Why shambles?
    [ 2006-11-10 14:27 ]

    Dear Sir:
    In the news, I read that the trial of Saddam Hussein in Iraq was often called "a shambles". I'm wondering, like, why "shambles"? Why plural? Why not "a shamble"?
    - Very Puzzled.

    Dear Very Puzzled:
    In this day of loose values (and not just in linguistics), anything goes. Some people actually call the trial of Saddam Hussein "a shamble", but it's not correct English.

    "Shambles" is NOT the plural form of "shamble". They are two different words.

    The Shambles is said to have been an ancient street in York, England occupied by butchers who set up slaughterhouses there. The slaughterhouses have long been gone, but the word "shambles" has persevered in the language. It means a situation that is chaotic (imagine scenes at a slaughterhouse, if you can) because things are not properly planned or organized.

    The word "shamble", on the other hand, is a slow, awkward walk, as if dragging one's feet in a tired, weak or lazy way.

    Let's take the very trial of Saddam Hussein, for examples.

    This BBC report (Two sides of Saddam coin, October 19, 2005) used the word "shamble" to describe how Saddam dragged his feet on his way out of the courtroom:

    There was a final moment of resistance just as the court was adjourned to consider the request from the defense for more time to examine the documents produced by the prosecution.

    Saddam had finally acknowledged the other defendants for the first time, smiling and making jokes about the changes in their appearance since the last time he had seen them, when they were still serving his regime.

    Then the two guards took him by the arms again to lead him out.

    He let them do it for a few steps, but then he saw the journalists behind the bullet-proof glass at the back of the court.

    Immediately he tried to pull away from his guards, telling them not to touch him and to leave him alone.

    After a while they did, and he shambled slowly out of the courtroom.

    The Economist (After the Saddam verdict, November 6, 2006) used the word "shambles" to describe the lack of procedural justice in a trial sponsored by a United States that had nabbed Saddam in a war launched on flimsy pretexts:

    GUILTY of mass murder: that Saddam Hussein certainly is. But what of the legal process that proclaimed him such, and sentenced him to death, on Sunday November 5th? There are reasons to see the trial as a leap forward for Iraq. There are also reasons to proclaim it a shambles even by the rough standards of what is known as "transitional justice".

     

    About the author:
     

    Zhang Xin is Trainer at chinadaily.com.cn. He has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.

     
     
    相關文章 Related Stories
     
             
     
     
     
     
     
             

     

     

     
     

    48小時內最熱門

         

    本頻道最新推薦

         
      Why shambles?
      如何翻譯“加強精神文明建設”
      What is a rotation player?
      Feeble or febrile
      如何翻譯“穩健的財政政策和貨幣政策”

    論壇熱貼

         
      福娃英文名更改,為何事先不考慮好?
      C-E: 臺下諸葛亮 臺上豬一樣
      請教高人:關于社保方面的詞匯
      “流行金曲”大家評
      常用英語口語1000句
      婚禮上牧師的證言




    亚洲天堂中文字幕在线| 精品无码国产自产拍在线观看| 亚洲AV日韩AV永久无码免下载| 曰韩无码AV片免费播放不卡| 亚洲gv猛男gv无码男同短文| 中文字幕一区图| 亚洲熟妇无码八V在线播放| 亚洲A∨无码无在线观看| 国产成人无码AV麻豆| 亚洲VA中文字幕无码毛片| 精品无码国产污污污免费网站国产| 免费无码又爽又刺激一高潮| 国产精品无码DVD在线观看| 狠狠躁天天躁中文字幕无码| 中文字幕在线视频网| 中文成人无码精品久久久不卡| 69久久精品无码一区二区| 中文字幕无码日韩专区免费| 亚洲国产午夜中文字幕精品黄网站 | a最新无码国产在线视频| 亚洲AV无码国产精品色午友在线| 久久精品一区二区三区中文字幕| 亚洲VA中文字幕不卡无码| 国产免费久久久久久无码| 国产精品视频一区二区三区无码| 小SAO货水好多真紧H无码视频| 成人无码a级毛片免费| 日韩av无码中文无码电影| 青娱乐在线国产中文字幕免費資訊 | av无码国产在线看免费网站| 亚洲AV无码国产精品色午友在线| 亚洲中文久久精品无码ww16| 无码区日韩特区永久免费系列| 中文字幕在线播放| 精品亚洲成A人无码成A在线观看| 综合久久久久久中文字幕亚洲国产国产综合一区首 | 99久久无色码中文字幕| 中文字幕人妻无码专区| 日韩精品中文字幕无码一区| 日韩久久久久久中文人妻| 乱人伦中文视频高清视频|