核心畫面

Picture one easy sweep of a thin stick through the air — and the problem is simply gone. No lifting, no waiting, no explanation. Both uses on this page live inside that single wave: on a stage or in a story it is the real thing in someone's hand, and in ordinary talk it is the answer that would work like that, which is nearly always the answer nobody has.

「magic wand」可以想成空中輕輕一揮:棍子劃過去,麻煩就這樣不見了。不用搬、不用等、也不用解釋。這一頁的兩個更多收起「magic wand」可以想成空中輕輕一揮:棍子劃過去,麻煩就這樣不見了。不用搬、不用等、也不用解釋。這一頁的兩個用法都住在這一揮裡——在舞台上或故事裡,它是真的握在手上的那根棍子;在日常說話裡,它變成「要是有這種辦法就好了」,而那種辦法通常並不存在。

Two branches

手上真的那根棒子

這是畫面的實體版本:真的有一根細細的棍子被握著、被揮動。

noun · B1

A thin stick, usually made of wood, that a magician holds and waves while doing tricks, and that characters in stories use to make magic happen.

魔法棒;魔術棒

要是揮一下就好了

同一揮被搬進現實:人們用它來描述「一下子全部解決」的辦法,而說出口時多半是在說這種辦法沒有。

noun · B2

A way of solving a hard problem completely and at once, with no work and no waiting — said with a smile, and usually to point out that no such way exists.

一揮就解決的萬靈丹