Elbow grease 費勁苦幹

內容簡介

主持人 Phil 想把自己的車裡裡外外都打掃幹凈，他對同事菲菲說，這需要 “a bit of elbow grease”。表達 “elbow grease” 的字面意思是 “胳膊肘上的油漬”，但它實際用來比喻 “費勁苦幹”，尤其指 “重活，體力活”。聽節目，學習如何在日常生活中使用這個表達。

文字稿

（關於臺詞的備註: 請註意這不是廣播節目的逐字稿件。本文稿可能沒有體現錄制、編輯過程中對節目做出的改變。）

Feifei
大傢好，歡迎收聽 AYYBLOG英語教學的 “地道英語” 節目。I’m Feifei.

Phil
And I’m Phil. We have an expression which is about hard work, especially if it’s physically quite hard – it’s ‘elbow grease’.

Feifei
Elbow grease. 這個表達的字面意思是 “胳膊肘上的油漬”，它實際用來比喻 “費勁苦幹”，尤其指 “臟活、累活、體力活”。

Phil
OK, my car is absolutely filthy, I need to get it clean – it’s hard work, and there are some bits that won’t be easy to clean, but with a bit of elbow grease, I can get it done.

Feifei
Phil 說想要把自己的車裡裡外外清潔幹凈需要 “a bit of elbow grease（一番苦幹）”。It’s amazing what you can achieve with a bit of elbow grease!

Phil
Yes, sometimes hard work can be satisfying. I thought digging up my garden was going to be a horrible job, but with a bit of elbow grease, I got it done fairly quickly.

Feifei
People are always looking for the easy way out – but sometimes the only way to get something done is good, old-fashioned elbow grease. 有些事情隻有自己動手、身體力行才能完成。

Phil
There’s nothing wrong with a bit of hard work. Let’s hear some more examples.

Examples
The kitchen looks sparkling now, but it took a lot of elbow grease to get there!

The sports teams are only successful because of the elbow grease put in by the volunteers, coaches, and organisers.

You call those shoes polished? You need a bit more elbow grease than that!

Feifei
你正在收聽的是 AYYBLOG英語教學的 “地道英語” 節目。以上我們學習瞭表達 “elbow grease” 的用法。它用來指 “重活，體力活”，尤其被用在描述 “通過一番苦幹把某物徹底清潔幹凈” 的語境中。

Phil
Yes, that’s probably the most common context. We also often use it because we think that hard work is a good, honest thing – it’s seen as positive.

Feifei
“Elbow grease” 含褒義，暗示 “做點體力活沒什麼大不瞭的，出點力氣是好事兒”。也正因如此，我們通常在這個表達前加 “a bit” 或 “a little” —— “a bit of elbow grease” 和 “a little elbow grease”，意思都是 “一點體力活兒”。

Phil
Anyway, it’s taken quite a bit of elbow grease to record this episode, so I think I need to go and have a rest.

Feifei
You call that elbow grease? Some people! Anyway, see you next time! Bye-bye!

Phil
Bye!