slush fund秘密資金

把「沒人開口」定義成一種行為，冷靜又有殺傷力。

In other words, by their very ..., there was a ...

對同事總結對方失職時能用；對當事人當面說太重，場合要挑。

By saying nothing, they said everything. ／ Their silence was itself the cover-up.

正式

by their very silence 放慢，cover-up 重讀收尾。

In other words, by their very delay, there was a decision. 換句話說，恰恰是他們的拖延，等於做了決定。

一句抱怨把匿名訊息源的憋屈全說出來，短而準。

When is somebody gonna ...?

對同事吐槽沒人擔責時能用；正式會議別說 gonna，顯隨意。

When will someone put their name to this? ／ Is anyone ever going to speak on the record?

口語

gonna 輕讀，go on the record 連成一串。

When is somebody gonna take responsibility for this mess? 這爛攤子到底什麼時候才有人出來負責？

用一句誇獎完成排除法，把政治老手的自保說得很透。

Someone is too ... to do something.

對同事分析誰不會出面時能用；對當事人說像在背後評判，別用。

He is too careful to sign anything like that. ／ She would never get her hands dirty that way.

中性

too smart 重讀，directly 後稍停，anything like that 順讀。

He is too careful to reply in writing. 他太謹慎了，不會用書面回覆。

一句大實話，把被新聞毀掉的生活輕輕放下，反而更重。

My name's been in the papers too much.

對朋友說名聲帶來的麻煩時能用；公開場合別說，像在訴苦。

I have been in the news far too often. ／ My name keeps showing up where I don't want it.

中性

very hard 降調，too much 拖長收尾。

It's very hard. My name's been in the headlines too much. 很難。我的名字在頭條上出現得太頻繁了。

一個被動句，把「誰說了算」交代得乾乾淨淨。

Everything's cleared with ...

對同事說明審批層級時能用；對外說會顯得在指責上級，別用。

Nothing moves without the White House. ／ It all has to be signed off upstairs.

中性

Everything's 弱讀，White House 兩個詞都重讀。

Everything's cleared with the legal team before we sign. 簽字前什麼事都要先過法務。