總統已明確表示，他將動用一切手段來追求美國的赤裸裸的自身利益。這種坦率令人難以信服。
The president has made it clear that he will use practically every means of leverage he has in pursuit of America’s naked self-interest. Such candour is cold comfort https://econ.st/4qdYWZa
總統已明確表示，他將動用一切手段來追求美國的赤裸裸的自身利益。這種坦率令人難以接受。今日短語
如果某件事情被稱為 “cold comfort”，意思是 “本想用此事安慰他人，使其不再因一個消極的狀況而感到難過，卻沒有達到預期的效果，於事無補”。
例句
The creation of new jobs looks good, but it's cold comfort for all the people who lost their houses during the economic downturn.
創造新的就業機會看似是件好事，但這對於在經濟衰退時期失去住房的人來說，並不能起到什麼安慰作用。
The fact they were allowed to stay in the house for another week after being evicted was cold comfort.
他們被逐出住所後獲准在那棟房子再住一個星期，但這並不能給他們帶來什麼安慰。
After the couple were robbed, the police found their bag. However, it was cold comfort as the money was still missing.
那對夫婦被搶後，警察找到了他們的包包。但這於事無補，因為包包裡的錢不見了。
A Song of Lament for Syria
By NIHAD SIREES
In Aleppo, a city famous for its love of music, the bombs are drowning out the songs.
cold comfort
/ˌkəʊld ˈkʌmfət/
phrase of cold
- poor or inadequate consolation."another drop in the inflation rate was cold comfort for the 2.74 million jobless"
Definition of drown
verb
[no object]Origin:
Middle English (originally northern): related to Old Norse drukkna 'to be drowned', also to drinklast straw
n.
The last of a series of annoyances or disappointments that leads one to a final loss of patience, temper, trust, or hope.
[From the proverb "It's the last straw that breaks the camel's back".]
Clutch at straws
MeaningTry any route to get out of a desperate situation, no matter how unlikely it is to succeed.
Origin
It is only since the mid-19th century that we have been clutching at straws. Prior to that, desperate people would 'catch at a straw'. That usage of 'catch' was commonly used in mediaeval England, by which was meant 'obtain/achieve'. For example, John Wycliffe used it in his 1382 translation of the Bible into English, in 1 Timothy 6:12:
Stryve thou a good strif of feith, catche everlastyng lyfBy the 17th century, in the King James Version, this had migrated to:
Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal lifeOur present day ambitions are more prosaic and we only use that sense of 'catch' now to catch trains, buses and, occasionally, colds.
A straw was chosen as the height of futility as a means of rescue. Being, as it was, a flimsy and virtually valueless waste product, it was often used as a synonym for the most unimportant and trifling of objects. 'Don't give/care a straw' was an indication of indifference, a 'man of straw' was an insubstantial adversary, and to 'condemn someone to straw' was to declare them ready for the madhouse.
'To clutch at straws' is now used as a figurative phrase, to describe any desperate situation. When the expression was coined it specifically referred to drowning. The notion of a drowning man anxiously seeking 'any port in a storm' was first expressed by Sir Thomas More, in A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation, 1534:
A man in peril of drowning catchest whatsoever cometh next to hand... be it never so simple a stick.More used the imagery on several occasions, but didn't mention straw in any of them. The 'catch at a straw' version of the proverb is first recorded in the English cleric John Prime's Fruitful and Brief Discourse, 1583:
We do not as men redie to be drowned, catch at euery straw.The metaphor expresses futility rather well. Straws do float, but a drowning man would have to be pretty much out of other ideas if he put any reliance on it bearing his weight.
Moving on to the 19th century, 'catch' has fallen from favour and we find an early mention of the current 'clutch at straws' version in The New-York Mirror, 1832:
... as drowning men clutch at straws.
On to the 21st century and you no longer need to be drowning or desperate to clutch at straws - straw clutch bags have become fashion items. See also: the List of Proverbs.
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