不要被“it takes two to tango”的字面意思所

今天看到一个短语“it takes two to tango”, 直译是“需要两个人才能跳探戈舞（就是赵丽蓉老师所说的“趟着走”的舞蹈）”，这个短语很容易让人错误地联想出“两个人齐心协力，共同完成某项任务”的引申义。

要想知道这个短语的正确用法，我们先看一下字典解释：

Collins：If you say it takes two or it takes two to tango, you mean that a situation or argument involves two people and they are both therefore responsible for it.

Cambridge：said when you want to emphasize that both people involved in a difficult situation must accept the blame, or that an activity needs two people who are willing to take part for it to happen

您看懂了吗，“It takes two to tango”的真正意思是“一个巴掌拍不响”，“两方面都负有责任”的意思。

在看一下例句：

1. Divorce is never the fault of one partner; it takes two（to tango）.

2. She may want to argue, but it takes two to tango and I won't stoop to her level.

这个短语在整体气质上属于“负面意义”（至多为“中性”），很少用于积极意义。我此前曾看到过一种说法，“it takes two to tango”来源于英语俗语“It takes two to make a quarrel”（一个巴掌拍不响）。您现在明白了吗？

最后，强烈建议您在学习外语时多查词典，如果可以尽量阅读词典中的英文解释，这样便可以避免落入“望文生义”的陷阱。