又中又英｜Dish the dirt

There is an old saying that knowledge is power. All military leaders try to acquire knowledge about their enemies. Knowing the battle plan of an enemy empowers a military leader. Politicians acquire knowledge to defeat their opponents. Some politicians try to find scandals involving their opponents during elections. This knowledge gives them the power to dish the dirt on opponents. To dish the dirt means to reveal shocking or scandalous personal information about others. Investigative journalists try to find scandals about powerful people to dish the dirt on them.

I used to be an investigative reporter years ago but am now just a modest columnist! I spend several hours on the internet every morning to familiarize myself with the latest news. I also watch YouTube shows about politics and other topics. I acquire knowledge to get ideas for this column, not to dish the dirt on anyone! One YouTuber I sometimes listen to is a critic of Elon Musk, the world’s richest person. He recently used the expression “just deserts” to criticize Musk. US President Donald Trump has given Musk sweeping powers to cut government spending. The expression “sweeping powers” means a lot of power.

Musk’s popularity sank after he used his sweeping powers to fire thousands of government workers and close or shrink government agencies that many Americans depended on. They boycotted, set fire to, and even sold their own Tesla cars, causing the company’s stock price to sink. The YouTuber said Musk got his “just deserts”, which means the punishment one deserves. The word “deserts” in this expression is pronounced like desserts, which are sweet things. It is not pronounced like deserts, which are dry and sandy places. 

有一句老话道：知识就是力量。所有军事领袖都尝试获取其敌人的资讯，能够知悉敌方的作战计划，得以增加一个军事领袖的权力。政客亦需要获取能打败对手的资讯，在竞选期间一些政客就尝试搜罗有关对手的丑闻，这种认知让他们有能力去向对手dish the dirt—to dish the dirt是指去揭露他人一些骇人听闻又或可耻丢脸的个人资讯。调查记者总是在搜刮有权力人士的丑闻，好能揭其阴私（dish the dirt）。

许多年前我亦曾经担任调查记者，但我现在只是个卑微的专栏作家。每朝早我也会花几小时上网，去了解最新的新闻。我也会收看YouTube上关于政治和其他题目的频道。我增进知识，是为了取得灵感去写这个专栏，而不是为了揭谁的阴私（dish the dirt）！我有时会听一个YouTuber的频道，他是世界首富伊隆．马斯克的批评者，他最近用一个习语“just deserts”去抨击马斯克。美国总统唐纳德．特朗普给予马斯克sweeping powers去削减政府开销，习语sweeping powers是指重大的权力。

马斯克用其横扫千军的力量（sweeping powers）去裁掉数以万计的政府员工，及关闭或缩减许多美国人所倚赖的政府机构以后，其民望大幅插水。人们杯葛、纵火，甚至卖掉他们自己的特斯拉汽车，导致公司股价一落千丈。那位YouTuber说，马斯克得到他的“just deserts”了，意即一个人应得的报应。在这个习语中，“deserts”的发音像甜品desserts，而不是像沙漠deserts般发音。

mickchug@gmail.com
Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻