Jo: Hello, this is Real English from BBC Learning
English, I’m Jo.
Sun Chen: 還有我，孫晨。這里就是我們的地道英語。
Jo: In Real English, we look at words and phrases that
you might not find in your dictionary.
Sun Chen:
你要是經常聽英國人說話，就會發現他們老是用一些個習慣用語。這些詞兒好多字典里根本找不到。所以我們得馬上跟上。
Jo: And today’s expression is ‘over the top’ – ‘over
the top’.
Sun Chen: 那這個詞組的意思又是什么呢？
Jo: Well it can be used to describe a person, a place,
an object, a way of behaving, a –
Sun Chen:
好了好了。我知道這個詞組可以用在這兒，用在那兒，但是你不是先跟我們說說這個詞組到底是什么意思呢?
Jo: It really means that something or someone is not
normal. It’s going beyond what is considered ordinary.
Sun Chen: 遠遠地超出了普通的范疇。那他到底說的是好事兒，還是壞事兒啊？
Jo: Well, it’s sometimes seen as a bad thing I
suppose. Here’s an example.
Insert
A. Did you see her outfit last night – that tiny miniskirt
and low-cut top?
B. Yeah it was completely over the top - really not very
appropriate for a business dinner!
Jo: So we heard there that ‘over the top’ was used in
a disapproving way to talk about something outrageous or flamboyant.
Sun Chen: Over the top 可以用來諷刺那些出圈或特別過分的事兒。
Jo: There’s even a short version of this expression –
OTT!
Sun Chen: 那這種縮寫在人們說話的時候，又該怎么用呢？
Jo: Yes, I could say – his behaviour is really OTT.
Sun Chen: 好了，別忘了我們今天說的詞兒就是
Jo: Over the top or OTT.
Sun Chen: 就是說什么東西太棒了，要不就是太過分了.
Jo: Join us again for more Real English from BBC
Learning English. Goodbye!
Sun Chen: Bye!
