看美剧学英语高频短语：Worth one’s sault
Worth one’s sault： to be competent, capable, and deserving of one’s pay or position. It implies that a person is efficient, useful, and provides value that justifies their cost or the trust placed in them. The phrase originates from ancient Rome, where soldiers were sometimes paid in salt (sal in Latin, the root of “salary”), so someone “worth their salt” earned their keep.（（称职/名副其实）
中文释义：这个习语指一个人有能力、胜任工作，且配得上其薪水或职位。它强调此人能提供与其报酬或信任相匹配的价值。该习语源于古罗马用盐支付士兵薪水的传统（拉丁语中”盐”即 sal，英文”salary”的词源），”对得起自己的盐”即指”名副其实”。
以下是英语高频短语“Worth one’s sault”在美剧语料库中的相关例句：
场景一：选自美剧《纸牌屋》S05E13 36:55 （对话人物：Frank and Mark Usher ）
Frank: Who do you have on her cabinet? 你为她（的内阁）安排了哪些人？
Mark Usher: Right now, they’re just suggestions. 目前，这些都只是建议。
Frank: Oh, come on. We both know how this works. 哦，得了吧。我们都清楚这是怎么运作的。
——>> You’ve already made your choices. 你早就做好决定了。
——>> You wouldn’t be worth your salt if you hadn’t. 如果你没做，那你就太不称职了。
——>> I just want you to run them by me first. 我只是想让你先跟我通个气。
Run sth by someone：to tell, show, or explain an idea, plan, or piece of information to someone so they can give feedback, approval, or confirmation. （把某个想法、计划或信息拿给某人看、说或解释，以便对方提供意见、反馈或批准。通常用于在继续下一步之前确认是否可行。）
Example Sentences
Can I run an idea by you before I talk to the teacher?
我能在跟老师说之前先跟你讨论一下这个想法吗？Let me run this by my roommate first to see if she’s cool with it.
我得先跟我室友说一声，看看她是否同意。
Example Sentences
Before we finalize the report, I’d like to run a few sections by you for accuracy.
在我们定稿报告前，我想先让你检查一下几个部分是否准确。I’ll run the proposal by the legal team to make sure we’re compliant.
我会把提案拿去给法务团队过目，以确保我们符合规定。
——>> Look, I can make this transition easy for you or not. 听着，我可以让这个过渡期对你轻松点，或者反过来。
Mark Usher: And a word of advice. 也给你一句忠告。
——>> She’s gonna need some 她会需要一些
——>> friendly faces looking at her across that table. 在桌子对面看着她的友善面孔。
Frank: There’ll be a few… 会有几个的……
——>> who will smile as required. 他们会按需微笑的。
场景二：选自美剧《金装律师》S06E01 11:38 （对话人物：Louis and IT Officer）
Louis: God damn mother– What the hell are you doing? 该死的他妈的——你到底在干什么？
IT Officer: I’m just doing a little troubleshooting. Why? 我只是在做一点故障排查。怎么了？
Louis: That is a $400,000 piece of hardware, 那可是价值40万美元的硬件，
——>> and you have no business even– 你甚至没资格——
——>> Wait a second. What are you still doing here? 等一下。你还在这里干什么？
IT Officer: What any IT officer worth his salt would do. 任何一个称职的IT主管都会做的事。
——>> I’m maintaining our system, so it appears we’re still 我正在维护我们的系统，让它对外界显示
——>> a functioning law firm to the outside world. 我们仍然是一家正常运作的律师事务所。
Louis: Can you electronically serve legal notice 你能在接下来两小时内
——>> to every partner in the next two hours? 向所有合伙人电子送达法律通知吗？
IT Officer: As long as you’ve got their official business addresses, 只要你有他们的正式办公地址，
——>> I can do it in the next two minutes. 我两分钟内就能搞定。
Louis: Well, it’s a good thing I have them right here. 嗯，幸好我正好有这些地址。
IT Officer: Um, no offense, but I’m really more of a lone ranger. 呃，无意冒犯，但我更习惯单干。
Louis: Excuse me? 你说什么？
IT Officer:I can get this done in a more efficient manner 我可以更高效地完成这件事，
——>> without you looking over my shoulder. 不用你在旁边一直盯着 / 密切监视。
场景三：选自美剧《老友记》S08E18 00:43 （对话人物：Phoebe, Ross, Monica, Joey, Chandler ）
Phoebe: Ross, Mon, is it okay if I bring someone to your parents’ anniversary party? 罗斯，蒙，我可以带个人去你们父母的结婚纪念派对吗？
Ross/Monica: – Sure. – Yeah. – 当然。- 可以。
Monica: – Who’s the guy? – Parker, I met him at the dry cleaners. – 那男的是谁？ – 帕克，我在干洗店认识他的。
Chandler: Did he put a little starch in your bloomers? 他是不是让你的灯笼裤变得硬挺了？
It comes from two ideas: 1. Starch (In laundry, starch makes fabric stiff). 2. Bloomers (Old-fashioned word for women’s underwear).
So Chandler is teasing Monica, using a humorous metaphor:
Putting starch in someone’s underwear = making them stiff → metaphorically, getting them excited.
It’s not literal; it’s innocent sitcom-style innuendo, not vulgar.
This expression is not commonly used in real-life conversation — it’s a Friends-style comedic line, mixing old-fashioned laundry imagery with flirtatious humor.
——>> Who said that? 谁在说话？
Phoebe: No, he’s really great, though. He has this incredible zest for life. 不，不过他真的很棒。他对生活有着惊人的热情。
——>> And he treats me like a queen. 他待我如女王。
——>> Except at night, when he treats me like the naughty girl I am. 除了晚上，那时他把我当成我本就是的淘气女孩。
Monica: Oh, by the way, would it be okay if I give the toast to Mom and Dad this year? 哦，顺便问一下，今年由我来向爸妈敬酒可以吗？
Ross: Are you sure you want to after what happened at their 20th? 你确定你想吗？在他们20周年纪念日那事之后？
Chandler: Yeah, I’d really like to. 是啊，我真的很想。
Ross: Hopefully this time Mom won’t boo you. 希望这次妈妈不会喝你的倒彩。
To “boo” someone means to shout “boo!” at them to show disapproval, dislike, or that you think they did something badly. （对某人大声喊“boo！”以表达不满、反对或觉得对方做得很糟。常用于体育赛事、表演、演讲等场合，观众用来表示不喜欢或不赞同。）
Monica: Yes. Every year Ross makes the toast, it was really moving, and it always makes them cry. 没错。每年罗斯敬酒，都真的很感人，总是让他们哭。
——>> – This year, I’m gonna make them cry. 今年，我要让他们哭出来。
Chandler: You wonder why Ross is their favorite? 你还奇怪为什么罗斯是他们的最爱吗？
Monica: No, really, any time Ross makes a toast, everyone cries and hugs him and pats him on the back. 不，说真的，每次罗斯敬酒，每个人都哭了，拥抱他，拍他的背 （得到赞扬及鼓励）。
——>> And they all come up to me and say, “God, your brother.” 然后他们都走过来对我说，“天啊，你哥哥。”
——>> You know what they’re gonna say this year? “God, you.” 你知道他们今年会说什么吗？“天啊，你。”
莫妮卡的终极反转：“You know what they’re gonna say this year? ‘God, you.’” 这是最高潮的笑点。她幻想自己成功后，人们会像称赞罗斯一样称赞她。 笑点在于她的天真和自欺欺人。观众心里清楚，且不论她的祝酒词能否成功，即使成功了，那种场景也极其荒谬——全家哭成一团然后跑来对她说“天啊，你！”。这凸显了她对认可和关注的渴望已经让她有点“走火入魔”。 这个反转与钱德勒的吐槽完美呼应：她越想证明自己不是罗斯的陪衬，她的行为就越显得像是在模仿和追赶罗斯，反而进一步证明了罗斯的“标杆”地位。
Monica’s ultimate reversal: “You know what they’re gonna say this year? ‘God, you.'”
This is the climax of the joke. She fantasizes that after her success, people will praise her in the same way they praise Ross.
The humor lies in her naivety and self-deception. The audience knows perfectly well that, regardless of whether her toast succeeds, that scenario is utterly absurd—the whole family crying and then coming up to her to say, “God, you!” This highlights how her craving for recognition and attention has made her somewhat gone off the deep end.
This reversal perfectly echoes Chandler’s sarcastic remark: the more she tries to prove she isn’t just Ross’s foil, the more her behavior comes across as imitating and chasing after him, thereby further cementing Ross’s status as the gold standard.
Joey: Well, I can promise you, at least one person will be crying. 嗯，我可以向你保证，至少会有一个人哭。
——>> I’m an actor, and any actor worth his salt can cry on cue. 我是个演员，任何称职的演员都能根据指令哭出来。
Monica: – Really? You can do that? 真的吗？你能做到？
Joey: Oh, you kidding me? Watch. 哦，开什么玩笑？看着。
——>> Well, I can’t do it with you guys watching me. 嗯，你们这样看着我，我做不来。
场景四：选自美剧《生活大爆炸》S09E05 10:28 （对话人物：Leonard, Sheldon, Barry ）
Leonard: Listen, I should warn you 听着，我应该警告你
——>> that maybe asking Amy out isn’t a good idea. 约艾米出去可能不是个好主意。
Sheldon: Barry, a word? 巴里，聊两句？
Leonard: And now the crazy version of what I just said. 接下来是我刚才说的话的疯狂版本。
Sheldon: If you intend to pursue Amy, 如果你打算追求艾米，
——>> you leave me with no choice but to put a stop to it. 你将使我别无选择，只能阻止你。
Barry: And how are you gonna do that? 你要怎么做？
Sheldon: By challenging you to a duel. 通过向你提出决斗。
A duel is a formal fight between two people—traditionally using weapons such as swords or pistols—conducted according to agreed-upon rules, often to settle a dispute, defend one’s honor, or resolve a personal conflict. （ 指两个人按照既定规则进行的正式对决，传统上使用剑或手枪，用来解决争端或捍卫名誉。在现代语境中，也可以比喻为两人之间激烈的竞争或对抗。）
Barry: You’ve had one lesson. I’ll destroy you. 你只上了一节课。我会毁了你。
Sheldon: That is why the duel will take place 这就是为什么决斗将在
——>> at high noon, three years from today. 三年后的今天正午举行。
——>> If you’re worth your salt as an instructor, 如果你作为一名教练是称职的，
——>> I should be ready by then. 到那时我应该准备好了。
——>> Yeah, and be warned. 是啊，并且提醒你。
——>> I’m going to touch you all over. 我会碰遍你全身。
Leonard: That-that was crazier than I thought. 这-这比我想象的还要疯狂。
以下是英语高频短语“Worth one’s sault”在日常交流与商务语境中的相关例句：
Daily Conversation:
-
Praising Competence:
“Any plumber worth his salt should be able to fix a leaky faucet in minutes.”
（任何一个称职的水管工都应该能在几分钟内修好漏水的水龙头。） -
Expressing Expectation:
“A dog owner worth her salt would never forget to take her pet for a daily walk.”
（一个合格的狗主人绝不会忘记每天带宠物散步。）
Business Context:
-
Evaluating Employees:
“No project manager worth their salt would miss such an obvious deadline risk.”
（没有一个称职的项目经理会忽略如此明显的延期风险。） -
Assessing Services:
“Any financial advisor worth his salt would warn clients against investing all their savings in one stock.”
（任何靠谱的财务顾问都会警告客户不要将所有积蓄投入一支股票。）
