很多人都知道 「外賣」的英文是takeaway, 但 「叫外賣」的英文也是takeaway嗎? 首先, 我們要分清楚在香港「外賣」 和「叫外賣」 是二回事; 是在不同情况下說的. 沒錯, 「外賣」是takeaway (英式說法) 或takeout (美式說法). 但這只是在fast food shop或restaurant時你對店員說的. 例如當你光顧快餐店時, 店員可能會問你: 〝For here or to go (在這裡吃還是拿走)? 〞而你便可以說:〝Takeout〞或〝To go〞.
但「叫外賣」並不等同於「外賣」. 「叫外賣」的意思一般是在工作的地方或家裡打電話到快餐店等地方order食物送來. 那麼「叫外賣」 的英文又是甚麼呢? 答案可以是以下這幾個:
1. send out for sth
e.g. I don’t feel like cooking – let’s send out for a pizza. (Macmillan, p. 1351)
e.g. We could send out for a takeaway. (Oxford Phrasal Verbs Dictionary英漢版2005, p. 324)
2. call out for sth (美式說法)
3. order in sth (美式說法)
e.g. We stayed in last night, watched a video and ordered in a pizza. (Cambridge Phrasal Verbs Dictionary 2006, p. 217)
4. order out (for sth) (美式說法)
e.g. We could order out for a Chinese. (Oxford Phrasal Verbs Dictionary英漢版2005, p. 251)
e.g. We got back late and decided to order out. (MED2)
或者我們可以更簡潔地用deliver這字說:
e.g. Let’s get some sandwiches delivered.
「送外賣」也是deliver:
e.g. 〝Does the restaurant deliver? 〞〝No, you have to pick up the food yourself. 〞(Merriam-Webster’s, p. 440)
這是非常地道的英文, 也是我們應多學習和留意的. 順詞帶一提, 帶飯(盒)返公司吃的英文則是brown-bagging，是一個名詞.
e.g. Nowadays many office ladies prefer brown-bagging to eating out in the afternoon.
Brown-bag還可以作動詞和形容詞，例如to brown-bag it和a brown-bag lunch.
e.g. The park has become a place where office workers brown-bag it and take leisurely strolls. (CALD)
e.g. There are as many brown-bag lunches eaten today as there are lunches in restaurants. (CALD)
除了brown-bag外，我們還可以說packed lunch (UK)或box lunch (US). 而中午沒停下工作而用膳，可說have lunch at his/her desk.
另外, 在外面吃飯時,吃不完的東西想「打包」拿回家,那「打包」 的英文又是甚麼呢? 這個字很少人會教, 但也不是一些很「偏門」 的字, 一般高階字典都可以找到. 「打包」 的英文就是doggy bag, 例如:
e.g. 〝Can I have a doggy bag, please? 〞
