涨知识 13个让你看不懂的英文习语的起源

Have you ever had to "separate the wheat from the chaff"? Or "fly by the seat of your pants"?

你曾经“把糠从小麦里筛出来”（separate the wheat from the chaff）过吗？或者“让屁股蛋来引领飞行方向”（fly by the seat of your pants）过吗？

Linguistic researchers found the origins of these and other everyday phrases that don't make sense to non-English speakers in a study commissioned by Privilege Insurance.

在一项由Privilege保险公司委托开展的研究中，语言学家发现，这些以及其它日常习语的起源在非英语使用者看来并说不通。

Keep scrolling to see the 12 origins of everyday phrases, as well as one bonus phrase no one can agree on.

来看看以下这12个众说纷纭的日常习语的起源，最后还有一个附赠的习语哦。

If you are very drunk, you may be "three sheets to the wind." The phrase comes from having a ship's sails properly fastened.

如果你喝得酩酊大醉，也许你就成了“三条风中凌乱的帆绳”（three sheets to the wind）。这一习语来自于适度拉紧的船帆。

According to researchers, "sheets" refer to the ropes that fasten a sail. If one of your sheets isn't properly tied down, the ship would become difficult to control and would be "to the wind," or moving erratically.

研究者称，sheets指的是固定船帆的绳索。一旦一条绳索没有绑紧，船便会变得难以控制，随风行驶，或者飘摇不定。

To "fly by the seats of your pants," or improvise without a clear plan, was popularized after Douglas Corrigan's 29-hour flight from Brooklyn to Dublin in 1938.

“让屁股蛋来引领飞行方向”（fly by the seats of your pants），即没有清晰计划只凭感觉做事。1938年道格拉斯•科里根从布鲁克林飞行了29个小时到都柏林，随后这一短语便流行起来。

The phrase was used in a 1938 headline in The Edwardsville Intelligencer to describe Corrigan’s off-book flight. He was meant to fly to California, but diverted his plane to Dublin instead.

1938年，《爱德华兹维尔讯报》的头条标题使用的就是这个短语，来形容科里根这次计划外的飞行。他本来要飞到加利福尼亚，可却掉头去了都柏林。

"Corrigan had filed for a transatlantic flight two days earlier but it was rejected because his plane was not considered fit for the job," the researchers wrote. "Upon landing in Dublin he claimed his compass had packed up."

“两天前科里根提交了飞越大西洋的申请，但是被拒绝了，因为他的飞机被认为不适宜进行这样的任务，”研究员写道，“到了都柏林一着陆，他就说他的指南针坏了”。

One mechanic said Corrigan "flies by the seat of his pants," which was said to be an old flying expression for going aloft without instruments or radio.

一位机械师说科里根“让屁股蛋来引领飞行方向”，这是一个古老的飞行用语，用来指代不凭借任何仪器或无线电的飞行。

"Bite the bullet," or doing something unpleasant, comes from when soldiers would bite a bullet when they were being operated on without anesthetic.

“咬子弹”（bite the bullet），即做令人不愉快的事。这一习语来源于过去士兵们做手术不打麻药，只能咬子弹忍痛。

There is some debate over whether or not this is true. The phrase has been in use since 1796 and has always meant to have a "stiff upper lip" before doing something you don't want to do.

关于这一来源是不是真的还存在争议。这一短语从1796年就开始使用了，总是用来指在做不愿做的事情时咬紧牙关（have a stiff upper lip）。

It may have come from a belief that people can derive courage from biting a bullet, according to researchers.

研究者称，这也许来自于一种信仰，认为人们能从咬子弹中获得勇气。

A very close-up or right-on target is "point blank." It comes from the French "point blanc," and refers to the center of the target for shooting or archery practice.

一个闭合的或正中央的靶心就是“白点”（point blank），来自于法语point blanc，指代用来射击或射箭练习的靶子的中心。

"Point blanc" literally translates as a white point, and refers to the dead center of the target.

Point blanc字面上译作白点，指靶子的正中心。

The original meaning of "right on target" then evolved to mean something close up, making it easier to hit the middle of the target.

这个短语最初的意思“正中靶心”（right on target），就演变成某种闭合的圆圈的意思，这样的圆圈可使打中靶心变得更容易。

If you're "separating the wheat from the chaff," you're distinguishing between quality and worthlessness. The phrase actually comes from the Bible.

如果你在“把糠从小麦里筛出来”（separating the wheat from the chaff），那么你就在甄别精华和糟粕。这个习语其实来源于《圣经》。

Chaff is the protective casings of the seeds of cereal grain. Humans can't eat it, but livestock can. It's not as important as, say, wheat.

糠是保护谷物种子的外壳，人不能吃，但牲畜可以。它只是没有小麦等谷物那么重要而已。

In Matthew 3:12, John the Baptist says, "His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

在《马太福音》第三章第12节中，施洗约翰说道：“他手里拿着簸箕，要扬净麦场，把麦子收进仓里，却用不灭的火将糠秕烧尽。”

In the Old Testament the image of winnowing is also used in Psalm 1:4 :"…the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away."

扬谷的画面也出现在《旧约》里《诗篇》的第一章第四节：“…恶人！他们就像糠秕被风吹散。”

We can thank Shakespeare for committing the phrase "Carry your heart on your sleeve" — or being transparent — to paper. Iago famously says it in "Othello."

我们应该感谢莎士比亚，因为是他将“把心戴在袖子上”（carry your heart on your sleeve）写在纸上，意思是轻易表露感情，是《奥赛罗》中伊阿古的名言。

In Othello Act 1 Scene 1, Iago says “But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve…” meaning he would be exposed.

《奥赛罗》第一幕第一场，伊阿古说：“但是我会把心戴在袖子上”，意味着他会敞开心扉。

Aside from Shakespeare's genius brain, other possible origins include the tokens knights would wear from ladies during jousting matches and a marriage festival from the Middle Ages.

除了天才的莎士比亚，这句话还有可能来源于中世纪马上长矛比武中贵妇赠与骑士令牌，或婚礼场合，等等。

If you do something by the "skin of your teeth," you're barely managing to do it. One of the first recordings of this phrase is from the Bible.

如果你通过“牙齿的皮肤”（skin of your teeth）来做某件事，这说明你勉勉强强有能力做这件事。这个短语最早出现在《圣经》中。

In Job 19:20, Job says, "My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh, / And I have escaped by the skin of my teeth."

在《约伯记》第19章第20节中，约伯说：“我的皮肉紧贴骨头，我只剩牙皮逃脱了。”

Teeth don't have skin, so it was likely an allusion to something small or so thin that it was insubstantial.

然而牙齿并没有皮肤，所以这一说法可能代指小、纤薄而不重要的东西。

"Bob's your uncle" is a British exclamation that means you've achieved something simply. Although its origin is debated, many researchers believe it derives from the nepotism of Lord Salisbury.

“鲍勃是你叔叔”是一句英国习语，意为轻而易举地做成某事。尽管关于此习语的起源众说纷纭，但很多研究者认为它来源于索尔兹伯里勋爵的裙带关系。

In 1886, Prime Minister Robert Gascoyne-Cecil (Lord Salisbury) surprisingly made Arthur Balfour Chief Secretary of Ireland; Balfour was ‘Bob’s’ favorite nephew.

在1886年，英国首相•加斯科•塞西尔（索尔兹伯里勋爵）任命亚瑟•贝尔福为爱尔兰布政司；而贝尔福是鲍勃最喜爱的侄子。

There are a few other phrase origin possibilities, but this is the likeliest of the bunch.

也许这句话还有其它来源，但这种解释的可能性最大。

A "kangaroo court" means that there has been a fast and unfair legal procedure. It likely comes from during the Gold Rush when American courts would skip procedures for quick sentencing.

“袋鼠法庭”（kangaroo court）指的是美国潦草而不公正的审判程序。这句话有可能来源于淘金热时期，因为那个时期的法庭为了快速判决会省略掉一些程序。

Even though Kangaroos are native to Australia, this phrase dates back to the 19th century Gold Rush in America.

尽管袋鼠是澳大利亚独有的动物，但这句话始见于19世纪美国淘金热时期。

The most likely origin of the phrase, according to researchers, is that people who saw the quick sentencing in American courts during this time likened it to kangaroos hopping or skipping.

研究者称，在淘金热时期，人们在法庭上会经常见到快速潦草的审判，而袋鼠是蹦跳着走路的，因此人们把袋鼠的蹦跳比作法庭省略程序的做法。

If you "win hands down," you're winning without a great effort.

如果你“垂着双手取胜”（win hands down），说明你轻而易举地赢得了胜利。

In horse racing, a jockey who's winning by a wide margin doesn't need to whip his horse to go faster, and can win with his "hands down. "The phrase soon caught on outside the sporting world.

在赛马中，如果一名骑手觉得自己胜券在握，就不需快马加鞭，而是可以“垂着双手”就赢得胜利。这句习语迅速在体育圈之外流行了起来。