words and their stories

I'm Susan Clark with the Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

我是苏珊.克拉克，特别英文节目“词语和他们的故事”的主持人。

Young Mister Smith had an idea for his employer. It was an idea for saving money for the company by increasing prices. At the same time, Smith suggested that the company sell goods of less value.

smith先生对他的老板通过提高价格来为公司赚钱有意见，同时呢，smith建议公司应该以较低的价格卖产品。

If his employer liked the idea, Smith might be given more pay. Perhaps he might even get a better job with the company.

如果他的老板喜欢这个主意，smith可能会涨工资，也许他甚至可能得到一个更好的工作？？？？？

Photo: AP

Business had been very slow. So Mister Smith's employer thought a few minutes about the idea. But then she shook her head. "I am sorry, Smith," his employer said. "It just will not wash."

商业持续走低，因此smith先生的老板考虑了一下，但是随后她摇了头，说“对不起，smith，它不会洗涤”？？？？？？？

Now, the meaning of these English words should be, "It will not get clean." Yet Smith's idea did not have anything to do with making something clean. So why did his employer say, "It will not wash?"

现在，这些英语词语的意思应该是“它不会弄干净”，然而smith的话意思却没有一点要把什么东西弄干净的意思。因此为什么他的老板会说“它不会洗涤”？

Most word experts agree that "it will not wash" means it will not work. Eric Partridge wrote that the saying probably developed in Britain in the eighteen hundreds. Charlotte Bronte used it in a story published in eighteen forty-nine. She wrote, "That wiln't wash, miss." Mizz Bronte seems to have meant that the dyes used to color a piece of clothing were not good. The colors could not be depended on to stay in the material.

大多数语言专家对“它不会洗涤”意思就是“它不能工作”表示赞同，Eric写过那个传说可能在英国8000年有研究，Charlotte过去在1849年出版的书中的一个故事用到它，她写到“那？？？？？不会洗涤，错过了”

In nineteenth century England, the expression came to mean an undependable statement. It was used mainly to describe an idea. But sometimes it was used about a person.

在19世纪英格兰，这个短语意味着一种不可靠的状态，它主要用来描述一个主意，但是现在有时会用它来描述一个人。

A critic once said of the poet Robert Browning, "He won't wash." The critic did not mean that the poet was not a clean person. He meant that Browning's poems could not be depended on to last.

一位评论家曾经说过诗人Robert“他不会洗涤”，那位评论家的意思并不是说这个诗人不讲究卫生，他的意思是Browning的诗不会流传很久

Today, we know that judgment was wrong. Robert Browning still is considered a major poet. But very few people remember the man who said Browning would not wash.

今天，我们知道判断是错的，robert仍然被认为是一个主要的诗人。但是很少的人记得那个人说brown“不会洗涤”

Happily for the young employee Smith, his employer wanted him to do well in the company. So the employer "talked turkey" to him. She said, "Your idea would be unfair to our buyers. Think of another way to save money."

对年轻的smith来说，幸运的是，他的老板想让他在公司做的更好。因此老板“谈论土耳其”对他。她说“你的主意对我们的买主不公平，想想其他赚钱的办法吧”

A century ago, to talk turkey meant to talk pleasantly. Turkeys in the barnyard were thought to be speaking pleasantly to one another. In recent years, the saying has come to mean an attempt to teach something important.

一个世纪以前，“对谁说土耳其”意思就是“友好的交谈”，在疯狂农场的土耳其被认为是对某人友好的说话。在几年前，这个语言专家Charles区分他相信这个改变会发生。

Word expert Charles Funk tells how he believes this change took place.

He says two men were shooting turkeys together. One of them was a white man. The other was an American Indian. The white man began stating reasons why he should get all the turkeys for himself. But the American Indian stopped him. He told the white man, "Now, I talk turkey to you."

他说两个男人在射击火鸡，其中一个是白人，另一个是美国印第安人，那个白人开始阐述理由为什么他自己应该得到所有的火鸡，但是印第安人阻止了他，他对那个白人说“现在，我谈论火鸡对你”

Mister Smith thought of a better idea after his employer talked turkey to him. He was given an increase in pay. So if your idea "will not wash," try "talking turkey" to yourself and come up with a better idea.

Smith先生在他的老板对她谈论火鸡之后想到了一个好主意，他工资提高了，因此如果你的主意“not wash”，试着“talk turkey”对自己讲然后提出了一个更好的主意。

--------------------------以上是我的翻译，下面是网络翻译----------------------------

I’m Susan Clark with the Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.
这里是美国之音慢速英语词汇掌故节目，我是苏珊·克拉克（Susan Clark）。

Young Mister Smith had an idea for his employer. It was an idea for saving money for the company by increasing prices. At the same time, Smith suggested that the company sell goods of less value.
年轻的史密斯先生为老板出了个主意，就是通过提高价格为公司多赚钱。同时，史密斯建议公司应该销售一些低价值的产品。

If his employer liked the idea, Smith might be given more pay. Perhaps he might even get a better job with the company.
如果老板主喜欢这个主意，史密斯可能得到加薪，甚至他可能在公司得到一个更好的职位。

Business had been very slow. So Mister Smith’s employer thought a few minutes about the idea. But then she shook her head. "I am sorry, Smith," his employer said. "It just will not wash."
公司业务一直不瘟不火。因此，老板考虑了一下史密斯的这个主意。但随后她摇了摇头。“很抱歉，史密斯，”老板说，“It just will not wash.”

Now, the meaning of these English words should be, "It will not get clean." Yet Smith’s idea did not have anything to do with making something clean. So why did his employer say, "It will not wash?"
现在，这个短语的意思应该是指“这会弄不干净。”然而史密斯的主意与弄干净某物没有任何关系。那么，他的老板为什么说：“It will not wash?”

Most word experts agree that "it will not wash" means it will not work. Eric Partridge wrote that the saying probably developed in Britain in the eighteen hundreds. Charlotte Bronte used it in a story published in eighteen forty-nine. She wrote, "That wiln’t wash, miss." Mizz Bronte seems to have meant that the dyes used to color a piece of clothing were not good. The colors could not be depended on to stay in the material.
大多数词汇专家一致认为，“it will not wash”意思是这行不通。埃里克·帕特里奇（Eric Partridge）写道，这种说法可能起源于19世纪的英国。夏洛蒂·勃朗特（Charlotte Bronte）1849年发表的故事中用到了这种说法。她写道，“That wiln’t wash，小姐。” 勃朗特貌似是说，用于染这块布的染料不太好，颜色无法附着于布料。

In nineteenth century England, the expression came to mean an undependable statement. It was used mainly to describe an idea. But sometimes it was used about a person.
在19世纪的英国，这个短语意味着一种不可靠的状态。它主要用于形容一种想法，但有时也用于形容一个人。

A critic once said of the poet Robert Browning, "He won’t wash." The critic did not mean that the poet was not a clean person. He meant that Browning’s poems could not be depended on to last.
一位评论家曾经这么形容诗人罗伯特·布朗宁（Robert Browning），“He won’t wash.”这位评论家并不是说这位诗人不讲卫生。他说的是，布朗宁的诗不能传承下去。

Today, we know that judgment was wrong. Robert Browning still is considered a major poet. But very few people remember the man who said Browning would not wash.
今天，我们知道评论家的这个判断是错误的。布朗宁仍被认为是一个大诗人。但很少有人记得这位评论家。

Happily for the young employee Smith, his employer wanted him to do well in the company. So the employer "talked turkey" to him. She said, "Your idea would be unfair to our buyers. Think of another way to save money."
幸运的是这位年轻雇员史密斯的老板希望他在公司更加出色。所以，老板认认真真地（talked turkey）对他说。她说，“你的想法或许对我们的买家不公平。换个赚钱的想法。”

A century ago, to talk turkey meant to talk pleasantly. Turkeys in the barnyard were thought to be speaking pleasantly to one another. In recent years, the saying has come to mean an attempt to teach something important.
一个世纪前，“to talk turkey”意味着愉快交谈。谷仓里的火鸡被认为在彼此愉快交谈。近年来，这句话的意思已经开始转变为“认真谈某些重要的事情”。

Word expert Charles Funk tells how he believes this change took place.
词汇专家查尔斯·芬克（Charles Funk）讲述了他理解的这个短语词义发生变化的过程。

He says two men were shooting turkeys together. One of them was a white man. The other was an American Indian. The white man began stating reasons why he should get all the turkeys for himself. But the American Indian stopped him. He told the white man, "Now, I talk turkey to you."
他说，两名男子一起去打火鸡。一个是白人，另一个是印第安人。这位白人开始陈述为什么他要拿走所有火鸡的原因。但这位印第安人打断了他。他对白人男子说，"Now, I talk turkey to you."（注1）

Mister Smith thought of a better idea after his employer talked turkey to him. He was given an increase in pay. So if your idea "will not wash," try "talking turkey" to yourself and come up with a better idea.
史密斯先生在老板认真和他交谈后想出了一个更好的主意。他被加薪了。所以，如果你的主意“行不通”，请尝试认真自问想起一个更好的主意。