时差N小时:吹牛 Blow (or Toot) Your Own Horn

Long ago, when kings, queens and emperors ruledmany nations, they often had a system wherebyothers would announce their arrival in animpressive way. Especially when there was a largecrowd of people talkingand making noise, one veryeffective way to get their attention and make themstop talking was to have one or more musicians blow(or "toot," which is a more childish term) upon ahorn.

古时候的国王、皇后和皇帝统治着许多国家。他们往往有一个规定——他们每到一个地方时，会让人用一个令人印象深刻的方式宣示他们的到来。尤其是在聚集了大量人群或人声嘈杂的时候，可以引起他们注意力并使他们停止喧嚷的一个非常有效的方式就是让一个或多个乐师吹响号角(同孩子们的话说，就是吹出“嘟嘟”的声音)。

In very olden times, that horn might be an actual ram's or bull's horn, or even a large conchshell. With more sophistication, these became brass instruments such as trumpets. Today weuse the memory of this symbolic fanfare to criticize people who talk too much about their ownachievements or good qualities. When we say to someone, "Don't blow (or toot) your ownhorn!" we are suggesting they should be more modest and not quite so prideful about theirown accomplishments.

从前，这种号角就是公羊或公牛的角，甚至是一个大海螺。随着制作工艺越来越成熟，这些号角慢慢演变成了铜制的乐器，比如说小号。今天我们用这个比喻的说法来批评某些人过份地吹嘘自己的成绩或者品质。当我们对他们说：“别吹了!”我们是在建议他们要谦虚一点，不要自满于所取得的成就。