趣說英語“熱”文化：怎一個“Hot”了得

夏天，全球熱浪不斷。人們見面的話題往往三句不離“熱”，而英文中又有哪些關于“熱”的有趣表達呢，下面就讓我們來聊聊英文中的Hot文化吧！

Britons love talking about the weather. In summer， with Europe caught in the midst of a heat wave， theres plenty for them to get excited about.

But apart from a simple “hot”， what other ways are there to describe the summer heat？ Apart from phrases like “piping hot”， “sweltering heat” and “scorching sun”， there are many interesting expressions that relate to unbearably hot weather and offer a glimpse into foreign culture.

Dog Days of Summer

In books and newspaper articles， the period from early July to mid-August is often referred to as the “dog days of summer”. Some think the expression means the weather is so hot that dogs go wild.

Hotter Than a Two-dollar Pistol

This expression comes from 19th century America， when the US was engulfed in the Civil War and many carried pistols for self-protection. Cheap pistols would get hot when fired repeatedly， but another reason for the expression is that no pistol could cost 2 dollars unless it had been stolen. In slang English， stolen goods are often said to be “hot” and anyone in possession of hot goods is likely to get their fingers burned， in other words， to be arrested.

Hinges of Hades

For those who believe it exists， hell is undoubtedly the hottest place on earth， so unsurprisingly there are several expressions that refer to hell （Hades）， or even the devil himself.

英國人喜歡談論天氣。夏天，熱浪席卷歐洲，他們更是有得聊了。

而英文中，除了一個簡單的“hot”，還有其他哪些形容炎炎夏日的表達方式呢？除了像“piping hot”（滾燙的）、“sweltering heat”（酷熱難耐）、“scorching sun”（烈日炎炎），英文中還有許多有關“酷熱難耐”的有趣表達，從中我們也可以了解到一些外國文化。

三伏天

在書籍和報刊文章中，7月初到8月中旬這段時間通常被稱作“dog days of summer”，即中文中的“三伏天”，一些人認為這句表達的意思是“天氣太熱以致狗都狂躁了”。

炙手可熱

該表達起源于19世紀的美國。當時美國正陷于內戰(zhàn)，許多人攜帶手槍防身。多次射擊后，便宜的手槍就會變得燙手。而該表達的另一出處則是：沒有手槍會賣2美元，除非是偷來的。在英語俚語中，盜竊的贓物經常被稱為“hot”（非法所得），這些偷來的東西就像是“燙手山芋”，窩贓者隨時會被“繩之以法”。

人間煉獄

對于那些堅信地獄真實存在的人們而言，毫無疑問那是人間最熱的地方。所以，難怪一些表示熱的短語都與地獄，甚至魔鬼有關。