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In this episode, I am going to teach you an interesting and useful expression. This expression sounds a little bit cute to me, and it is also a little difficult to explain.
在这一集中，我将教大家一个有趣且实用的表达方式。这个表达方式听起来有点可爱，也有点难以解释。
Here is the expression. Are you ready? The expression is wiggle room. Wiggle room. That's wiggle: w-i-g-g-l-e, room: r-o-o-m. Wiggle room.
你准备好了吗？这个表达方式是wiggle room。
Before I can try to explain wiggle room, I need to explain the word wiggle. Have you heard the word wiggle before?
在我尝试解释wiggle room之前，我需要解释一下wiggle这个词。你以前听过wiggle这个词吗？
Wiggle is a verb that means "to move from side to side quickly" or "to make something else move from side to side quickly."
Wiggle是一个动词，意思是“快速左右移动”或“使其他东西快速左右移动”。
For example, let's say you are going to hang a painting on the wall. So you get a hammer and a nail, and you use the hammer to pound the nail into the wall.
例如，假设你要把一幅画挂在墙上。你拿了一把锤子和一颗钉子，用锤子把钉子敲进墙上。
And then you realize that the nail is a little bit loose. It's not in the wall very tight. You can move it back and forth just a little bit. You can wiggle the nail. You can wiggle the nail.
然后你意识到钉子有点松。它在墙上不是很紧。你可以稍微来回移动它。你可以扭动钉子。
Here's another example to help you understand wiggle: Imagine that your friend has a puppy, and this puppy is very cute and very happy and very playful.
下面还有一个例子可以帮助你理解wiggle：想象一下你的朋友有一只小狗，这只小狗非常可爱、非常快乐、非常好玩。
And every time you visit your friend, the puppy sees you, and the puppy wags his tail, and the puppy shakes his body back and forth quickly.
每次你去看望你的朋友，小狗看到你，小狗就会摇尾巴，小狗会快速地前后摇动身体。
The puppy wiggles. The puppy wiggles. The puppy moves back and forth quickly.
The puppy wiggles.小狗快速地前后移动。
If you understand wiggle, it will be a lot easier to understand wiggle room. Wiggle room means "the ability or the opportunity to move something a little bit."
如果你理解了wiggle，理解wiggle room就会容易得多。wiggle room的意思是“稍微移动某物的能力或机会”。
It does not refer to something physical. It doesn't mean that you are moving something physical like a nail in the wall.
它不是指物理的东西。它并不意味着你正在移动墙上的钉子之类的物理东西。
But it means "the ability or opportunity to stretch something a little bit" or "to not be too strict, to not be too tight."
但它的意思是“稍微伸展某物的能力或机会”或“不要太严格，不要太紧”。
Let me give you an example of this, and then I think you will understand the expression wiggle room.
让我给你举个例子，然后我想你会理解wiggle room这个表达。
Let's say you are taking a class. And the instructor has told everybody, "I want you to make groups of four people. I want everyone to be in a group of four people to work on this project."
假设你正在上课。老师告诉大家，“我希望你们分成四人小组。我希望每个人都分成四人小组来完成这个项目。”
You have two friends in this class, and you think it would be fun if your group was only three people instead of four.
你有两个朋友在这门课上，你认为如果你的小组只有三个人而不是四个人，那会很有趣。
The instructor has kind of a rule that the groups should be four people, but you hope that your group can just be three people instead.
老师规定小组应该是四个人，但你希望你的小组只有三个人。
So you ask the instructor, "Is there any wiggle room when it comes to the groups? You said they need to be four people. Is it okay if they're three? Do we have any wiggle room?
所以你问老师，“Is there any wiggle room when it comes to the groups?你说需要四个人。三个人可以吗？Do we have any wiggle room?
Do we have the ability to be a little bit loose with this rule? You said four, but can we move that a little bit and say that three is okay?
我们可以对这个规则稍微放宽松一点吗？你说四个，但我们可以稍微移动一下，说三个也可以吗？
Or are you very strict about this? Are you very strict, or is there any wiggle room? Can we not be so strict?"
或者你对这个规定很严格？你很严格，还是is there any wiggle room？我们可以不那么严格吗？”
That's what wiggle room means. It means "the room or the space or the opportunity to wiggle something, to be a little bit loose about something."
这就是wiggle room的意思。它的意思是“可以回旋的空间或机会，可以稍微放松一点。”
Instead of following a rule in a very strict way, if you have wiggle room, you can follow the rule a little bit more loosely. You don't have to be so strict.
如果你有回旋余地，你可以稍微放松一点地遵守规则，而不是非常严格地遵守规则。你不必那么严格。
And that is wiggle room. A very interesting, useful, and cute-sounding expression that I think you should know.
这就是wiggle room。一个非常有趣、有用、听起来很可爱的表达，我认为你应该知道。
