He pulled on his helmet and straddled the motorbike, then drove along at full throttle.Straddle 一词可能是英语单词 stride （大步走、阔步行走）古英语形式的某种变体，16世纪60年代起原指“把腿张开”，发展到现在则是指“骑、跨坐、分腿站立”或“两腿叉开、叉着双腿行走”，比如：他戴上头盔，跨坐在摩托车上，然后全速驾车行驶。

My legs straddled to balance myself against the movement of the boat. I felt that a flurry of wind could upset the small boat.为了在船的摇晃中保持平衡，我叉开双腿。我感觉一阵疾风就可以吹翻这艘小船。

The mountains straddle the French-Swiss border. And the path grew steeper as we climbed higher.从跨坐或分腿站立这种一边一腿的概念引申在结构、地理、领域、时期等时，则表示“横跨、跨越（河流、道路、边界等）”或“横跨、跨越、同属、融合、兼顾（不同时期、风格、主题、群体、活动领域等）”，比如：这座山脉横跨法国和瑞士边界。我们越往上爬路就越陡。

The expression on the face of the writer who straddles two cultures was one of grim determination.这位横贯两种文化的作家的脸上一副破釜沉舟的神情。

It's not the first time this year that the president has been accused of straddling an issue. He should not duck out of his responsibilities.等到了1838年后， straddle 更在美式口语中衍生出了“骑墙观望”的贬义，比如：总统今年已经不是第一次被人指责态度暧昧了。他不该逃避自己的责任。

All three candidates straddled on the problem of unlicensed taxi drivers touting for business at airports.就没有执照的出租汽车司机在机场揽生意的问题，三位候选人都持骑墙观望态度。