老外說Sorry, fat finger! 跟手指胖不胖沒關係

Mark收到外國同事傳來一張莫名其妙的照片,他覺得很奇怪,就問同事:

"Why did you send me that picture?"

外籍同事回答:
"Sorry, I've got fat fingers."

Fat finger? 胖手指?Mark再看看照片,裡面完全沒有手指啊!同事的手指會很胖嗎?
今天來看看finger的道地用法。

1. Sorry, I've got fat fingers.

(X)不好意思,我的手指很胖。
(O)不好意思,手滑了。

Fat finger是網路、手機流行之後才有的用法,意思就是「手滑」,為什麼用fat finger表示手滑呢?試想一下,手指太胖,按鍵盤時,是不是常會誤觸旁邊的鍵,一不小心就把打錯字、傳錯資料了。Fat finger其實更常當動詞用:
Sorry, that was just me fat-fingering. 不好意思,剛剛是我手滑了。
I thought the computer wasn't working but I must have fat-fingered my password. 我原本以為電腦有問題,其實肯定是我打錯了密碼。
I seem to fat-finger a lot on this keyboard. 我在這個鍵盤上似乎經常按錯鍵。

2. There's something wrong about the project, but I can't quite put my finger on it.

(X)這案子有點問題,但我不能插手。。
(O)這案子有點問題,但我說不出問題在哪兒。

Finger是手指,把手指放在某件事情上,很容誤解為插手管某件事。它真正的意思「確切地找出問題、困難所在」,就像把手指放在問題的核心或關鍵點上一樣。例如:
I remember it, but can’t quite put my finger on the outcome.那件事我記得,不過最後怎麼了結的,我可說不清。
He's good at putting his finger on what's missing in a project and suggesting improvements.他擅長找出專案中缺失的部分,並提出改進意見。

3. l think it is about time we pulled our fingers out.我想該是我們開始認真工作的時候了。

(X)我覺得是時候該收手了。
(O)我覺得是時候趕緊採取行動了。

"Pull finger out" 並不是收手、不做,剛好相反,是把手指從口袋裡伸出來,「開始幹活、採取行動、或加緊工作」。這個片語帶有一點告誡或鞭策語氣,甚至有一些不耐煩,經常是上對下,叫人別偷懶或不積極,趕緊工作。
例如一個案子拖了幾個星期,但團隊還慢條斯理,主管看不下去,可能就會用說:
You've been procrastinating on that project for weeks. It's time to pull your finger out and get it done. 那個專案拖好幾個星期了。趕快行動,把它完成了。
If you want to succeed in your career, you need to pull your finger out and start working harder. 如果你想在事業上取得成功,就需要加緊工作,努力不懈。

高階主管一對一,學英文,有策略、有方法 

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