畅游“水”世界

Expressions about water are almost as common as water itself. But many of the expressions using water have unpleasant meanings.

The expression “to be in hot water” is one of them. It is a very old expression. “Hot water” was used 500 years ago to mean being in trouble. One story says it got that meaning from the custom of throwing extremely hot water down on enemies attacking a castle.

That no longer happens. But we still get in “hot water.” When we are in “hot water，” we are in trouble. It can be any kind of trouble—serious or not so serious. A person who breaks a law can be in hot water with the police. A young boy can be in hot water with his mother， if he walks in the house with dirty shoes.

“Being in deep water” is almost the same as being in hot water. When you are in deep water， you are in a difficult position. Imagine a person who cannot swim being thrown in water over his head.

You are in deep water when you are facing a problem that you do not have the ability to solve. You can be in deep water， for example， if you invest in stocks without knowing anything about the stock market.

“To keep your head above water” is a colorful expression that means staying out of debt. A company seeks to keep its head above water during economic hard times. A man who loses his job tries to keep his head above water until he finds a new job.

“Water over the dam” is another expression about a past event. It is something that is finished. It cannot be changed. The expression comes from the idea that water that has flowed over a dam cannot be brought back again.

When a friend is troubled by a mistake she has made， you might tell her to forget about it. You say it is water over the dam.

Another common expression， “to hold water，” is about the strength or weakness of an idea or opinion that you may be arguing about. It probably comes from a way of testing the condition of a container. If it can hold water， it is strong and has no holes in it.

If your argument can hold water， it is strong and does not have any holes. If it does not hold water， then it is weak and not worth debating.

“Throwing cold water” also is an expression that deals with ideas or proposals. It means to not like an idea. For example， you want to buy a new car because the old one has some problems. But your wife “throws cold water” on the idea because she says a new car costs too much.

“to be in hot water” （ =to be in trouble）是一个使用时间很长的短语，早在500年前，hot water就被用来指遇到麻烦。关于这个短语的来源，有一种说法是源于一种传统，当城堡被袭击时，城堡里的人会用热水泼向敌人。还有一种说法则是，过去一家的女主人碰到坏人闯入家中时，就会用热水泼他将他赶出去。

“be in deep water”（be in a difficult situation which is hard to deal with）和“be in hot water”一样，也是遇到麻烦、陷入困境的意思。试想，将一个不会游泳的人扔到水位高于头部的深水区，这就真是一件麻烦事了。

“to keep ones head above water”（stay out of trouble， especially financial difficulties）是指避免陷入财务危机。游泳的时候，，要想自如地游动，首先要能够把头部抬出水面，这样便可以边游边呼吸，不必担心溺水。在水中遇到麻烦时，人们千方百计想做到的也就是让头部露出水面。短语keep ones head above water并不是真用来描述溺水者在水中挣扎的情景，而是用来比喻一种困境，尤其是因欠债而造成的困境，把头保持在水面之上就等于使自己不陷入到债务的泥坑中去。

“water over the dam” （past and unchangeable events）是一个讲过去已经发生的事的短语。Dam是堤坝的意思，流过堤坝的水就无法收回了，这个短语用来形容已经发生的无法改变的事实，也就是木已成舟、覆水难收的意思。

“to hold water”（to prove credible， logical， or consistent）从字面上理解，是抓住水的意思，可以理解为滴水不漏，引申为某人的观点、理论等站得住脚。

“throw cold water”（to criticize or stop something that some people are enthusiastic about）这个短语从字面上就很好理解，是泼冷水的意思。