imbroglio n. [im-BROHL-yoh]

Definition

1 a: an acutely painful or embarrassing misunderstanding
a：剧烈地痛苦的，或令人尴尬的误解

b: a circumstance or action that offends propriety or established moral conceptions or disgraces those associated with it: scandal
b: 某种情形或行为，会侵犯礼仪，或公认的道德；或者某种不光彩，例如丑闻

c: a violently confused or bitterly complicated altercation: embroilment
c：严重的混乱，或者激烈的口角/争论：同义词embroilment纷争，纠纷。

d: an intricate or complicated situation (as in a drama or novel)
d: 复杂难懂的/错综复杂的情景（例如戏剧中或小说中的情节）

2: a confused mass
乱作一团。

Did You Know?

Imbroglio and embroilment are more than just synonyms; they're also linked through etymology. Both descend from the Middle French verb embrouiller (which has the same meaning as embroil), from the prefix em-, meaning "thoroughly," plus brouiller, meaning "to mix", or "to confuse." (Brouiller is itself a desendant of an Old French word for "broth.") Early in the 17th century, English speakers began using embroil, a direct adapation of embrouiller, as well as the noun embroilment. Meanwhile, the Italians were using their own alteration of embrouiller. imbrogliare, meaning "to entangle." In the mid-18th century, English speakers embraced the Italian noun imbroglio as well.

词源演变：broth(肉汤，即肉全混) -> brouiller (混合，混淆) -> embrouiller (em- + brouiller) -> imbroglio/embroilment (纷乱/纠纷)

imbroglio与embroilment不仅仅是同义词，在词源上也有相互联系。这两个单词都从中古法语动词embrouiller(这个词与动词embroil（使卷入，牵连）同义)；embrouiller是由前缀em-（完全地），加上brouiller（v. 混合/混淆）构成。而brouiller这个单词本身是从古法语单词broth（肉汤，即肉全混）继承而来的。在17世纪早期，英语世界开始使用动词embroil（使卷入，牵连），这个词是embrouiller的直接变体，以及名词embroilment（纷争，争执）。同时，意大利人也在使用它们自己的变体imbrogliare，意思是“缠绕”。在18世纪中叶，英语也引入了意大利语名词imbroglio（纷乱/纠纷）。

Examples

"He was close to scandal - GOP chairman during the Watergate years, vice president during the Iran-Contra imbroglio - yet was not tainted by it."
--- David M. Shribman, The Boston Globe, 1 Dec. 2018

他很接近丑闻了 - 水门时代的共和党GOP主席，伊朗反政府组织纷争时代的副总统 - 不过还没有被丑闻污染。

注：be close to: 很接近...; GOP - Grand Old Party 共和党的别称；taint：污染，中毒
"The present imbroglio follows protracted struggles over the budget of the sheriff's office, the fate of the 911 system, the county role in reducing blight and who should pay what for animal control."
--- Rockford (Illinois) Register Star, 13 Dec. 2018

*** 这句话不太懂 ***

注：protract: 延长，伸出；blight：枯萎病；摧毁

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【英语学习】【WOTD】imbroglio 释义/词源/示例

imbroglio n. [im-BROHL-yoh]

Definition

Did You Know?

Examples

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