Mind your own business.
现代当艺人真不容易,有机会被枕边人出卖,将私隐卖给八卦媒体,更有一些专业狗仔队偷拍和跟踪。更可怕的是那些路人甲和路人乙在说三道四,对着这群人,可以说句:Mind your own business.(管管你的事情),或者That's my own business.(这是我的事)、That's private. / That's personal.(这是私事)、Stay out of my affairs.(别管我的事)、Don't be nosy.(别好管闲事)。
对话
A: How could you leave the party without saying a word? The Morgan family was so unhappy about it.
B: I had my reasons. Don't be so uptight.
A: But what happened? Can't you tell me the whole story?
B: Please mind your own business. I don't need to report everything back to you.
甲:你怎么不辞而别离开派对?摩根家庭对此很不高兴。
乙:我有我的原因,别这么紧张。
甲:但发生什么事?你不可以告诉我吗?
乙:请管你自己的事吧,我不需事事向你回报。
有些人好奇心特强,即使和他们完全无关的琐事,都设法打听、窥探,英文叫这种人做busybodies或nosy parkers,例如:Don't tell that nosy parker anything about me.(任何关于我的事,都不要告诉那‘诸事问’)。
Nosy又作nosey,是nose(鼻)的形容词。喜欢窥探别人隐私者会把鼻子伸到每个角落,所以nosy即‘好管闲事的’。Nosy parker的parker却是什么呢?据说,这是指十六世纪英国坎特布里大主教Matthew Parker。他对教会的事无所不问,根除了很多陋习,但也因此赢得Nosy Parker的浑名。今天他的徒子徒孙可能就住在你隔壁。
见到Nosy Parker二世、二十世等等,你不妨叫他Mind your own business。这直译是‘管你自己的事吧’,意思自然是‘别多管闲事’。Mind your own business.往往简写作MYOB。
除了Mind your own business,你还可以说:Get / Keep your nose out of my business.(不要窥探我的事情),例如:"I hear your dog bark at bout nine o'clock every night. Why is that?" "Oh, keep your nose out of my business, won't you?"(‘每晚九点钟左右,我都听见你的狗吠,为什么呢?’‘啊,你少点管我的事好不好?’)俚语叫人少管闲事,常用Butt out! 两字。Butt(用头或角撞)in即‘打扰’或‘干预’,是butt out的反义词。