Qiānfāngbǎijì/千方百计/ By hook or by crook The literal meaning is 'by every possible means,' with a freer translation being'y hook or by crook.'
Example1:这位著名歌星将在下星期举行一次演唱会，他的歌迷们正千方百计搞票子。
Zhè wèi zhùmíng gēxīng jiàng zàixià xīngqí jǔxíng yīcì yǎnchàng huì, tā de gēmímen zhèng qiānfāngbǎijì gǎo piàozi
The famous singer is going to hold a concert next week and his fans are trying to get a ticket by hook or by crook.
Example2:这家工厂千方百计地降低产品的成本。
Zhè jiā gōngchǎng qiānfāngbǎijì dì jiàngdī chǎnpǐn de chéngběn
The factory decreased the productions costs of its products by every possible means.
The phrase ‘By hook or by crook' is very old, first recorded in the Middle English Controversial Tracts of John Wyclif in 1380.
The origin of the phrase is obscure, with multiple different explanations and no evidence to support any particular one over the others. For example, a commonly repeated suggestion is that it comes from Hook Head in Wexford, Ireland and the nearby village of Crooke, in Waterford, Ireland. Another is that it comes from the customs regulating which firewood local people could take from common land; they were allowed to take any branches that they could reach with a billhook or a shepherd's crook (used to hook sheep).
The phrase was featured in the opening credits to the 1960s British television series The Prisoner. It appears prominently (as "by hook and by crook") in the short stories "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" by Ernest Hemingway and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving. It was also used as the title of the 2001 film By Hook or by Crook directed by Silas Howard and Harry Dodge.
In Modern English, the meaning of the phrase is often misunderstood as to refer more specifically to a willingness to accomplish objectives using unethical and/or illegal (as in "crooked" means, or having patience as with a fishing hook, or by using force as done in a robbery by a 'crook'.
最早记录在1380年约翰·威克里夫（John Wyclif）的中古英语争议片中。
这个词的起源是晦涩的，有多种不同的解释，没有证据可以支持任何一个特定的解释。例如，有一个常见的说法时是来自爱尔兰韦克斯福德的胡克海德和爱尔兰沃特福德附近的克鲁克村。另一个原因是海关规定，当地人可以从共同土地上拿走柴火。他们被允许带支钩或牧羊人的弯钩（用来钩羊）到达的任何树枝。
这句话在1960年代英国电视连续剧《囚徒》的开场白中得到了体现。它在欧内斯特·海明威（Ernest Hemingway）的短篇小说《乞力马扎罗山的雪》和华盛顿·欧文（Washington Irving）的《沉睡的空心传奇》中显着地出现（“一钩又一钩”）。它也被用作2001年电影《胡克》或西拉斯·霍华德和哈里·道奇导演的克鲁克的片名。
在现代英语中，该短语的含义常常被误解，因为它更具体地指的是愿意使用不道德和/或非法（如“弯曲”）的手段，或者对钓鱼钩有耐心的人，或者通过使用像“骗子”在抢劫中所做的那样。
0 Comments