如何高級(jí)又委婉地表達(dá)“你很蠢”？

如果有人對(duì)你說“You are a real blinkard”，那你可注意啦，對(duì)方并不是認(rèn)為你眼神不好，而是在diss你的智商。

英語中有很多委婉表達(dá)“某人很蠢”的句子，比如最常見的，the light is on but nobody is home（燈亮著，家里沒人）,a few cards short of a deck（一副撲克里少了幾張牌），等等。

此外，高端人士還會(huì)使用一些我們平時(shí)不太用的詞語來嘲笑別人的智商。我們還是很有必要了解一下的。

1. Anserine (adj.) [ '?ns?,ra?n ]

Definition: stupid, silly
釋義：呆的，愚笨的

Anserine comes from the Latin anser, meaning "goose." The word is indeed used on occasion to mean "resembling a goose," but the 'silly as a goose' sense preceded this by a considerable length of time.
Anserine起源于拉丁語anser，意思是“鵝”。人們偶爾的確會(huì)用這個(gè)單詞形容“像鵝的”，但在此之前相當(dāng)長時(shí)間，anserine就有“像鵝一樣蠢”的意思。

2. Cretinize (v.) [ 'kri:t?naiz ]

Definition: to reduce to a condition of extreme stupidity
釋義：（使）變成白癡

The word cretinize comes, rather obviously, from the older word cretin. This older word is most commonly used today in the sense of “a stupid, vulgar, or insensitive person,” although it initially meant “one affected with cretinism” (a genetic abnormality, and using cretin in this sense is now considered quite offensive).
很顯然，cretinize來自于古代單詞cretin。Cretin現(xiàn)在通常用來指代“愚蠢的、粗俗的、遲鈍的人”，但其最初的含義是“呆小癥”（一種遺傳畸形，現(xiàn)在用cretin來指代這種遺傳病是很不禮貌的）。

3. Blinkard (n.)

Definition: a stupid, slow-witted, or obtuse person
釋義：蠢人，呆子，頭腦遲鈍的人

The original meaning of blinkard was “one that blinks with or as if with weak eyes,” which soon added the pejorative meaning listed above. If you are a person who blinks often please accept our apologies for the English language, which can on occasion be needlessly cruel.
Blinkard本來的意思是指“瞇著眼睛的弱視者或像弱視一樣瞇著眼睛的人”，不久后又包含了“笨人、蠢人”這層貶義。如果你是一個(gè)經(jīng)常瞇眼睛的人，我替英語向你表示歉意，它有時(shí)太過“毒舌”了。

4. Dunderheaded (adj.)

Definition: being a dunderhead
釋義：蠢的，笨的

What is a dunder, and why do we use this word to insult people in a somewhat mild fashion? Alas, this is but one more unknowable in a long line of things that etymology has not yet figured out. It may come from the Dutch word for “thunder” (donder), but no one is sure about that. What we are sure about is that there are a great number of words for “stupid” or “stupid person” ending in -headed or head. A partial list includes the following: airhead, blockhead, bonehead, bullhead, bubblehead, buffle-headed, butthead, chucklehead, deadhead, fathead, flathead, hammerhead, heavy-headed, idleheaded, ironhead, jolt-headed, jughead, knucklehead, loggerheaded, lunkhead, meathead, muddlehead, pinhead, pinheaded, ramhead, saphead, sheepheaded, sheepshead, thickhead, and wooden-headed.
Dunder是什么意思，為什么人們要用這個(gè)詞委婉地羞辱人？唉，這也是眾多尚未弄清詞源的單詞之一。Dunder可能起源于荷蘭語donder，意思是“雷聲”，但還沒有確切的證據(jù)。我們可以肯定的是，很多表示“愚蠢”、“蠢人”的單詞都是以-headed或-head結(jié)尾的。比如下面列出的部分單詞：airhead, blockhead, bonehead, bullhead, bubblehead, buffle-headed, butthead, chucklehead, deadhead, fathead, flathead, hammerhead, heavy-headed, idleheaded, ironhead, jolt-headed, jughead, knucklehead, loggerheaded, lunkhead, meathead, muddlehead, pinhead, pinheaded, ramhead, saphead, sheepheaded, sheepshead, thickhead, wooden-headed都表示“愚蠢”、“遲鈍”或“呆子”的意思。

5. Addlepated (adj.) [ '?dl,peitid ]

Definition: stupid and confused, mixed up, or eccentric
釋義：頭腦不清的，愚蠢的，怪僻的

The pate portion of addlepated comes from an older word for "head," in use since Middle English, and of uncertain origin. The addle portion may be traced back to the Old English word adela, meaning “filth, filthy or foul-smelling place.” As an adjective addle first had the meaning of “foul smelling and putrid” (specifically said of an egg), and later came to mean “confused or muddled.”
Addlepated的前半部分來自于中古英語中表示“頭部”的單詞，其詞源不能確定。Addle可能起源于古英語單詞adela，意思是“骯臟、污穢和惡臭的地方”，做形容詞時(shí)最早用來形容“惡臭的、腐爛的氣味”（尤指臭雞蛋的味道），后來又包含了“困惑的、混亂的”意思。

6. Nescient (adj.) [ 'nesi?nt ]

Definition: exhibiting or characterized by nescience: ignorant, agnostic
釋義：無知的，沒有知識(shí)的

Nescient, science, and omniscient all share a root: each comes in part from the Latin word scire, meaning “to know.” Nescience, then, is "lack of knowledge or awareness."
Nescient, science（科學(xué)）和 omniscient（無所不知的）的詞根都是拉丁語單詞scire，意為“知道，了解”。Nescience則是“無知”的意思。

7. Bêtise (n.) [ be'ti:z ]

Definition: an act of foolishness or stupidity
釋義：愚蠢的行為

Bêtise came to English from the French word bête, which has the meaning in that language of "idiot," or, more literally, "beast". In addition to an act of stupidity, bêtise may refer to stupidity or ignorance in general.
Bêtise來自于法語單詞bête。Bête在法語中表示“白癡”，更字面的解釋是“畜生”的意思。除了指愚蠢的行為外，bêtise一般也可以表示“蠢”或“無知”。

英文來源：merriam-webster.com
翻譯&編輯：董靜
審校：yaning