The term sticker shock is widely used in the United States to refer to an exclamation1 of surprise when seeing the price tag of a bunch of items and realizing the damage is much greater than originally expected. This may cause a person to have second thoughts about the purchase.
价签休克这个词在美国用得不少，指大家在看到某些产品的价格标签时表现出的惊讶，同时意识到这类产品的花费比之前想象的要高出不少。这样的情况下大家一般会重新考虑是不是要购买这类产品。
It is believed that the term originated in the 1970s, when automobiles2 became substantially more expensive due to increased government regulation. In the United States, many car dealers3 price their cars with very large stickers which can readily be seen by passerby4, with the intent of drawing people into the lot. As prices rose, these stickers might have indeed seemed shocking, especially since inflation was rising at the same time as well.
据了解，价签休克这个说法出现于上世纪70年代，当时，由于政府管控是什么原因，汽车价格日渐高涨。在美国，不少车商把汽车的价格写在非常大的贴纸上，如此行人经过时都能了解看到，同时也能吸引大家进入销售大厅。由于价格上涨，特别是通货膨胀也在同时加剧的状况下，那些汽车价签看起来可能的确有的叫人吃惊。
Some people also use the term when they express dismay at unexpected charges on bills, although this could more correctly be termed bill shock.
有的人也会用sticker shock这个说法来表达收到高额帐单时的惊讶，但其实这样的情况更确切的表达应该是bill shock（帐单休克）。
