03.18 【每日一词】tailspin

tailspin n.

释义：an occasion when something or someone suddenly gets into a very bad state

“tailspin” 是个名词，字面意思是“尾巴旋转”，表示飞机失控坠落时的情况。也常用来表示“突然变得糟糕”，是个很形象的表达，有急速下降、“一落千丈”的画面感。   

最常见的表达是 XX goes into a tailspin。 如:“全球经济低迷“

The world economy goes into a tailspin.

XX goes into a tailspin 也是《经济学人》中的常客，如:

The global economy had an inauspicious start to 2019. Markets went into a tailspin and America’s government was locked in a seemingly interminable shutdown.   

tailspin 的另一个常见用法是 A sends B into a tailspin，表示“A使得B急剧下落、陷入困境”。

如: 最近韩国顶级男团成员胜利（Seungri）因为性丑闻而身陷困境。

The sex scandal sent Seungri, a K-pop star, into a tailspin.

米歇尔·奥巴马在回忆录 Becoming 中也用到了这个表达：

The economic crisis in the United States had created devastating ripples across the globe, sending world financial markets into a tailspin. 

翻译：  丑闻曝出后，股价急剧下跌。

The scandal sent the share price into a tailspin.

（参考翻译：Share prices went into a tailspin after the scandal broke. 或者 The scandal sent share prices into a tailspin. 或者 The scandal erupted, sending share prices into a tailspin.）