趣味短语：袋鼠法庭 kangaroo court

kangaroo court

【英文解释】irregular court, especially one held by striking workers to punish breaches of their rules.

【中文解释】[贬]“袋鼠法庭”（私设的公堂或非正规的法庭，多用于惩罚同伙者）

【短语来源】Kangaroo courts originated in American prisons in the 19th century as secret, though sometimes condoned, gathering of inmates to regulate the sharing of tobacoo or money or to deal with breaches of the prisoners' code of behaviour. The explanation that kangaroo was used in allusion to Australia's history as a prison colony is rather far-fetched. The more likely origin is a comparison between the kangaroo's unconventional method of movement and prisoners who 'jumped over' the rules.

袋鼠法庭于19世纪在美国监狱秘密发展起来，一些监狱罪犯制定共同的规则管理烟或者钱（监狱里面花点儿钱抽个烟不容易啊，相信大家在电视上看到过不少这些画面），并惩罚那些违反规则的犯人。有解释说kangaroo是暗示澳洲作为殖民地监狱的历史，这种解释相当牵强。（偶来插一句~~在历史上，澳洲曾是英国滴殖民地，并且在18世纪后期，英国人首先把澳大利亚作为一个流放囚犯的地方，所以有殖民地监狱这么一说。）
更有说服力的说法是关于袋鼠特别的行动方式（也就是走路一跳一跳啦~~）和监狱犯人“跳出”规则的对比。

【有例有句】It's illegal to set kangaroo court.

私设法庭是违法的。

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