背锅(每日一词:背锅)
有人说,进入职场后学到的第一个教训就是小心替人“背锅”。作为职场新人,“背锅”似乎是不可避免的。
“背锅”,网络流行语,“背黑锅”的简称,字面意思是“在背上背一口锅(carry a wok on the back)”,用来比喻“为他人承受过错(take the blame for the faults of others)”,英文可翻译为“be made a scapegoat(做替罪羊)”,常用表达有“替……背锅(bear the blame of someone)”。
实际上,英语中有和“背锅”非常相似的说法 ——“carry the can”,表示“take the blame for something, often another's mistakes or misdeeds”。这个英式俚语原本指“帮士兵们抗啤酒的人”,can有“易拉罐”的意思,指装啤酒的容器,后延伸出“代人受过”的含义。
既然有人“背锅”,就得有人“甩锅”。“甩锅”的意思是“把责任推卸给他人(shift or reassign the blame or responsibility to another person)”,与英语习语“pass the buck”意思相近。
Buck是buckhorn knife(鹿角刀)的简称,鹿角刀曾在纸牌游戏中用作筹码,轮到谁就由谁发牌,如果玩家不想发牌,可将鹿角刀传给下一个玩家。后延伸出“推卸责任”的含义。
例句:
多年来,我的合伙人一直在做假账,但由于我是首席执行官,公司倒闭只能我来背锅。 My partner had been cooking the books for years, but because I was the CEO, I had to carry the can for our company's collapse.
他本来并不想替人背锅。 He had not intended to be made a scapegoat.
那些身居高位的人总是安然无恙,是因为他们经常甩锅给下属。 It’s all very well for those at the top; they can always pass the buck to their subordinates.