幾個月前,政府提出停車熄匙建議。在營業車司機反對後,政府公佈折衷的建議。The government has watered down a proposal to ban vehic les parked with idling engines after strong opposition from commercial-vehicle drivers。去年底,聯合國氣候會議結束。一些環保團體如綠色和平說,歐盟的方案接受大量的碳,把一個非凡的計劃「淡化」了。Environmental groups like Greenpeace said the European Union package “watered down” an ambitious programme by giving too many carbon credits。
Water down 是「淡化、折衷」的意思。其他例子:I have watered down the report’s conclusions so as not to alarm the staff是「我把報告的結論加以淡化,免得各位同事驚慌」,They have returned with a watered down and more acceptable version of the proposal是「他們帶著一個折衷的、更易接受的建議回來了」。
注意: Water down的常用意思是「摻了水」。例如:This wine has been watered down.