注意，別用這12個帶有成見的單詞和短語
Don't throw around these seemingly innocent words and phrases that have horrible origins. These familiar terms derive from stereotypes, slurs, and bigotry, so wipe them from your vocabulary.
別使用這些看似天真的單詞和短語，因爲它們的來源很不好。這些我們熟知的短語來源於成見、歧視和偏執，所以快把它們從你的詞典裏刪掉吧。
Even the 80s John Hughes classic The Breakfast Club, uses the phrase "Basket Case" to describe Ally Sheedy's social outcast character. The term actually comes from WWI slang—and refers to soldiers who were so seriously injured you could fit them in a basket. So think twice before you toss this uncompassionate term around. Even The Breakfast Club teens knew it was mean.
甚至是80年代約翰•休斯執導的經典電影《早餐俱樂部》也使用了短語“Basket Case”（意爲神經病、廢人、四肢不全的人）來形容艾麗•西蒂飾演的受社會排斥的角色。這個短語實際來源於第一次世界大戰時期的俚語——用來形容那些受傷嚴重到可以裝進籃子裏的士兵。所以，在提起這個冷漠的短語之前請再三考慮。即使是《早餐俱樂部》裏的青少年都知道這個短語非常刻薄。
You might think this is a cute thing to say to someone you haven't seen for a while. It actually derives from the greeting of a Native American man talking to early settlers. Non-native English speakers, or anyone new to a language, will make these kinds of errors in syntax. "No can do" is a similar phrase that's said to derive from Chinese "broken" English. Both are unkind phrases to use.
你一定認爲對好久不見的人說這個短語非常有愛。實際上，這個短語起源於美國土著人對早期殖民者的問候。非英語母語者或任何語言的初學者都會在句法上犯這種錯誤。類似的短語還有“No can do”（字面意思爲“不能做”），起源於中式英語。這兩個短語都很不友好。
You might say you got "gypped" if you get ripped off, but the term is said to refer to Gypsies. In that sense, the term derives from stereotyping this ethnic group as thieves and swindlers. Don't use it.
你可能會在被騙或被偷後使用“get gypped”這個表達，但據說這個詞和吉普賽人有關。在這點上，這個短語起源於人們對吉普賽人這個族羣的成見，認爲他們都是小偷和騙子。所以，別使用這個短語。
Experts find the origins of the term "ghetto" to be particularly mysterious. Ghettos were the mandated locations for the ethnic segregation of Jews under the Nazi regime during WWII. In America, the term became associated with poor areas with non-white residents. Now, it's a bigoted term that gets tossed around to mean low-class.
專家發現“ghetto”這個詞的來源十分神祕。二戰納粹統治時期，“Ghetto”（猶太社區）是猶太種族被隔離後的指定居所。在美國，這個詞被逐漸用作非白人居民居住的貧民區。如今，人們用這個帶有偏見的詞形容下層社會。
There's a lot of controversy around the origins of this term. You know it to mean a generally accepted principle. It's said to derive from laws in England and America dating back to the 1600s. These laws are said to have stated that a man could beat his wife with any stick no wider than his thumb. Hence, the rule of thumb. Scholars have searched but they can't find any precise proof for this origin. That doesn't mean that domestic violence isn't a problem.
對於這個短語的來源有很多爭議。你知道它指的是“被廣泛接受的原則”。據說該短語來源於17世紀的英美法律。這些法律規定，男人可以用任何比他拇指細的棍子毆打自己的老婆。所以，叫做“拇指原則”。 學者對此做了一些研究，但是他們沒有找到確鑿證據證明該短語的來源。但是，這不代表這個短語的暴力內涵不是個問題。
You're probably happy if you get "grandfathered in" to a clause on your cell phone plan that has extra value. The grandfather clause usually means you get the benefits of an earlier "generation." However, the term originates with the practice of allowing voters in southern states easier voting conditions if they had a grandpa who had voted before 1867. Guess who didn't have those relatives? Black voters, because their grandpas were slaves. This term refers to an ugly and unfair history in voter disenfranchisement that continues today.
如果你被手機套餐條款“授予特權”，可以得到額外優惠，你一定會很開心。“祖父條款”通常指你從“上一代人”哪裏得到的好處。然而，這個短語起源於南美的一個條例——如果某人的爺爺在1867年以前參加過選舉投票，那麼對他是否有權投票的要求就沒那麼苛刻。猜猜誰沒有這樣的親屬呢？黑人選民。因爲他們的祖父輩是奴隸。這個短語反映了美國公民剝奪選舉權歷史的不公和醜陋，而這種不公和醜陋至今仍然存在。
This is the slang term used for a police van that picked up folks who got arrested. Paddy was a derogatory term for anyone Irish. And drawing on the stereotype that they Irish are drunkards and hooligans, "paddy wagon" referred to Irish guys getting into trouble with the law. Ethnic stereotypes, like all Irish are drunks, aren't cool.
這個俚語短語指的是警察運送犯人的囚車。對任何一個愛爾蘭人來說“Paddy”這個詞是一個貶義詞。這個詞帶有成見，認爲愛爾蘭人都是酒鬼和流氓。而“paddy wagon”這個短語指的是那些陷入法律糾紛的愛爾蘭人。像所有愛爾蘭人都是酒鬼這樣的種族成見一點也不酷。
If you say you were "sold down the river," you mean that someone betrayed you. That isn't a very enlightened way to express that sentiment because it derives from America's history of slavery. Slaves were sold "down river" as punishment where they would experience harsher conditions—and be separated from family and loved ones. Nothing compares to such dehumanizing anguish, so don't equate your suffering to that of slaves.
如果你用 “sold down the river”這個短語，說明你被某個人背叛了。這不是表達這種心情的明智之選，因爲它起源於美國的奴隸歷史。奴隸被賣到“河下游”是一種懲罰，意味着他們會有更苛刻的生存條件，還要和家人和心愛的人分開。沒有什麼比這種非人的待遇還要痛苦了，所以別將你的遭遇和奴隸的遭遇相提並論。
The word hysterical derives from the Greek word for uterus. It usually gets tossed around as a description for emotional women and feeds into the sexist stereotype that women are "naturally" crazy. Doctors had a bunch of weird ideas about the biology of women that they used to rationalize sexist beliefs. These ideas still have influence today. When it comes to gender, the usual advice doesn't apply.
“Hysterical”起源於希臘詞語“uterus”。“Uterus”通常被用來描述情緒化的女性，從而形成一種性別偏見，認爲女性是“天生的”瘋子。醫生們對於女性生物學有許多奇怪的觀念，他們曾藉助女性生物學使性別歧視合理化。這些觀念至今仍有影響。當提到性別時，不建議使用這個詞。
In the early-twentieth century, "moron" was the term given to folks with a learning disability. The term originates as a word meaning "stupid" in ancient Greek. Its history is cruel, so stay away from tossing this around.
在20世紀早期，“moron”（意爲傻子）被用來形容有學習障礙的人。該詞最早是一個古希臘詞語，意思爲“傻的”。它的來源很殘忍，所以還是別用它了。
You may think "Eenie Meenie" is an innocent children's rhyme to help kids count off or to choose someone to be "it." You've probably even recited the little verse yourself numerous times. "Catch a tiger by the toe," seems harmless. Until you find out that "tiger" is a fairly recent replacement for the original term. Which was the N-word.
你可能會以爲“Eenie Meenie”是一個幫助孩子報數和選人的天真童謠。你或許還唱過無數遍這個小歌謠。“抓住老虎的腳趾頭”聽起來好像無害。但是在你知道“老虎”其實是原版詞語的替代詞，你就不這麼認爲了。被替換的詞語爲N開頭的詞語（nigger，指黑鬼）。
Imbecile derives from the Latin term for weak. That is, it refers to just the type of people who need society's compassion and care. Instead, the term was chosen by psychologists for people with cognitive disabilities. Now, it's thrown around to mean stupid. It's a bullying term, and we need to work to end rampant bullying.
“Imbecile”（意爲傻瓜）源於意思爲“虛弱”的拉丁詞語。換句話說，它指需要社會同情關心的一類人。心理學家曾用這個詞來形容認知障礙的人。如今，人們用這個詞來形容愚蠢的人。這是個恃強凌弱的詞語，我們需要努力結束這種猖獗的欺凌。
