Green-eyed monster 字面意思為「綠眼怪獸」,但比喻為「嫉妒;妒忌」,與 jealousy 同義。這個慣用語是莎士比亞 1604 年在其悲劇《奧賽羅》(Othello) 中所創,使用至今已有數百年的歷史。必須注意的是,green-eyed 是形容詞,修飾名詞 monster,所以要有連字號。
例句:
- My son often suffers from the green-eyed monster when he sees the new smartphones that his classmates have. (當我兒子看見他同學有新的智慧型手機時,他往往會心生妒忌)
- Teresa succumbs to the green-eyed monster every time her best friend hangs out with someone else. (每次泰瑞莎的好朋友和其他人出去玩時,她都很嫉妒)