同學聚會的時候，有人不辭而別。集體聚餐的時候，有人借故去洗手間卻沒有再露面。這樣的情況大概不少人都遇上過，在英語里，這種不辭而別叫做Irish Goodbye。

An Irish Goodbye is when a person leaves a bar or party or other gathering surreptitiously, without saying goodbye to anyone.

“愛爾蘭式告別”（Irish Goodbye）指不跟任何人告別、偷偷離開酒吧或者其他聚會場所的行為。

The Irish Goodbye could be a furtive sneak out the back door, 'running out to get something from the car' and not returning, a trip to the bathroom that never ends, etc. Basically, the Irish Goodbye is when you want to get away without the awkwardness or emotions of an actual goodbye or kiss on the cheek.

偷偷從后門溜走、“去車里取東西”然后一去不回，以及去趟衛(wèi)生間就消失不見等行為都屬于“愛爾蘭式告別”。基本上，采用這種告別形式是為了避免尷尬，或者不想引發(fā)告別時的情緒起伏以及面頰吻別等客套禮節(jié)。

There's no definitive explanation of how the Irish Goodbye got its name. One theory holds that the Irish Goodbye originated during the Potato Famine of 1845-1852 when many Irish fled their homeland for America. At the time, distance and technology meant that when someone went to America, they were gone forever and it was unlikely they would ever again speak to or see friends or family back home. The departure was sudden and absolute.

關(guān)于“愛爾蘭式告別”這個表達的來源，倒是沒有一個明確的說法。有人說這個短語來源于1845－1852年愛爾蘭大饑荒時期，很多愛爾蘭人從家鄉(xiāng)逃到美國。當時，兩國的距離和科技手段意味著一旦去了美國，他們就是永遠離開，不會再有機會跟家鄉(xiāng)的親人和朋友聯(lián)絡(luò)。這種告別是突然又決然的。

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（中國日報網(wǎng)英語點津 Helen）

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