nest egg
老本,生息的本錢
講解:
從前養雞的農夫拿走雞蛋后,會在窩里放個假蛋,第二天才會繼續有蛋可收。這個假蛋就是nest egg (窩中蛋)。nest egg后來引申為一般的「本錢」,尤其是可以用來賺錢的「老本」。
例句:
Unloading national assets without attracting new capital is somewhat akin to an individual’sselling his house to pay for a new automobile. When the car finally breaks down,there is no nest egg to finance a new one.(出自:time,Apr. 22,1991,p. 58)
把國家的資產脫手而不去吸收新資金,這種作法有點像是一個人把房子賣掉去買新車。等到車子終于報廢的時候,已經沒有老本可買新車了。