throw up one's hands
英 /θrəʊ ʌp wʌnz hændz/美 /θroʊ ʌp wʌnz hændz/
v. 动词
举起双手(表示放弃、无奈或震惊)
用法示例
- After hours of trying to fix the computer, he threw up his hands and called a technician.在尝试修复电脑几个小时后,他举起双手认输,打电话叫了技术人员。
- The teacher threw up her hands in despair when the students refused to listen.当学生们拒绝听讲时,老师绝望地举起了双手。
- I can't deal with this anymore—I throw up my hands!我再也受不了了——我认输了!
- The negotiators threw up their hands, unable to reach an agreement.谈判者们举起双手,无法达成协议。
- She threw up her hands and laughed at the absurdity of the situation.她举起双手,对荒谬的处境大笑。
含义详解
该短语的核心含义是“举起双手”。本义是字面动作,即把双手举过头顶或前方。引申义主要有三个:其一,表示“放弃”或“认输”,源自举手投降的动作,常见于无法解决问题或面对困境时,如“He threw up his hands and gave up.”(他举起双手,放弃了)。其二,表示“无奈”或“束手无策”,当人们感到无能为力时,常以此动作表达挫败感,如“She threw up her hands in despair.”(她绝望地举起双手)。其三,表示“震惊”或“强烈反应”,有时用于夸张地表达惊讶或不满,如“They threw up their hands in horror.”(他们惊恐地举起双手)。这些引申义均源于字面动作,从投降到情感表达,逐步抽象化。
词源解析
该短语由动词“throw up”(举起)和名词“hands”(手)构成,其中“one's”为所有格,表示“某人的”。“throw up”本义为“向上抛”,后引申为“举起”,与“hands”连用形成固定搭配。该表达在19世纪英语中已出现,与投降、认输的肢体语言相关。记忆时可联想投降场景:举起双手表示不再抵抗,从而引申为放弃或无奈。
适用语境
该短语多用于日常口语和文学作品,较少用于正式学术或法律文本。在口语中,常用于表达个人情绪,语气随意,如“I just threw up my hands and walked away.”(我只是摊手走开了)。在新闻报道中,可能用于描述某人面对困境的无奈,语气相对客观,如“Officials threw up their hands at the rising costs.”(官员们对不断上涨的成本束手无策)。在文学作品中,常用来渲染人物情绪,增强画面感,如“He threw up his hands, a gesture of utter defeat.”(他举起双手,一副彻底认输的样子)。在商务邮件中较少使用,除非是描述对方或己方的无奈态度。
用法须知
该短语为及物动词短语,但宾语通常是反身代词所有格“one's”,如“throw up my hands”、“throw up his hands”。常见句型为“throw up one's hands (in/at/with + 名词/动名词)”,如“She threw up her hands in frustration.”(她沮丧地举起双手)。注意:该短语不可拆开使用,不能说“throw my hands up”虽然口语中偶尔出现,但标准用法是“throw up one's hands”。另外,“throw up”本身有“呕吐”之意,但在此短语中无此含义,切勿混淆。
相似词辨析
与“give up”(放弃)相比,“throw up one's hands”更强调肢体动作和情绪表达,通常带有无奈或震惊,而“give up”更直接表示停止尝试。例如,“He gave up after many failures.”(多次失败后他放弃了)与“He threw up his hands and walked away.”(他举起双手走开了)相比,后者更具戏剧性。与“surrender”(投降)相比,“throw up one's hands”更口语化,且不一定指正式投降,可能只是象征性认输。与“shrug”(耸肩)相比,“throw up one's hands”动作更大,情绪更强烈,而“shrug”多表示轻微无奈或不在乎。
常见误区
该短语属于非正式用语,语域较低,适合口语和文学描写,不宜用于正式文书或学术论文。褒贬色彩偏中性,但多含负面情绪,如无奈、绝望或愤怒。常见误用包括:将其与“throw up”的“呕吐”义混淆;或将“one's”省略,如说“throw up hands”而不带所有格,虽口语中可接受,但标准用法应带所有格。此外,注意不要与“throw one's hands up”混淆,后者是变体,但标准形式为“throw up one's hands”。
常见搭配
- throw up one's hands in despair
- throw up one's hands in frustration
- throw up one's hands in horror
- throw up one's hands in surrender
- throw up one's hands in defeat
- throw up one's hands and give up
- throw up one's hands in protest