核心畫面

Picture someone working along an edge with a pair of . Two things happen at once. Small pieces fall to the ground, and the edge that is left looks finished. Trimmings can mean either of those two results, and that is the whole word: it is always about the edge, never about the middle. Sometimes the edge gives something up — on the grass, scraps of cloth in a box. Sometimes the edge takes something on — a strip of fur round a hood, paper chains along a wall, a ring of small dishes round the meat. Off or on, the main thing stays in the middle and the trimmings live at the border.

可以想成一個人拿著剪刀,沿著邊緣一路修過去。同一個動作,會同時發生兩件事:小碎片掉在地上,而留下來的那條邊變得整齊、更多收起可以想成一個人拿著剪刀,沿著邊緣一路修過去。同一個動作,會同時發生兩件事:小碎片掉在地上,而留下來的那條邊變得整齊、像收好了。trimmings 可以指這兩個結果中的任何一個,而這也就是這個字的全部——它永遠在講邊緣,不講中間。有時候邊緣是被拿走東西:草地上的碎枝、盒子裡的布頭。有時候邊緣是被加上東西:帽緣那一圈毛、牆上那串紙鏈、主菜旁邊圍著的一圈小盤子。掉下來也好,加上去也好,主角始終在中間,trimmings 住在它的邊上。

Three branches

剪下來、掉在地上的那些碎片

畫面裡往下掉的那一半:邊緣被修整之後,剩下來的小碎片。

noun · B2

The small pieces that are left over when you cut or shape something bigger, such as a hedge, a piece of cloth, or pastry.

修剪下來的碎屑;邊角料

為了好看加在邊上的東西

畫面的另一半:邊緣不是少了什麼,而是多了一條。修整跟裝飾其實是同一件事的兩面——都是在把邊收得好看。

noun · B2

Pieces of material such as lace, fur, ribbon or braid that are sewn onto clothes to decorate them, usually along an edge.

飾邊;滾邊

圍在主菜旁邊、讓一餐完整的那些

還是「加在邊上」,只是這次的邊在餐桌上:肉在中間,其他東西圍著它擺一圈。少了它們,飯還是吃得飽,但這一餐就沒收得那麼漂亮。

noun · B2

The extra foods that are served together with a main dish — sauces, stuffing, potatoes, vegetables and so on — and that turn it into a full meal.

配菜;配料