核心畫面

Picture a clear bag hanging on a stand above a hospital bed. A thin tube runs down from it into someone's arm, and the liquid does not pour — it falls one drop at a time, for hours. You can think of drip-feed as that picture: a supply that is real but deliberately slow, arriving in tiny amounts, with the speed decided by whoever hung the bag up.

可以想成病床旁邊吊著的那個點滴袋。液體沒有一次倒下去,而是一滴、一滴慢慢走進管子裡,一走就是好幾個小時。drip-f更多收起可以想成病床旁邊吊著的那個點滴袋。液體沒有一次倒下去,而是一滴、一滴慢慢走進管子裡,一走就是好幾個小時。drip-feed 的幾個用法,就像都從這個畫面長出來:東西確實有在給,但給得又慢又少,而且速度掌握在掛袋子的那個人手上。

Two branches

醫院裡的點滴

這一組就是畫面本身:看得到的設備,和用那套設備做的事。

noun · B2

A piece of hospital equipment — a bag of liquid, a stand, a thin tube and a needle — that sends liquid food or medicine slowly, drop by drop, into someone's blood.

點滴(裝置)

一點一點地給

把點滴袋換成消息、錢或進度:東西還是一滴一滴地放出來,控制權也還是在給的人手上。這是比喻的連結,不是說這個用法比較晚才出現在歷史上。

verb · B2

To give someone only a small amount of something — news, information, money, work or supplies — at a time over a long period, instead of giving it all at once.

一點一點地給