谈了那么多的流行俗语,我们还没回答一个最最基本的问题,什么是流行俗语?这绝不是作者的疏漏,而是因为这是一个很难回答的问题。在这里,作者只好借用一句行话,权当对这个问题的答复,Everybodyuses it but nobody can define it(人人都在说,但人人都说不清这是什么)。流行俗语必须从广义上来理解,它不一定是一个句子,也不一定是 Having talked about so many popular sayings, we have not yet answered one of the most basic questions. What is a popular saying? This is by no means an omission by the author, but because it is a difficult question to answer. Here, the author had to borrow a jargon, right when answering this question, Everybody uses it but nobody can define it (everyone is saying, but everyone can’t tell what it is). The popular saying must be understood in a broad sense. It is not necessarily a sentence, nor is it necessarily a sentence.