转眼读杂志也有好几年了，坚持读的主要就是两本杂志 The Atlantic 和 The Economist. 记得最初在The Economist里碰到了一个词，叫 willy nilly（意思是willing or unwilling)，非常简洁，印象很深，后来又陆陆续续看到一些类似的词汇广泛地运用在文章里（这种重复词The Economist出现的频率要高过The Atlantic)。
这两天特意翻了翻笔记，特此整理了一些，也便于自己今后补充和收集：
willy nilly: willing or unwilling 不管愿意与否
Ms. Johnson suggests other culprits too. Houses were built willy-nilly on lots too cramped to provide “defensible space”, which can act as a firebreak. (The Economist August 21st, 2021)
bigwig: an important person, According to Online Etymology Dictionary , bigwig, also big-wig, "great man, person of consequence," originated in 1781, from big + wig , in reference to the imposing wigs formerly worn by men of rank or authority. 大人物，看到这个词，我常常会联想到香港电影里那些头戴假发出现在法庭上的法官的形象。
Other bigwigs have come under fire from owning fancy homes in Hong Kong, London and New York.
Ministers who dispense development aid have praised him, as have Bill Gates and other bigwig philanthropists. (The Economist, March 27th, 2021,??)
The real sign that Africans have broken through the glass ceiling in international organisations will be when run-of-the-mill leadership by an African generates no more comment than the tepid tenure of a bigwig from Asia, Europe or the Americas. (The Economist, December 11th, 2021)
A majority is now against it, including bigwigs such as Koizumi Junichiro （小泉純一郎）, a former prime minister from the LDP. (The Economist, Mar 6th-12th, 2021)
hobnob: verb: mix socially, especially with those of higher social status 作动词用，混迹于社会地位较高的人群
Peacelanders should spend more time working with communities, understanding their grievances and earning their trust, rather than hobnobbing with government officials and UN bigwigs. (The Economist, April 17th, 2021)
“ a select few who hobnob with the biggest celebrities the country has to offer” (The Economist, April 17th, 2021)
hubbub: a chaotic din caused by a crowd of people, chao 混乱嘈杂
Rushdie’s narration is always poly phonic, but here the hubbub is muted. (The Atlantic, January 2023)
humdrum: lacking excitement or variety; dull; monotonous. 单调乏味
While splashing out on big projects, the government has cut spending on humdrum infrastructure. (The Economist, July 1st, 2023)
Add more humdrum annoyances such as launch delays, which are common, and space tourism may remain a hobby for a few super-rich daredevils with lots of time to spare. (The Economist, July 17th, 2021)
New sensors, from humdrum dashboard camera to satellites that can see across the electromagnetic spectrum, are examining the planet and its people as never before. (The Economist August 7th-15th 2021)
Yet what is the humdrum for investors can still be good for the economy. (The Economist December 11th 2021)
hotch-potch: a confused mixture, hodgepodge 大乱炖，大杂烩
Indeed, even the most powerful technologies take time to diffuse, because companies tend to use a hotch-potch of software and services, some of which may be years or even decades old. (The Economist, July 1st, 2023)
hurly-burly: noisy disorder and confusion; commotion; uproar; tumult 混乱无序，常指声音
In the hurly-burly of a city, those rules weakened. (The Economist, July 1st, 2023)
riffraff: people, or a group of people, regarded as disreputable or worthless: a pack of riffraff. the lowest classes; rabble: the riffraff of the city. trash; rubbish. 渣滓，人渣，低级无用之人
Forming a stampede, the Reddit crowd sent GameStop and other widely shorted stocks to unimaginable heights. They called themselves “degenerates”, casting themselves as the riffraff of the market. (The Atlantic, March 2023)
首先要感谢网友7grizzly在美语世界论坛5/9发表的APAD, 才知道这种重复使用的复合词的term是叫reduplicated word.
顾名思义，reduplicated words是指重复使用的词，比如我们常听到的 win-win, boo-boo这样的词，也可以指两个非常相似的词合在一起使用，比如常见的： chit-chat, criss-cross, hustle-bustle, ding-dong. 我想Tiktok这个词的发明应该是受这些词的启发，它们朗朗上口，便于记忆，还带点韵律和节奏感。
转眼读杂志也有好几年了，坚持读的主要就是两本杂志 The Atlantic 和 The Economist. 记得最初在The Economist里碰到了一个词，叫 willy nilly（意思是willing or unwilling)，非常简洁，印象很深，后来又陆陆续续看到一些类似的词汇广泛地运用在文章里（这种重复词The Economist出现的频率要高过The Atlantic)。
这两天特意翻了翻笔记，特此整理了一些，也便于自己今后补充和收集：
willy nilly: willing or unwilling 不管愿意与否
Ms. Johnson suggests other culprits too. Houses were built willy-nilly on lots too cramped to provide “defensible space”, which can act as a firebreak. (The Economist August 21st, 2021)
bigwig: an important person, According to Online Etymology Dictionary , bigwig, also big-wig, "great man, person of consequence," originated in 1781, from big + wig , in reference to the imposing wigs formerly worn by men of rank or authority. 大人物，看到这个词，我常常会联想到香港电影里那些头戴假发出现在法庭上的法官的形象。
Other bigwigs have come under fire from owning fancy homes in Hong Kong, London and New York.
Ministers who dispense development aid have praised him, as have Bill Gates and other bigwig philanthropists. (The Economist, March 27th, 2021,??)
The real sign that Africans have broken through the glass ceiling in international organisations will be when run-of-the-mill leadership by an African generates no more comment than the tepid tenure of a bigwig from Asia, Europe or the Americas. (The Economist, December 11th, 2021)
A majority is now against it, including bigwigs such as Koizumi Junichiro （小泉純一郎）, a former prime minister from the LDP. (The Economist, Mar 6th-12th, 2021)
hobnob: verb: mix socially, especially with those of higher social status 作动词用，混迹于社会地位较高的人群
Peacelanders should spend more time working with communities, understanding their grievances and earning their trust, rather than hobnobbing with government officials and UN bigwigs. (The Economist, April 17th, 2021)
“ a select few who hobnob with the biggest celebrities the country has to offer” (The Economist, April 17th, 2021)
hubbub: a chaotic din caused by a crowd of people, chao 混乱嘈杂
Rushdie’s narration is always poly phonic, but here the hubbub is muted. (The Atlantic, January 2023)
humdrum: lacking excitement or variety; dull; monotonous. 单调乏味
While splashing out on big projects, the government has cut spending on humdrum infrastructure. (The Economist, July 1st, 2023)
Add more humdrum annoyances such as launch delays, which are common, and space tourism may remain a hobby for a few super-rich daredevils with lots of time to spare. (The Economist, July 17th, 2021)
New sensors, from humdrum dashboard camera to satellites that can see across the electromagnetic spectrum, are examining the planet and its people as never before. (The Economist August 7th-15th 2021)
Yet what is the humdrum for investors can still be good for the economy. (The Economist December 11th 2021)
hotch-potch: a confused mixture, hodgepodge 大乱炖，大杂烩
Indeed, even the most powerful technologies take time to diffuse, because companies tend to use a hotch-potch of software and services, some of which may be years or even decades old. (The Economist, July 1st, 2023)
hurly-burly: noisy disorder and confusion; commotion; uproar; tumult 混乱无序，常指声音
In the hurly-burly of a city, those rules weakened. (The Economist, July 1st, 2023)
riffraff: people, or a group of people, regarded as disreputable or worthless: a pack of riffraff. the lowest classes; rabble: the riffraff of the city. trash; rubbish. 渣滓，人渣，低级无用之人
Forming a stampede, the Reddit crowd sent GameStop and other widely shorted stocks to unimaginable heights. They called themselves “degenerates”, casting themselves as the riffraff of the market. (The Atlantic, March 2023)
最后集中几个意思接近，大家在讨论时提到过的，可以简洁表达的四个词作为结束，我们一起memorize:
dilly dally: 磨蹭，东摸摸西摸摸，慢吞吞
shilly shally: 犹豫不决，五心不定 Shall I or Shall I not
willy nilly: 不管愿意与否 willing or unwilling
wishy washy：也是犹豫不决，做事不果断没有成效的意思