20150129-Michael Chugani：又中又英——Black Magic, Black Market, Black Sheep
Michael Chugani：又中又英——Black Magic, Black Market, Black Sheep
2015-01-29
In my previous column I gave examples of English expressions that use the word "white". There are many expressions that use this word. The expression "white magic", as I explained in my previous column, means magic used for good purposes. The opposite is "black magic", which means magic used for evil purposes. Many English expressions also use the word "black", but it is often used to describe bad things while the word "white" is often used to describe good things. One example is "black magic" and "white magic". In Western culture, Friday the 13th is an unlucky day, which is called Black Friday in some countries. The expression "black market" is used to describe the trading of illegal goods. Thieves who steal expensive jewelry (jewellery in British English) usually sell it in the black market.
If you are the black sheep of the family, it means you are the worst member of the family because you have done bad things. For example, you are the black sheep of the family if all your brothers and sisters are successful people who never break the law but you are always arrested for selling drugs. A black day is a day when something terrible happens. September 11 2001 was a black day for America because terrorists used planes to crash into buildings in New York and Washington DC, killing nearly 3,000 people. Many black people in the US do not like the word "black" being used to describe bad things. They started a movement in the 1960s called Black is Beautiful to show that black skin is not ugly.
I sometimes wonder why different cultures use black and white for different purposes. People who go to Western funerals usually wear black clothes, but in some Asian cultures the family members of a person who dies must wear white clothes. The bride in Western weddings usually wears a white wedding gown but many bridegrooms wear black wedding suits that look like tuxedos. Guests invited to formal dinner parties are sometimes asked by the host to wear tuxedos. The invitation card will say "black tie" which means guests must wear tuxedos.
我在前一篇專欄中，舉了幾個用到white的英文習語，用上這個字的習語有許多。一如我在上一篇專欄中解釋道，習語white magic是指善意的魔法，相反就是 black magic，邪惡的黑魔法。許多英文習語也有用到black這個字，但通常都是形容不好的事物，而white則通常指美好的事物。其中一個例子就是black magic跟white magic。在西方文化中，十三號的星期五是倒霉的一天，因此在某些國家，它會被稱為黑色星期五（Black Friday）。習語black market則是買賣非法貨品的黑市。偷竊貴價珠寶的賊人，通常會在黑市（black market）中將其賣出去。
若你是black sheep of the family，即是說你是家中的害群之馬或敗家子。譬如，你的兄弟姊妹都是從不犯法的成功人士，你卻常常因為販毒而被捕，你便成了the black sheep of the family。A black day解作當天有一些很差的事情發生，二○○一年九月十一日對美國來說就是黑暗的一天（black day），因為有恐怖份子以客機撞向紐約和華盛頓的大樓，殺害近三千人。許多在美國的黑人都不喜歡用黑色去形容壞事。他們在二十世紀六十年代發起「黑就是美」運動，表明黑皮膚並不醜陋。
我有時也很好奇，為甚麼不同的文化會因不同的目的去使用黑色和白色。出席西方喪禮的人，通常都會穿上黑衣，但在一些亞洲文化中，亡者的家人一定要穿白色素服。在西方的婚禮中，新娘通常會穿上白色婚紗，但許多新郎卻穿着像燕尾服的黑色西裝。有時候，被邀請出席隆重晚宴的賓客，會被要求穿着「踢死兔」，邀請卡上會寫着black tie，意思是賓客必須穿着燕尾服。
mickchug@gmail.com
中譯:七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
2015-01-29
In my previous column I gave examples of English expressions that use the word "white". There are many expressions that use this word. The expression "white magic", as I explained in my previous column, means magic used for good purposes. The opposite is "black magic", which means magic used for evil purposes. Many English expressions also use the word "black", but it is often used to describe bad things while the word "white" is often used to describe good things. One example is "black magic" and "white magic". In Western culture, Friday the 13th is an unlucky day, which is called Black Friday in some countries. The expression "black market" is used to describe the trading of illegal goods. Thieves who steal expensive jewelry (jewellery in British English) usually sell it in the black market.
If you are the black sheep of the family, it means you are the worst member of the family because you have done bad things. For example, you are the black sheep of the family if all your brothers and sisters are successful people who never break the law but you are always arrested for selling drugs. A black day is a day when something terrible happens. September 11 2001 was a black day for America because terrorists used planes to crash into buildings in New York and Washington DC, killing nearly 3,000 people. Many black people in the US do not like the word "black" being used to describe bad things. They started a movement in the 1960s called Black is Beautiful to show that black skin is not ugly.
I sometimes wonder why different cultures use black and white for different purposes. People who go to Western funerals usually wear black clothes, but in some Asian cultures the family members of a person who dies must wear white clothes. The bride in Western weddings usually wears a white wedding gown but many bridegrooms wear black wedding suits that look like tuxedos. Guests invited to formal dinner parties are sometimes asked by the host to wear tuxedos. The invitation card will say "black tie" which means guests must wear tuxedos.
我在前一篇專欄中，舉了幾個用到white的英文習語，用上這個字的習語有許多。一如我在上一篇專欄中解釋道，習語white magic是指善意的魔法，相反就是 black magic，邪惡的黑魔法。許多英文習語也有用到black這個字，但通常都是形容不好的事物，而white則通常指美好的事物。其中一個例子就是black magic跟white magic。在西方文化中，十三號的星期五是倒霉的一天，因此在某些國家，它會被稱為黑色星期五（Black Friday）。習語black market則是買賣非法貨品的黑市。偷竊貴價珠寶的賊人，通常會在黑市（black market）中將其賣出去。
若你是black sheep of the family，即是說你是家中的害群之馬或敗家子。譬如，你的兄弟姊妹都是從不犯法的成功人士，你卻常常因為販毒而被捕，你便成了the black sheep of the family。A black day解作當天有一些很差的事情發生，二○○一年九月十一日對美國來說就是黑暗的一天（black day），因為有恐怖份子以客機撞向紐約和華盛頓的大樓，殺害近三千人。許多在美國的黑人都不喜歡用黑色去形容壞事。他們在二十世紀六十年代發起「黑就是美」運動，表明黑皮膚並不醜陋。
我有時也很好奇，為甚麼不同的文化會因不同的目的去使用黑色和白色。出席西方喪禮的人，通常都會穿上黑衣，但在一些亞洲文化中，亡者的家人一定要穿白色素服。在西方的婚禮中，新娘通常會穿上白色婚紗，但許多新郎卻穿着像燕尾服的黑色西裝。有時候，被邀請出席隆重晚宴的賓客，會被要求穿着「踢死兔」，邀請卡上會寫着black tie，意思是賓客必須穿着燕尾服。
mickchug@gmail.com
中譯:七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
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