有一读者问：有一本英汉词典说 There's no love lost between them.的意思是“他们之间并无什么爱情”。对吗？
不怎么对。There is no love lost between them. 的本义是“他们互相爱慕”。作此讲时，no love lost 自成一个意群，= love that is not to be lost 或 love that cannot be lost。实例如：
(1)I love him well, and there's no love lost between us.
(2)We grumble a little now and then...But there's no love lost between us.
但此义已属古旧，不再或很少为人所用。现今人们都用其反义，意谓“他们互相憎恨”。这里的 love 一词一般并无“爱情”之意。全句 = There is no love, which is to be lost （或 can be lost）。实例如：
(2)There was no love lost between the two ladies.
(3)Bob and Dick both wanted to be elected captain of the team, and there was no love lost between them. （这里 there was no love lost between them 不但有“互相憎恨”而且有“相互攻击”之意）
(4)We need not be surprised that there is no love lost between Her Imperial Majesty and Kang Youwei. （前者指“慈禧太后”，后者为“康有为”）
There is no love lost between...这一固定结构的用法并不限于两个个人之间，亦可用于两个集体之间，如：
(5)There was no love lost between the sales and the accounting departments.
(6)There is no great love lost between the English Conservative Cabinet and the Bulgarian Government.
请注意 no 之后可用 great （如上例）或 much, no 亦可代之以 little。
