文/肖福壽

在漢語(yǔ)言中，狗被稱為“犬”。中華民族的犬文化源遠(yuǎn)流長(zhǎng)，已有八千多年的歷史?！墩f文稽古篇》記載“游牧?xí)r代，惟犬獨(dú)多，穴居則畜犬守御，狩獵則攜犬自隨，因而人必備犬”，可見犬早已就與人類朝夕為伍；《本草綱目》云“稱狗有烏龍白龍之號(hào)”，可見犬與“四靈”有相同的靈性，已被尊奉為圖騰；《禮記·曲禮》載“凡祭宗廟之禮：牛曰一元大武，豕曰剛鬣，豚曰腯肥，羊曰柔毛，雞曰翰音，犬曰羹獻(xiàn)……”，可見犬已作祭祀之用，為人們降福降祉；《汲冢周書》曰“商湯時(shí)，四方獻(xiàn)，以珠璣玳瑁短狗獻(xiàn)”，可見犬已用作寵物饋贈(zèng)，甚至作為貢品進(jìn)貢；《史記·蘇秦列傳》言“臨淄甚富而實(shí)，其民無(wú)不吹竽鼓瑟，彈琴擊筑，斗雞走狗，六博蹋鞠者”，可見犬已作玩賞與陪伴之用。古人甚至將犬升華為一種忠義精神，教育人們要學(xué)會(huì)“甘效犬馬之勞”，忠于國(guó)家，忠于朋友，忠于家人。紀(jì)昀《閱微草堂筆記》贊曰：“余謂犬之為物，不煩驅(qū)策，而警夜不失職，寧忍寒餓，而戀主不他往，天下為僮仆者，實(shí)萬(wàn)萬(wàn)不能及。其足使人愧，正不在能語(yǔ)不能語(yǔ)耳?！?/p>

可以說，狗因可愛、忠誠(chéng)、勇敢而著稱，早已被國(guó)人視為一種吉利的動(dòng)物，一種與人類同甘共苦的寵物。而且，狗還是一種能夠預(yù)示前兆的動(dòng)物，故古人常以狗吠的時(shí)辰來測(cè)吉兇：子時(shí)狗吠，則主夫之人，時(shí)爭(zhēng)鬧畫；丑時(shí)狗吠，則主心中有，憂疑之事；寅時(shí)狗吠，則主失得財(cái)，帛大吉利；卯時(shí)狗吠，則主失雄心，得財(cái)利來；辰時(shí)狗吠，則主有財(cái)喜，大事通吉；巳時(shí)狗吠，則主親人來，及有信至；午時(shí)狗吠，則主有酒食，宴會(huì)事吉；未時(shí)狗吠，則主妻外心，有破財(cái)喜；申時(shí)狗吠，則主家宅內(nèi)，小口事兇；酉時(shí)狗吠，則主加官祿，有得財(cái)吉；戌時(shí)狗吠，則主有口舌，招災(zāi)事兇；亥時(shí)狗吠，則主有官司，詞訟隨后。

2018年，是中國(guó)農(nóng)歷戊戌年，即民間生肖紀(jì)年的狗年。在這狗年之際，讓我們重新檢閱一下漢英詞典中與狗相關(guān)的種種說法，聊作一種新年之樂吧。

本文的語(yǔ)料主要選取自陸谷孫教授主編的《中華漢英大詞典》，均為該詞典的編纂者自以為迻譯尚有特點(diǎn)的與狗有關(guān)的表達(dá)法，其目的在于與廣大讀者共享并敦請(qǐng)廣大讀者質(zhì)疑與指謬。

一、“狗”字的界定

1. “犬”之意 = [Zool] dog, Canis familiaris; cur: 對(duì)～的恐懼癥 a canine phobia | ～洞 a hole in a wall to let a dog in and out | ～豆子 a dog tick | ～肉 dog meat | ～鯊 a dogfish | ～虱 a dog tick | ～虱蠅 a dog fly | ～頭釘 a dog spike | ～蠅梅 a dog-fly wintersweet | ～蚤 a dog flea

2. “十二生肖之一”之意 = dog [one of the twelve animals representing the twelve Earthly Branches, used to symbolize the year in which a person is born]: 他是屬～的 he was born in the Year of the Dog

3. “表示極端鄙視”之意 = damned, cursed, evil (person, etc): ～日的 son of a bitch | 瞧這～官! look at this damned official!

4. “比喻壞人”之意 = bad guy; evildoer; unprincipled person: 噬賢之～ a villain who hurts talent out of jealousy

5. “走狗”之意 = lackey: 走～ a flunky or a running dog

6. “事之失度或人之失意”之意 = inappropriate or abnormal (of a thing); frustrated or dejected (of a person)

7. “星名”之意 = Gou [name of a star within the constellation Dipper]

二、與“狗”有關(guān)的兩字表達(dá)

這方面的表達(dá)，多數(shù)為名詞，有少量的動(dòng)詞或形容詞。在這些名詞當(dāng)中，不少為專有名詞，其中包括一些比喻詞或詈詞。具體請(qǐng)見以下例子：

1. 狗才 worthless person; incompetent person

2. 狗盜 thief

3. 狗癲 hydrophobia familiar for狂犬病

4. 狗肺 brutal and cold-blooded; beastly see 狼心狗肺

5. 狗獾 badger

6. 狗薺 [Chin Med] whitlow grass

7. 狗鷲 vulture familiar for 禿鷲

8. 狗馬 (1) playthings [kept for the ruling class] (2) your humble and devoted servant [used by officials when addressing the emperor]

9. 狗命 (1) dog’s life (2) wretched existence

10. 狗屁 rubbish, nonsense (usu of writing): | ～不通 mere trash or rubbish | ～文章 a worthless piece of writing

11. 狗竊 to filch

12. 狗食 (1) dog food (2) useless things: ～盆子 a good-for-nothing

13. 狗屠 (1) dog butcher (2) person who does a mean and humble job

14. 狗窩 (1) kennel; doghouse (2) dirty or messy or untidy (room)

15. 狗熊 (1) [Zool] black bear; Selenarctos thibetanus (2) coward:誰(shuí)英雄 , 誰(shuí)～ , 咱比比！ who is a hero and who is a coward? let’s compare and see!

16. 狗癬 mange

17. 狗蠅 (1) dog fly; Hippobosca capensis (2) messy and dirty: ～胡子 a sparse beard

18. 狗子 (1) dog (2) reactionary soldiers, police, etc: 白～ white dogs [derogatory term for Kuomintang soldiers before 1949]

三、與“狗”有關(guān)的三字表達(dá)

這方面的表達(dá)，均為名詞，不少是專有名詞，其中包括一些口語(yǔ)詞、比喻詞、詈詞等。具體請(qǐng)見以下例子：

1. 狗蹦子 (1) dog flea (2) mischievous person

2. 狗脖圍 dog collar

3. 狗吃屎 dog eating dung; to fall flat on the face; to fall to the ground face down [usu a heavy fall]: 摔了個(gè)～ fall flat on the face

4. 狗大夫 quack doctor

5. 狗東西 (you) son of a bitch

6. 狗奶子 fruit of Chinese wolfberry

7. 狗男女 despicable men and women

8. 狗泥混 bum; loafer

9. 狗奴才 (you) son of a bitch; flunky

10. 狗爬式 dog-paddle [swimming style]

11. 狗脾氣 bad disposition

12. 狗乳草 dandelion familiar for蒲公英

13. 狗屎堆 (1) pile of dogshit (2) disgusting person

14. 狗腿子 hired thug; lackey; henchman

15. 狗下水 (dog’s guts) bad heart; ill-natured: 你長(zhǎng)著個(gè)人樣子, 肚子里安的是～ though you look like a human, your nature is even worse than that of a beast

16. 狗咬狗 (dog-eat-dog ) strife or dogfight [usu among bad people]

17. 狗雜種 (you) son of a bitch

18. 狗仔隊(duì) paparazzi

19. 狗崽子 (you) son of a bitch

20. 狗爪子 hired thug; lackey; henchman

四、與“狗”有關(guān)的四字表達(dá)

這方面的表達(dá)，絕大部分為習(xí)語(yǔ)，只有少量的一般性表達(dá)，其中含有一些貶義性的詞語(yǔ)。具體請(qǐng)見以下例子：

1. 狗膽包天 audacious and reckless; extremely audacious;beastly audacious

2. 狗盜雞鳴 (1) having little tricks (2) slinkingly; covertly

3. 狗吠不驚 (not panic at dogs’ barking) stable and peaceful (of a society)

4. 狗吠之驚 also 狗吠之警 alarm at the barking of dogs; social unrest: 國(guó)中無(wú)～ the country remains peaceful and stable

5. 狗狗氣氣 (1) very stingy (2) furtive

6. 狗茍蠅營(yíng) to seek gains shamelessly

7. 狗急跳墻 (a dog at bay will jump over a wall) to take a desperate action in a critical situation: ～, 人急懸梁 (just as a cornered dog will leap over a wall, so a desperate person will hang himself from a roof beam) desperate people will resort to desperate measures

8. 狗馬聲色 (fine dog, fast horse, music, and women) extremely luxurious and Dolce Vita life (of the ruling class)

9. 狗皮膏藥 (1) dogskin plaster (2) quack remedies; worthless goods

10. 狗頭狗腦 (1) furtive; sneaky: 這家伙～, 來歷不明 judging from that guy’s furtive manner, he might be a trouble (2) words used by the older generation to the younger ones to wish them health: 保佑你日后～的, 長(zhǎng)命百歲 wish you health and many happy returns

11. 狗頭軍師 person who likes to give advice, but not very good advice; person who offers bad advice; inept advisor

12. 狗尾續(xù)貂 (a dog’s tail attached to a sable) a wretched sequel attached to a fine work; to complete a masterpiece with poor finishing (of literary works)

13. 狗血淋漓 crushing defeat; disastrous defeat

14. 狗血噴頭 also 狗血淋頭 a stream of abuse; a torrent of abuse

15. 狗占馬槽 dog in the manger

16. 狗仗官勢(shì) (of bad person) to be a bully with the backing of a powerful official

17. 狗仗人勢(shì) (like a dog threatening people on the strength of its master’s power) to be a bully with the backing of a powerful person; to take advantage of one’s or sb else’s power to bully people

18. 狗彘不如 also狗彘不若 no better than a cur or swine [descriptive of a contemptible person]

五、與狗有關(guān)的五字或以上的表達(dá)

這方面的表達(dá)，絕大部分為習(xí)語(yǔ)或俗語(yǔ)，僅有極少的一般性表達(dá)。具體請(qǐng)見以下例子：

1. 狗不吃屎，人不偏心 when dogs no longer eat excrement,people will no longer practice favoritism

2. 狗不上前用食喂，馬不上套駕鞭打 (if a dog won’t advance toward you, feed it with food; if a horse won’t get into harness, beat it with a whip) different people or situations should be treated with different tactics

3. 狗不嫌家貧 dogs do not shun a poor home

4. 狗不咬拜年的，官不打送錢的 just as dogs don’t bite people paying New Year’s calls, government officials don’t beat people who send them gifts of money

5. 狗朝屁走，人朝勢(shì)走 just as dogs follow the smell of flatulence,people follow the powerful

6. 狗吃屎，狼吃人 (dogs eat excrement; wolves eat people) a leopard cannot change its spots

7. 狗顛屁股兒 (1) dog tagging along (2) to be obsequious

8. 狗都有翹尾巴的時(shí)候 (every dog has his time to stick up his tail) every dog will have his day

9. 狗肚里藏不住熱脂油 (no fatty oil can be kept in a dog’s belly) a shallow person can keep nothing secret

10. 狗多不怕狼，人多不怕虎 (when dogs are many, they dread no wolves; when people are many, they dread no tigers) there is strength in numbers

11. 狗改不了吃屎 you can’t make a crab walk straight; a leopard never changes its spot; it’s hard to change sb’s bad disposition

12. 狗拿耗子, 多管閑事 (like a dog trying to catch mice) to poke one’s nose into other people’s business; to be a busybody; to be too meddlesome

13. 狗能戴帽子 (a dog can wear a hat) beast in human form

14. 狗肉滾三滾，神仙站不穩(wěn) (after dog meat has been boiled three times, even gods cannot resist it) no one can resist the temptation of delicacies

15. 狗肉上不得臺(tái)盤，稀泥巴糊不上壁 (just as dog meat cannot be served to guests, so watery mud cannot be used to plaster walls) some people are worthless or hapless beyond helping

16. 狗瘦，主人羞 (if a dog is thin, its master feels ashamed) a leader feels ashamed when his subordinates misbehave

17. 狗頭上插不得金花 (no golden flowers can be placed on a dog’s head) some people, things or situations are just hopelessly bad

18. 狗頭上擱不住肉骨頭 (no meaty bones can be kept on a dog’s head for long) certain people or situations are just hopeless

19. 狗頭上長(zhǎng)角 (a horn growing on a dog’s head) utter impossibility

20. 狗為百步王，只是門前狼 (a dog is a king within a radius of one hundred paces, but he is only a wolf before his master’s door) every cock crows on his own dunghill

21. 狗窩里養(yǎng)不出金錢豹 (no spotted leopard can be born in a doghouse) a low environment produces no people of high ability

22. 狗眼看人低 to be snobbish

23. 狗咬穿爛的，人舔穿好的 dogs bite the raggedly dressed,while people flatter the well dressed

24. 狗咬呂洞賓 (a dog snapping at Lǚ Dongbin [the first of the eight immortals]) not to recognize a good person or his good intention; to bite the hand that feeds one

25. 狗咬人有藥醫(yī)，人咬人沒藥治 (there are medicines which can cure a person bitten by a dog, but no medicine exists that can cure one person bitten by another) those who are falsely accused in a legal action are hard put to defend themselves

26. 狗也有三升糠分 (even a dog has its share of three bushels of rice husks) everyone should have a share of the food available

27. 狗豬不食其余 (a person so despised and contemptible that even a pig or a dog won’t eat the food left by him or her) base; mean; despicable;contemptible; disgusting

28. 狗走千里吃屎，狼走千里吃人 (just as a dog travelling a thousand li will still eat excrement, a wolf travelling a thousand li will still eat people) a leopard cannot change its spots

29. 狗嘴吐不出象牙also狗嘴里長(zhǎng)不出象牙 (no ivory will come out of a dog’s mouth) no decent words come from the mouth of a bad person;filthy mouth can’t utter decent language; what can you expect from a dog but a bark

30. 救了落水狗，回頭咬一口 (if you save a drowning dog, it will bite you later) if you help bad people, you’ll be harmed by them some day

的確，漢語(yǔ)中與“狗”有關(guān)的表達(dá)實(shí)在太豐富了，諸如“狗寶”“狗竇”“狗魚”“狗刨兒”“狗盜鼠竊”“狗走狐淫”“狗咬狗，兩嘴毛”等詞語(yǔ)的英文翻譯，更待我們共同探索。 □

南京大學(xué)博士，哈佛大學(xué)訪問學(xué)者，現(xiàn)為上海大學(xué)教授、英語(yǔ)系主任，主要從事英語(yǔ)語(yǔ)塊學(xué)、ESL寫作以及詞典編纂研究。