姊:Oops! I smashed a plate. As long as I don’t declare it, nobody will notice. 弟:Hey ! I saw you! I’m going to tell mom. 姊:What!? Don’t do that!
弟:I’m just pulling your leg.
姊:糟糕!我打破一個盤子。不過只要我不說,就沒人會知道才對。
弟:欸!我有看到喔!我要去跟媽媽說。
姊:什麼!? 不要這樣啦!
弟:騙你的啦!
A:Your English skills have gotten a lot better! B:Really? Are you pulling my leg?
A:你的英文真的進步非常多!
B:真的嗎?你有沒有在騙我?
Tom:Hi, Mary! It’s been a long time since we met before. Mary:This is the first time in twenty years. Tom:To tell the truth, I used to have a crush on you when I was a junior high school student. Mary:Are you serious? Actually I used to have a crush on you. Tom:Come on! Don’t pull my leg.
Tom:嗨!瑪莉!距離上次見面已經過了好長一段時間了。
Mary:應該有二十年沒見了!
Tom:說實話,我以前國中的時候有喜歡過你。
Mary:真的嗎? 我以前也喜歡過你耶!
Tom:真的假的?!不要耍我耶!
A:You are so cool today! B:Stop pulling my leg.
A:你今天真的超酷的!
B:不要再鬧我了!
A:Hey. There’s an insect on your head! B:What!!!!! A:Sorry! I was just pulling your leg.
A:嘿!有一隻蟲在你頭上。
B:什麼!!!
A:對不起啦!我只是在逗你。
A:Seriously? You’re moving? B:I’m just pulling your leg!
A:真的假的?你要搬家了?
B:騙你的啦!
A:Hey! Where are you going? B:Mars! A:What? What do you mean?
B:Relax. I’m just pulling your leg.
A:嘿!你要去哪裡?
B:火星。
A:嗄?那是什麼意思?
B:不要想太多,我只是在鬧你。
母:Stop teasing your father. He is in a bad mood now. 女:Well, I love to tease my dad about his jokes.
母:Apologize to daddy! 女:OK.
母:不要再跟你爸爸開玩笑了,他現在心情不好。
女:可是,我就是喜歡拿爸爸的玩笑來捉弄他啊!
母:快點跟爸爸道歉!
女:好吧!
make fun of
「make fun of ~」也是「捉弄、取笑〜」的意思。未必都是使用在負面場合。
A:Don always makes fun of his friends. B:Mmm, I think that’s like bullying.
A:唐總是喜歡取笑朋友。
B:嗯,我覺得那就是一種霸凌行為。
poke fun at
「poke fun at ~」同樣是「捉弄〜」的意思。
它和「make fun of」基本上意思完全一樣,以捉弄對方為目的,故意說些讓人不開心的話。 A:Hey, did you see the TV news this morning? B:No, why? A:The news poked fun at the Prime Minister’s new pet.
A:嘿!你今天早上看新聞了嗎?
B:還沒,怎麼了?
A:他們故意拿首相新養的寵物來開玩笑。
kid
「kid」當名詞解釋作「兒童」,當動詞用的時候,則是「開玩笑」、「曚騙」的意思。
A:I have decided to get a divorce.
B:What? You’ve got to be kidding me.
A:我決定要離婚了。
B:什麼?你在開玩笑吧?
「have got to〜」表示「絕對〜」的意思。因此「You’ve got to be kidding me.」就解釋作「你一定是在開玩笑」。這句話在電影台詞裡面常常出現。
A:Hi! Long time no see! B:Hi! That was a really long trip, wasn’t it? Come on in and make yourself at home! A:Thank you! I can finally let my hair down.
A:嗨!好久不見!
B:嗨!你出去旅行好久了對吧?快進來!不用拘束。
A:謝謝,我終於可以好好放鬆了。
have a big mouth
它就和中文的「大嘴巴」完全一樣,表示「完全守不住秘密」的意思。
A:Everybody says he has a big mouth, right? B:Yeah, absolutely.
A:每個人都說他是個大嘴巴,對吧?
B:沒錯,完全正確。