好词典

marbles

UK //ˈmɑː.bəlz//US //ˈmɑːr.bəlz//

词源

源自中古英语'marbre',来自古法语'marbre'(大理石),最终源自拉丁语'marmor'。用作玩具小球的含义始于18世纪,而表示'理智'的俚语用法则始于20世纪早期。

noun

❶ 指玻璃或石头制成的小球,通常用于儿童游戏,孩子们会在地上滚动或弹射这些小球来玩耍。

“The children were playing marbles in the schoolyard.”

(孩子们在校园里玩弹珠游戏。)

“He won all my marbles in the game yesterday.”

(昨天他在游戏中赢走了我所有的弹珠。)

❶ 非正式用语,指理智或神志清醒的状态,常用于否定句中表示某人失去理智或行为怪异。

“He must have lost his marbles to quit such a good job.”

(他一定是疯了才会放弃这么好的工作。)

“After working 20 hours straight, I started to feel like I was losing my marbles.”

(连续工作20小时后,我开始觉得自己要精神错乱了。)

同义词:toy balls, glass balls, aggies, peewees, boulders

常见短语

lose one's marbles — 表示某人失去理智或变得精神不正常,常用于非正式场合形容某人行为怪异。

“After the accident, old Mr. Johnson seemed to lose his marbles.”

(事故发生后,老约翰逊先生似乎精神失常了。)

pick up one's marbles and go home — 比喻因为生气或不满而退出某个活动或团体,就像小孩子赌气收起玩具回家一样。

“When they rejected his proposal, he just picked up his marbles and went home.”

(当他们拒绝了他的提议后,他直接愤然离开了。)