名词短语,意为"嫉妒"或"妒忌心"。用来形容一个人因为别人拥有自己想要的东西而产生的强烈不满和羡慕情绪。这是英语中表达嫉妒的经典隐喻说法。
/ˌɡriːn aɪd ˈmɒnstər/
Don't let the green-eyed monster ruin your friendship with her.
别让嫉妒心毁了你和她的友谊。
When he saw his colleague's rapid promotion, the green-eyed monster reared its ugly head, and he found himself unable to offer sincere congratulations.
当他看到同事快速升职时,嫉妒之心油然而生,他发现自己无法真诚地表示祝贺。
这个短语出自莎士比亚(Shakespeare)的戏剧《奥赛罗》(Othello),写于约1603年。剧中角色伊阿古(Iago)对奥赛罗说道:"O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; it is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on."(主公,当心嫉妒啊;那是一头绿眼的妖怪,谁做了它的食物,就要被它玩弄。)莎士比亚将嫉妒比喻为一头长着绿色眼睛的怪物,绿色在西方文化中长期与嫉妒相关联。此前在《威尼斯商人》(The Merchant of Venice)中,莎士比亚也曾用 green-eyed jealousy 这一表达。从此,green-eyed monster 便成为英语中"嫉妒"的代名词,沿用至今。