A witch hunt is a hunt for people whose ideas are thought to be wrong or dangerous, so they can be named, shamed, and punished. It happens inside a country, a company, a political party, a school. The word is a criticism: when you call something a witch hunt, you are saying the search is unfair — the accusers are excited, the evidence is thin, and the point is to find someone to blame rather than to find out the truth.

A witch hunt witch hunt is a hunt for people是一場針對某些人的追捕， whose ideas are thought to be wrong or dangerous這些人的想法被認為是錯誤或危險的， so這樣 they才可以 can be named, shamed, and punished被點名、羞辱、懲罰。 It它 happens inside會發生在 a country, a company, a political party, a school一個國家、一間公司、一個政黨、一所學校裡面。 The word這個字 is a criticism帶有批評的意味： when you call something a witch hunt當你說某件事是witch hunt時， you你 are saying是在說 the search is unfair這場追查是不公平的 —— the accusers指控的人 are excited情緒很激動， the evidence證據 is thin很薄弱， and而且 the point重點在於 is to find someone to blame找一個人來怪罪， rather than to find out the truth而不是找出真相。

The picture behind it is real history. In Europe and colonial America, people (mostly women) were accused of being witches, tried, and killed on evidence that would convince nobody today. The word carries three things across from that history: the accused can hardly ever prove they are innocent, one accusation leads to the next, and the crowd enjoys it.

The picture behind it這個字背後的畫面 is real history是真實的歷史。 In Europe and colonial America在歐洲和殖民時期的美洲， people人 (mostly women)（多半是女性） were accused of being witches被指控是女巫， tried, and killed被審判、被處死， on evidence that would convince nobody today而當時的證據放到今天根本沒有人會信。 The word這個字 carries three things across from that history從那段歷史裡帶了三樣東西過來： the accused被指控的人 can hardly ever prove they are innocent幾乎不可能證明自己清白、 one accusation leads to the next一個指控會引出下一個、 and而且 the crowd enjoys it群眾會樂在其中。

In modern use it covers a wide range. A government hunting for people with certain politics; a boss hunting for whoever leaked a document; a newspaper hunting for someone to blame after a scandal. It has also become a favourite word of powerful people under investigation — a politician facing serious charges will call the whole investigation a witch hunt.

In modern use在現代的用法裡， it它 covers a wide range涵蓋的範圍很廣。 A government一個政府 hunting for people with certain politics追查有特定政治立場的人； a boss一個老闆 hunting for whoever leaked a document追查是誰洩漏文件； a newspaper一家報社 hunting for someone to blame after a scandal在醜聞後追查該怪誰。 It它 has also become也變成了 a favourite word of powerful people under investigation正在被調查的權貴人士最愛用的字 —— a politician facing serious charges一個面臨重大指控的政治人物 will call the whole investigation a witch hunt會把整場調查說成是witch hunt。

So when you hear it, listen carefully: sometimes it names a real injustice, and sometimes it is a way of avoiding a fair question. It works as a noun ('It turned into a witch hunt'), and you will also see the verb 'witch-hunt' and the phrase 'witch-hunting', though those are much rarer.

So所以 when you hear it當你聽到這個字時， listen carefully要仔細聽： sometimes有時候 it它 names a real injustice指的是真正的不公不義， and而 sometimes有時候 it它 is a way of avoiding a fair question只是拿來迴避一個公平問題的手段。 It它 works as a noun可以當名詞用 ('It turned into a witch hunt.'「這件事變成了一場witch hunt。」)， and而且 you你 will also see也會看到 the verb動詞 'witch-hunt'「witch-hunt」 and和 the phrase片語 'witch-hunting'「witch-hunting」， though不過 those這些用法 are much rarer少見得多。