According to an idiom, revenge is a dish best served
cold. If you want to get your own
back on someone who has hurt you, you shouldn’t strike back immediately. You should wait, plan, and strike when your
enemy has forgotten about you.
A good example of this comes from my old high-school English
teacher. I remember him telling the
class about his revenge. The night
before he had an argument with his wife.
So that morning he waited until his wife had drank her morning cup of
tea. Then he went into the
bathroom/toilet and took an especially long time to shave. She had a weak bladder and he could
hear her pacing in front of the bathroom, getting impatient to
use the toilet. But he let her suffer
and enjoyed his revenge.
Now that I think of it, I don’t know why my high-school
English teacher was telling the class stories about his domestic troubles and plots
for revenge. Maybe he should have been
teaching us Shakespeare instead.
I have been thinking about small instances of
domestic revenge because of another of my students, whom I call Bousou Seito. She told me about a similar instance of
domestic revenge with her own husband.
She has given me permission to reprint her diary entry below:
*
There was a typhoon today so we couldn’t go outside. My husband enjoyed making breakfast, lunch
and dinner. For the first time in a long
time, he cleaned his room.
I said, “That’s very unusual for you, isn’t it?”
So he was angry and he said, “I will get revenge on you!”
He put on a cd. The
cd was very bad! I hate that cd. It is a very bad English song by a Japanese
vocalist.
I screamed, “Stop the music!”
He laughed.
He has a lot of cds.
So I can’t find it and break it. Damn!
*
Be nice to one another.
Revenge is a dish best served cold.
But so is ice-cream!
Vocabulary:
to get one’s own back on someone – to get revenge on
someone; to punish someone for the harm that they have caused you
to shave – to use a razor to remove hair from one’s
face/body etc.
to have a weak bladder – to have a need to go to the toilet
often
to pace – to walk at a steady speed, especially because of
anxiety or anger
to get impatient – to become frustrated or unable to wait
a plot – a secret plan, especially to do something illegal
or harmful
an instance – a single event which serves as an example
to get revenge on someone – to punish someone for the harm
they have caused you
“Damn!” – a slightly rude expression used to show annoyance,
anger, frustration etc.
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