Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Chinese term or phrase:
消費(那一段過去)
English translation:
To exploit (the past)
Added to glossary by
Gloria (Shufen) Huang (X)
Apr 12, 2013 09:33
11 yrs ago
Chinese term
消費(那一段過去)
Chinese to English
Other
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
「那一段過去」指的是不愉快的婚姻生活。作者在離婚後，前夫可能把過去不愉快的婚姻生活說給別人聽，造成作者的困擾。
這個用法現在很常見，不知道該如何翻譯？
這個用法現在很常見，不知道該如何翻譯？
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +1 | To exploit the past |
changwinnie
|
| 5 | To harp (on the past) |
Simin Tan
|
| 4 | FYI |
jyuan_us
|
| 3 | washing her dirty laundry in public |
Phil Hand
|
Proposed translations
+1
3 hrs
Selected
To exploit the past
You can say, they kept exploiting their past by telling stories to others. Similar terms include "to take advantage of (the past)" or "to keep milking (the past)". All of these imply that talking about the past brings some benefit to the speaker.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "I agree with the use of "exploit". Thank you!"
13 mins
FYI
it was over,
Let the past be the past
Let the past be the past
5 hrs
washing her dirty laundry in public
There is an English phrase which is very similar: to eat out on a story, 就是說，因為你有很有意思的故事可講，人家願意請你吃飯！不過，不愉快的婚姻不太好聽，可能跟你說的情況不一樣。
說家裡私事可以說washing one's dirty laundry in public，另外還有：
gossiping
spreading her stories around
但可能最簡單的就是說using
...now she was using their history against him.
說家裡私事可以說washing one's dirty laundry in public，另外還有：
gossiping
spreading her stories around
但可能最簡單的就是說using
...now she was using their history against him.
20 hrs
To harp (on the past)
This is a very colloquial expression, and I'm not sure if an exact equivalent can be found in English. This is the closest saying I can find in EN.
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