字面意为“让某人的血变冷”,实际引申为 “使某人极度恐惧、毛骨悚然;不寒而栗”——强调因可怕、震惊的事物(如场景、消息、画面等)引发的强烈恐惧感(仿佛血液都因恐惧而凝固)。
结构:主语(令人恐惧/震惊的事物,如声音、事件、画面、想法等) + turn + sb.'s(形容词性物主代词,如my/his/her/their) + blood + cold。
关键:
“sb.'s”是所有格(表“某人的”),不可替换为宾格(如不说“turn him blood cold”,需说“turn his blood cold”);
主语通常是具体的“恐惧源”(而非人),直接触发“恐惧反应”。
声音触发:The sudden scream from the basement turned my blood cold.(地下室突然传来的尖叫让我毛骨悚然。)
消息触发:The news that the serial killer was still at large turned the whole town's blood cold.(连环杀手仍在逃的消息让全镇人不寒而栗。)
画面触发:The sight of the ghostly figure standing in the window turned her blood cold.(看到窗前那个鬼影,她吓得浑身发冷。)
想象触发:The thought of being trapped in an elevator with no air turned their blood cold.(一想到被困在没空气的电梯里,他们就害怕得要命。)
send chills down sb.'s spine(让某人脊背发凉)
give sb. the creeps(让某人起鸡皮疙瘩)
make sb. shudder(使某人发抖)
“turn sb.'s blood cold”是描述“极致恐惧”的经典短语,突出“由外而内的惊悚感”,适用于口语和书面语(如小说、日常对话中讲述恐怖经历)。掌握它能更生动地表达“吓呆了”的状态~