8.be catty 爱搬弄是非的;爱诽谤人的
英语中,cat给人的联想总是不太愉快,如cattish的意思是“狡猾的、恶意的、偷偷摸摸的”。cat在英语中可用来指“恶意伤人的女人,包藏祸心的女人”,因此catty就有了诽谤的含义。
A: I thought you would cooperate. 我原以为你会跟我合作呢。
B: Well, I'm too busy to be catty and poke my nose into things that do not matter much to me. 我可不愿意搬弄是非去管那些跟我没关系的闲事。
A: How do you know that he won't do something against yourself? 你怎么知道他不会做出什么对你不利的事呢?
B: You do seem to have a glib tongue. 你真能胡搅蛮缠。