Clever Ain't Wise

星期一晚上和客户一起吃饭的时候,被客户评价为【非常聪明】。对于当时正被夺命连环Q搞得【感到万分沮丧,甚至开始怀疑人生】的我瞬间觉得这句话甘之如饴啊,于是得瑟得到处show off,结果小羽不咸不淡的来了一句,Clever ain't wise……

气结之后想了下,其实说的还是蛮有道理的。很多人【聪明反被聪明误】就是因为误把Clever当Wise了吧。特意去查了字典,看了Clever主要侧重于反应快和思维敏捷,而Wise则是在大是大非面前选择正确。觉得这两个词的差异有点类似于effective和efficient的差别,在于【do things right】和【do right things】。结合实际,莫非Clever和Wise的差别就在于【努力工作】和【努力找工作】之间么?LOL。有意思的是词典中同时提到了Clever和Wise(好吧,其实是unwise):【Being too clever is thought to be unwise,and support for this popular notion may be afforded by the fact that the devil seems to have been the first “clever” one in English.】好吧,看来【非常聪明】的确不是什么太好的事情啊╮<(=╯-╰=)>╭

最后附上词典中对2个单词的解释(友情提示,有点长……):

clever clev.er

adj.(形容词) clev.er.er,clev.er.est

Mentally quick and original; bright.

聪明的,伶俐的:思维敏捷且有创造性的;聪明的

Nimble with the hands or body; dexterous.

灵敏的:手或身体敏捷的;灵敏的

Exhibiting quick-wittedness:

机智的,巧妙的:表现快速机智的:

a clever story.

机智的故事

New England Easily managed; docile:

【新英格兰】 温顺的,听话的:易于管理的;驯良温顺的:

“Oxen must be pretty clever to be bossed around the way they are”(&b{Dialect Notes})

“牛必须要很驯服才能接受指挥”(方言注释)

New England Affable but not especially smart.

【新英格兰】 温和的:友善但不是特别机敏的

Chiefly Southern U.S. Good-natured; amiable.See Regional Note at ugly

【多用于美国南部】 性情和顺的:天性良好的;和善的参见 ugly

语源:

Middle English cliver ; akin to  East Frisian klifer, klüfer

中古英语 cliver ;类似于  东弗里斯兰语 klifer, klüfer

perhaps from _kl&9{¿_fen} [to gnaw apart, work assiduously]

可能源自 _kl&9{¿_fen} [咬开,工作勤勉的]

[of Low German origin] ; akin to  Old Saxon klioban [to split, cleave] * see  gleubh-

[源于日耳曼语] ;类似于  古撒克逊语 klioban [裂开,打通] *参见 gleubh-

继承用法:

clev“erly

adv.(副词)

clev“erness

n.(名词)

参考词汇:

clever,ingenious,shrewd

These adjectives are compared as they refer to mental adroitness or to practical ingenuity and skill.

这些形容词在表示心地机智灵敏或实际的独创性和能力上有所区别。

Clever, the most comprehensive,stresses mental quickness or adeptness:

Clever 极富理解力的,强调反应迅速或适应性强:

“If I ever felt inclined to be timid as I was going into a room full of people,I would say to myself,‘You're the cleverest member of one of the cleverest families in the cleverest class of the cleverest nation in the world,why should you be frightened?’”  (Beatrice Webb).

“一旦我进入充满人的房间而感到胆怯时,我就会对自己说, ‘你是这个世界上最聪明国家的最聪明阶层的最聪明家庭的最聪明成员,为什么你会被吓着呢?’ (比阿特丽斯·韦伯)。

Ingenious implies originality and inventiveness:

Ingenious 表示有创造力和有创造性:

“an ingenious solution to the storage problem”  (Linda Greider).

“解决贮藏问题的创造性办法” (林达·格蕾德)。

Shrewd emphasizes mental astuteness and practical understanding:

Shrewd 强调精明及实际理解力:

“a woman of shrewd intellect and masculine character”  (Leslie Stephen).

“具有精明的才智及男子气概的妇女” (莱斯利·斯蒂芬)

注释:

In the 17th and 18th centuries,in addition to its basic sense of “able to use the brain readily and effectively,” the word_clever_ acquired a constellation of imprecise but generally positive senses in regional British speech: “clean-limbed and handsome,” “neat and convenient to use,” and “of an agreeable disposition.”Some of these British regional senses, brought over when America was colonized,are still found in American regional speech,as in the South, where_clever_ can mean “good-natured, amiable,” in old-fashioned speech. The speech of New England extends the meaning “good-natured” to animalsin the specific sense of “easily managed, docile.”Perhaps it was the association with animals that gave rise to another meaning, “affable but not especially smart,”applicable to people when used in old-fashioned New England dialects.

在17和18世纪时,clever 一词除了其基本含义“能够轻松、有效地用脑”外,还在英国方言中具有大量不准确但明确的含义, “身材匀称且英俊倜傥”、“整洁有序且便于使用”和“令人愉快的个性”。英国方言中的一部分含义是美国被殖民统治时传播开来,在美国方言中至今仍然可见,如在南部的旧式方言中,clever 可以表示“脾气好的、和蔼的”。 新英格兰方言把“脾气好的”意思拓展到动物,表示“易于管理的、温驯的”的特定含义。可能因其与动物有关而导致另一含义“友善但不是特别机敏”的产生,适用于使用旧式新英格兰方言的人

注释:

Being too clever is thought to be unwise,and support for this popular notion may be afforded by the fact that the devil seems to have been the first “clever” one in English.The source of our word_clever_ is probably the Middle English word _cliver,_ recorded only once in a work written before 1250,in which it is said that the devil is “cliver on sinnes.”This means something like “skillful in respect to sins.”_Cliver_ probably goes back to the Indo-European root _gleubh-,_ “to cut, cleave.” Although the intermediate ancestry of_cliver_ is unclear, the semantic connection has to do with penetration or incisiveness—that is, cutting through to the heart of the matter,just as a woodcarver cuts through material in order to realize a certain vision.

太聪明被认为是愚蠢的,英语中魔鬼被认为是第一“聪明的”,这一事实可能是这一普遍概念的例证。clever 的词源可能是中世纪英语单词 cliver , 仅在一本1250年以前写的著作中出现过一次,书中说魔鬼“在犯罪方面很聪明”。这个含义有些类似于“在犯罪方面很有本事。”Cliver 可以追溯到印欧词根 gleubh- “切、削”。 虽然_cliver_ 的中介来源尚不清楚, 但语义的联系肯定与穿透力或透彻性有关--即穿透事物的本质,就象木工劈开材料以了解其内在材质。

wise 1 wise 1

adj.(形容词) wis.er,wis.est

Having wisdom or discernment for what is true, right, or lasting; sagacious:

英明的,明断的:具有智慧的;具有识别什么是真的、正确的或永久的洞察力的;明智的:

a wise leader.

英明的领导人

Exhibiting common sense; prudent:

谨慎的:表现出有常识的;审慎的:

a wise decision.

审慎的决定

Shrewd; crafty.

精明的,狡猾的

Having great learning; erudite.

有学问的;博学的

Provided with information; informed. Used with_to_ :

明白的,机灵的:了解的;知情的,消息灵通的。与_to_ 连用:

was wise to the politics of the department.

明了部分内的尔虞我诈

Slang Rude and disrespectful; impudent.

【俚语】 鲁莽的:粗鲁的且不敬的;放肆的

常用词组:

wise up 【俚语】

To make or become aware, informed, or sophisticated.

使知道,知情,谙于世事

语源:

Middle English

中古英语

from Old English _w&9{º_s} * see  weid-

源自 古英语 _w&9{º_s} *参见 weid-

继承用法:

wise“ly

adv.(副词)

wise“ness

n.(名词)

好吧我承认我在刷字数ε=ε=┏<(=>_<)┛ 不过为了表扬努力学习看到最后的同学们,就推介一下【美国传统词典(双解)】吧,这本词典是我用到现在最喜欢的了~

撒花!★,°:.☆<(= ̄▽ ̄=)>/$:.°★

updatedupdated2010-09-082010-09-08