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litmus test podcast

litmus test n. [LIT-mus-TEST]

石蕊测试；决定性的试验（严峻的考验）

Definition

: a test in which a single factor (such as an attitude, event, or fact) is decisive
一项试验，其中某项因素（例如态度，事件或事实）是决定性的

Did You Know?

It was in the 14th century that scientists discovered that litmus, a mixture of colored organic compounds obtained from lichen, turns red in acid solutions and blue in alkaline solutions and, thus, can be used as an acid-base indicator. Six centuries later, people began using litmus test figuratively. It can now refer to any single factor that establishes the true character of something or causes it to be assigned to one category or another. Often it refers to something (such as an opinion about a political or moral issue) that can be used to make a judgment about whether someone or something is acceptable or not.

词源词根演化：litmus test (scientific) —> litmus test (figuratively)

科学家在14世纪发现了石蕊，这是一种混合物，由从青苔中提取的有色有机物混合而成，遇到酸性溶液变成红色，在碱性溶液中则变成蓝色，因此用于酸碱指示剂。6个世纪之后，人们开始使用石蕊测试的引申比喻意义。它现在被用来指代某个单一因素，却决定了某事物的真正特征，或者某一个单一原因，却确定了某个种类或其他类。通常，它被用来指示某个因素（例如对某个政治或道德问题的意见），该因素成为了某人或某事能否被接受的判断标准。

注：lichen ['laɪkən] ：地衣，青苔；acid-base：酸碱；acid solution：酸性溶液；alkaline solution：碱性溶液

Examples

• For Curtis, the litmus test of good barbeque ribs is whether or not they have that moist fall-off-the-bone quality.
  对于Curtis而言，优质烤肋骨的唯一判断标准就是是否这些肋骨滋滋冒油。

  注：barbeque：美写作barbecu，烤肉野餐

• “But, then, this can of corn: How did it even get there? Nothing against canned corn, but it’s not something we use. It definitely did not ‘spark joy,’ per [Marie] Kondo’s keep-it-or-toss-it litmus test.”
  但是，于是，这罐玉米：它是怎么来的？不是针对罐装玉米，但是这不是我们要用的。按照Marie Kondo的“拿着它-或-丢掉它”这种石蕊测试观点，它的确没有带来任何欢乐。
  — Bethany Jean Clement, The Providence Journal, 6 Feb. 2019

Reference

litmus test