Some US newspapers are accusing Republicans and Democrats of playing “gotcha politics” when they should be paying serious attention to the country’s enormous debts. Here’s what a Rochester, Minnesota newspaper, wrote: “We’re sick of gotcha politics, which consists of one side saying "What's your plan to rein in entitlement spending?" then sending emails to senior citizens saying, "The other guys want to cut your Medicare benefits!"

美國某些報紙指責共和黨和民主黨本應嚴肅對待當前巨額赤字，卻玩起了“捉人政治”。明尼蘇達州的一家報紙寫道：我們厭倦了“捉人政治”，一方說“你有什么計劃來限制福利支出？”然后另一方就發電郵給老年人告狀：“那些家伙想要削減您的醫療福利！”

Gotcha is slang for another slang term “got you.” It means I caught you doing something wrong, and I’m gloating (happy) about it. That’s why gotcha usually has an exclamation point after it. If you catch your boyfriend cheating on you, you can walk up and declare, Gotcha! “Gotcha politics” means one side will embarrass someone by catching them make a mistake, or just make it look like the other side made a mistake. Then the other side will make a “Gotcha” statement.

Gotcha是“抓住你了”這個俚語的另一種說法，意思是說你在做壞事的時候被我逮個正著，我在一旁沾沾自喜。所以通常gotcha后要加上感嘆號。如果你發現男朋友對你不忠，你可以走過去向他宣告：Gotcha！Gotcha politics意思是說一方抓住另一方犯錯，令其難堪，或者看上去像另一方犯了錯誤。隨后另一方就會發一份“Gotcha”聲明。

In China, netizens like to play “gotcha,” too. They will expose some politician for spending too much money on cigarettes by taking a picture and then posting it all over the Internet. Gotcha also can mean I understood. Someone will ask, Understand me? You can say I get it, or I got it, which is another way of saying I understand. Get it? Gotcha!

在中國，網民們也很愛玩“捉人”。他們將某些官員吸“天價煙”的照片發到網上曝光。Gotcha還可以指“我明白了”。有人會問，明白了嗎？你可以說I get it或I got it，這是I understand的另一種說法。Get it？Gotcha!

相關閱讀

公民新聞 citizen journalism

Olympic的起源和用法

遣返貪官 repatriate corrupt officials

奧巴馬“擅離職守”？

（中國日報網英語點津 實習生沈清 編輯：Julie）

About the broadcaster:

Renee Haines is an editor and broadcaster at China Daily. Renee has more than 15 years of experience as a newspaper editor, radio station anchor and news director, news-wire service reporter and bureau chief, magazine writer, book editor and website consultant. She came to China from the United States.