英文:put two and two together and make/get five (v.)
說明:「講一個影,生一個囝」是一句非常通俗的台語,與「聽風就是雨」、「捕風捉影」等的意思相近。
To put two and two together and make/get five 是句格言,可追溯到 1600 年代。大家都知道, 2 加 2 等於 4,但這句的答案卻是 5,表示根據所見所聞來推測的結論抑或根據現有情況來推論或綜合判斷所得的結論是錯的,與事實真相不符。
這句英文慣用語到了 1800 年代中期開始出現意思相反的縮略形式,即 to put two and two together,用來表示根據所見所聞或現有狀況或資料做出正確的推論,不是「講一個影,生一個囝」,也不是「聽風就是雨」或「捕風捉影」。截至目前,這兩個慣用語仍非常流行。
例句:
- A: Why on earth did Sarah think you were pregnant? (A:莎拉究竟為什麼會認為你懷孕?)
B: I was sick a couple of times, and I guess she just put two and two together and made five. (B:我曾嘔吐過幾次,我猜她就這樣講一個影,生一個囝) - Kevin is rather inclined to put two and two together and make five. (凱文的推測往往出錯、鬧笑話)
- A: How did you know Sam and Amy were having an affair? (A:你怎麼知道山姆和艾美有婚外情?)
B: I’d seen them out together several times, so I just put two and two together. (B:我已經好幾次看見他們一起外出,所以就這樣推斷了)