Over the moon: 欣喜若狂
中秋赏月,不妨向友人讲述几个“月亮”词汇。还记得否?早先谈过的blue moon(蓝月亮)指“罕见、不常发生的事”,今天的over the moon(在月亮上)则是指“欣喜若狂”。Over the moon源于一首欢快的儿歌:“Hey, diddle, diddle/The cat and the fiddle/The cow jumped over the moon/The little dog laughed/To see such sport/And the dish ran away with the spoon.”(嘿,快摇、快摇/猫咪和小提琴/母牛跳过月亮/小狗看到哈哈笑/碟子带着汤勺不见了。)
儿歌虽然毫无意义,但是儿歌中的over the moon倒被大人采用,用来形容“兴高采烈”。到了上世纪70年代,over the moon常用语体育赛事,指赢得比赛后大家“欣喜若狂”。如:The whole team is over the moon at winning the competition.(全队因赢得这场比赛而欢呼雀跃。)