“虎头蛇尾”常见的英文表达有 “begin strongly but end weakly” 或 “start with a bang and end with a whimper” ,也可用成语式表达 “anticlimactic” (不过此词更侧重于“高潮之后令人失望的结局”,有一定语境适用性) ,还有 “lose steam at the end” (侧重于表达后期动力不足、逐渐衰弱)。以下为你展开介绍:
含义:字面意思是“开始强劲但结束微弱”,精准对应了“虎头蛇尾”中开头出色、结尾糟糕的意思。
例句:This project began strongly but end weakly due to a lack of sustained effort and proper planning.(由于缺乏持续的努力和适当的规划,这个项目虎头蛇尾。)
含义:“start with a bang”表示“一开始就轰轰烈烈”,“end with a whimper”表示“以微弱的声音结束”,整体形象地描绘出事情从热烈开始到平淡结束的过程。
例句:Their marriage started with a bang and end with a whimper after years of constant arguments.(经过多年的不断争吵,他们的婚姻从一开始的轰轰烈烈变得虎头蛇尾。)
含义:作为形容词,指“令人失望的结局;虎头蛇尾的”,强调事情在发展过程中达到高潮后,以一种不令人满意的方式结束。
例句:The ending of the movie was so anticlimactic that many viewers left the theater feeling disappointed.(这部电影的结尾太虎头蛇尾了,许多观众离开影院时都感到很失望。)
含义:“lose steam”意思是“失去动力;逐渐衰弱”,整个短语表示在接近结束时失去了前进的动力,导致结果不如预期。
例句:The team played well in the first half but seemed to lose steam at the end, resulting in a disappointing loss.(这支球队在上半场打得很好,但在接近结束时似乎失去了动力,最终输掉了比赛,令人失望。)