看美剧学英语高频短语：When push comes to shove
When push comes to Shove：it describes the critical moment when decisive action must be taken, when all other options have been exhausted, or when a situation reaches a point where one must commit to a choice or course of action. （必须采取决定性行动的关键时刻，此时所有其他选择都已用尽，或形势发展到必须做出选择或采取行动的地步。 它指的是一个压力时刻，理论讨论结束，必须做出真正且往往艰难的决定或行动。）
以下是英语高频短语“When push comes to Shove”在美剧语料库中的相关例句：
场景一：选自美剧《猫鼠游戏》S03E01 （对话人物：Neil and Mozzie）
Neil：Picked up a copy on the way home. 回家的路上买的。
Mozzie：And you’re sure Mrs. Suit was intentionally hiding it from you? 你确定苏特夫人是故意瞒着你的？
Neil：Yes. 是的。
——>>You know, I guess a part of me always knew when push comes to shove, she’d choose peter. 你知道吗，我想我心底里一直明白，一旦到了紧要关头，她会选择彼得。
Mozzie：Well, he’s her husband. 这个嘛，他是她丈夫。
场景二：选自英剧《唐顿庄园》S02E07 （对话人物：Anna and Mrs. Patmore）
Anna：Will you miss the extra staff, Mrs Patmore? 你会想念多出来的人手吗，帕特莫尔太太？
Mrs. Patmore：Not really. When push comes to shove, I’d rather do it myself. 并不真会。真到了紧要关头，我宁愿自己动手。
——>>Though God knows what I’m to feed them on. 可天知道我能拿什么喂他们。
——>>There’s nothing out there to be had. 外面什么都弄不到。
Anna：Oh, well. 唉。
——>>The Lord tempers the wind to the shorn lamb. 上帝会眷顾可怜人的。
A “shorn lamb” literally means a lamb that has been shorn (its wool cut off). Figuratively, it describes someone who looks vulnerable, exposed, or defenseless, especially after losing something that used to protect them (status, resources, confidence, support, etc.). （“shorn lamb”（被剪掉羊毛的小羊） 比喻一个人 失去保护、显得脆弱、无助、暴露在风险之下。 常带有 同情、心疼 的语气，好像对方突然没有防备。）
场景三：选自美剧《别对我说谎》S02E01 （对话人物：Gillian and Cal）
Gillian：I got a call from the bank first thing. 我一大早接到了银行的电话。
——>>They thought I should know that the Lightman group’s loan has been approved and the ownership shares have been transferred. 他们认为我该知道，莱特曼集团的贷款已经获批，股权也已经转让了。
Cal：Yeah, I know. I bought our way out. 是的，我知道。我用钱解决了。
Gillian：Did you consider telling me, your partner, about this before you did it? 在你这么做之前，你有没有考虑过告诉我，你的合伙人？
Cal：Zoe was gonna take Emily, so I had to– 佐伊要带走艾米丽，所以我必须——
Gillian：Jeopardize the financial future of this company? 危害这家公司的财务未来？
Cal：That’s a bit dramatic, isn’t it? 这有点夸张了，不是吗？
Gillian：You know, I–I lied earlier when I said I was devastated about the divorce. 你知道吗，我……我之前说我为离婚心碎，那是撒谎。
——>>I’m not. 我并没有。
——>>You know, for the first time in 5 years, when I get dressed in the morning, I don’t automatically reach for black or brown or navy blue. 你知道吗，五年来第一次，早上穿衣服时，我不会下意识地去拿黑色、棕色或藏青色。
——>>I’m wearing pink today, Cal, pink, because I like pink. It makes me happy, which is something that I have not been for a very long time. 我今天穿了粉色，卡尔，粉色，因为我喜欢粉色。它让我快乐，而我已经很久没有快乐过了。
——>>I’m divorced, and I’m free, and I’m happy, and if you do something to screw that up– 我离婚了，我自由了，我很快乐，如果你做了什么毁了这一切——
Cal：I won’t. 我不会的。
——>>I promise I won’t. 我保证不会。
Gillian：You know, push comes to shove, I can always go to Vegas, make the money back, so… 要知道，真到了紧要关头，我总可以去拉斯维加斯，把钱赚回来，所以……
Cal：Wait. Don’t even joke about that. 等等。别拿这个开玩笑。
——>>Cal…Promise me you’ll never go back to Vegas. 卡尔……答应我你永远不会再回拉斯维加斯。
场景四：选自美剧《金装律师》S05E07（对话人物：Jack, Brendan, Marvin and Mike）
Marvin：Gentlemen, I’m so glad you could see us on such short notice. 先生们，非常高兴你们能在这么短时间内见我们。
Jack：Well, you scratched our backs. I think we can scratch yours. 嗯，你们帮过我们。我想我们也能帮你们。
The phrase “scratched our backs” comes from the idiom “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.” It means:
➡️ Someone helped us, usually expecting we’ll help them in return. 对方帮了我们一把，通常也希望我们将来回报人情。
➡️ The help is often mutual, transactional, or based on favors rather than pure goodwill. 带有互惠、交换性的意味，不完全是纯粹的好心。It can sound neutral, friendly, or slightly cynical depending on tone. 语气可能是中性，也可能带一点世故的意味。
They scratched our backs last time by watching our kids, so we should help them out this weekend. （上次他们帮我们照了孩子，所以这周末我们也该回报他们一下）。
- They scratched our backs by pushing our proposal through the board; now they expect us to return the favor. （他们帮我们把提案推过了董事会，现在也希望我们回报这个人情）。
——>>What kind of settlement are you looking for? 你们想要什么样的和解方案？
Mike：We’re not looking for a settlement. 我们不是来寻求和解的。
——>>We’re looking for you to give up your CEO. 我们要你们交出你们的CEO。
Brendan：– What? – 什么？
Jack：He’s not giving anyone up. 他不会交出任何人。（to turn someone in, to hand someone over, or to expose someone.）
Mike：You’ve waived your rights to criminal charges in this matter. 你们已经放弃就此事提起刑事诉讼的权利。
Jack：Yeah, we’re not talking about this matter. We’re talking about conspiracy to hide evidence. 对，我们谈的不是这件事。我们谈的是密谋隐瞒证据。
Mike：That’s 200 e-mails from your analyst laughing about the suckers that you all ripped off. 这是从你们分析师那里弄来的200封电子邮件，嘲笑着你们坑骗的那些傻瓜。
➡️Rip someone off：to cheat someone, It describes unfair or dishonest treatment （敲竹杠、坑某人、宰某人）, usually by
overcharging them, 向别人乱收费
giving them poor-quality products or services, or 提供劣质商品或服务、
taking advantage of them in a dishonest way. 或以不诚实的方式占别人便宜。
Daily Conversation（日常交流）
That shop totally ripped me off — the charger broke after one day.
那家店完全坑我了——充电器用了一天就坏了。We paid way too much for that taxi ride. I think the driver ripped us off.
我们那趟出租车花太多钱了，我觉得司机宰我们了。Business Context（商务语境）
Our client said another vendor ripped them off by charging hidden fees.
我们的客户说另一家供应商乱收费，把他们坑惨了。If we don’t fix our pricing, customers will think we’re ripping them off.
如果我们不调整价格，客户会觉得我们在宰他们。
Brendan：Shit. 妈的。
Jack：Relax. There’s no way he got those legally. 放松。他不可能合法拿到那些。
Mike：– You’re right, we didn’t. – 你说得对，我们不是合法拿到的。
Jack：What? 什么？
Brendan：God damn it, you told me– 该死，你告诉我——
Mike：I know what I told you, Jack, but you wouldn’t have let me come here if I told you the truth. 我知道我跟你说过什么，杰克，但如果我告诉你真相，你就不会让我来这儿了。
——>>And the truth… is that we also got this one illegally. 而真相是……我们这份也是非法弄到的。
——>>That’s your CEO saying that if push comes to shove, he’s gonna throw you under the bus. 这是你们CEO说的，一旦到了紧要关头，他会把你们推出去当替罪羊。
——>>And you really want to take a chance that we won’t figure out a way to find these others legally? 你们真的想赌我们找不到合法途径去弄到其他邮件吗？
Jack：You’ve got 200 people in your firm? 你们公司有200人吧？
——>>We’re gonna offer every single one of them immunity to admit they exist. 我们会给其中每一个人豁免权，让他们承认这些邮件存在。
Mike：And when they do, either your CEO is going down, or you are. 到那时，要么你们的CEO完蛋，要么你们完蛋。
以下是英语高频短语“When push comes to shove”在日常交流与商务语境中的相关例句：
日常对话：
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“He talks a lot about helping, but when push comes to shove, will he actually be there for us?” (他老说会帮忙，但到了关键时刻，他真的会支持我们吗？)
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“We might argue about small things, but when push comes to shove, I know my family has my back.” (我们可能会为小事争吵，但到了紧要关头，我知道我的家人会支持我。)
商务情境：
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“The team discussed various strategies, but when push came to shove, they had to choose the most cost-effective option to meet the deadline.” (团队讨论了各种策略，但事到临头，他们不得不选择最具成本效益的方案来赶上截止日期。)
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“Our partnership is strong, and we believe that even when push comes to shove over contract terms, we can negotiate in good faith.” (我们的合作伙伴关系很牢固，我们相信即使在合同条款上到了不得不摊牌的时候，我们也能真诚地进行谈判。)
