VOA慢速英語:肩上的木屑
Now, the VOA Special English program Words andTheir Stories.
Every week at this time we tell the story of words andexpressions used in American English. Some of themare old. Some are new. Together, they form the livingspeech of the American people.
Some popular expressions are a mystery -- no one issure how they developed.
One of these is the expression “carry a chip on yourshoulder.” A person with a chip on his shoulder is aproblem for anybody who must deal with him. Heseems to be expecting trouble. Sometimes he seemsto be saying “I’m not happy about anything, but what are you going to do aboutit?”
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Competitors cut a tree trunk with axes in Munich, Germany. |
A chip is a small piece of something, like a chip of wood. How did this chip geton a person’s shoulder? Well, experts say the expression appears to havebeen first used in the United States more than 100 years ago.
One writer believes that the expression might have come from an old saying. The saying warns against striking too high, or a chip might fall into your eye. That could be good advice. If you strike high up on a tree with an axe, the chipof wood that is cut off will fall into your eye. The saying becomes a warningabout the dangers of attacking people who are in more important positionsthan you are.
Later, in the United States, some people would put a real chip on theirshoulder as a test. They wanted to start a fight. They would wait for someoneto be brave enough to try to hit it off.
The word “chip” appears in a number of special American expressions.Another is “chip off the old block.” This means that a child is exactly like aparent. This expression goes back at least to the early 1600s. The Britishwriter of plays, George Colman, wrote these lines in 1762:
“You’ll find him his father’s own son, I believe. A chip off the old block, Ipromise you!”
The word “chip” can also be used in a threatening way to someone who issuspected of wrongdoing. An investigator may say, “We’re going to let thechips fall where they may.” This means the investigation is going to becomplete and honest. It is also a warning that no one will be protected frombeing found guilty.
Chips are often used in card games. They represent money. A poker playermay, at any time, decide to leave the game. He will turn in his chips inexchange for money or cash. This lead to another meaning: A person whofinished or died was said to have “cashed in his chips,” which is a way ofsaying it is time for me to finish this program.
You have been listening to the VOA Special English program Words and TheirStories.
I’m Warren Scheer.
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