俚语:多得很,不稀罕!
上个礼拜在一家音像店里花大价钱买了张“Beatles”的专辑。本以为自己得到了件人人羡慕的“稀世珍品”,今天却被告知那只是翻录的“便宜”货,到处都有卖。那叫一个不痛快啊…… 不过,愚如吾者,偶有一得!英语中像这样到处都买得到、“滥”得不值钱的“便宜”货叫做“a dime a dozen”。 1786年美国国会将十美分硬币定为“a dime”。想一想,再穷的人手里也得有“1毛钱”吧?很快,“a dime”(10美分/一角硬币)普及众生,市面上流通的10美分硬币数以百万计……随着岁月的流逝,“a dime”自然而然成了便宜货的代名词。 您可能要问,为什么“a dime”后非要加上“a dozen”才表示“滥得不值钱的便宜货”呢?原因很简单:“a dozen”其实并无实意,因为美国人习惯使用头韵(即把起头字母相同的词放在一起),为了“养”耳,俗语“a dime a dozen”才逐渐普及开来。 看下面的例句:Anthony thought his stamp collections were rare, but actually they were a dime a dozen.(安东尼原以为他收集的邮票是稀世珍宝,实际上那些邮票到处都有,一点都不希罕。)
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