接近尾声 A: I’ve heard that you are having a pool and a garden added to your house. How are things going? B: It’s a long ordeal. Just when you think you are down to the short strokes, something unexpected comes up. Note: This term is possibly an allusion to painting, in which a painter typically finishes a work with short, careful, finishing strokes of the paint brush. Others say it comes from golf. When a golfer begins at the tee, he hits the ball towards the green by driving, or using a long stroke. When the ball is on the green, he must get the ball in the hole by putting — or taking “short” strokes. Therefore, the idiom means “in the final steps or decisive phase of an undertaking, especially one which has been lengthy or laborious.” |