觀時事 識英文
Shoot oneself in the foot
加拿大
最近，英國議會下院投票否決“脫歐”協議，特雷莎·梅政府遭遇滑鐵盧。西方媒體稱Britain shot itself in the foot with Brexit（英國“脫歐”，自找麻煩）。
Shoot oneself in the foot（自找麻煩，反受其害）這一習語源自何處，各說不一。一說是一戰士兵為當逃兵，開槍自傷其腳，也有人說是美國舊時西部牛仔拔槍太快，走火傷腳。時至今日，這個習語的語義已經有所演變，柯林斯英語詞典的釋義是to damage one's own cause inadvertently，劍橋英語詞典的釋義是to do something without intendingto which spoils a situation for yourself，朗文當代英語詞典的釋義是to say or do something stupid that will cause you a lot of trouble。Shoot oneself in the foot與中文習語 “搬起石頭砸自己的腳”類似，其用法如：Trump shoots himself in the foot on tariffs and trade（在關稅貿易問題上，川普搬起石頭砸了自己的腳）。又如：The Federal government seems to have shot itself in the foot over this issue（聯邦政府在這個問題上好像搬起石頭砸了自己的腳）。再如：“If we just let him keep talking, soon he's going to shoot himself in the foot.”
