喜樂美語

核心畫面

One way to hold this word: a pile of cattle dung, carried to the table and set down as if it were food. The picture has two halves, and every meaning uses one of them. The first half is worthless — nothing in the pile is worth your attention. The second half is the nerve of putting it in front of you and calling it something else. Talk that is uses both halves. Tiresome little jobs use only the first. And the dung itself is still there in the word, waiting behind all of them.

可以想成一坨牛糞被端上桌，還說那是正經東西。這個畫面有兩層，每個意思都用到其中一層。第一層是「沒價值」——整坨東西都…更多收起可以想成一坨牛糞被端上桌，還說那是正經東西。這個畫面有兩層，每個意思都用到其中一層。第一層是「沒價值」——整坨東西都不值得你花注意力。第二層是「還敢端到你面前」——把它說成別的東西。指假話的時候，兩層都用上了。指雜事的時候，只用到第一層。而那坨真正的牛糞，也一直還留在這個字裡面。

From the word’s history

The word is built from bull + shit, and the source records that the figurative noun — useless or untrue information — is attested from the 1910s.

資料記載這個字由 bull（公牛）加 shit（糞）組成，而「沒用、不實的說法」這個比喻用法從 1910 年代開始有紀錄。所以字面的牛糞是最早的那一層，後面幾個意思都站在它上面。

Wiktionary entry for 'bullshit' as supplied in this packet (source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:170343896): "From bull + shit. Figurative use as a noun referring to useless or untrue information is attested from the 1910s."

Four branches

假話本身

這一組用到畫面的兩層：既沒價值，又被端出來冒充正經東西。

noun · B2

Talk, writing or claims that are nonsense — either untrue, or stretched so far to impress people that no one should believe them. It is a rude word, and calling something bullshit says you refuse to accept it.

鬼扯、屁話

把假話說出口的動作

名詞是那坨東西，動詞是「把它端過去」這個動作。

verb · B2

To say things that are untrue or made up, usually to fool someone or to make yourself sound more important or more able than you really are.

唬爛、吹牛騙人

沒內容的東西和閒話

這一組只留下「沒價值」那一層，完全沒有騙人的成分。

noun · C1

Things, tasks or rules that you find annoying, empty or not worth your time — closer to all that stuff than to lies. It usually appears as all that bullshit or all this bullshit at the end of a list.

那些煩人的雜事、有的沒的

字面上的牛糞

這是畫面本身，不是延伸。其他意思都站在它上面。

noun · C1

The solid waste that a bull passes; cattle dung. This is the plain physical meaning of the two parts of the word, and you will meet it far less often than the nonsense meaning.

公牛的糞便

原始詞典資料13 筆記錄

以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。

bullshitnoun/ˈbʊlʃɪt/

  • 1

    vulgarFeces produced by a bull.

    • Near-synonyms: cowshit, cowpie
    • Oh, I get it! So it's not a pyramid, it's just pyramid-shaped. You know, like a Dorito, or an Angry Bird, or just a pile of bullshit.
  • 2

    vulgarslangAny assertions or information that are either false or misleading.

    • Don't pay any attention to him. He talks a lot of bullshit.
    • He wrote loads of bullshit in the science exam.
  • 3

    vulgarslangAny assertions or information that are either false or misleading.

    • That's total bullshit! I called your office and they said that you didn't come in!
    • Fucking load of bullshit! You smashed his skull and dropped the F-bomb at him, and now you're claiming that he assaulted you?!
  • 4

    Any assertions or information that are either false or misleading.

  • 5

    human-sciencesphilosophysciencesAny assertions or information that are either false or misleading.

    • I focus on unclarifiable unclarity in particular in preparation for a further inquiry into bullshit that addresses the question why so much of that particular kind of bullshit is produced in France. This kind of academic bullshit […] comes close to being celebrated for its very unclarity by some of its producers and consumers.
    • Respect for the truth and a concern for the truth are among the foundations for civilization. I was for a long time disturbed by the lack of respect for the truth that I observed... bullshit is one of the deformities of these values.
  • 6

    vulgarslangSynonym of shit (any stuff, especially when viewed negatively or with collegial vulgarity).

    • These rules cover how to do your laundry, how to fold your shirts, how to shine your shoes... You know, all that bullshit.
    • And when I rolled with the punches I got knocked on the ground By all this bullshit going down
  • 7

    vulgarcard-gamesgamesA card game in which players try to discard their hands first, following rules that encourage bluffing, calling others' bluffs, and penalizing others by tricking them into inaccurate accusations.

    • Anyone want to play a few hands of bullshit?
    • In PM parlance, what I did in this story was call bullshit. This is in reference to the card game Bullshit, where you win if you get rid of all the cards in your hand. […] So, if at any time a another player thinks the first player is lying, she can “call bullshit”

bullshitadj/ˈbʊlʃɪt/

  • 1

    vulgarslangAbsurd, irrational, or nonsensical (most often said of speech, information, or content).

    • a bullshit job
    • That’s the most bullshit excuse I’ve ever heard.

bullshitverb/ˈbʊlʃɪt/

  • 1

    vulgarslangTo tell lies, exaggerate; to mislead; to deceive.

    • I think you’re bullshitting. Let’s just call your office and see if you even came in.
    • You’re bullshitting me. I called your office and you never even came in.
  • 2

    vulgarslangTo have casual conversation with no real point; to shoot the breeze.

    • I will probably just go and bullshit with Joe for a while.
    • His eyelids flickered. “No. No one special here, just Octavia, Rosemary, Mark, Andy and Jim. Spent most of the time bullshitting with Jim.”
  • 3

    vulgarslangTo come up with on the spot; to improvise.

    • We just went on stage and bullshitted the whole concert because we didn’t know any songs.
  • 4

    vulgarslangTo act in a way considered bullshit.

bullshitintj/ˈbʊlʃɪt/

  • 1

    vulgarslangAn expression of disbelief at what one has just heard.

資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。