喜樂美語
  1. 1推託、逃避的說法或作法（口語）

    A cop-out is something you do or say so you can dodge a duty, a hard question, or a real answer. “Blaming the weather is a cop-out” means that excuse is too easy; you are not facing the thing. It is informal, a bit sharp, the kind of thing a friend or a teacher says when they expected more honesty. You would not put it in a very formal letter. The noun comes from the verb cop out: “Don’t cop out on us” means don’t back away. In writing, the verb is two words (cop out); the noun is usually (cop-out). Though actually people sometimes write it as one word, copout; the form is the tidy one.

    cop-out 指為了躲開責任、困難問題或真正答案，而做的事或說的話。像「Blaming the weather is a cop-out」，意思是把責任推給天氣這個藉口太容易，等於沒有面對問題。

    這個字口語、有點尖銳，通常是朋友或老師在覺得對方應該更誠實時說的，不會寫在很正式的信裡。它來自片語動詞 cop out，例如「Don't cop out on us」，指別在我們身上打退堂鼓。

    寫作上，動詞是兩個字 cop out，名詞通常寫成 cop-out，中間加連字號。有人寫成 copout，但連字號的寫法比較工整。

From the word’s history

From cop out.

來自片語動詞 cop out「逃避」。

Wiktionary

組成A noun cut from the phrasal verb cop out (to dodge or back out).

同家族的字

  • cop outthe verb the noun is taken from

原始詞典資料3 筆記錄

以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，摘錄並精簡格式，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。

cop-outnoun

  • 1

    slangAvoidance or inadequate performance of a task or duty; the action of copping out.

    • His disappearance on the day of the audition was just a cop-out.
    • In the book, his conclusion is simple: capitalism is kaput, celebrity charity won’t plug holes, revolution is the only solution. Yet it also feels like a bit of a cop-out: he insists all this can be achieved through love, peace and understanding.
  • 2

    slangAn excuse made in order to avoid performing a task or duty; a reason offered when someone cops out.

    • It was a cop-out to say he couldn't sign the petition because he sprained his wrist.
  • 3

    slangA person who cops out.

    • He's always a cop-out when there's hard work to be done.
    • Even when they are talking one-on-one, we aren't allowed to see behind the posturing and emblematic language. The major exception to this is Da Mayor […] who is both scorned and respected, seen as both a cop-out and a hero.

摘錄自 英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary，已精簡格式；依 CC BY-SA 4.0 授權使用，改動後的內容同樣以此授權提供。