red herring

red herring
熏鲱鱼

意指:
1. 故意引起误导, 转移注意的虚假线索
The way Barclay keeps his novels on the move is to put each book's protagonist up against a series of events that fall into a netherworld between clues and red herrings.
巴克莱推动小说情节发展的方式是设置真实和虚假的线索将故事中的主人公置于一系列陷入可怕的境地的事件中

2. 提出无关话题, 借以从原主题转移注意力的一种逻辑谬论
Cheney's 'Torture Works' Argument Is a Red Herring
切尼"虐囚有理"的争辩实属混淆视听

3. 成语: 难以名状的, 非驴非马, 不伦不类
neither fish nor fowl(flesh) (nor good red herring)
I guess that's why I'm a lukewarmer--neither fish nor fowl nor good red herring.
我想这就是为什么我是个温和主义者--非驴非马


起源:
通常认为, 起源于猎人在训练猎狗时用熏鲱鱼的气味干扰其追踪猎物.
事实并非如此, 这种说法最早出现在19世纪初一名英国记者写的一篇小说中, 用来隐喻抨击当时新闻界的错误报道, 由于这个比喻广泛流传深入人心, 后来被人误认为是一种训练猎狗的方法.


外部链接:
Red herring (idiom)
red herring
THE LURE OF THE RED HERRING

Fallacy: Red Herring
Red Herring

"NEITHER FISH NOR FLESH" AND ITS VARIATIONS*

Herring

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gone fishing

gone fishing

去钓鱼就是指去度假(vacation)了, 大概因为美国人度假时比较喜欢钓鱼?
有旷工的(absent from duty),关闭的(closed),停止服务(out of service)的意思

例句:
One Republican congressman complained that "it was hard for Mr. Bush to get his message out if the White House lectern had a ‘Gone Fishing' sign on it."

Gone Fishin'. Okay, not really. But after some consideration, I’ve decided to take the summer off from blogging.

I've been looking through the documentation, and I don't seem to see mentioned anywhere how I can setup auto-replies, or canned replies on an account by account basis. I seem to remember having done this on other mailer systems using a .gone-fishing or .vacation file.



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less than stellar

less than stellar

less-than-stellar
不尽如人意的,二流的

解释:
less-than-stellar
An english term meaning that something doesn't meet the expectations set in it or is less good than a similar thing coming before or after it. It is commonly used in the media and sometimes written like this: less-than-stellar.

Usage:
Those sales figures are less than stellar.
Godzilla 2000 was a less-than-stellar movie, and Dean Devlin's acting was less than stellar too.

Example from knifegirl's w/u on Falco:
Falco's third album, Falco 3, contained the single Rock Me Amadeus, which reached the top of those charts that measure such things in the U.S., Germany, Austria, and England. ... A few less-than-stellar albums followed,...

Similar terms:
substandard; dissatisfactory, half assed

例句:
In China, a Rocky Ascent for Basketball
Bonzi Wells, a less than stellar player in the N.B.A., frequently scored more than 40 points a game in the Chinese Basketball Association.

TV ratings soared, and foreign players found starring roles -- the top 15 scorers were non-Chinese, and players like Bonzi Wells and Dontae' Jones -- who had less than stellar N.B.A. careers -- frequently scored more than 40 points a game.

'Real Housewives of Atlanta' adds new face
Last season, fans of the show -- and some of the other housewives -- slammed Zolciak for her less-than-stellar voice.



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therefore and thereby

therefore and thereby
therefore和thereby区别


例句:
thereby
You use thereby to introduce an important result or consequence of the event or action you have just mentioned. (FORMAL)
Our bodies can sweat, thereby losing heat by evaporation.
A firm might sometimes sell at a loss to drive a competitor out of business, and thereby increase its market power.
ADV: ADV with cl
= thus

therefore
You use therefore to introduce a logical result or conclusion.
Muscle cells need lots of fuel and therefore burn lots of calories.
Nothing was to prevent him now from becoming the richest, and therefore the happiest, man in the world.
ADV: ADV with cl/group
= consequently


thereby
by that, by that mean, 意为"通过那种方式"

therefore
for that, for that reason, 意为"因为那种原因"

类似的还有hereby, hereof, hereto等一堆



外部链接
What is the difference between therefore and thereby?
Hereby / Thereby


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