girl Friday 忠实可靠(不可或缺)的女助理
girl Friday望文生义是“名为星期五的女孩”(a girl called Friday), 这个典故出自《鲁宾逊漂流记》中名为Friday(星期五)忠心耿耿的仆人。随着该书的风行全球,有人开始以man/servant as faithful as Friday), 进而再引申出女佣人的说法。Girl Friday的复数是girl Fridays, 而man Friday的复数可以说成men Friday。
★ This is Mary, my girl Friday. My office couldn’t function without her.
这位是我的女助理玛丽,我的办公室没有她就无法运作。
★ John started as a mere floor sweeper, but within ten years he had risen to the position of man Friday to the president.
约翰起初只是个洗刷地板的工人,但在十年内他爬上了总裁助理的位子。
a girl of the town镇上女郎
英文里将“衣着入时但整天无所事事的人”称为a man about town。而如《麻雀变凤凰》等电影画面中在街上闲荡的女性就是“镇上女郎”(a girl of the town)。
讲得露骨一点就是“阻街女郎”(a woman of the street/a streetwalker)。这些从事性交易的女性在街上闲逛的目的是寻找顾客,也可用“娼妓”(prostitute)来形容她们。
★ In a certain area of Taipei you could easily find girls of the town, while in Washington you could spot streetwalkers even in streets not far from the While House.
台北的某一个地区,你很容易发现“镇上女郎”,在美国华盛顿离白宫不远的街上,你也可以看见“阻街女郎”。