神「句」見首不見尾

英文裡火常見「半句表情」：

Are you happy? Yes, I'm (happy).
Did he go? No, he didn't (go).

但他們多是上半句。中文也有「半句表情」，但我們是下半句：

你高興嗎？（我）高興。
他去了嗎？（他）沒去。

I am, I don't, he hasn't，是標準的半句表情，不稀奇。前些時曾談過「The Little Engine That Could」，今天則在這裡看到一篇關中國經濟的文章，標題「China, the Dragon that Isn't」，這兩種半句戛然而止的句型就較堪玩味了。而且正好湊成一對，前者積極激勵，後者反語暗諷，都恰到好處藏而不露。

丁丁見獵心喜，這兩句俏皮話趕緊背誦下來，又「駕古狗，踏破網路山缺」，獵出各式套用這「The something that …n't」句型的實例，以便現買現賣──哦不！活學活用。忠實的古狗果不我欺，一下子就嗅出一缸子來，略舉一二，以彰其用：

先從大名鼎鼎的艾西莫夫（Isaac Asimov）開始：

• The Planet That Wasn't
• Afghanistan: The Liberation That Isn't
• Election Law: "The Reform that Isn't"
• Microsoft - The Settlement That Isn't
• The "Ism" That Isn't (Why Social Determinism Cannot Mean What it Says)
• IRAQ: The War That Isn't
• The Jobs That Aren't
• The Victories That Weren't
• The Weapons That Weren't

至於省下的半句，究竟是什麼呢，丁丁設想了一些候選，首先當然就是上半句「它」本人：

• The whatever that isn't (whatever).
• The liberation that isn't (liberation).

另外可能也含下列語意（每句第二個liberation也可用 it 替代）：

• The liberation that isn't (what liberation is).
• The liberation that isn't (what liberation is supposed to be).
• The liberation that isn't (what liberation seems to be).

這種句型似乎特別適用於政治，比方：

• The International Airport That Isn't
• The Bullets That (Were or) Weren't

或八卦：

• The Super-Rich That Aren't

再來點有氣質的哲思．．．

• The I That Ain't…

最後，再來個．．．實用的：

• For regular people who sometimes aren't (Ex-Lax 廣告詞）

此處 regular 字義, 是指 Having bowel movements with normal or healthy frequency. (American Heritage Dictionary) ，就是那個「大 X 正常化」啦！！這句廣告真是太妙啦！