從困境中脫身

Hook 是鉤子的意思，off the hook 脫鉤，其實就是脫身，或是擺脫責(zé)任的意思。不難想象，off the hook這個習(xí)慣用語是從釣魚來的，最早的時候是指一條本來已經(jīng)咬鉤的魚又脫了鉤，重獲自由，后來到十九世紀(jì)中葉，才引伸為擺脫困境和擺脫責(zé)任。

I wasn't prepared to let her off the hook that easily.

我不準(zhǔn)備讓她那么輕易脫身的。

Thanks for getting me off the hook. I didn't want to attend that meeting.

謝謝你幫我脫身，我本來不想?yún)⒓幽莻€會議的。

I couldn't get myself off the hook no matter what I tried.

不論如何我都沒辦法讓我自己脫身。

A: "I thought you had that big work event tonight."

我以為你今晚有個重要會議。

B: "No, it got canceled, so I'm off the hook."

取消了，所以我可以脫身了。