in the dark矇在鼓裡

前半句還在努力解釋，後半句自己把清楚程度量出來，缺口就坐實了。

沒到自己需要的那麼……

跟信任的人承認沒講清時用；書面檢討或推給別人別用。

I wasn't as clear as I should have been ／ I didn't get it across as well as I needed to

中性

clear 稍重，後面 as I need to be 放輕連過。

I walked my manager through the budget, but I was not as clear as I needed to be. 我跟經理把預算過了一遍，可沒講到自己該有的那麼清楚。

連續的肯定答完，Didn't I 忽然回頭問自己，篤定一下就裂開。

我做了。我不是做過嗎？

獨自核對記憶可以；對法官或上司這麼反問，像在自己打自己。

I did say it. Didn't I? ／ That's what happened. Isn't that right?

口語

Yes, I did 短而硬，句尾 Didn't I 往上揚。

I mailed the form on Monday. I did. Didn't I? 表格我週一寄出了。我寄了。我沒記錯吧？

短命令把鏡頭甩向母親，成語一下把僵住的人釘在座位上。

看某人，他一動都沒動。

跟旁邊的人說誰嚇僵了；病歷或正式證詞裡別用。

She didn't move an inch ／ He just sat there frozen

口語

Check Mum 短促，重音落到 muscle 上。

Look at Dad. He hasn't moved a muscle since the door opened. 看爸爸。門開了以後他一動沒動。

先插進比誰都懂，再把下一段單獨捧起，像預告還沒落下的一擊。

真正見分曉的是下一段。

你真扛過、要提醒同伴時用；沒經歷過卻這麼說，像炫耀。

This is the part that actually counts ／ The hard bit starts now

literary

anyone 後小停，real work 加重。

The posters took an hour. On a night like this, the real work is done at the door. 海報一小時就弄好了。像這樣的晚上，真正費勁的是守在門口。

This is it 先把氣收住，破折號後才把人和價碼一起亮出來。

來了——錢能請到的最……

跟懂行的朋友預告硬仗；當面叫那位律師或介紹嘉賓時別用。

Here it comes ／ the most expensive advocate they could hire

中性

This is it 停半拍，buy 上把句子收住。

This is it — a review run by the sharpest auditor their budget can buy. 來了——他們預算裡請得起的最厲害的審計，要開始查了。

用 as much as 把律師和證人拉平，席位並沒有讓他看得更遠。

某人和我一樣不知情。

跟同伴說大家都不知道時用；對客戶別承認自己也蒙著。

He knows no more than I do ／ We're both still guessing

口語

dark 重讀，as much as I am 加快帶過。

The producer is in the dark as much as the rest of the crew. 製片人和劇組其他人一樣，也是兩眼一抹黑。