【#逐字學英文國際日報】02 half-wit, flashes of dry wit. centerpiece, epergne, grandstanding, grandstand

【#逐字學英文國際日報】02

Grandstanding at the G20 summit, Xi Jinping might have felt like king of the world. How awkward, then, that as he was doing so voters in Hong Kong were sending him a very different message


Xi Jinping will see Hong Kong's election result as a threat. Hong Kongers see him as one
Six members of Hong Kong's Legislative Council now want more…
ECONOMIST.COM

Hong Kong Free Press HKFP

The Grand Cascade is a multitiered hillside waterfall and fountain that is the visual centerpiece of the site.




That combination of a bold formal language and a subtle feel for context continues inside, where the interior is conceived as a vast public forum whose centerpiece is the automobile. Mr. Prix claims that the roof is large enough to cover Piazza San Marco in Venice, and at times its steel underbelly, animated with slashes of light, can evoke the fabric canopies that shade traditional bazaars in Middle Eastern cities.



2004看到一器皿精雕，題為centrepiece（centerpiece） ， 回來查字典，才知道是正式餐飲時放在桌子等處中央東西 (noun [C] a decorative object put in the centre of a table, especially for a formal meal)
以前都只知道它用在比喻方面之意思。

Even from this brief discussion, we can see that Confucius is a most unlikely figure to be made the centre of veneration. He did not have conventional leadership qualities, and his resonance - to me at least - comes from his lack of grandstanding; his constant awareness of his own shortcomings; his rejection of dogmatism; and his flashes of dry wit. These qualities, mixed with an ongoing patience with the hasty questions of the young, and his determination to help them think rather than force their adherence to a particular point of view. Few other world figures, I think, could have phrased their life goals in the disarming yet proud way that Confucius did, as recorded in the Analects. And this celebrated passage, known widely in China, just goes as follows:

史景遷先生

即使從上述簡短的討論，我們就知道，孔子最不可能成為重人崇拜的人物。他沒有傳統的領導素質，而他能引人共鳴的--管見--來自他不會去譁眾取寵；他一向都能自覺自己的缺點；他能"毋固、毋必"；他待人接物上能針貶而不討人厭，能幽默以對。

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

Tonight's Art Moment evokes visions of elegant 18th-century English parties. This epergne, or centerpiece with baskets and trays, is an exotic example of the most complex of silver forms. The maker, Thomas Pitts, specialized in these multi-purpose pieces meant to facilitate a new dining style where guests helped themselves, rather than being assisted by servants. The epergne's center basket displayed flowers or exotic fruits, and the surrounding baskets were filled with sweetmeats or candied fruit. The pagoda-shaped canopy with bells reflects European interest in Asian-inspired ornament, while the sinuous curves reflect the influence of the Rococo style.

This delivery is also called dry humor or dry wit, when the intent, but not the presentation, is humorous, blunt, oblique, sarcastic, laconic, or apparently unintentional.

Urban Dictionary: dry wit

www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dry+wit

Top Definition. dry wit. 1.) The ability to criticise someone and have them laugh about it; see also oblivious 2.) Humour that soars over the heads of your less ...

dry wit，冷峻的機智、冷幽默。傑克·梅里特是在倫敦橋恐襲事件中不幸罹難的兩人之一。時報社論委員會一名研究員回憶了她與這位劍橋同學舊時交往的經歷 。她寫道，他的性格冷峻而幽默(dry wit)，有著充滿男孩子氣的外表，對刑法改革充滿熱忱。但正是在組織一場與獲釋囚犯“共同學習”的活動後，梅里特遭遇了悲劇。

half-wit

noun [ C ]

   disapproving

UK 

 /ˈhɑːf.wɪt/ US 

 /ˈhæf.wɪt/

 

a stupid person

大江健三郎 新小說《被偷換的孩子》原名Changeling

—這是一有風俗的字眼。WordNet Dictionary 發音為: 'cheynjling

Definition: [n] a child secretly exchanged for another in infancy /[n] a person of subnormal intelligence
Synonyms: cretin, half-wit, idiot, imbecile, moron, retard

grandstanding 

noun [U] US INFORMAL

acting or speaking in a way intended to attract the good opinion of other people who are watching

grand・stand

A grandstand is a large and normally permanent structure for seating spectators, most often at a racetrack.

（競馬場・競技場などの）正面観覧席; ((集合的)) その観客たち.
grand・stander　〔米話〕 スタンドプレーをする人.
grandstand finish　手に汗にぎる大接戦.
grandstand play　〔米〕 （野球の）スタンドプレー ((観衆のかっさいを目当てのプレー)).

注:
centrepiece (IMPORTANT PART) UK, US centerpiece
noun [C]
the most important or attractive part or feature of something:
The reduction of crime levels is the centrepiece of the president's domestic policies.
The centrepiece of the shopping centre is a giant fountain.

 center・piece

（食卓中央部に置く）装飾品; （the ～） 最も重要なもの ((of)).

epergne

ɪˈpəːn/

noun

1. an ornamental centrepiece for a dining table, typically used for holding fruit or flowers.

BMW公司以新建築立名:a Cathedral for Cars