新词新译：生活作风问题/海漂/捧车族/脑体倒挂/打水漂/笑场/穿小鞋/老油条/晒工资

生活作风问题
unethical lifestyle, loose morals
In corruption cases, more often than not the perpetrators are charged with having a “lifestyle problem,” a euphemism for loose morals, especially in their sex lives. An unethical lifestyle is one of the reasons cited in a Communist Party document for the recent sacking of Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Liangyu.

海漂
Shanghai drifters
Young white-collar workers from other provinces who pursue their career dreams in Shanghai are called Shanghai drifters. They live in a rented residence and change jobs frequently.

捧车族
car grooms
Some young car owners refrain from using their vehicles whenever a bicycle will do or public transport works just as well. They make the best use of their car rather than abusing them.

脑体倒挂
limbs before brains
The phrase refers to the phenomenon that some talent-intensive jobs such as researchers are paid less than labor-intensive ones such as meter readers when industries are not market-oriented.

打水漂
down the drain, a wasted effort
The term literally means playing ducks and drakes, or skipping stones along the water. But when it is used figuratively, it means that money and effort a person spent has been totally wasted and can’t be recovered, just like the stones in the children’s game.

笑场
laugh-out-loud, LOL
A widespread online phrase, whose abbreviation is LOL, mainly refers to a movie scene that was designed to win people’s sympathy but instead generates a laugh.

穿小鞋
make someone walk in tight shoes, make it hot for
To walk in tight, toe-pinching shoes is uncomfortable or even painful. The term, which literally means “wearing undersized small shoes,” refers to the act of making things hard for someone usually out of ill intention and revenge.

老油条
sly person, misconduct repeater
The term refers to wily people, especially those who stay in an environment long enough to be able to take advantage of existing loopholes for their own benefit or goof off in the work place. It may also be used to describe those who commit multiple misdemeanors.

晒工资
disclose one's salary
The Chinese term vividly compares disclosure of a person’s salary to airing the salary sheet under the broad sunlight. Many people now like to disclose their salaries in detail -- often anonymously- on the Internet, to complain how little they earn.

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