a fairy tale童話

一句把隱私和體面說透：關起門來做的事，不必都經得起當眾追問。

People do X in private they couldn't explain in public.

替私人生活辯護或提醒別多管閒事時用；當事人是受害者時別說。

People live one way in private and another in public. ／ Not everything done at home can be explained outside.

中性

in private 與 in public 對比重讀，couldn't 輕帶。

People do things in private they could never explain in public. 人在私下做的事，未必都能拿到檯面上講。

不正面否認，而是拿自己作參照，一句話把指控推得荒唐。

X is no more a Y than I am.

想徹底否定一個說法、又不想吵架時用；對當事人說太重。

He's no more guilty than I am. ／ Calling him a thief is like calling me one.

中性

no more 重讀，than I am 降調收，語氣篤定。

She's no more a liar than I am. 要說她撒謊，那我也撒謊了。

把對窗凝望說成闖入別人的私密世界，一句替整部戲點題。

That's a ... world you're looking into.

提醒別人別過度窺探他人生活時用；也可用來描述陌生領域。

That's a private world you are peering into. ／ You are looking into someone else's hidden life.

literary

secret, private 兩個形容詞接連重讀，out there 收輕。

That's a private world you're looking into, not a show. 你窺探的是一個私人的世界，不是一場表演。

把命案輕飄飄歸成家庭問題，一句冷笑話戳穿偵探的敷衍。

be known as + 名詞

給某件棘手事貼個體面標籤時用；帶諷刺，正式場合不要拿它搪塞人。

That is what they call a domestic issue. ／ They file that under family matters.

口語

That's what's 連讀，known as a 連讀，family problem 平穩收尾。

A lost account is known as a rounding error around here. 在這兒，丟個賬戶就叫舍入誤差。