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A twit is a foolish or silly person. It is a mild insult — much softer than idiot or fool — and it is mainly British. Calling someone a twit says they have done something daft, not that they are stupid in a deep way.
A twit這個字 is指 a foolish or silly person愚蠢或傻氣的人；it是 a mild insult一種罵人的話，than比 idiot or fool笨蛋或傻瓜 much softer溫和很多，and而且 mainly British主要是英式用法；calling someone a twit說某人是twit，says是說 they have done something daft他做了蠢事，not而不是說 they are stupid in a deep way他從根本上很笨。
Very often it is said with affection, or about yourself: "I locked my keys in the car. What a twit." Parents say it to children, friends say it to friends. In children's books it is a safe word for a silly adult; Roald Dahl even wrote a book called The Twits.
Very often很多時候 it is said with affection是帶著疼愛的語氣說的，or about yourself或用來說自己：「I locked my keys in the car我把鑰匙鎖在車裡了。What a twit真是個傻瓜。」Parents say it to children父母會這樣說小孩，friends say it to friends朋友也會這樣說朋友；in children's books在童書裡 it is a safe word for a silly adult這是形容笨拙大人的安全用詞；Roald Dahl even wrote a book called The Twits羅爾德·達爾甚至寫了一本書就叫《The Twits》。
Because it is so mild, it is easy to over-trust. It is still an insult. Said to a stranger, or by a boss to a worker, it stings. And there is a class edge to it in Britain: "an upper-class twit" is a set phrase for a rich, useless young man, and that use is not at all.
Because因為 it is so mild語氣這麼輕，it is easy to over-trust容易讓人太放心；it is still但它終究還是 an insult一種罵人話；said flatly如果用平淡的語氣 to a stranger對陌生人說，or by a boss to a worker或主管對員工說，it stings還是會刺人；and而且 in Britain在英國 there is a class edge to it還帶有階級意味：「an upper-class twit上流社會的twit」是固定用法a set phrase，用來說a rich, useless young man有錢又沒用的年輕人，and而 that use is not affectionate at all這種用法完全沒有疼愛的意思。
There is a second, older word spelt the same: to twit someone means to tease them, to keep reminding them of something . "He twitted her about her singing." You will meet this only in older books; almost nobody says it now, but it is worth recognising, because it is where the insult came from — the person being teased, then the sort of person you would tease.
There is還有 a second, older word spelt the same另一個拼法相同但比較舊的字：to twit someone說twit某人 means to tease them意思是取笑他，to keep reminding them of something embarrassing一直提醒他一件尷尬的事；「He twitted her about her singing他因為她唱歌取笑她。」you will meet this only in older books你只會在比較舊的書裡遇到這個用法；almost nobody says it now現在幾乎沒人這樣說，but it is worth recognising但值得認識，because因為 it is where the insult came from這正是這個罵人用法的來源——the person being teased先是被取笑的人，then然後才變成 the sort of person you would tease你會取笑的那種人。
Americans understand twit but rarely use it; they say jerk, idiot, or dummy.
Americans美國人 understand twit聽得懂twit but卻 rarely use it很少用；they say他們會說 jerk渾蛋、idiot笨蛋、or or dummy呆子。
組成The verb came first: an older English word ætwītan, meaning to blame or reproach someone, which wore down over the centuries to atwite and then simply twit. So the first meaning was "to keep telling someone off", and from teasing someone, the word slid over to naming the person you would tease. The noun's exact path is not fully settled.
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。
twitverb詞源 1/twɪt/
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To blame or reproach (someone), especially in a good-natured or teasing manner; also, to ridicule or tease (someone).
- No man for deſpite, / By worde or by write / His felowe to twite, […]
- [I]f vvee meane to tvvit a man that he is a foole, vve vvill ſay thou knovveſt not vvhat thou ſayeſt.
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archaicTo criticize or disapprove of (something), especially in a good-natured or teasing manner.
- But in the Lovver Houſe ſome there vvere vvhich handled theſe things more tumultuouſly, namely, Bell and Monſon, great Lavvyers, Dutton, Paul VVentvvorth, and others, vvhich tvvitted the Authority of the Queen's Majeſty too much, […]
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computingengineeringmathematicsTo ignore or kill file (a user on a bulletin board system).
- However, on the Internet BBS's such as Quartz (now dead), Prism, Monsoon, Sunset, ect,^([sic – meaning etc]) someone pulling that kind of crap is likely to get flamed quite fast and twitted before he/she can breathe.
- Not only are some of the notoriously foul-mouthed echoes excluded from the BBS message base, but each message is auto-censored for key words that are, in the opinion of the SysOp (me in this case), offensive to a "G" audience. And no, it isn't 100% effective. And no, there is no "thought purification program" that can filter out some folks^([sic]) obscene ideas that can be expressed w/o written vulgarities. That has to be simply "dealt" with, either by ignoring or twitting the individual that offends habitually.
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obsoleteFollowed by it: to speak or write (something) in a taunting or teasing manner.
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To blame or reproach, especially in a good-natured or teasing manner.
- Secrecy about B.R. plans for reorganisation and closure of lines and notably some failures to consult with staff representatives concerned with redundancy, are defects with which the railway unions have twitted Dr. Beeching.
- H[enry] R[ichard] Fox Bourne, secretary of the Aborigines' Protection Society – often twitted for being an 'armchair critic' – wrote in a review of one of [Henry Morton] Stanley's books: 'The Society is not condemning Mr Stanley or his subordinates so much, but the mounting of an expedition with aims and methods which almost necessitated the cruelties and slaughters that were incident to it … It seems better to remain in armchairs and pass resolutions than wantonly to embark on perilous enterprises, which can only be carried out by means that degrade Englishmen.'
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dialectalTo be indiscreet; to gossip.
twitnoun詞源 1/twɪt/
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A jibe, reproach, or taunt, especially one made in a good-natured or teasing manner.
- [T]he ſayd Thomas Hilles & this Reſpondent ſhevvyd the Frear Barons of certayne old Bookes that they had: as of iiij Evangeliſtes, and certayne Epiſtles of Peter & Poule in Engliſhe. VVhich Bookes the ſayd Frear dyd litle regard, and made a tvvyte of it, & ſayd, A poynt for them, for they be not to be regarded tovvard the nevv printed Teſtament in Engliſhe.
- Wid[ow]. Novv I have receiv'd you into my Family, / I hope you vvill let my maids go quietly about / Their buſineſs, Sir. / S[ir] Fred[erick Frollick]. Upon condition there be no tvvits of the good man / Departed; no preſcription pleaded for evil cuſtoms / On the VVedding night.
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informalAn annoying or foolish person.
- What do you mean, since when did I become such a radical fairy! […] Since I started knowing twits like you, you twit!
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archaicdialectalA person who chatters or gossips inanely; a chatterer, a gossip or gossiper; also, a person who divulges private information about others or is indiscreet; a tattletale.
- Young Strephon he has Woo'd me long, / And Courted me with Pipe and Song; / But I a silly, silly peevish Twit, / For want of Sense, for want of Wit, / Have phoo'd, and cry'd, / Have pish'd, and fy'd, / And play'd the fool, and lost my Time, / And almost slipp'd, and almost slipp'd, / And almost slipp'd my Maiden Prime.
twitintj詞源 2/twɪt/
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Used to represent the short, high-pitched call of a small bird, or a similar sound made by something else: cheep, tweet.
- Midnights bell goes ting, ting, ting, ting, ting, / Then dogs doe hovvle, and not a bird does ſing: / But the Nightingale, and ſhe cries tvvit, tvvit, tvvit, tvvit, / Ovvles then on euerie bovve doe ſit.
- Twit twit twit / Jug jug jug jug jug jug / So rudely forc'd. / Tereu
twitnoun詞源 2/twɪt/
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A short, high-pitched call of a small bird, or a similar sound made by something else; a cheep, a chirp, a tweet.
- The minutes seem'd hours—with impatience she heard / The flap of a leaf, and the twit of a bird; […]
twitnoun詞源 3/twɪt/
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informalChiefly in the form in a twit: clipping of twitter (“a state of excitement or nervousness”).
這個拼法也被記錄為下列字的變化形：
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。