"out of luck" 是口语中常用的形容词短语,字面可理解为“脱离了运气的范围”,实际表示:
运气不佳;倒霉;未能如愿;得不到想要的东西(unlucky; not successful in getting what you want or achieving a goal)。它强调“在某件具体事情上暂时运气不好”,是描述人无法达成目标/获取某物的状态。
通常作表语,与 be动词(am/is/are/was/were)连用,主语为人(因为是描述人的状态):
主语 + be + out of luck
用于以下情况:
想要的东西卖完/用完了;
没赶上交通工具(火车、公交等);
没找到某物(停车位、书本等);
没成功做某事(求职、订票等)。
通过不同场景理解用法:
1、 买东西没买到:
I went to the bakery for croissants, but I was out of luck—they’d sold out.
(我去面包店买可颂,但运气不好——已经卖完了。)
2、 没赶上交通工具:
Did you catch the 8 o’clock bus? No, I was out of luck—it left just as I got there.
(你赶上8点的公交了吗?没有,我倒霉了——我刚到它就走了。)
3、 订不到房间:
We tried to book a hotel for the holiday, but we were out of luck—all rooms were taken.
(我们想订假期酒店,但没成功——所有房间都满了。)
4、 借不到东西:
I wanted to borrow my friend’s bike, but I was out of luck—he was using it.
(我想借朋友的自行车,但运气不好——他正在用。)
5、 回应他人的请求:
A: Is there any coffee left? B: Sorry, you’re out of luck—we drank the last cup.
(A:还有咖啡吗?B:抱歉,你没运气了——最后一杯已经喝了。)
注意与其他“倒霉”相关短语的区别:
1、 tough luck:
含义:真倒霉;真可惜(用来安慰别人,回应对方的不幸);
用法:直接说“Tough luck!”,后面常接具体事件;
例子:Tough luck about your job interview—better luck next time!(你面试没过真可惜——下次好运!)
2、 unlucky:
含义:不幸的(形容词,描述人或事的属性,可指长期或暂时);
用法:作定语或表语;
例子:He’s an unlucky guy—he loses his keys every week.(他是个不幸的人——每周都丢钥匙。)
主语必须是人:不能说“The cake was out of luck”(蛋糕不会“运气不好”),应说“I was out of luck because the cake was sold out”(我运气不好,因为蛋糕卖完了)。
强调具体事件:不是“长期不幸”,而是“某件事没做成”的暂时状态。
总结:"out of luck" 是口语中描述“某件事没办成、运气差”的常用表达,记住它的核心是“人+be+out of luck”,结合具体场景用就对啦!