双语常用典故: fig leaf 无花果树叶;遮羞布
在西方古典绘画和雕塑中,经常可以看到裸体的人物身上有一片树叶遮住下体。这种专门用以遮羞的叶子 就是 figleaf。
典出《圣经·创世纪》。Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked: so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.他们(亚当和夏娃)两人的眼睛就明亮了,才知道自己是赤身裸体,便拿无花果的叶子为自己编作裙子。
Eg. Morally the question was, am I becoming the fig leaf to legitimate a system that was deeply corrupt?
这是道德问题,在这样一个腐败深入骨髓的体制中,我要变成一块遮羞布吗?