He was
standing/ running for Chief Executive(他角逐行政長官職位)。( 2) Many supported him in his campaign/ race for Chief
Executive(很多人支持他角逐行政長官職位)。