伊索寓言中有個故事講道,有只狐貍原想找些可口的食物,但遍尋不著,只找到一只酸檸檬,這實在是一件不得已而為之的事,但它卻說:“這檸檬是甜的,正是我想吃的。”這種只能得到檸檬就說檸檬是甜的自我安慰現(xiàn)象,就叫“甜檸檬心理”,英文表達是sweet lemon psychology。
The term sweet lemon comes from the saying, "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade." It means making the best of a bad situation, even if it involves mixing lemons with cuploads of sugar until they actually taste sweet. It is the equal opposite of sour grapes.
甜檸檬一詞來源于一句俗語:“生活給你檸檬,就榨檸檬汁吧。”意思是在最壞的情況下盡力做到最好,就算要往檸檬汁里倒進許多糖直到它味道變甜。甜檸檬的反義詞就是酸葡萄(吃不到葡萄就說葡萄酸)。
In daily life, when people fail to achieve some goal, they may try to sugarcoat the result, in order to feel peaceful. This is called “sweet lemon psychology”.
在日常生活中,當人們追求目標失敗時,他們可能會試圖美化結果,以讓自己內心感到安寧。這就叫“甜檸檬心理”。
(中國日報網(wǎng)英語點津 丹妮 編輯)