Willy-nilly_其他_趣味英语-查字典英语网

Willy-nilly

Depending on the situation, then, "不以人的意志为转移的" may variously mean "there's nothing I can do about it", a favorite excuse of many, or "it's not up to us", or "whether you like it or not" in case of an unfortunate event, a happening that is independent of one's will or effort.

For example, the Earth moves hurtling round the Sun. That's something beyond human effort, or at the very least beyond the beliefs of medieval churches.

And this quote from Nikita Khrushchev, former Soviet leader to Western ambassadors at a reception in Moscow in 1956: "Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury you."

Or to sound literary, try "willy-nilly", meaning "willingly or unwillingly".

This from an obituary of Norman Mailer, the American writer who died over the weekend at the age of 84 in the The Guardian Observer (The pugilist who wrote the story of America, November 10, 2007):

"When my first book, The Naked and the Dead, was published, it was like being shot out of a cannon. My life changed overnight," Mailer once said. "I was at the Sorbonne in Paris with my then wife, Beatrice, and my sister. I went into the American Express office and read a newspaper headline which said my book was a bestseller. It was a huge shock and very nice to behold. Willy-nilly I had become a celebrity."