《中英對照讀新聞》Why Blair looks fed up to the teeth 布雷爾為什麼看起來咬牙切齒

◎鄭寺音

The pressure really has taken its toll on the Tony Blair’s pearlies. A leading dental expert said the Premier is showing signs of excessive tooth grinding at night - a clear indicator of stress.

壓力真的讓東尼．布雷爾的貝齒備受折磨。一位知名牙科專家說，首相出現晚間過度磨牙的跡象—這是壓力的清楚指標。

The condition, known as bruxism, has resulted in several of Mr Blair’s once-sharp teeth being whittled down to stumps. The extent of the damage suggests he has suffered from the condition for some time.

這種稱為磨牙的狀況，導致布雷爾原本鋒利的牙齒，有幾顆磨到只剩殘牙。損壞的程度，顯示他已有一段時間為這種狀況所苦。

Although stress is the chief factor behind tooth grinding, too much caffeine and alcohol and the use of antidepressants can also be to blame.

雖然壓力是導致磨牙的主因，攝取太多咖啡因與酒精，以及使用抗憂鬱藥物，也可能是原因。

Dr Philip Kurland, a cosmetic dental surgeon for 40 years, said Mr Blair’s lateral incisors - either side of his front teeth - are flatter at the bottom.

當了40年牙科美容醫師的克蘭德說，布雷爾先生的側面門牙—門牙的兩邊—底部都比較平。

More tellingly, his canines are supposed to be sharper to tear food but have been reduced to squarer, smoothed stumps.

更能說明事實的是，他的犬齒本來應該更尖銳一點，來撕裂食物，卻已磨成較四方、較平滑的殘牙。

新聞辭典

fed up to the teeth︰英式用法中，fed up to the back teeth為fed up 的強調用法，指「非常厭煩、忍無可忍」，如：I'm fed up to the back teeth with／of being criticized all the time.我受夠了一直被批評。本文標題用fed up to the teeth應為雙關語，既指布雷爾的磨牙問題，亦有「受不了」的絃外之音，故折衷譯為「咬牙切齒」。

take its toll︰造成損傷，付出代價。例句：The problems of the past few months have taken their toll on her health.過去幾個月的問題讓她身體出了問題。

stump︰殘餘部分、殘肢。例句：He wore a broad grin, displaying twin stumps of teeth.他咧嘴笑著，露出一對殘牙。