Name: “Rusty”, “Fit as a Fiddle”, “Spaced Out”: Real English Expressions Explained
Uploaded: 2026-04-01T18:26:38.000Z
Duration: 10 min 43 s

In today's video, I want to give you some useful expressions to describe a person's condition.

在今天的影片裡，我想教大家一些描述一個人狀況的實用說法。

It could be a physical condition, or it could be a mental condition, or an emotional condition,

可以是身體狀況，也可以是精神狀況，或是情緒狀況，

但我們把它們當作比較像是，口語的用法。

They're very common; you'll hear these a lot.

這些都很常見；你會常常聽到。

I wouldn't necessarily say you should write with them,

我不一定會說你應該用它們來寫作，

but definitely learn what they mean because you're going to hear them and you can use them in everyday conversations.

但一定要學會它們的意思，因為你會聽到，而且可以在日常對話中使用。

some of them you have to be a little bit careful about,

那麼，我們就從 "rusty" 開始吧。

Now, if you're not sure what "rust" is, if you leave metal in...

現在，如果你不確定「rust」是什麼，如果你把金屬放在…

in the sun, eventually that metal will turn like an orangey brown,

陽光下，金屬最終會變成橘褐色，

and you can scrape off, like, there's little dust particles off it.

你可以刮掉，就像，上面有很多小小的塵埃顆粒。

So, if you are "rusty", it means you have, like, rust on you.

所以，如果你是「rusty」，意思就是你身上有，像是，生鏽了。

What this means is that you're out of practice.

這意思是你已經很久沒練習了。

You haven't done something for a long time, so when you want to start doing it again, you're not very good at it.

你很久沒做某件事了，所以當你想再開始做的時候，你做得不太好。

you know, you have to get your body used to it;

你知道，你得讓你的身體習慣，

you have to get your mind used to doing this activity again.

你得讓你的腦袋重新習慣做這件事。

So, what you need to do is basically shake off the rust.

所以，你該做的就是，基本上 shake off the rust。

Essentially, just start doing the activity.

You might not be very good at the beginning,

but once you get used to it again, then you'll be good at it again.

但一旦你又習慣了，你就會又做得很好。

Even if you don't ride a bicycle for many years, you still know how to do it,

就算你很多年沒騎腳踏車了，你還是知道怎麼騎，

but at the beginning, you know, you may wobble a little bit or you may go very slowly.

但一開始，你知道，你可能會有點搖晃，或是騎得很慢。

Once you get used to it, once you shake off the rust, then you can go mountain biking or do whatever you want with that.

一旦你又習慣了，一旦你 shake off the rust，你就可以去騎越野腳踏車，或是做任何你想做的事。

Now, notice I have here "shake off the rust".

現在，注意到我這裡有「shake off the rust」。

I have another expression: "shake off the cobwebs".

我還有另一個說法：「shake off the cobwebs」。

This is essentially the same idea, except for here this is about being out of practice or physically if you haven't done something for a long time.

這基本上是同樣的意思，只是這裡指的是因為很久沒做某件事而生疏，或是身體上很久沒做。

I haven't gone skiing and I'm... in many years.

我已經很多年沒滑雪了，而且我...

If I go skiing tomorrow, it will be very difficult for me at the beginning.

如果我明天去滑雪，一開始對我來說會非常困難。

"Cobwebs", on the other hand, is more of a mental rustiness.

另一方面，「cobwebs」更像是心智上的生疏。

Now, "cobwebs", if you think about spiders—spiders make all these, like, fancy little webs, right, to catch flies—they're actually called "cobwebs".

現在，「cobwebs」，如果你想到蜘蛛——蜘蛛會織出各種，像是，漂亮的網，對吧，來抓蒼蠅——它們其實就叫做「cobwebs」。

So, if you have "cobwebs", it means you're...

所以，如果你有「cobwebs」，意思就是你...

you haven't used your brain in a little while,

and the spiders got in there and set up cobwebs to catch flies in your head.

然後蜘蛛跑進去，在你的腦袋裡織了「cobwebs」來抓蒼蠅。

So, you're basically not thinking very clearly or not very focused on something.

所以，你基本上就是想事情不清楚，或是沒辦法專心。

So, in the morning—me, for example—I'm really, really not a morning person.

所以，早上——像我，我真的、真的不是個早起的人。

In the morning, when I wake up, it takes me a little while to get my brain functioning.

早上醒來時，我需要一點時間讓我的腦袋開始運作。

So, it takes me a little while to shake off the cobwebs so I can start working.

所以，我需要一點時間 shake off the cobwebs，這樣我才能開始工作。

And that's fine; I take my time in the mornings because I...

這樣沒關係；我早上會慢慢來，因為我...

not exactly mornings; more like early afternoon sometimes.

嚴格來說不是早上；有時候比較像是下午早些時候。

Now, the main problem with this one is that when a native speaker says this expression, you might not understand because, remember, in terms of pronunciation, I have consonant, vowel, consonant, vowel, consonant.

這個詞組的主要問題是，當母語人士說出這個慣用語時，你可能聽不懂，因為請記得，就發音來說，我有子音、母音、子音、母音、子音。

所以，聽起來就像「fit as a fiddle」。

One... now, a fiddle is a... like a violin, basically; a small violin.

一個…嗯，fiddle 是一種…就像小提琴，基本上；一種小提琴。

So, when you're "fit as a fiddle", you can be played very well.

所以，當你「fit as a fiddle」時，你可以被演奏得很好。

Now, I don't know why "violin", why "a fiddle", but that's what the expression uses.

嗯，我不知道為什麼是「小提琴」，為什麼是「a fiddle」，但這就是這個慣用語的用法。

Again, remember, in English, what makes English a little bit difficult is some of the expressions make no sense, like this one.

再說一次，記得，英文有些慣用語真的讓人搞不懂，就像這個一樣。

But "fit as a fiddle" means very good physical condition.

但「fit as a fiddle」的意思就是身體狀況非常好。

So, "How are you doing today?" "Oh, fit as a fiddle".

所以，如果有人問「你今天過得怎麼樣？」「喔，我身體好得很。」

In feeling good and doing everything good.

「你感覺怎麼樣？」「喔，我感覺好極了。」

Now, this could be about physical condition; it could be about mental or emotional condition.

現在，這可以是關於身體狀況；也可以是關於心理或情緒狀況。

So, I'm the boss; I come in to talk to my team.

所以，我是老闆；我進來跟我的團隊談話。

I go, "How's the project going?" "Oh, right as rain".

我問：「專案進行得怎麼樣？」「喔，right as rain」。

Means everything is in good condition; everything is as it should be.

表示一切都很好；一切都如預期般順利。

And about a person: feeling good, thinking well; everything is... is right.

還有關於一個人：感覺很好，想法清晰；一切都... 沒錯。

Some people like rain; I personally don't.

有些人喜歡下雨；我個人就不喜歡。

If you're spaced out, that means you're, like, maybe daydreaming or not... you're not focusing, basically.

如果你 spaced out，意思就是你可能在做白日夢，或者沒有... 基本上你沒有專心。

Now, if somebody is very, very, very tired, he might not...

現在，如果一個人非常非常非常累，他可能無法...

or she might not be able to concentrate on anything.

或者她可能無法專注於任何事情。

In a classroom, a teacher understands when one of his students or some of his students are spaced out.

在教室裡，老師會理解他的某個學生或某些學生為什麼會 spaced out。

They're not focused; they're somewhere in space; their mind is wandering somewhere in space.

他們沒有專心；他們神遊太虛；他們的思緒飄到某個地方去了。

again, if you're a teacher, you don't want your students to be spaced out; you want them concentrating.

再說一次，如果你是老師，你不會希望你的學生神遊太虛；你希望他們專心。

"Out of sorts" could be physical or mental.

「情緒不穩」可能是生理上的，也可能是心理上的。

"Out of sorts" means not really... well, not 100% feeling well or thinking well or anything like that.

「情緒不穩」的意思就是不太…嗯，感覺不太好、想事情不清楚，或是其他類似的狀況，沒有達到百分之百。

我們會說…像是，「…最近怎麼樣？

how's Bill doing these days?" "Well, he's a little bit out of sorts because..." And then you give the reason.

Bill 最近怎麼樣？」 「嗯，他有點情緒不穩，因為…」然後你就會給出原因。

He may be just feeling bad, like, angry about something or upset about something.

他可能只是感覺不好，像是，因為某件事生氣，或是因為某件事不高興。