We left early，and no one was any the wiser. 我们提早离开了，没有人注意到。

不理解这句话的翻译。wise 的意思不是“聪明”吗？为什么翻译成“注意到”呢？

【答】关于no one was any the wiser. 这句话，词典上说它是个“习语”。我觉得这样给下定义不太合适，因为它限制了语言学习的思路和研究兴趣。下面，我分析一下这个句子。

该句的关键部分就是any the wiser，只需要搞清楚这3个词就行了。

总体看，这是一个形容词短语。

1. 由于含有any 这个“非肯定词”，所以，该短语只用于“否定句或疑问句”，不用于“肯定句”。

2. 关于the，它在这里不是冠词，而是副词 (adv.)， 意思是“更加（用于比较级，最高级前）”，没有实际的词汇意义。

3. wiser 是形容词wise 的比较级。wise 在这里不是“聪明的”意思，而是表示“对事实或真相知情的；了解的；明白的；清楚的”。关于这些意思，大家可以查阅词典。

4. any the wiser 的否定式，是none the wiser 和 never the wiser：“依然不懂；依然不知道，仍然一无所知”。

综合上述几点，any the wiser 的实际意思是：“（比）更知情的；更了解的；更清楚的”，既然是“比较”，肯定就有比较的对象，只是这个被比较的对象被省略掉了（than ...）。语言的会意性就是，不需要说的就不用说。本句而言，no one was any the wiser （than us）。

还要提示一点，any the wiser 可以用于不同的时态，其主语不一定是no one, nobody，用Tom 或其他名词也可以，但必须是否定句和疑问句。

此外，be any the wiser 还可以用于非谓语形式，例如：being any the wiser。

现举例如下：

1. If you put the money back, no one will be any the wiser.

只要你把钱放回去，谁都不会察觉。

2. "If we slip out of town to amuse ourselves and come back later, they won't be any the wiser."

"我悄悄的往城外逛逛去,一会子再往这里来，他们就不知道了。"

3. We could have stolen the original from the warehouse without you being any the wiser.

我们本可以把原作从库房里偷出来而完全不让你知晓。

来自《柯林斯》

4. After all his explanations, I remained none the wiser.

他讲了半天, 我还是糊里糊涂。

来自《简明英汉词典》

5. For all my advice she was never the wiser. 

虽然我全力指点，她还是一窍不通。

来自辞典例句

6. We are none the wiser for his explanations. 

听了他的解释，我们还是不明白。

来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

【类似结构拓展】

一. any the less：更少；更减少；更差

否定词是none the less： 仍旧，依然，还是

1. I don't dislike him any the less for his behavior on this occasion.

尽管在场合上的不佳表现，我喜欢他的程度不减。

2. She was not any the less happy for being on her own.

她并不因独自一人而更不开心。

3. He is none the less vigorous for his years. 

他虽年老而依然健壮。

来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4. Her husband often rated at her, but he didn't love her any the less.

= Her husband often rated at her, but he loved her none the less.

她的丈夫经常骂她，但他仍然很爱她。

二. any the better （因…而）更好些

否定词是none the better：不会（因此）而好些; 丝毫没有好的影响。

all the better 是none the better 的“反义词”，意为“更加好；反而更妙；却更

更加；更好，更妙”。

1. Her father was not any the better for the medicine the doctor gave him.

她父亲吃大夫给的药，病情并没有好转。

2. His health is none the better for his exercise.

即使他运动，他的健康状况却一点也不好。

3. She looks none the better after holiday.

她在度假后身体看上去一点都没有好转。

4. I like her all the better for her simplicity.

由于她单纯，我反而更喜欢她了。

三. any the worse （因...而）更差些

否定词是none the worse：不会（因此）而差些; 丝毫不受坏的影响。

1. You're not looking any the worse for wear.

你的精神外表倒不差。

2. He was none the worse for his adventure. 

他经历这件惊险事倒没受到伤害。

解答如下：

以上分句no one was any the wiser.根据形容词比较级“adj. 聪明的，贤明的，充满智慧的，英明的，睿智的”，用了比较表示行为更加聪明，由于主语是no one即具有否定意义，即前面某人做了什么事情的行为是最聪明的，因此会没有人会察觉到，最后引申为“没有被注意/被发现”

陈老师和刘老师的分析都有道理，但我个人觉得按成语或习语处理比较方便，因为除陈老师提到的词典外，我查了一下手头的英语词典，其中绝大部分都把 any the wiser 视为成语或习语。如：

▲朗文当代英语词典英汉双解第4版

be none the wiser / not be any the wiser

a. to not understand something even after it has been explained to you 〔解释后〕还是不明白，仍然不懂：

Charlie explained how the system works, but I'm still none the wiser. 查理解释了系统是如何运作的，可我还是不明白。

b. used for saying that no one will find out about something bad that someone has done 谁也不会知道〔某人做的坏事〕：

He could easily have taken the money and no one would have been any the wiser. 他很可能拿了钱而谁也不知道。

▲柯林斯COBUILD高阶英汉双解学习词典

PHRASE 短语（在事后或作出解释后）仍然不明白，仍旧不完全知晓 If you say that someone is none the wiser after an event or an explanation, or that nobody is any the wiser after it, you mean that they have failed to understand it, or are not fully aware of what happened.

【搭配模式】v-link PHR

The brewers are still none the wiser about the shape the Government envisages for the industry. 啤酒公司对政府对该行业的构想仍然不甚明了。

We could have stolen the original from the warehouse without you being any the wiser. 我们本可以把原作从库房里偷出来而完全不让你知晓。

▲牛津高阶学习词典英汉双解第七版

be none the wiser | not be any the wiser

1. to not understand sth, even after it has been explained to you (解释之后)依然不懂，仍不明白：

I've read the instructions, but I'm still none the wiser. 我看了用法说明，但仍然弄不明白。

2. to not know or find out about sth bad that sb has done不知道，发现不了(某人做的坏事)：

If you put the money back, no six will be any the wiser. 只要你把钱放回去，谁都不会察觉。

▲韦氏高阶学习词典

none the wiser ( or not any the wiser)

1. not knowing or understanding anything more about something

The investigation has been going on for months, and we're still none the wiser about the true cause of the accident. [=we still don't know anything more about the true cause]

2. also never the wiser

— used to describe someone who is not at all aware of something that has happened

I borrowed his car and returned it, and he was none the wiser. [=he did not know that I had borrowed his car]

We left early, and no one was any the wiser. [=no one noticed that we had left]---这个正是网友的句子。