英语咬文嚼字: kangaroo court, carry water for (someone)

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英语咬文嚼字 The Crazy Logophile

美国驻欧盟大使戈登·桑德兰（Ambassador Sondland）的律师表示，美国国务院已禁止桑德兰周二（10月8日）出现在一个众议院委员会面前，该委员会正在对美国总统唐纳德·特朗普进行弹劾调查。今天特朗普总统发推特标明拒绝让美国驻欧盟大使戈登·桑德兰作证，并攻击了众议院的对他弹劾的调查。

特朗普在twitter 里说：“我很乐意派出桑德兰大使，一个真正的好人，一个伟大的美国人来作证；但不幸的是，他将在一个完全背离原则的非正规的法庭（袋鼠法庭）上作证。在这个法庭里，共和党的权利已被剥夺。” 这里，特朗普使用了 kangaroo court "袋鼠法庭" 这一法律术语,

原文如下：

I would love to send Ambassador Sondland, a really good man and great American, to testify, but unfortunately he would be testifying before a totally compromised kangaroo court, where Republican’s rights have been taken away.”

kangaroo court
意思是 an unofficial court set up by a group of people, especially in a prison, trade union, or other organization, to deal with a disagreement or with a member of the group who is considered to have broken the rules (Cambridge) （指在监狱、工会或其他组织中私设的公堂或非正规的法庭）

今天 vanityfair.com 美国名利场杂志官方网站刊登文章阐述为何美国现任司法部长威廉·巴尔(William Barr)总是在支持帮助在道德上不受束缚的总统。文章中使用了 carry water for 来描述本应坚持法律与规矩的司法部长却袒护道德有问题的总统。

原句如下：

Washington keeps asking why the law-and-order attorney general is carrying water for a morally untethered president. The answer may lie in the youthful lessons Barr learned from his father, a combative, provocative New Yorker—not unlike Donald Trump.

carry water for (someone)
往往是指迫于种种压力去支持某个人，某个团体或某个事业，虽然本人实际内心并不赞同。
To support a person, organization, or cause that one would not in reality endorse, as due to pressure, force, or pragmatic reasons.