😂crocodile’s tears(鱷魚的眼淚)這個英文片語指的是「假悲傷」(false sadness)或「假懊悔」(false remorse)。此慣用語可以追溯到中世紀歐洲文學和更早期的希臘著作。
😂crocodile’s tears(鱷魚的眼淚)源自於一個古老的迷思:鱷魚在吞噬獵物時會流淚,看似為受害者感到悲傷,但實際上卻殘任地吃掉牠們。這種假想的情境成為「虛偽情感表現」(hypocritical displays of emotion)的隱喻(metaphor)。

😂這種誤解可能源於古人觀察到鱷魚的自然行為——鱷魚確實會流淚,但只是為了保持眼睛濕潤,而不是因為吞噬獵物情感痛苦。經過幾個世紀的演變,crocodile’s tears「鱷魚的眼淚」成為一個歐美慣用語(idiom),用來形容「某人假裝心煩意亂或抱歉,但實際上並沒有真正感受到這種情感」。
1️⃣例句:When the politician apologized for the scandal, many voters believed he was just shedding crocodile tears to save his reputation. (當這位政治人物為醜聞道歉時,許多選民認為他只是在流鱷魚的眼淚來挽救自己的聲譽。)
2️⃣例句:Despite the defendant’s crocodile tears during the trial, the evidence clearly showed he had been planning the fraud for years. (儘管被告在法庭上流下鱷魚的眼淚,證據清楚地顯示他已經多年計劃這場詐騙。。)
3️⃣例句:The CEO's emotional speech about layoffs was met with skepticism, as employees suspected these were merely crocodile tears from someone who had just received a substantial bonus. (這位執行長關於裁員充滿情感的演講遭到質疑,因為員工懷疑這些只是鱷魚的眼淚,畢竟他剛剛獲得豐厚的獎金。)
圖片出處: Copilot AI 生成