prove much in our vows誓言多過行動

對仗工整，把‘說’與‘做’釘在一起，一句話拆穿男人式愛情。

prove much in one's vows, but little in one's love

用來點破某人嘴上承諾多、付出少的場合，比罵他偽君子更有力。

all talk and no action ／ big on promises, small on follow-through

literary

still 與 but 處各一頓，vows 和 love 兩詞加重。

He proves much in his vows but little in his follow-through on deadlines. 他承諾時說得漂亮，到交活兒時卻總跟不上。

把暗戀寫成蟲蛀花蕾，隱秘的病態美，畫面感壓過任何直白告白。

let something, like a worm in the bud, feed on ...

形容有人隱忍不說、被心事慢慢損耗時，寫日記或發感慨都合適。

let it eat away at you ／ a secret that gnaws at you

literary

worm in the bud 連成一串，damask cheek 輕輕收尾。

A secret, like a worm in the bud, will feed on you until you finally speak. 秘密像花蕾裡的蛀蟲，你不說出口，它就一直啃你。

誇張到近乎自嘲，把‘女人承受不了我的愛’說成生理論斷，盡顯公爵虛榮。

There is no one can bide the beating of so strong a passion

揶揄自戀、把別人的退卻說成別人承受力差時，可用這句的骨架。

no one can handle my intensity ／ they can't take the force of it

literary

passion 拖長，heart 落重，整句一氣呵成。

There is no teammate can bide the beating of so fierce an ego. 沒有哪個隊友受得了這麼強的自我。

一句反問收住整段獨白，把痴情從故事逼成質問，餘味很重。

Was not this X indeed?

講完一段隱忍往事，用這句反問逼對方承認它算數。

Surely that counts as love. ／ Is that not love, truly?

literary

not 與 this 連讀，indeed 放句尾用降調。

Was not this patience indeed a kind of quiet devotion? 這份沉默的忍耐，難道不也是一種深藏的情意嗎？