前幾天發現一個網站,可以把問題貼上去請教網友,我就上去註了冊.

今天看到外電報導,歐巴馬用了一個名詞批評馬侃陣營,但我搞不懂它是什麼意思,以及為何要用這個名詞,便試著到那個網站去提出問題.如下:

Obama accused John McCain's campaign of engaging in "lies" and "swift boat politics”. What is the meaning of swift boat?

想不到7分鐘後就有網友提出答案,如下:

It is a relatively new term, roughly the equivalent of "smear campaign politics."
For more information, here is a Wikipedia article on the origin and meaning of the term:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiftboating

我上到這個維基網址去看,它把來龍去脈寫得很清楚.原來跟2004年民主黨總統候選人凱瑞被抹黑有關. 凱瑞在越戰期間曾擔任一艘 Swift Boat 的艦長,這是這名詞的由來.

過了六分鐘,又有一名網友提出答案,如下,解釋得更清楚了:

To understand the noun form, used attributively in your context, and the verb phrase "to swift boat", you need a little historical background. The candidates in the U.S. 2004 presidential election included Senator John Kerry. Kerry had commanded a craft known informally as a swift boat during the Vietnam War. A group of political opponents, with support from Republican Party financiers and political operatives, aired some television announcements condemning Sen. Kerry. They made a number of scurrilous, and unsubstantiated accusations against that candidate. The effects on his campaign are difficult to determine precisely, but they were certainly not positive.

Because the accusations were highly questionable, and in some cases outright falsehoods and fabrications, even political opponents of Kerry such as Senator John McCain (now a presidential candidate himself) condemned them. McCain called the attacks on Kerry, "... dishonest and dishonorable. I think it is very, very wrong."

Thus swift boat politics has come to mean a campaign of falsehoods and attacks designed to dishonor and smear a candidate for political office. Swift boating means to engage in such acts of character assassination.