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| 2010/07/10 07:03:07瀏覽434｜回應0｜推薦0 | |
| 1. Ants in Your Pants
You never sit still. You must have ants in your pants. Meaning: extreme restlessness Origin: We can easily imagine where this saying came from. What if you actually had ants in your pants? You'd find it difficult to settle down. You'd keep squirming to get rid of the ants. 2. Apple of Your Eye Kareem is the apple of my eye. Meaning: a person or thing that is greatly loved, treasured, and adored Origin: This saying is used in the Bible. Ancient people thought that the pupil of the eyes was solid and shaped like an apple. The pupil ("apple of the eye") was precious because without it, you couldn't see. 3. Blue Blood Steve is marrying a very rich girl from high society, a real blue blood. Meaning: of high or noble birth; an aristocrat; from the upper class of society Origin: Though this expression has been used in English since the early 1800s, it actually comes from an older Spanish saying. Old, aristocratic Spanish families used to boast that their skin was fairly light because they had not intermarried with the darker-skinned Moors. The Spaniards' veins showed through their skins as visibly blue in color. If their skin was darker because they had intermarried, the blood would not appear so blue. "Blue blood" is a translation of the Spanish words sangre azul. Today anyone can be called a blue blood if he or she is of noble birth, a member of high society, and so on. A related phrase is "upper crust". 4. Upper Crust The poor student fell hopelessly in love with a girl from the upper crust. Meaning: high society; social or financial elite; important people Origin: This expression began to be widely used in the mid-1800s. The upper crust of a loaf of bread was considered the best, tastiest part. "Upper crust" came to mean the best class of people, the most elite in society, those with the highest intellectual, social, or economic status. 5. Blow Your Own Horn When you fill out an application for a job, blow your own horn. Meaning: to praise yourself; to call attention to your own merits (intelligence, skills, success, or abilities); to brag about yourself Origin: In ancient Roman times, a blare of trumpets announced the arrival of a great hero. So the blowing of horns meant someone important was coming. Today, people who blow (or toot) their own horns are boasting about their superior qualities. Sometimes you have to do that a little (when you apply for a job, for instance,) but if you do it too much, you could be called a braggart. From:  ISBN: 0-590-27552-6 |
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