Deer in headlights?

    2012-05-22 14:11

     

    Deer in headlights?

    Reader question:

    Please explain this sentence: You have my attention, like a deer in headlights.

    My comments:

    Simply put, he/she is all yours – you’ve got all their attention.

    Headlights refer to the shiny flashlight of the two big front lights of a vehicle, car or truck.

    A “deer in headlights” refers to the deer caught in such a situation.

    It is a terrible position as a matter of fact for the animal to be in. Instead of running straight away, the animal is often frozen in its tracks, dumbfounded, staring right at the headlights and unable to move.

    The deer, you see, is blinded by the dazzling light.

    Deer, oh deer.

    As an idiom, on the other hand, to say someone is like a deer in headlights is to point out that they’re unable to make a move due to shock, confusion or fear.

    In the top example, though, I don’t think there’s no fear or confusion involved. You simply have their full attention. Their eyes are on you, you alone. And their attention is fixed and undivided.

    “Like a deer in headlights” also suggests that if the attention is too much, they are caught in the moment and do not know how to respond.

    And yet, for better or worse, you’d better keep the light shining.

    For if the light goes off, the deer, too, may soon be gone, galloping into the woods.

    Alright, here are media examples of deer caught in headlights, both literally and literarily:

    1. A scared deer that stood frozen in it tracks in the middle of a highway was rescued by a Michigan police officer who picked up the young doe and carried her off the road.

    The stunned deer stood motionless in the headlights of oncoming cars for thirty minutes, reports KVUE, when the deputy sheriff approached the scared animal.

    The officer carried the deer to the side of the road where it eventually calmed down enough to dash away into the woods.

    - Michigan police officer rescues stunned deer, DigitalJournal.com, November 16, 2011.

    2. Like the proverbial deer caught in the headlights, people also freeze in response to fear.

    A new study shows that the heart rate of men slows and movement ceases when they perceive a threat; merely viewing a disturbing image may be enough to induce this fear response.

    Researchers say freezing or standing still when a threat is detected is a natural defensive reaction. This automatic behavior allows the prey to remain unnoticed by a potential predator.

    - Humans Retain Animal-Like Reaction of Standing Still When Threatened, WebMD.com, June 10, 2005.

    3. The U.S. soldier accused of carrying out a mass killing of Afghan civilians earlier this week is currently being returned to the United States, according to officials in Kuwait where the Army sergeant was first taken after leaving Afghanistan.

    A U.S. official confirmed the soldier is en route to a prison in Leavenworth, Kansas, and is expected to be back on American soil as early as Friday.

    Seattle attorney John Henry Browne announced Thursday he’s been hired by the soldier’s family to represent him. The suspect was based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington.

    He is in shock, kind of like a deer in headlights at the moment,” Browne said Friday morning. “I told him not to talk about the allegations at all, so I cannot tell you how he is responding because I told him not to talk about it.”

    The soldier is suspected of going on a shooting rampage in villages near his base in southern Afghanistan early Sunday, killing nine children and seven other civilians and then burning some of their bodies. The shooting, which followed a controversial Quran-burning incident involving U.S. soldiers, outraged Afghan officials and raised concerns that the U.S.-led effort in Afghanistan could falter.

    - JBLM soldier ‘in shock, kind of like a deer in headlights,’ says lawyer, King5.com, March 15, 2012.

    本文僅代表作者本人觀點,與本網立場無關。歡迎大家討論學術問題,尊重他人,禁止人身攻擊和發布一切違反國家現行法律法規的內容。

    我要看更多專欄文章

    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.

    相關閱讀:

    Scratching the surface?

    Keep his feet to the fire

    Last time I checked

    Look the other way

    (作者張欣 中國日報網英語點津 編輯陳丹妮)

    上一篇 : Scratching the surface?
    下一篇 : Victory lap?

     
    中國日報網英語點津版權說明:凡注明來源為“中國日報網英語點津:XXX(署名)”的原創作品,除與中國日報網簽署英語點津內容授權協議的網站外,其他任何網站或單位未經允許不得非法盜鏈、轉載和使用,違者必究。如需使用,請與010-84883561聯系;凡本網注明“來源:XXX(非英語點津)”的作品,均轉載自其它媒體,目的在于傳播更多信息,其他媒體如需轉載,請與稿件來源方聯系,如產生任何問題與本網無關;本網所發布的歌曲、電影片段,版權歸原作者所有,僅供學習與研究,如果侵權,請提供版權證明,以便盡快刪除。

    中國日報網雙語新聞

    掃描左側二維碼

    添加Chinadaily_Mobile
    你想看的我們這兒都有!

    中國日報雙語手機報

    點擊左側圖標查看訂閱方式

    中國首份雙語手機報
    學英語看資訊一個都不能少!

    關注和訂閱

    本文相關閱讀
    人氣排行
    搜熱詞
     
     
    精華欄目
     

    閱讀

    詞匯

    視聽

    翻譯

    口語

    合作

     

    關于我們 | 聯系方式 | 招聘信息

    Copyright by chinadaily.com.cn. All rights reserved. None of this material may be used for any commercial or public use. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. 版權聲明:本網站所刊登的中國日報網英語點津內容,版權屬中國日報網所有,未經協議授權,禁止下載使用。 歡迎愿意與本網站合作的單位或個人與我們聯系。

    電話:8610-84883645

    傳真:8610-84883500

    Email: languagetips@chinadaily.com.cn

    狠狠躁狠狠躁东京热无码专区| 国产中文欧美日韩在线| 中文字幕在线观看亚洲| 国产AV无码专区亚洲精品| 无码精品国产dvd在线观看9久| 无码人妻久久一区二区三区蜜桃| 亚洲熟妇无码八AV在线播放| 漂亮人妻被中出中文字幕久久| 无码精品A∨在线观看| 中文成人久久久久影院免费观看| 综合无码一区二区三区| 国产精品无码无在线观看| 最新中文字幕av无码专区| 日本乱人伦中文字幕网站| 亚洲成a人无码av波多野按摩| 无码GOGO大胆啪啪艺术| 中文字幕在线免费看线人| 人妻精品久久久久中文字幕69 | 无码人妻久久一区二区三区蜜桃 | 日韩精品无码一区二区三区不卡 | 中文字幕丰满乱子伦无码专区| 国产成A人亚洲精V品无码| 无码精品人妻一区二区三区中| 国产啪亚洲国产精品无码 | 在线中文字幕精品第5页| 亚洲成人中文字幕| 久久精品aⅴ无码中文字字幕不卡 久久精品aⅴ无码中文字字幕重口 | 超清无码熟妇人妻AV在线电影| 中文字幕二区三区| 无码人妻精品一区二区三区99不卡 | 亚洲av麻豆aⅴ无码电影| 久久久久久亚洲精品无码| av大片在线无码免费| 亚洲va中文字幕无码久久| 一本色道无码不卡在线观看| 中文字幕无码精品三级在线电影 | 亚洲人成人无码网www电影首页| 久久亚洲AV无码精品色午夜麻豆| 无码AV动漫精品一区二区免费 | 无码国产乱人伦偷精品视频| 亚洲av中文无码乱人伦在线播放|