白发三千丈，缘愁似个长

白发三千丈，缘愁似个长
------英语夸张修辞法趣谈

“ 白发三千丈，缘愁似个长。不知明镜里，何处得秋霜。” (李白诗)

即使李白终身未理过发，也难有三千丈的烦恼丝。看来说话夸张是古今中外文人的伎俩之一。 刻意的夸张与吹牛不同，如果运用得当，可以令文字或言辞活色生香，妙趣横生。

1．形容女人泳装用料之少：
The new bikini has no room to put the logo.
这件新比基尼泳装连打上商标的地方都没有。

Her bathing suit is smaller than the price tag.
她的泳装比价钱牌还小。

The high school girls are now wearing miniskirts the size of gum wrapper..
中学女生现在穿的泳装比口香糖包装纸还小。

2．形容女人之丑：
My wife is so ugly, when she sees a mouse the mouse jumps on the chair.
我老婆太丑了，她碰到老鼠，老鼠都要跳上椅子。

My brother intends marrying a second wife who is so ugly that he has to tell his children ghost stories for two weeks so that she won’t frighten the children when he brings her home.
我兄弟打算再续弦。新女伴长得太丑，我兄弟要连续两周给他孩子们讲鬼故事。这样等他带她回家时就不会吓坏他们了。

3．形容女人肥胖：
She was so fat, she was the front row in her high school graduation picture.
她太胖了，高中毕业照片上她自己就占了整个前排。

She is real fat-----she and the Statue of Liberty wear the same size dress.
她实在很胖------她和自由女神穿同一尺寸的裙子。


当然，在应用夸张手法进行讽刺的时候，必须注意分寸和“政治正确”禁忌，以免流于粗鄙或偏见。

4．形容城市治安之差：
In New York, cabs are very expensive. It’s cheaper to get slugged by a mugger and wait for the ambulance.
纽约的出租车太贵了。还不如被劫匪打劫，等救护车来送回家更便宜些。

There is no trust in New York. Muggers are now demanding identification.
诚信在纽约已经荡然无存。现在，连劫匪都要你出示身份证。

New York muggers are updated. They’ve been starting taking credit cards.
纽约的劫匪也与时俱进。他们开始收受信用卡了。

In my neighborhood, the local gun-shop had a back-to-school sale. The high school newspaper had an obituary column.
我们家附近的枪店有开学减价大甩卖。中学的校报里有个讣告栏。

In Miami, a man was held up so many times that he developed tan armpits. (exaggeration)
在迈阿密，有个人被打劫次数太多，连腋窝都晒黑了（注：因经常作举手投降状）。

5．形容经济状况恶劣：
Business is so bad, the bankruptcy court just opened a drive-in window.
经济状况奇差，连破产法庭都新开了个免下车申请窗口。

Business is so bad, one big hotel chain is stealing towel from its guests.
经济状况奇差，连一家连锁大酒店都开始偷客人的毛巾。

6．形容婚姻关系：
I have been married for so many times my marriage certificate now reads: “To Whom It May Concern.”
我结婚次数太多，现在结婚证上的名字栏写着：希有关人士知照。

She divorced so fast she got the custody of her wedding cake.
她离婚速度奇快，居然获得结婚蛋糕的监护权。

（原载《环球华报》周三教育版）