Jen: Hey, I heard you went to court yesterday to settle your speeding ticket. How did things go?
Jason: The judge let me go with just a slap on the wrist. I was extremely lucky this time around.
Jen: That’s terrific, glad to hear that.

본문을 들어보면 Jason이 과속 딱지 때문에 법정에 간 모양입니다. 제가 Jason에게 법원에 간 일이 어떻게 됐냐고 묻자, Jason은 “The judge let me go with a slap on the wrist. I was extremely lucky this time around. 판사가 나에게 가벼운 벌칙만 부과했어. 이번에는 운이 정말 좋았어.”라고 합니다.

Now keep today’s expression ‘a slap on the wrist’ in mind and let’s hear the conversation again. 그럼 다시 한번 대화를 들어볼까요?

Jen: Hey, I heard you went to court yesterday to settle your speeding ticket. How did things go?
Jason: The judge let me go with just a slap on the wrist. I was extremely lucky this time around.
Jen: That’s terrific, glad to hear that.

Today’s expression is a slap on the wrist. A slap on the wrist is to get a light punishment for doing something wrong.

A slap on the wrist라는 표현을 직역하면 손목을 한 대 철썩 때린다는 뜻이죠. 그래서 ‘가벼운 벌을 주다', 혹은 경고하거나 꾸짖다는 의미로 쓰입니다.

오늘 본문에서 Jason이 과속 딱지를 받았지만 판사가 가벼운 벌칙만 부과했다고 말했습니다. 영어로 “The judge let me go with a slap on the wrist.”라고요.

그럼 예문을 통해 오늘 표현을 좀 더 자세히 알아보겠습니다. “You are so lucky that you only got a slap on the wrist for cheating on your test.”는 “넌 운이 좋아. 시험에서 부정행위를 했는데도 가벼운 벌만 받았잖아.”로 해석할 수 있습니다.

Now that you know what today’s expression means, let’s listen to the conversation for the last time.

Jen: Hey, I heard you went to court yesterday to settle your speeding ticket. How did things go?
Jason: The judge let me go with just a slap on the wrist. I was extremely lucky this time around.
Jen: That’s terrific, glad to hear that.

Let’s review. A slap on the wrist is to get a light punishment for doing something wrong. ‘가벼운 벌을 주다', '혹은 경고하거나 꾸짖다'. A SLAP ON THE WRIST. Now try using this expression on your own.