jam /dʒæm/► SEE ALLbe in a jamjam on the brake(s)jam the brake(s) onjam tomorrowmoney for old rope ●be in a ˈjam (informal) be in a difficult situation陷入困境◆I’m in a bit of a jam. Could you give me a lift to the train station? 我遇上一点小麻烦，能让我搭你的车去火车站吗？●jam on the ˈbrake(s)●jam the ˈbrake(s) onmake a vehicle stop very suddenly by operating the brakes with force猛踩剎车◆The car skidded as he jammed on the brakes. 他紧急剎车时汽车打滑了。●jam toˈmorrow (BrE, informal) good things that are promised for the future but never happen可望而不可即的美好未来；许而不予的好东西◆They refused to settle for a promise of jam tomorrow. 他们不满足于那些美妙的空口许诺。ORIGINThis comes from Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass (1871) in which the Queen says to Alice ‘The rule is, jam tomorrow and jam yesterday but never jam today.’这个习语源于刘易斯 ∙ 卡罗尔所著《爱丽丝镜中奇遇记》，书中女王对爱丽丝说：“是这么规定的，果酱明天和昨天都有，就是今天没有”。●money for old ˈrope ( money for ˈjam) (both BrE, informal) money that is earned very easily and with very little effort很容易赚的钱◆All I have to do in my job is answer the phone occasionally — it’s money for old rope.我的全部工作只是偶尔接个电话，这钱赚得容易极了。