Today,We tell about some common expressions in American English.
A leatherneck or a grunt do not sound like nice names to call someone. Yet men and women who serve in the United States armed forces are proud of those names. And if you think they sound strange, consider doughboy and GI Joe.
After the American Civil War in the eighteen sixties, a writer in a publication called Beadle’s Monthly used the word doughboy to describe Civil War soldiers. But word expert Charles Funk says that early writer could not explain where the name started.
About twenty years later, someone did explain. She was the wife of the famous American general George Custer.
Elizabeth Custer wrote that a doughboy was a sweet food served to Navy men on ships. She also said the name was given to the large buttons on the clothes of soldiers. Elizabeth Custer believed the name changed over time to mean the soldiers themselves.
Now, we probably most often think of doughboys as the soldiers who fought for the Allies in World War One.
By World War Two, soldiers were called other names. The one most often heard was GI, or GI Joe. Most people say the letters GI were a short way to say general issue or government issue. The name came to mean several things. It could mean the soldier himself. It could mean things given to soldiers when they joined the military such as weapons, equipment or clothes. And, for some reason, it could mean to organize, or clean.
Soldiers often say, “We GI’d the place.” And when an area looks good, soldiers may say the area is “GI.” Strangely, though, GI can also mean poor work, a job badly done.
Some students of military words have another explanation of GI. They say that instead of government issue or general issue, GI came from the words galvanized iron. The American soldier was said to be like galvanized iron, a material produced for special strength. The Dictionary of Soldier Talk says GI was used for the words galvanized iron in a publication about the vehicles of the early twentieth century.
Today, a doughboy or GI may be called a grunt. Nobody is sure of the exact beginning of the word. But, the best idea probably is that the name comes from the sound that troops make when ordered to march long distances carrying heavy equipment.
A member of the United States Marines also has a strange name -- leatherneck. It is thought to have started in the eighteen hundreds. Some say the name comes from the thick collars of leather early Marines wore around their necks to protect them from cuts during battles. Others say the sun burned the Marines’ necks until their skin looked like leather.
西班牙妓女“性罢工”逼银行家帮穷人
2050气温可上升3摄氏度
沙特或首次派女将出征奥运
英国驴友环非洲安然归来 爱车却在家门口被偷?!
愤怒也有好处? 生气的6大心理益处
久坐可致英年早逝?!
窃贼和房主成十年至交好友
细节成就爱情:恋爱中需要注意的5大细节
油价上涨美国人不爽:奥巴马连任有危机
英国:2017宝宝愈三成能到百岁
上课打瞌睡有助记忆新知识
让你重新专注起来工作的技巧
太空垃圾成隐患,宇航员进救生舱紧急避难
阿富汗版花木兰:女儿当自强
梁振英当选香港新特首 承诺要做亲民特首
美国婚礼花费排行 纽约六万美元居首
面试时求职者最适合问的6种问题
巨型天鹅袭击游人的趣图
国内英语资讯:Chinese scientists discover oldest fossil forest in Asia
做好时间管理 告别拖拉懒散
奥巴马与俄总统私聊遭曝光 麦克风未关引风波
关于外语学习的7个常见误解
英国名字最长的村庄
澳大利亚四名“超胆侠”为避买单高楼跳伞
英国:青少年不给老人孕妇让座将受罚
体坛英语资讯:Alaphilippe powers to time trial win, extends Tour de France overall lead
谁用谁闪亮:亮色衣服搭配十招
重口味街头人体雕塑:路人惊呼吓死爹了
美国发生iPhone4自燃爆炸事件
靠网店占领中国市场
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |