#EZTALK #你不知道的美國大小事
#wheat #oat #grain

Food Idioms—Grain
美國生活用語：榖物篇

在進入用語之前，大家知道oat是什麼嗎？

1⃣ separate the wheat from the chaff.
2⃣ to feel one’s oats
3⃣ a grain of truth
4⃣ take something with a grain of salt

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Last time we talked about bread, so this time let’s talk about the stuff it’s of. Yes, I’m talking about grain, usually wheat. Let’s start with an old expression: 1⃣ “separate the wheat from the chaff.” What is “chaff”? you may ask. Chaff is the husks of wheat, oats and other grain. Before grain can be eaten, the husks must be removed, and so “separate the wheat from the chaff” means to sort the valuable from the worthless. Ex: The first round of job interviews is about separating the wheat from the chaff.
上次我們談到麵包，這次我們聊聊麵包的原料。沒錯，我說的就是榖物（grain），最主要的就是小麥（wheat）。先介紹一個俗語：separate the wheat from the chaff（去蕪存菁）。你或許會問，chaff是什麼，其實它是指小麥、燕麥等榖物的糠。要先去糠，榖物才能吃。因此這個俗語就是指，將有用與無用之物分開。如：The first round of job interviews is about separating the wheat from the chaff.（第一輪面試就是要先去蕪存菁。）

Moving on from wheat to oats, we have the expression 2⃣ “to feel one’s oats,” which means “to act frisky or lively, or to feel one’s power or importance.” What does this have to do with oats? Horses love oats, and after they eat them they often become livlier. Ex: What’s up with Brian? He looks like he’s feeling his oats today.
接下來我們改聊燕麥，跟燕麥有關的俗語有：to feel one’s oats，指的是「舉止興高采烈，自命不凡」這個意思怎麼會跟燕麥有關呢？馬兒愛燕麥，每當馬兒吃了燕麥，牠們總是變得更有活力。如：What’s up with Brian? He looks like he’s feeling his oats today.（布萊恩怎麼啦？今天看起來特別精神奕奕。）

Since grain is small, can you guess what 3⃣ “a grain of truth” means? It means a small amount of truth or insight in something that is otherwise false or meaningless. Ex: Is the story completely fake, or is there a grain of truth in it?
既然穀子很小，你能猜到a grain of truth「一顆真相」的意思嗎？指的是藏在看似不真實或無意義的事情之中的一絲真理或洞察。如：Is the story completely fake, or is there a grain of truth in it?（這個報導全是假的，還是裡面其實有一絲真相？）

Grain has also come to mean small, hard pieces of other substances, like salt. This usage can be seen in the expression, 4⃣ “take something with a grain of salt,” which means to view something with a degree of skepticism. Why? Because food is easier to swallow if it’s flavored with salt. Ex: John likes to exaggerate, so I take everything he says with a grain of salt.
grain 也有「細粒、顆粒」的意思，就像鹽巴，相關的用語：take something with a grain of salt指的是「對事物抱持半信半疑或保留態度」。怎麼說呢？因為食物加了鹽巴會比較有味道。如：John likes to exaggerate, so I take everything he says with a grain of salt.（約翰喜歡誇大，所以我對他的話都抱留保持態度。）

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