praise be to God謝謝上帝、謝天謝地

用宗教式感嘆接住一個本該尷尬的坦白，反轉來得又快又暖。接納被說得像一件喜事。

Praise be to God. My ... is gay.

用一句意外輕鬆的話化解緊張氣氛時用，口語、溫暖；真心在難過的人面前別說，會顯得輕慢。

Well, thank God for that. ／ Good—so are half of us.

口語

praise be to God 連讀，My daughter's gay 放慢收。

Well, praise be to God. My son finally found a job. 感謝上帝，我兒子終於找到工作了。

Well, praise be to God. The bus is only an hour late. 謝天謝地，公交車只晚了一個小時。

用 somehow ended up 把一場擔心變成意外的幸運，幽默裡藏著釋然。反差本身就是最好的笑點。

We somehow ended up in ...

半開玩笑地總結一次意外的好運時用，口語、輕鬆；正式場合用會顯得不嚴肅。

Of all places, we landed here. ／ Fate picked the right town for us.

口語

ended up in 連讀，the gayest town 放慢收。

We somehow ended up in the best ramen shop in the city. 我們稀裡糊塗進到了城裡最好的拉麵館。

We somehow ended up in a parade we never planned to join. 我們莫名其妙就混進了一場根本沒打算參加的遊行。

用 something in the water 的調侃解釋大家的坦然，把意外說成當地水質問題，俏皮又親近。

There must be something in the water.

半開玩笑地解釋某個地方的人都一樣時用，口語、俏皮；別人認真談健康問題時別拿水質開玩笑。

Whatever's in the tap water, I want some. ／ This whole town caught it.

口語

something in the water 連讀，water 放慢收。

There must be something in the water; everyone here runs marathons. 這水肯定有古怪，這兒人人都在跑馬拉松。

There must be something in the water; this village is full of ninety-year-olds. 這水肯定有門道，這村子全是九十歲的老人。

用一句自相矛盾的事實寫出小鎮的善意：連被偷東西的人都在幫忙。荒誕的誠實讓人發笑。

They offer to help me steal their own ...

用矛盾的事實形容某地人的熱情時用，口語、幽默；描述正式合作時用會讓人誤會。

They helped me take what was theirs. ／ Even the owners pitched in.

口語

offer to help 連讀，their own barbecues 放慢收。

The vendors offer to help me carry their own vegetables to my car. 攤主們主動幫我把他們自己的菜搬到我車上。