Ask & Learn闻问切英语口语:生活艰难

读者 Winnie 寄来句子：生活艰难 the regular, law-abiding, non-tycoon, squeezed on all sides, not-immune-from-the-law Hong Kong people that just try to get by day to day. Winnie 再问：squeezed on all sides 和 to get by 是什么意思？

Squeeze 是大力紧握，就好像把柠檬握在掌心用力地，西餐中有一种用来挤柠檬汁的餐具就叫lemon squeezer.

引伸出来，squeeze 就有压榨、压迫、剥削的意思。句子中指香港市民 squeezed on all sides，就是要承受来自四方八面的压力，苦不堪言。

To get by 解作勉强应付，还过得去。 这个词可以用在个别的困难，例如考试：

Jimmy does not expect good grades this time. He just wants to get by. Jimmy 这次考试并不要求高分，只要及格就行了。

另一方面，to get by 也可以用在解决生计的困难：

Earning only minimum wage, Tom can hardly get by.Tom 的收入只是最低工资，只能勉强混过去。

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