Busybody

 

A person who meddles or pries into the affairs of others.

指瞎掺和、窥探别人私事的人。

 

Busybody就是“爱管闲事的人”，需要注意这是一个名词。下面来看一段对Busybody详细的描述：

 

They evesdrop, will report you for "child abuse" when you discipline your kids in the mall by giving them a small smack on the hand, they knock on your apartment door for "being too loud" when chopping vegetables on your counter for dinner, will tell flight attendants something like "excuse me but I saw that man using his cell phone during the safety demo" and will tell a COP something like "excuse me sir but I saw that man's license plate tag as being expired."

他们会偷听；他们在商场看到你教训孩子时打了一下孩子的手，就会报警说你虐待儿童；他们在听到你的切菜声时跑来敲你的门，抱怨你太吵了；他们会告诉空姐，安全演示时你还没关手机；他们会告诉警察你的车牌已经过期了。 这种人在我们的生活中很常见，我们会觉得他们“事儿多”、“爱管闲事”，并且“十分烦人”。

 

Busybody所描述的这一类人便是具有这样的特征，因此感情色彩为贬义。 与这个词相关，有一个常用的句子：I don't want to sound like a busybody, but...（不是我多管闲事，但是...）正如这个例子：

 

Bob: I don't want to sound like a busybody, but some of your neighbors wonder if you could stop parking your car on your lawn.

 不是我多事，但是一些邻居在想你能不能别把车停在你家草坪上。

 

 Sally: I'll thank you to mind your own business!

别多管闲事，谢谢您呐，好走不送！

 

果然，What is after the "but" negates whatever you say before it，but之后的句子否定了之前的所有。

 

Nosy

 

Always wanting to find out things that do not concern you, especially other people’s private affairs. 形容人总是想打探他人私事。 又作nosey。与Busybody不同，nosy是一个形容词，即“爱管闲事的”。Nosy由名词nose而得来。Nose本来是鼻子的意思，同时也有名词/动词意思“嗅探”（打探别人的私事时的神态，如同狗到处嗅闻）。因此，形容词nosy可以形容这一类爱管闲事、有窥私欲的人。 有这样一个英国俚语，“Nosy parker”，指的便是“nosy person”，爱管闲事、到处打探别人私事的人。

 

 由上一段中的“nose”，可以引出下一个习语。

 

Stick/poke your nose into

 

To become involved in something that does not concern you, in a way that annoys people.多管闲事；插手与己无关的事。

 

 这个习语是一个动词短语，stick和poke均指“伸出”，也就是“把你的鼻子伸进xxx嗅探”。 （此图更像是stick your eye into sth.） 还有如下若干动词短语，表达“（不恰当方式）打探别人的私事。” Pry into Snoop into Meddle in 上述动词短语的用法和“stick your nose into something”一致。

 

 Examples: That busybody spreads rumers like it is her profession.

那个爱管闲事的女人的特长就是散播谣言。

 

 Our next door neighbour is really nosy. He always has to know everything about everybody on our street.

我们隔壁的邻居太喜欢管闲事了。他总是非要知道这条街上每个人的每件事。

 

What happens in this department does not concern him. Why does he have topoke his nose into everything all the time?

这个部门的情况不关他的事。为什么他总是非要来插手？

 

Why are you prying into (snoop into/ meddle in) my affairs all the time?

为什么你总是打探我的私事？