Clever and Stupid

Intelligence 智力，就是能夠迅速看出事物真相的能力。

 

A clever and intelligent person 聰明的人，智力發達，記憶力好，理解力強，英文的比喻有 as bright as button 以及 a bright spark；a mine of information 知識淵博的人，消息靈通人士。

 

He is in the know and well informed 他熟悉內幕，知道實情；

He knows the onions 他很在行，而且精明幹練；

He knows a thing or two 明白事理，聰明能幹；

He knows all the answers 他什麼都知道，好像萬事通；

He knows something inside out 他非常熟悉某件事；

He knows the ropes/the score 他有經驗 = He is aware of the true situation 他知道真相；

He knows what is what，換言之：He wasn’t born yesterday！他一點也不傻，不容易受騙：He is not a fool or an inexperienced person。

 

 

Brains 頭腦或腦袋，like intelligence, suggests a wider scope than head, but often refers to mental ability that has practical results：It takes more than brains to land a job nowadays 今天要找一份好差使，的確需要多動點腦筋。

 

Brainless = foolish, silly, stupid 沒頭腦的。腦科醫生黃震遐過去一直研究中風人士在閱讀及書寫時的腦部活動，發現使用中文主要涉及腦部左右兩邊，但使用英語者則主要使用左邊腦部。

 

很多和智力和腦筋有關的 colloquial idioms 口語，都用到 brain 或 brains 這個詞：

 

brainchild = one’s own idea 腦力勞動的產物，如思想、作品、發明、發現等；brainstorming = a group of people al thinking about something at the same time（腦震盪，集思廣益）in order to solve a problem or to create good ideas；have a brainwave = have a sudden inspiration 突然想到的妙計；a brain trust = a discussion group of experts 智囊團；scatterbrained = foolish 愚蠢的，心不在焉的。

 

Brains is often plural in the following idioms:

 

he was the brains behind the robberies他是幕後策劃搶劫的主腦人物；

all brawn and no brains：they relied on brains rather than brawn = intelligence, not strength 他們看重腦力，多於體力；

beat one’s brains out = think very hard to solve a problem 絞盡腦汁；

pick somebody’s brains = ask somebody for information because they know more about a subject than you 向某人請教，想得到忠告，吸收他的意見或知識，為己所用，因為他對某事認識深；

rack my brains = try very hard to remember or think of something 對某事深刻思考, 冥思苦想；大動腦筋。這句成語也可以說wreck my brains/cudgel my brains，例如：I racked my brains, trying to think what on earth to do。

 

 

形容 being stupid 愚蠢的慣用語，有以下多個選擇：

 

have nothing between your ears 愚蠢；all brawn and no brains 四肢發達，頭腦簡單；as thick as two short planks 遲鈍的；dead from the neck up《美俚》蠢笨的。

 

 

 

Ignorant 愚昧 = uninformed = unaware of something, somebody, somewhere. You can be ignorant of facts, technique, direction, identity or intention.

 

 

Ignorance of technique (I do not know how) 不知道怎樣做：I’ve no idea how to do it / it’s beyond me / it’s beyond my grasp / it’s beyond my reach 我能力做不到的。

 

Ignorance of direction or place 不辨方向，未知身在何方：I don’t know my way around / I seem to have lost my way / I lost my bearings。

 

Ignorance of personal identity 弄不清某人是誰？：I don’t know him from Adam 完全不知道。Who’s that ? He greeted me, but I don’t know him from Adam 那是誰？他向我打招呼，但我完全不認識他。He’s a stranger to me = unfamiliar with him 對他感到陌生。

 

Ignorance of a particular subject 弄不清令人費解的事物：It’s all Greek to me = too difficult to understand 一竅不通，一字不解：My friend is studying nanotechnology（納米技術）, but it’s all Greek to me 我全然不懂。It’s all double Dutch to me = unintelligible talk, gibberish, or just foreign speech 五里霧中，莫名其妙。

 

Ignorance of someone’s intention 不知對方企圖或目的：What’s he driving at? What’s he suggesting or implying? What does he mean? 他的意思指什麼？You never can tell = it could happen 很難說。

 

Proverbs of Ignorance

最後，两句胡塗是福的諺語（Two proverbs that praise ignorance in certain circumstances）：

 

Where ignorance is bliss, ’tis folly to be wise = it is sometimes better for us not to know the unpleasant truth. The proverb was coined by Thomas Gray. It means if knowing something makes you unhappy or brings about a negative outcome, it is better not to know it. 如果知識會使人不快樂，那麼倒不如無知吧；如果無知就是福，聰明反是傻。To live in a fool’s paradise = to be in a state of blissful ignorance 樂得無知，難得胡塗。

 

It’s all Double Dutch to me! = Language that cannot be understood, gibberish, as in “They might have been speaking double Dutch”, for all I understood.

 

I love Double Dutch Chewy Snack Bars. Double Dutch Chewy Snack Bars are a lot like Tagalong Chewy Snack Bars, except if you have a bit of a peanut butter allergy, you can definitely indulge in these bad boys.

 

 

The phrase “fools rush in where angels fear to tread” is probably well-known because of the song “Fools Rush In” sang by Frank Sinatra. The lyrics are about a man who is in love with a woman. He goes to her, by saying he is “rushing in”. This is saying that love is making him a fool. The meaning is that the inexperienced or rasher people will try things that the more experienced or more cautious would not try.

 

本專欄逢周二、五刊登