碰壁(pèngbì) Be rebuffed
In this word, 碰(pèng) means "bump" and 壁(bì) means "wall." The whole word 碰壁(pèngbì) literally means "run up against a wall." But people usually use it to describe a situation in which you are turned down or rebuffed. In Chinese feudal times, a corrupted 衙门(yámen) government was always closed to the common people who wanted to 申冤(shēnyuān) seek justice. These people had to put up with the officials' temper and were often rejected and were not allowed to enter the door, which literally means 碰壁(pèngbì). Thus, 碰壁(pèngbì) became a popular term for being rejected. Nowadays, the word has a much broader usage. Take a look at the examples below:
1. 为了解决员工的住宿问题，他已经找过领导好几次，但次次碰壁。(wèi le jiĕjué yuángōng de zhùsù wèntí, tā yĭjīng zhăo guò líng dăo hăo jĭcì, dàn cìcì pèngbì.)
To solve his staff's accommodation problem, he has called on his superior several times, but every time he was rebuffed.
In this sentences, 碰壁(pèngbì) has a similar meaning with the ancient one.
2. 我的一个好主意又碰壁了。(wŏ de yígè hăo zhŭyi yòu pèngbì le.)
Another of my great ideas bites the dust(be denied).
3. 生活中的多次碰壁已经让他绝望了。(shēnghuó zhōng de duōcì pèngbì yĭjīng ràng tā juéwàng le.)
So many failures in life made him desperate.
恶搞 (ègăo) Mischievous distortion
There are two famous film awards in the world. One is the "Oscar Awards" and the other is "Golden Raspberry Awards." While "Oscars" always awards the best actors in the world, "Golden Raspberry Awards" always issues awards to the worst ones. People say "Golden Raspberry Awards" is a 恶搞(ègăo) mischievous distortion of "Oscars."
恶搞(ègăo) comes from Japanese. 恶(è) doesn't mean "evil, ferocity" here, it is similar to "mischievously" and 搞(găo) generally means "do something." On the whole, 恶搞(ègăo) can be regarded as "mischievously do something."
The behavior of 恶搞(ègăo) is often conducted by young people who adapt certain dialogs in a show into humorous ones, oftentimes showing a 讽刺(fĕngcì) sarcastic attitude or negative connotation.
Example:
那部电影上映不久后就被网友恶搞了。(nà bù diànyĭng shàngyìng bùjiŭ hòu jiù bèi wăngyŏu ègăo le.)
The movie was mischievously distorted by Internet users not long after its release.
生词(shēngcí) Vocabulary:
衙门 yámen: n ancient Chinese government
申冤 shēnyuān: v to seek justice
讽刺 fĕngcì: n/v sarcasm/sarcastic
