Every week at this time we tell the story of words and expressions used in American English. Some of them are old. Some are new. Together, they form the living speech of the American people.
Some popular expressions are a mystery. No one is sure how they developed. One of these is the expression, carry a chip on your shoulder. A person with a chip on his shoulder is a problem for anybody who must deal with him. He seems to be expecting trouble. Sometimes he seems to be saying, "I'm not happy about anything, but what are you going to do about it?"
有些常用说法是一个谜,没人能确定它们是如何产生的。其中一个这样的说法就是:carry a chip on your shoulder(准备随时吵嘴、打架的样子 )。这种随时准备干仗的人对任何必须要和他打交道的人来说都是个问题。他似乎在等着找麻烦。有时他的样子看上去就像在说,“我就是对什么都不爽,但你又能怎样吧?”
A chip is a small piece of something, like a chip of wood. How did this chip get on a person's shoulder? Well, experts say the expression appears to have been first used in the United States more than one hundred 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 chip of wood that is cut off will fall into your eye. The saying becomes a warning about the dangers of attacking people who are in more important positions than you are.
Later, in the United States, some people would put a real chip on their shoulder as a test. They wanted to start a fight. They would wait for someone to be brave enough to try to hit it off.
后来在美国,一些人会在肩膀上放上真正的碎屑作为测试。他们想挑起事端,看谁敢将这些碎屑打落。
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 a parent.
Chip还出现在很多特殊的美国说法中。另一个说法是chip off the old block,意思是酷像父母的小孩子。
This expression goes back at least to the early sixteen hundreds. The British writer of plays, George Colman, wrote these lines in seventeen sixty-two. "You'll find him his father's own son, I believe. A chip off the old block, I promise you!"
The word chip can also be used in a threatening way to someone who is suspected of wrongdoing. An investigator may say, "We're going to let the chips fall where they may." This means the investigation is going to be complete and honest. It is also a warning that no one will be protected from being found guilty.
Chip还可以用来威胁涉嫌不法行为的人。调查人员可能会说,“We're going to let the chips fall where they may.(我们将采取行动不计后果)。”意思是,调查过程将是全面和诚实的。这也是一个警告,即任何人都不能逃脱法律的制裁。
Chips are often used in card games. They represent money. A poker player may, at any time, decide to leave the game. He will turn in his chips in exchange for money or cash.
This lead to another meaning. A person who finished or died was said to have cashed in his chips. Which is a way of saying it is time for me to finish this program.
这引申出另一个意思。一位完成工作或去世的人会被说成have cashed in his chips(筹码已兑现,引申意思是工作完成或去世了)。用这个说法也能表示,是时候结束这次节目了。
例句-1:I had a wife and kids to support, so the chips were really down. But I found out who my real friends were. Pete started phoning people with connections and got me a new job in a week.
例句-2:Look, with my support slipping, the chips are down. If you don't raise another million this week for more TV ads, I don't think I have a ghost of chance to get enough votes to win!
例句-3:Bill, you know Sally in accounting. Well, her mother died last night. We'd like to send flowers. Most people are chipping in five dollars. Would you like to chip in too?
最后还有点儿时间,我们再学个也用chip这个词的习惯用语:cash in one's chips。 Cash作名词的时候指“现金,” 但是在短语cash in里面cash是动词。 Cash in原来的意思是赌局完结时去帐房把自己手上的筹码交进去换成现金,作个了断。 Cash in one's chips被人们沿用到日常生活中,指的不是赌局完毕,而是人生的终点。换句话说就是如一场赌博般的人生收场了。我们来听个例子。说话的是个退役军人。他刚刚得到一个怀消息。
例句-4:I just heard that Charley, my best friend in the army, cashed in his chips last week in Chicago. I haven't seen him in 25 years but back then we were as close as any two men could be.
Now, the VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.(MUSIC)Every week at this time we tell the story of words and expressions used in American English. Some of them are old. Some are new. Together, they form the living speech of the American people.Some popular expressions are a mystery. No one is sure how they developed. One of these is the expression, carry a chip on your shoulder.A person with a chip on his shoulder is a problem for anybody who must deal with him.He seems to be expecting trouble. Sometimes he seems to be saying, "I'm not happy about anything, but what are you going to do about it?"A chip is a small piece of something, like a chip of wood. How did this chip get on a person's shoulder?Well, experts say the expression appears to have been first used in the United States more than one hundred 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 chip of wood that is cut off will fall into your eye. The saying becomes a warning about the dangers of attacking people who are in more important positions than you are.Later, in the United States, some people would put a real chip on their shoulder as a test. They wanted to start a fight. They would wait for someone to 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 a parent.This expression goes back at least to the early sixteen hundreds. The British writer of plays, George Colman, wrote these lines in seventeen sixty-two. "You'll find him his father's own son, I believe. A chip off the old block, I promise you!"The word chip can also be used in a threatening way to someone who is suspected of wrongdoing. An investigator may say, "We're going to let the chips fall where they may." This means the investigation is going to be complete and honest. It is also a warning that no one will be protected from being found guilty.Chips are often used in card games. They represent money. A poker player may, at any time, decide to leave the game. He will turn in his chips in exchange for money or cash.This lead to another meaning.A person who finished or died was said to have cashed in his chips. Which is a way of saying it is time for me to finish this program.(MUSIC)You have been listening to the VOA Special English program, Words and Their Stories. I'm Warren Scheer.