Down in the Dumps——垂頭喪氣

** unhappy, sad, depressed, dejected, despondent, downcast, dispirited, discouraged

~~垂頭喪氣；愁眉苦臉；沒精打采；沮喪不堪；悶悶不樂；情緒低落；精神沮喪；打不起精神

~~ in the dumps // in the doldrums // down in the mouth // long face // low-spirited // feeling blue // heavy-hearted // in a blue-funk // in the pits // broken-hearted

!!“Dump” could have derived from the Dutch word “domp” (meaning a heavy, oppressive mental “dullness”). It could also come from the German word “dumpf” (meaning heavy, oppressive, gloomy). The noun dumps has been used for “a state of depression” since the early 1500s. During the Elizabethan time (1558-1603), a “dump” was also any kind of a slow, mournful song or dance. Modern use of the term was probably influenced byU.S.dump, meaning “rubbish heap.”

（“Dump”可能源自荷蘭語“domp”（沉重、壓抑的精神“沉悶”）。也可能來自德語“dumpf”（沉重、壓抑、抑鬱）。自16世紀以來，名詞“dumps”一直用來表示“抑鬱狀態”。在伊麗莎白時代，“dump”也表示一種緩慢、悲傷的歌曲或舞蹈。這個詞的現代用法可能受到美國垃圾場的影響，意思是“垃圾堆”。)

!! In Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew (2:1), Katherina, after her first lively quarrel with Petruchio, is asked by her father: "Why, how now, daughter Katherina! In your dumps?"

（在莎士比亞的《馴悍記》(2:1)中，凱瑟琳在與彼特魯喬第一次激烈爭吵後，被父親問道：“怎麼樣？凱瑟琳！為甚麼你沒精打采？”）

>> The colleague was down in the dumps because he had failed his driving test again.

（這位同事因為駕駛考試再次不合格而垂頭喪氣。）

>> Don't be so in the dumps over business during the COVID-19 pandemic.

（別為新冠疫情下的生意愁眉苦臉）

學勤進修教育中心英語專科導師

李啓文 教授