crocodile tears crocodile是“鳄鱼”,tears就是“眼泪”。 英文里的crocodile tears和中国人常说的“猫哭老鼠假慈悲”是一样的意思。crocodile tears这个习语来自一个古老的神话,说是鳄鱼往往发出一种哭的声音来引诱那些它们要吃的动物,然后一边吃一边流眼泪。这当然不是事实,但是这个说法已经成为常用语。请看下面的例子:The truth is that Peter never liked his rich Uncle John. But you should have seen his crocodile tears when the old man died and left him a million dollars!彼得从来都不喜欢他那有钱的叔叔约翰,这是事实。可是那老人去世的时候给他留了一百万美元,你可真该看看彼得当时那假流泪的样子。下面这个例子说的是一位客: In his speeches the mayor always puts on a big show of crocodile tears for poor and homeless people, but I don’t see him doing anything to help them. 这位市长在讲话时总是装得好像他对穷人和无家可归的人非常同情。但是,我并没有见到他做些什么来帮助他们。
