late in the day是什么意思

“late in the day”的中文翻译

A. “late in the day”是什么意思

“late in the day”的中文翻译意思是：为时已晚；坐失良机；太迟了。（习语，本义为“在当天晚些时候、天色已晚”，引申指某事已发展到后期才去做，已来不及产生实效；常用于 it's (a bit / a little / too) late in the day to do sth. 的句型，多见于正式或书面语）。

B. “late in the day”的发音音标

英[ˌleɪt ɪn ðə ˈdeɪ] 美[ˌleɪt ɪn ðə ˈdeɪ]

C. “late in the day”的用法

“late in the day”是英语中的习语，由“late”（晚的）+“in the day”（在当天）构成，本义指“在当天较晚的时段、天色已晚”，如“It was fairly late in the day when we returned to town”（我们回到镇里时天色已经很晚）。在引申用法中，该短语侧重表达“为时已晚、坐失良机”，强调某项举措来得太迟、已难产生预期效果，常与“a bit / a little / too”搭配形成“it's a bit late in the day to do sth.”的固定句式。与之相比，“too late”是最直接、最口语化的“太迟了”表达，不带习语色彩；“a day after the fair”是近义习语，意为“错过时机、事后诸葛亮”，语气更诙谐；“at the eleventh hour”则恰好相反，指“在最后一刻赶上了”，尚能奏效；“too little, too late”意为“为时已晚且力度不够”，常用于批评补救措施不足；“better late than never”是宽慰式谚语，意为“迟做总比不做好”，与“late in the day”的消极语气形成对照；“in the late hours”指“深夜时分”，是时间状语而非习语。注意“late in the day”若按字面理解成“一天中的晚些时候”，在多数语境下是错误的翻译，该短语真正的核心含义是“为时已晚”，常见于新闻报道、商务评论等正式文体。

D. “late in the day”的双语例句：

1. 现在才开始担心截止日期，有点太晚了。

It’s a bit late in the day to start worrying about the deadline now.

2. 改变策略的决定来得太晚，那时大部分损失已经造成。

The decision to change the strategy came late in the day, after most of the damage was done.

3. 他的道歉来得太晚，对弥补损害几乎没什么作用。

His apology came late in the day and did little to repair the damage.

4. 忙完这个又忙那个，等到我们回到镇里的时候，天色已经很晚了。

What with one thing and another, it was fairly late in the day when we returned to town.

5. 现在才开始谈论改变政策，已有点为时过晚。

It’s a little late in the day to start talking about policy changes.

6. 此刻为时已晚，无论做什么都已于事无补。

It was too late in the day for it to do any good now.

7. 现在才提出反对意见，已经晚了。

It is late in the day to raise objections now.

8. 项目都快结束了才想改需求，有点太迟了吧。

Wanting to change the requirements now that the project is almost over is a bit late in the day.

9. 直到谈判尾声他们才提出这一新条款，为时已晚。

They raised the new clause late in the day, when the negotiations were almost over.

10. “late in the day”强调“时机已过、为时已晚”，而“at the eleventh hour”则指“在最后一刻赶上了”，尚能奏效，两者语气恰好相反。

“Late in the day” stresses that the opportunity has passed and the action is no longer effective, while “at the eleventh hour” means something was done at the last possible moment and still worked.