Have a cow

“have a cow” 是“有一头母牛”吗？这个意思你根本想不到

大家对cow这个词一定不陌生，它表示母牛、奶牛的意思。但有时候，当你要去找一个小伙伴时，其他人会告诉你：别去打扰她，She’s having a cow. 这是什么意思呢？难道是她现在有一头奶牛吗？

Have a cow

Of course not, have a cow is a very authentic American English, which means to get very upset about something, to become angry, excited, or agitated.

have a cow当然不是我们字面上理解的“有一头母牛”的意思，这是一个非常地道的美式口语表达，意思是对什么事情非常失望，变得很生气、情绪激动和焦躁。

She had a cow when she saw the mess we made.

她看到我们把这弄得这么乱，变得很生气。

My mother will have a cow if we get a stain on the new sofa.

如果我们把新沙发弄上了污渍，妈妈肯定会生气的。

So If you have a cow, you become very upset or angry.

比如说一辆车不小心被追尾了，那车主下车后的第一反应，可能会很生气地跟肇事人说，你怎么搞得？那肇事人会说：

I'll pay for the damage. Don't have a cow!

我赔你就是了，别激动！

Don't have a cow是have a cow的否定形式，表示不要激动，不要生气。Don't get upset, chill out! 冷静下来，放松，别激动。

Have a cow

遇到困难的时候，有的人会变得很焦躁，束手无策的感觉，有的人哪怕眼下没有解决办法，也能比较沉着冷静地应对。

Don't have a cow—I'm sure we'll find a solution to this problem.

别着急，我确定我们能找到问题的解决办法。

看到别人情绪激动的时候，你可以说：

Chill out, man! Don't have a cow!

冷静点，兄弟，别生气。

Have a cow

大家是不是很好奇，为什么表达生气、失望、焦躁要跟母牛联系在一起呢？这两者之间有什么关联吗？大家可以这么理解：

Giving birth to a cow is a stressful ordeal, and this phrase is a reference to that experience. It is similar to the British phrase “to have kittens,” which was used as far back as medieval times to express the pain of childbirth.

母牛生宝宝和我们人一样，也是一项压力很大的考验，这个短语就用来指代这段对于母亲来说痛苦的经历。have a cow有点像英国中世纪时候的一个表达to have kittens，说的是生小猫，也是用来指代分娩时候的痛苦。在这样的痛苦下，就难免情绪失控啦。

Have a cow