영어관용표현의 유래

The Origin of Expressions

a baker's dozen(빵굽는 사람의 한 다스)

'13'을 의미하는 표현. 한 다스가 12개씩인데, 한 때 빵을 한 다스 사갈 때마다 덤으로 말린 빵을 한 개씩 더 준 적이 있는 데서 유래한다.

He gave his customer a baker's dozen.

(그는 자기 손님에게 13개를 주었다.)

a bolt from the blue(푸른 하늘에 날 벼락)

'청천벽력(靑天霹靂)'이라는 말이 우리말에도 있지만 같은 뜻으로 '예기치 않은 뜻밖의 사건'을 뜻한다. 마른하늘에 치는 번개처럼 갑작스럽게 생긴 사건을 두고 하는 말이다.

When notified that he was dismissed from the position, it must have felt liked a bolt from the blue.

(그는 그 직책에서 해직되었다는 것을 알았을 때 마른하늘에 날벼락을 맞은 듯한 느낌이었음에 틀림없다.)

a feather in one's cap.(자기 모자 속의 깃털)

'자랑할 만한 업적이나 명예를 뜻한다.

The President's success in getting North Korea to negotiate with the Republic of Korea on a peace treaty was a real feather in his cap.

(북한이 우리 나라와 평화조약을 놓고 협상하도록 하는 데 성공한 것은 대통령의 매우 자랑스러운 업적이었다.)

"After me, the flood."

The popularity of the phrase stems from its use by Madame de Pompadour, celebrated beauty and intimate of King Louis XV of France. The French Court at the time was famed for its lavish and wasteful extravagances. When Pompadour, whose philosophy was "Live for the minute - who cares what happens when we're gone?" was reproved for these excesses, she replied, "Apres nous le deluge."

(all)at sixes and sevens(혼란스러운, 일치되지 않은)

적당한 우리말 번역이 어렵다. '당황하거나 혼란 상태에 처해 있는'이라는 뜻이다.

Waiting for someone whom I have not met before has me all at sixers and sevens.

(전에 만나본 적이 없는 사람을 기다린다는 것은 나를 당황하게 한다.)

ALL GREEK TO ME

All Greek to me goes back to Shakespeare. The line was first spoken by Casca, one of the conspirators against Caesar in the first act of Julius Caesar. He was speaking of the comments made by Cicero after Caesar three times refused the crown of emperor. "It was Greek to me!" Cicero actually did speak in Greek, using that language as a device to make sure that casual passers-by did not understand his remarks. Today the expression "It's all Greek to me" simply means that what has been said is beyond the speakers's understanding.

All is lost save honor

After Francis I of France was defeated by Spain's Charles V at Pavia, Italy in 1525, captured, and forced to sign a humiliating treaty, he sat down and wrote to his mother. His actual words were not so eloquent, but the most memorable phrase in his letter was translated into English as All is lost save honor. Despite the fact that Francis soon lost his honor by breaking the treaty, the sentiments of this patron of Rabelais and creator of Fontainbleau became proverbial.

ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME

The ancient Romans built such an excellent system of roads that the saying arose all roads lead to Rome, that is, no matter which road one starts a journey on, he will finally reach Rome if he keeps on traveling. The popular saying came to mean that all ways or methods of doing something end in the same result, no method being better than another.

all thumb(모두가 엄지손가락)

'서툴거나 솜씨가 없는'이라는 의미. 사람의 손가락이 모두 엄지손가락이면 어떻게 될까? 손재주를 부리는 데 서투를 수밖에 없을 것이다.

where peeling a peach is concerned, Steve is all thumbs.

(복숭아 껍질을 벗기는 데 관한 한 스티브는 매우 서툴다.)

Alpha and Omega

Everything, the most important part.

The expression has its origins in the Greek alphabet, where alpha and omega are the first and last letters respectively, as well as in the biblical phrase (Rev. 1 1:7):

"I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord."

an ace in the hole(구멍 속의 으뜸패)

'비장의 카드'라는 뜻이다.

어 어구는 카드놀이에서 비롯되었다. 카드놀이는 한 장 또는 한 장 이상의 카드가 엎어져 있고 거는 대상들이 놓여진다. 흔히 최후에 내놓는 마지막 으뜸패가 승패를 좌우한다.

Richard was certain that his method would turn out to be his ace in the hole.

(리처드는 자신의 방법이 비장의 카드로 드러날 것임을 확신했다.)

APPLE OF ONE'S EYE

The first apple of the eye was the pupil, which in ancient days was thought to be a round object similar to the apple. As recently as Anglo-Saxon times, the same word, aeppel, meant both "eye" and "apple." It goes without saying that the pupil of one's eye is very precious indeed - and that's how the expression the apple of one's eye came to mean something greatly treasured.

AULD LANG SYNE (Old long since)

In 1788, Robert Burns adapted 'Auld Lang Syne' from 'an old man's singing'. The title, first line and refrain had all appeared before as the work of other poets. Nevertheless, what Burns put together is what people still sing on New Year's Eve. Here is the first verse and the chorus:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

And never brought to min(d)?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

And days of o' lang syne.

(Chorus)

For auld lang syne, my dear

For auld lang syne,

We'll take a cup o' kindness yet

For auld lang syne.

back to the drawing board

(화판(畵板)으로 돌아가는)

자신의 노력이 실패로 끝났을 때 '처음부터 다시 시작한다'는 뜻.

Our plan hasn't worked as well as we'd hoped, so it's back to the drawing board.

(우리의 계획이 바랐던 대로되지 않았으니 처음부터 다시 시작하도록 합시다,.)

beat around the bush(숲을 두르리다, 숲을 치다)

'문제의 핵심을 말하는 것을 피하다'라는 의미이다. 요점에 대해서 언급하는 것을 피할 때 쓰는 표현이다.

We have no use for their service. Let's stop beating around the bush, and move on to our new projects.(우리는 그들의 도움을 받을 필요가 없다. 문제의 핵심을 피하지 말고, 어서 새로운 과제로 넘어가도록 하자.)

be born with a silver spoon in one's mouth

(입에 은 숟가락을 물고 태어나다.)

'유복한 가정에서 태어나다'라는 뜻. 인간 세상에는 단지 부모가 부자인 집에서 태어났다는 이유만으로 일생을 별 고생하지 않고 사회적 지위를 누리며 사는 사람들도 많다.

태어날 때 이미 은 숟가락을 입에 물고 나왔다는 재미있는 표현이다.

He earned every penny himself, becoming a wealthy person. He was not born

beyond the pale(범위밖에)

'전혀 용납할 수 없는'이라는 의미이다. 옛날 아일랜드에서 The pale은 영토의 경계를 뜻했으며, 어떤 사람들은 그 경계선 너머로 가는 것이 허용되지 않았다.

His proposal was beyond the pale

(그의 제안은 전혀 받아들이기 어려웠다.)

bite the bullet(총알을 물다)

'꾹 참다'라는 뜻.

The severe water famine is forcing everybody to bite the bullet and use less water.

(극심한 물 기근 때문에 어쩔 수 없이 모든 사람들은 꾹 참고 물을 덜 사용하고 있다.)

Bite the dust

Every time we hear of still another desperado biting the dust in Western films, we are hearing an almost literal translation of a line found in Homer's Iliad, written thousands of years ago. American poet William Cullen Bryant translated the words in 1870: "...his fellow warriors, may a one, fall round him to the earth and bite the dust."

Earlier, Alexander Pope had eloquently translated the phrase as "bite the bloody sand" and English poet William Cowper hat it, literally, as "bite the ground."

The idea remains the same in any case: a man falling dead in combat, biting the dust in his last hostile, futile act.

bite the dust(먼지를 물다)

'패배하다, 또는 굴욕을 당하다'라는 뜻.

Either of two fighters will bite the dust.(두 선수들 중 어느 쪽이든 한 사람은 패배할 것이다.)

blow hot and cold(뜨겁게 그리고 차갑게 불다)

'어떤 가치에 대하여 끊임없이 마음이 변하다'라는 뜻. 변덕스러운 인간의 태도를 말한다.

The president should stop blowing hot and cold on his foreign policy.

9대통령은 외교정책에 대하여 변덕부리는 일을 그만두어야 한다.)

blow one's own horn

(자기 자신의 뿔피리를 불다)

'자기 자랑을 늘어놓다.'라는 뜻. 즉, 자화자찬(自畵自讚)을 한다는 것이다.

Michael had to blow his own horn while explaining about his new business.

(마이클은 자기의 새로운 사업에 관해 설명하는 동안 자기 자랑을 해야 했다.)

break the ice(얼음을 깨트리다)

처음 갖는 모임이나 사교파티 같은 데는 으레 서먹서먹한 분위기가 생겨난다. 이런 때 '긴장을 풀다'라는 뜻. 얼음처럼 차디찬 분위기를 깨고 터놓는 사이가 될 때 이 말을 쓴다.

Jane's joke about a friend of his broke the ice at th conference.

(제이슨이 자기 친구 중 한 사람에 관해 한 농담으로 그 회의의 긴장이 풀렸다.)

burn the midnight oil(한밤중에 기름을 태우다)

'밤늦도록 자지 않고 공부하거나 일한다'라는 뜻. 전구가 발명되기 전에 밤늦도록 켜 놓고 공부나 일을 해야만 했을 때 기름을 태우던 옛날을 생각하면 재미있는 표현이다.

Many Korean students are burning the midnight oil in order to pass the entrance exams coming up.(다가오는 입시에 합격하기 위해서 많은 한국학생들은 밤늦도록 잠을 자지 않고 공부하고 있다.)

bury the hatchet(도끼를 묻다)

'싸움을 끝내는데 동의하다'라는 뜻. 종종 make peace(화해하다)의 뜻으로 쓰인다.

They have finally buried the hatchet for the first time in ten years.

(그들은 드디어 10년만에 처음으로 화해했다.)

butter up(버터를 바르다)

'butter'에 flattery(아첨)라는 의미가 들어있다. 즉, '누군가를 지나칠 정도로 칭찬하거나 아첨하다'라는 의미로 쓰인다.

He has been buttering up his boss in an attempt to get a promotion.

(그는 승진(昇進)하기 위해 자기 상관(上官)에게 아첨(阿諂)해 왔다.)

by the book(책에 의해)

'기존의 규칙에 의해'라는 뜻. 즉 이미 정해져 있는 규칙대로 일을 처리한다는 의미로 쓰인다. 우리말로 치면 '교과서대로'쯤 되겠다.

You should have done everything by the book.(모든 것을 규칙대로 했어야 했다.)

Call a spade a spade(가래를 가래라고 부르다.)

'직접적이고 퉁명스러운 태도로 말하다'라는 뜻. 간접적으로 돌려 말하지 않고, 직언 할  때 쓰는 표현. '가래'임이 분명한데도 '가래'라고 부르지 않고, 완곡하게 표현하는 일이 다반사인 세상에서 때로는 직언 할 필요도 생긴다.

The storekeeper said, "Let's call a spade a spade: you didn't buy it, you stole it."

(가게 주인은 "우리 솔직히 말하자. 너는 그것을 산 것이 아니고 훔쳤어" 라고 말했다.

Can't hold a candle to...

This expression goes back to Shakespeare's time, before there was any such thing as street lighting. In those days a person returning home from a tavern or theater would be accompanied by a linkboy, who carried a torch or a candle. These linkboys were considered very inferior beings, so to say that Tom couldn't hold a candle to Harry meant that Tom was very much inferior to Harry.

can't hold a candle to

(-앞에 양초를 잡지 못한다)

누군가와 또는 무엇인가와 비교할 때, 뚜렷하게 질이나 가치 등이 떨어지는 또는 열등한 사람이나 사물을 묘사할 대에 쓰는 표현으로 '-와도 비교도 안 되는, -는 도저히 따라가지 못하는'이라는 뜻이다.

Mr, Kim is a renowned writer, but as a speaker, he can't hold a candle to Mr. Lee.

(김선생님은 명성 있는 작가이나, 연설가로서는 이 선생님과는 비교가 안 된다.)

Can't see the forest for the trees

A person who can't see the forest for the trees is one who is so concerned with trivial matters that he can't grasp the big problems. If he were a writer, for instance, he might be more concerned with getting every sentence precisely correct grammatically than working to make sure that the book as a whole impressed its readers the way he wanted it to. The expression first appeared in the works of Christoph Martin Weiland, a German poet and novelist, who wrote: "Too much light often blinds gentlemen of this sort.

They cannot see the forest for the trees."

Can't Stand the Heat

One of President Harry Truman's favorite remarks was

"If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."

In other words, if you can't stand the tensions and pressures that go with positions of authority, you're better off not seeking such positions.

carry coals to Newcastle(뉴캐슬로 석탄을 운반하다)

'분명히 불필요한 일인데도 그 일을 하다'라는 뜻. 즉, 필요 없는 일을 할 때 쓰는 표현이다. 뉴캐슬은 영국에 있는 탄광으로 유명한 곳인데, 석탄을 생산하는 곳으로 석탄을 나르다니 얼마나 불필요한 일인가!]

Richard bought his wife a necklace for her birthday. Realizing that she already has one that is identical with what he bought, he said. "I carried coals to Newcastle."

(리처드는 아내의 생일선물로 목걸이를 샀다. 자기가 산 것과 똑 같은 것을 아내가 이미 갖고 있는 것을 알자, "쓸데없는 것을 샀군,"하고 말했다.)

Cat has nine lives...

...is one of the oldest English proverbs, being recorded in Heywood's collection in 1546 and being certainly much older than that date would indicate. The allusion is probably to the cat's legendary ability to land on all four feet when dropped or tossed from a height that would mean death to any other animal. Heywood's version goes like this: "No wife, no woman hath nine lives like a cat." And in Romeo and Juliet there is the following interchange between Tybalt and Mercutio: "What wouldst thou have with me?" asks Tybalt. "Good King of Cats, nothing but one of your nine lives," replies Mercutio.

"After me, the flood."

apres moi le deluge

The popularity of the phrase stems from its use by Madame de Pompadour, celebrated beauty and intimate of King Louis XV of France. The French Court at the time was famed for its lavish and wasteful extravagances. When Pompadour, whose philosophy was "Live for the minute - who cares what happens when we're gone?" was reproved for these excesses, she replied, "Apres nous le deluge."

Clean the slate(석판을 닦다)

새로운 출발을 의미하는 것으로 '과거를 청산하고 재출발을 시도한다'라는 의미이다. 이 관용구는 과거에 교실에서 사용하던 분필과 석판에서 유래하며, 석판을 깨끗이 닦아서 틀린 증거를 학생들이 지울 수 있었기 때문이다.

You should go into business by cleaning the slate.(너는 과거를 청산하고 사업에 착수해야 한다.)

Climb on the bandwagon(행렬 선두의 악대(樂隊) 차에 오르다)

'하나의 특정한 주의, 주장, 큰 목적이나 정당에 가담하다'라는 의미다. 사람들은 유리한 결과나 승산이 있을 것으로 믿는 사상이나 사회, 정치 운동 등에 합세하는 방법이다. 이러한 경우에 쓰는 표현이다.

Knowing that the opposition leader was becoming extremely popular, he decided to climb on the bandwagon and offered his full support to his opponent.

(상대편 지도자가 굉장히 큰 인기를 얻게 되었다는 것을 알자, 그는 상대편에 가담하기로 결심하고, 상대편을 열렬히 지도했다.)

Cloud Nine

The expression 'up on cloud nine' to describe a feeling of euphoric exaltation and joy is based on actual terminology used by the U.S. Weather Bureau. Clouds are divided into classes and each class is divided into nine types. Cloud nine is the cumulonimbus cloud that you often see building up in the sky in a hot summer afternoon. It may reach 30,000 to 40,000 feet, so if one is up on cloud nine, one is high indeed.

The popularity of cloud nine as a catch phrase, though, may be credited to the Johnny Dollar radio show of the 1950s. There was one recurring episode, like Fibber McGee's famous opening of the closet door. Every time the hero was knocked unconscious - which was often - he was transported to cloud nine. There Johnny could start talking again.

COME HELL OR HIGH WATER

When we looked into the expression "come hell or high water," meaning that a person determined to accomplish a task, come hell or high water, would permit no obstacles to get in the way, we found that it originated as an expression of the folk wisdom of pioneers living on the frontier where the challenges of nature were everyday occurrances. We noted that it first appeared in print in the United States in 1915, but added that the expression had probably been around for many years before finding its way into print. A Sydney Sherry of Oconto, Wisconsin, adds, his recollection of the phrase. "Well, folks," he writes, " 'come hell or high water' was a very popular expression that as a child of ten years of age I heard in the gold fields of Ararat, Victoria, Australia, where I was born in 1905. It was an often used saying at the Calico (tent) School I attended. The expression probably came into Aussie slang from the Yankee diggers of those rip-roaring days. There were very few slang phrases used in the chopped-up King's English of Australia that had not originated in Yankee Land." So it would appear that this colorful expression has been around for a good long time, if it had already reached Australia in the early years of this century.

Crazy as a bedbug

How does it happen that people say So-and-so is crazy as a bedbug? Are bedbugs any crazier than other bugs? Quite to the contrary. We called a local exterminator, thinking he'd be an authority on the subject, and he told us that they are among the brightest bugs around. Ingenious, too. When one sets pots of water at each bedpost to act as a sort of midnight moat, the pesky things climb to the ceiling and drop down on the bed. However, he added they are rapidly being eliminated in most parts of the country by the, entomologically speaking, lethal sprays.

Stopped by 'entomological'? Well, sit still a minute for the favorite joke of dictionary editors.

"Pop," says the lad, "what's an etymologist?"

"Son," answers the learned father, "an etymologist is a man who knows the difference between an etymologist and an entomologist."

What's an entomologist? Simple. A bug expert.

creature comforts(피조물의 즐거움, 즉 생활을 즐겁게 해주는 것)

'생활을 편하게 해주고 생활에 즐거움을 주는 기본적이고, 주요한 물질적인 것들'을 의미하는데' 좋은 음식과 따뜻함을 주는 좋은 의복들이 여기에 속한다.

We should be thankful for the creature comforts the poor lack.

(우리는 가난한 사람들에게는 없는 좋은 것들에 대해 감사해야 한다.-가난한 사람들이 가지고 있지 않은 것을 우리가 가지고 있는 것에 대해 감사해야 한다.)

CROCODILE TEARS

The crocodile was a favorite figure in ancient Greek and Egyptian folklore. Indeed, its name comes directly from the Greek krokodeilos. The legend was that this giant reptile attracted its victims by loud moaning and then shed tears while it devoured them.

cross the Rubicon(루비콘 강을 건너다.)

'되돌릴 수 없는, 취소할 수 없는, 변경할 수 없는 결정을 하다'라는 뜻. 일단 결정하면 도저히 취소나 변경할 수 없는 결정적인 입장을 표현할 때 쓴다. 시저가 그의 군대를 이끌고 로마에서 내전을 일으켰을 때 건넜던 강의 이름인 루비콘 강에서 유래한다.

Once you crossed the Rubicon, you must succeed in what you wanted to do.

(일단 돌이킬 수 없는 결정을 했을 바에야 하고 싶은 것에서 꼭 성공해야 한다.)

cry uncle(아저씨를 소리쳐 부르다)

'패배를 자인하거나 항복하다'라는 뜻. 'say uncle'이라고도 한다.

He did not let me go until I cried uncle.

(내가 패배를 인정하고 나서야 그는 나를 놓아주었다.)

Dead as a doornail

Dead as a doornail is an expression most of us learned first in Dickens's A Christmas Carol. Actually, it's much older than that, having appeared in the fourteenth-century Vision of Piers Plowman and in Shakespeare's Henry IV.

Until now all word experts have been explaining that the doornail referred to is the heavy stud in the middle of a wooden door against which a knocker is struck. Since this happens many thousands of times - with a well-exercised knocker, at any rate - the doornail may well be considered 'dead' from the abuse it takes.

Ha, ha, says William Wagner of Falls Church, Virginia. It's pretty obvious that you experts on words are not experts on carpentry. "The dictionary," he writes, "defines a doornail as 'a large-headed nail, easily clinched, for nailing doors, through the battens.' Now the 'clinching' makes the nail 'dead'. It cannot be easily withdrawn. 'Dead-nailing' is a term most any carpenter is familiar with. It is a technique frequently used in constructing doors for log cabins, construction shanties and the like - and it antedates the ready availability of screws and more sophisticated fastening devices. It would seem that you have gone somewhat far afield to explain a phrase derived from the simple action of bending the end of a nail to provide secure fastening."

Far afield indeed have we wandered. And thanks to you, Mr. Wagner, for spiking the old story, which we hereby label - you should forgive the expression - dead as a doornail. The dickens with it!

DON'T CHANGE HORSES IN MIDSTREAM

The phrase, possibly suggested to Abraham Lincoln by an old Dutch farmer he knew, is recorded almost a quarter of a century before Lincoln said it. But Lincoln immortalized the expression when he accepted his nomination for the presidency in 1864. Waving aside any suggestions that the honor was a personal one, he told the Republicans that he was sure they hadn't decided he was "the greatest or the best man in America, but rather, ... have concluded it is not best to swap horses while crossing the river, and have further concluded that I am not so poor a horse that they might not make a botch of it trying to swap." Over the years "the river," which was of course the Civil War, was abbreviated to "midstream" and the saying "don't change horses in midstream" came to mean

"don't change leaders in a crisis."

Don't count your chickens before they're hatched.

Don't count on profits before you have them in hand. "I woulde not have him to counte his chickens so soone before they be hatcht," is the first recorded use of this expression, in 1579. Perhaps the idea behind the words goes all the way back to Aesop's fable of the woman who brings eggs to market, announcing that she will buy a goose with the money she gets for her eggs, that with her profits from the goose she will buy a cow, and so on - but in the excitement of all her anticipations kicks over her basket and breaks her eggs.

Don't give a rap

Counterfeiters took advantage of the scarcity of copper coins in the early 18th century and began flooding Ireland with bogus halfpence. These worthless coins became known as raps and inspired the expression not worth a rap, "of no value at all," and don't give a rap, "don't care in the slightest."

draw the line(선을 긋다)

'용납될 수 없는 행동 등에 대해 한계선을 긋다' 라는 뜻. 어떤 일에 경계 또는 한계를 명확히 할 때 쓴다. 우리말에도 '선을 긋다'는 표현이 있다.

Although Steve loves to drink, he knows when to draw the line.

(비록 스티브는 술을 마시는 것을 매우 좋아하지만, 언제 끝을 맺을지를 안다.)

Drop in the bucket

Another biblical phrase, meaning very little compared with the whole. It is from Isaiah 40:15

"Behold, the nations are as a drop in the bucket, and are counted as the small dust on the balance."

Drop the other shoe!

This expression, meaning 'end of suspense,' has been around for many decades. There are various stories to account for its origin, but our own favoite comes from Kiyoaki Murata, managing editor of the Tokyo Times. "I was traveling in Germany and at a hotel my interpreter friend read me a joke out of a German magazine. It went like this: A traveler came to an inn late at night and asked for a room. There was only one available and he was told to be very careful because the guest in the next room was a timid fellow and a very light sleeper, disturbed by the slightest noise. So the new guest made every effort to be silent as he got ready for bed, but because he was so nervous he dropped one shoe, making a crashing sound in the silence of the night. Sure enough, it awakened the man next door and the new guest could hear him toss and turn. So he managed to get the other shoe off in silence and got into bed. Toward dawn he heard his neighbor still tossing about and finally, just about daybreak, he heard a pounding on the wall and a shout: 'When are you going to drop the other shoe?'

eat humble pie(변변치 못한 파이를 먹다.)

'자기 자신의 결함이나 잘못을 어쩔 수 없이 인정하다' 라는 뜻. 모욕을 참으면서 스스로 잘못을 시인하도록 강요당하는 것. 즉 '굴욕을 감수하다'라는 의미이다.

He had to eat humble pie when the editor pointed out many errors in his paper.

(그는 편집자가 자기의 논문에서 많은 문제점을 지적하였을 때, 자신의 잘못을 시인할 수밖에 없었다.)

elbow grease(팔꿈치의 지방)

'격렬한 신체적 노력'을 뜻한다. 격렬한 노력을 요하는 일을 할 때 쓰는 관용구이다.

If you wish to get this work done by tomorrow, you'll need to apply elbow grease.

(내일까지 이 일을 끝내고 싶다면 신체적으로 많은 노력이 필요할 것이다.)

eleventh hour.(열 한번 째 시간)

'최후의 순간'을 뜻한다.

The mailman arrived at the eleventh hour just before I left my house.

(내가 집을 떠나려고 할 때 우체부가 도착했다.)

EUREKA!

There's quite a story involved here, with a star-studded cast of characters, the discovery of an important principle of physics, and even - as befits a tale told for today's broad-minded audiences - a scene in which the leading character disports himself in the nude.

It seems that King Hiero II of Syracuse (the Greek city, not the one in upstate New York) gave a certain amount of gold to an artisan for making a crown. When the crown was delivered, he suspected that some of the gold had been stolen and silver substituted. But how to prove it?

So he sent for his wisest philosopher, Archimedes, and turned the problem over to him. Archimedes, not knowing the solution, decided to relax and consider the problem while soaking in a tepid bath. As he climbed into the brimful tub, some of the water overflowed and Archimedes raced into the street, still in the buff, shouting:

"Eureka! Eureka!" - which is Greek for "I have found it!"

Archimedes discovered that his body, when immersed in water, was subject to an upward force equal to the weight of water it displaced. A gold crown and a silver crown will displace the same amount of water but would of course have different weights. In other words, the densities of the two crowns would be different. If the crown had a certain proportion of silver and of gold, its density would be somewhere in between. Archimedes' principle allows one to calculate the proportion of silver and gold in the crown, by comparing the density of the crown with the densities of pure gold and pure silver. Archimedes proved that the goldsmith had indeed been cheating the king. Then, presumably, he put his clothes back on.

Incidentally, "Eureka"is the state motto of California, in reference to the discovery of gold by the forty-niners.

Everyone talks about the weather...

The most famous quotation on the subject of weather - "Everyone talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it" - is usually attributed to Mark Twain. Maybe he did say it one time, but the best evidence indicated that his brother-in-law, Charles Dudley Warner, actually wrote it first in an editorial in the Hartford Courant. Perhaps, though, the whole matter may now be left aside and forgotten, for somebody has done something about the weather. His name was Willis H. Carrier and he invented air conditioning.

face the music(음악과 맞서다)

'기분 나쁜 결과를 받아들이다.(감수하다)'라는 뜻. 자기가 저지른 일로 인해 어쩔 수 없이 감수해야 할 결과를 두고 하는 표현이다.

Because of his misconduct in the classroom. Kevin had to face the music.

(교실에서의 좋지 않은 태도 때문에 케빈은 좋지 않은 결과를 감수할 수밖에 없었다.)

fifth wheel(다선 번째 바퀴)

'자동차의 예비 바퀴처럼 쓰이지 않는 무용지물' 또는 아무런 구실도 못하는 사람'을 의미한다. 할 일없이 빈둥빈둥 돌아다니는 쓸모 없고 기능도 없는 인간을 두고 표현하는 관용구이다.

She felt like a fifth wheel after her exclusion from the ineffective personal committee.

(그 무능한 인사위원회에서 축출 당한 후 그녀는 마치 아무런 구실도 못하는 인간처럼 느껴졌다.)

FLASH IN THE PAN

Flash in the pan is generally thought to have originated in the days of flintlock muskets. Just as an ineffective flash of the primer in the pan of the musket would result in no explosion of the charge, so a person who failed to live up to his early promise came to be known as a flash in the pan.

Frank added:

Another possible origin is from prospecting when sun hit the pan and the reflection was thought to be gold.

For crying out loud!

An Americanism first recorded in 1924, but probably dating back earlier, for crying out loud is what is called a "minced oath," a euphemism that may have originated when someone started to say "For Christ's sake!" but got only as far as the first syllable of the second word, realized the curse was inappropriate in the circumstances, and changed the offensive word to "crying." It's hard to believe that this common expression was consciously invented by someone. But it has been traced to American cartoonist and prolific word coiner Thomas Aloysius (TAD) Dorgan.

fortieth winks(사십 번의 눈 깜박임)

'잠깐 동안의 잠, 겉잠'을 뜻한다. nap(잠깐 졸기, 선잠)을 의미할 때 쓰는 표현이다. 눈을 사십 번쯤 깜박이는 짧은 동안을 생각해보면 재미있는 관용구이다.

Take forty winks before you start on your homework assignments.

(숙제를 하기 전에 잠깐 동안 잠을 자라.)

get down to brass tacks(놋쇠 못에 착수하다)

'실제 문제 또는 당장 닥친 문제나 일에 착수하다.'라는 뜻. 문제의 핵심 또는 중요한 용건에 손을 댄다는 뜻이다.

Instead of wasting time on trifles, let's get down to brass tacks.

(쓸데없는 일에 시간을 낭비하지 말고, 지금 당장 문제의 핵심에 착수하자.)

get in one's hair(누군가의 머리카락 속에 들어가다)

'누군가를 괴롭히거나 방해하다'라는 뜻. 자기의 머리카락 속에 무엇인가(이 같은 것) 들어갔다고 상상할 때의 기분이나 심정을 생각하면 이해되는 표현이다.

Your sister must get her work done by tomorrow. Stop getting in her hair.

(너의 누이는 내일까지 일을 끝내야 해. 훼방 놓지 마라.)

get something off one's chest

(자기 가슴에서 무엇인가를 치우다.)

'무엇인가를 고백하다'라는 뜻. 무엇인가 심정을 괴롭히는 것이 있을 때, 그 일을 고백해 버리면 가슴이 후련하다는 뜻으로 쓰이는 관용구이다.

Is something troubling you? Tell you mom what it is and get it off your chest.

(무엇 때문에 괴로워하고 있니? 엄마한테 그것이 무엇인지 툭 털어놓아라.)

Give and take

The expression give and take is first recorded (1769) in British horse racing as "a prize for a race in which the horses which exceed a standard height carry more, and those which fall short of it less, than the standard weight." By 1816 we find the phrase being used on and off the track for making allowances or concessions, the practise of compromise.

In an interesting study of the words give and take, researchers found that over a given period among an observed group give was used 2184 times, while take was used 7008 times.

get under one's skin(누군가의 피부 속에 들아 가다)

'누구를 깊이 감동시키다' '누구의 마음을 사로잡다'라는 뜻.

한 사람이 다른 한 사람의 마음을 사로잡는다라고 할 때 쓰는 표현이다.

Richard tried his best to get under Linda's skin.

(리처드는 린다의 마음을 사로잡고자 최선을 다했다.)

Give him an inch and he'll take a mile.

The expression may someday become "give him a millimeter and he'll take a meter," or something similar. It has already been put this way humorously and might someday be standard English. Which shouldn't be surprising. In fact, the above expression was originally give him an inch and he'll take an ell, a very old proverb that goes back before the 16th century. An ell, the word deriving from the Anglo-Saxon eln, "the forearm to the tip of the middle finger," varied in length from 27 to 48 inches, depending on in which country you were measuring forearms (the English had it at 45 inches).

No matter what the measurement, past or present, the expression means the same - give him a small concession and he'll take great liberties.

go Dutch(네델란드식 회식(會食))

'비용을 각자가 부담하여 즐기는 회식이나 오락'을 뜻한다. 우리 나라에서는 'Dutch Pay'라는 말을 들었는데 이것은 한국식 영어(?)이다. 미국에서는 이런 표현을 할 때 'go Dutch'라고 한다.

Let's go Dutch.(각자 비용을 내자)

go off the deep end(깊은 곳으로 빠져들어 가다)

'분별없이 행동하다, 자제력을 잃다, 갑자기 노발대발하다'라는 뜻. 사리에 맞지 않은 무모한 짓을 저지르는 경우에 쓰이는 관용구이다.

Most of the students were behaving themselves at the party. All of a sudden, two boys started to go off the deep end. (파티에서 대부분의 학생(學生)들은 얌전했었다. 그런데 갑자기 두 남자아이들이 분별없이 행동하기 시작했다.)

go to pot(단지로 가다)

'악화(惡化)되거나 쇠퇴(衰退)하거나, 망하다'라는 뜻의 구어(口語)적 관용구.

Since many businesses moved out to other cities and towns, our town has really gone to pot.

(많은 사업체들이 다른 도시로 옮겨 간 이래 우리 마을은 정말로 망해 버렸다.)

grasp at the straws(짚을 움켜쥐다)

'마지막으로 필사적인 노력을 하다'라는 뜻. 이 비슷한말로 우리말에도 '물에 빠진 사람 지푸라기라도 잡는다'라는 말이 있다.

Although the situation was not in favor of him, George was just grasping at straws.

(정세는 자기한테 불리했으나, 마지막으로 조지는 필사적인 노력을 그저 기울이고 있었다.)

Have an ax to grind(갈아야 할 도끼를 갖다.)

'어떤 일에 이기적인 동기나 이해관계를 갖다. 마음속에 딴 속셈이 있다.'라는 뜻. 공공의 이익보다는 자기 한 사람의 이기적인 생각으로 일에 관여하는 경우에 쓰이는 표현이다.

Many voters suspected that the candidate had an ax to grind for his political life.

(많은 유권자들은 그 입후보자가 자기의 정치생활을 위한 이기적인 동기를 갖고 있지 않은가 하고 의심했다.)

have one's nose to the grindstone

(회전 숫돌에 코를 달다.)

'지루한 일을 하면서 꾸준히 열심히 하다'라는 뜻. 쉴새 없이 돌고 있는 숫돌에 코를 달고 있을 때에는 숫돌이 도는 대로 끌려가야 하므로 쉴 틈이 없다.

Scheduled to submit his report next morning, Mr. Jones really has his nose to the grindstone.

(다음달에 보고서를 제출하도록 예정된 존스씨는 정말로 쉴새 없이 일하고 있다.)

Here's mud in your eye...

This toast was originally made in the muddy trenches of World War I, or in the cafes where English and American soldiers spent their leaves trying to forget them. He who fights and runs away will live to fight another day...is such a truism that we'd guess that the first expression of it was grunted by a caveman weary of battle. One of the first recorded expressions, though, is credited to Demosthenes, the famous Greek orator and political leader. When Philip of Macedonia, Alexander the Great's father, attacked, Demosthenes took flight. Reproached for his seeming cowardice, he replied:

"A man who runs away may fight again."

And a poem by our favorite poet, Anonymous, appeared about the middle of the eighteeth century. It ran like this:

He that fights and runs away

May turn and fight another day:

But he that is in battle slain

Can never rise to fight gain."

hit the ceiling(천장(天仗)을 치다)

우리말에 '분기탱천(憤氣탱天)'이라는 말이 있다. '화가 하늘 끝까지 솟다'는 뜻인데, 이 영어 관용구가 바로 그 뜻이다. 천장을 칠 정도로 뛰는 모습을 상상해보면, 화를 내는 정도를 짐작할 수있다.

Finding out someone had lied about his personal life, Jongsoo really hit the ceiling.

(누군가가 자기의 사생활에 관해 거짓말을 한 것을 알고는 로널드는 굉장히 화를 냈다.)

hold water(물을 유지하다)

'논리에 맞으며 일관성 있는, 이론이 정연한'이라는 뜻. 모순이 없고, 사리에 맞는 것(일)을 표현하는 관용구이다. 엎지르기 쉬운 물을 잘 유지하는 솜씨를 생각해보면 재미있는 표현이다.

Although his speech seemed to be interesting, I decided that his basic arguments did not hold water.

(그의 연설이 재미있는 것처럼 보였으나, 그의 논거(論據)는 논리적(論理的)이지도 않고 일관성(一貫性)이 없는 것이라고 나는 단정(斷定)했다.)

Horse of a Different Color

Cut into the chalk downs of Berkshire, England is the enormous crude outline of a galloping white horse covering some two acres. The figure possibly dates back to Saxon times, when a white horse was the emblem of Saxons invading Britain, and over the ages local residents have kept it clear of overgrowth. It is thought that this might be the source of the expression a horse of a different color, something of a different nature from what is under consideration, for the White Horse in Berkshire changes from green to white periodically when the locals clear grass and weeds from its outline.

The Expression may, however, come from races in medieval tournaments, where armored knights were distinguished by the color of their horses. A favorite knight might have lost a race, leading one of his supporters to say "That's a horse of a different color" as the winner crossed the finish line.

But both explanations are conjectures. The phrase is recorded in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Shakespeare using the expression as if it were quite familiar to his audience.

in hot water(뜨거운 물 속에)

'곤경에 처해 있는' 이라는 뜻. 뜨거운 물 속에 있으니 곤경임은 쉽게 알 수 있다. 어떤 문제를 일으켜 피할 수 없는 곤경에 처해 있을 때 쓰는 구어체(口語體) 표현이다.

Failing in science, Great Stone Face knew that he would be in hot water with his parents.

(과학 과목에 낙제하자 Great Stone Face는 부모님으로부터 혼날 것이라고 생각했다.)

in the pink(연분홍 속에 있는)

'좋은 건강 상태에 있는'이라는 의미의 구어(口語)적 표현.

Considering his age, Mr. Lee is feeling in the pink all the time.

(나이에 비해, 이 선생님은 항상 최고의 건강을 유지(維持)하고 있다.)

IRISH POTATOE

Irish potato, long a staple of the American diet, seems to have been somewhat misnamed, if you go back in history. It is true that the Irish depended on the potato so greatly for food that when disease destroyed the potato crop in the 1840s, famine resulted and thousands of Irishmen left their homeland for the New World. But the potato was first cultivated in South America, where the Indians had grown it for many centuries before it was introduced in Europe around 1570.

Keep your shirt on!

The stiff, starched shirts worn by American men back in the mid-19th century when this expression originated weren't made for a man to fight in. Therefore, men often removed their shirts when enraged and ready to fight, a practice that is reflected in the older British expression to get one's shirt out, "to lose one's temper." Keep your shirt on was a natural admonition from someone who didn't want to fight and realized that an argument could be settled if both parties kept calm and collected.

Received with thanks from Bruno Watson

jump down a person's throat

(누군가의 목구멍으로 뛰어내리다.)

'상대방의 말을 끝내기도 전에 날카롭거나 성난 어조(語調)로 대답이나 응답을 하다'라는 뜻. 한 사람의 말이나 태도에 대해 심한 어조(語調)로 대응(對應)할 대 쓰는 구어체 표현이다.

Even if you don't accept my proposal, you don't have to hump down my throat.

(비록 나의 제안을 받아들이지 않는다 할지라도, 화를 내면서 대할 것까지는 없다.

keep one's fingers crossed(손가락을 엇갈려 두다)

'악운을 가져올 이리 생기지 않기를 바라다. 행운을 빌다'라는 뜻.

확실하지 않은 일을 놓고, 일이 잘 되기를 바라는 뜻으로 쓰이는 관용구다. 우리가 무슨 일이 잘 되기를 바랄 때 두손의 손가락을 엇갈리게 깍지 끼고 비는 모습을 생각해보면 이해가 쉽게 갈 것이다.

Your plan will not be ruined. Keep your fingers crossed.

(네 계획은 잘못되지 않을 거야. 행운을 빌어)

Keep your shirt on!

The stiff, starched shirts worn by American men back in the mid-19th century when this expression originated weren't made for a man to fight in. Therefore, men often removed their shirts when enraged and ready to fight, a practice that is reflected in the older British expression to get one's shirt out, "to lose one's temper." Keep your shirt on was a natural admonition from someone who didn't want to fight and realized that an argument could be settled if both parties kept calm and collected.

kick the bucket(물통을 걷어차다)

'죽다'라는 의미를 가진 속어.

The vicious politician finally kicked the bucket.(그 사악한 정치인은 마침내 죽었다.)

Kit and caboodle

Kit, meaning a collection of anything, comes from the kit bag of a soldier, in which he had to carry all his belongings. The earliest record of its use is in England in 1785. Combined with boodle, it came to mean a collection of people.

There is a difference of opinion as to where boodle originated, some authorities attributing it to buddle, meaning bunch or bundle. Others think it came from the Dutch boedel, meaning "property." In this sense it has long been used by New England longshoremen. How did it become caboodle? Caboodle is said to be a corruption of kit and boodle. All of which makes the whole kit and caboodle an all-inclusive phrase.

Knock on wood

There are several theories about the origin of this very common practice.

One goes back to the child's game 'tag'. In one version of this game the child who is able to touch a tree, thereby touching wood, is free from capture.

Then there is the Biblical theory that the wood symbolizes the cross on which Christ was crucified. In Galatians (6:14) we find

"But God forbid that I should glory, save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ."

The theory here is that if you have made an exaggerated boast you will be forgiven if you turn your thoughts to the Cross.

Still another notion is that knocking on wood goes far back into ancient times, when spirits were thought to live in trees. So should danger threaten, simply rap the trunk of a tree and summon up the aid of a good spirit within.

There is an Irish belief that you knock on wood to let the leprechauns know you are thanking them for a bit of good luck.

A Jewish version says it originated during the Spanish Inquisition under Torquemada during the 1490s. During that time Jews were in flight and since temples and synagogues were built of wood, they evolved a code to use in knocking on doors to gain admission. Since this resulted in lives being saved, it became commonplace to knock on wood for good luck.

Take your choice of these five theories - but be sure to knock on wood so you will pick the right one!

laugh up one's sleeve(소매 속에서 웃다)

인간이란 어느 나라 사람이나 비슷해서 남에게 불행한 일이 생기면 마음이 편안하고 여유가 생기는가 보다. 남의 잘못된 것에 대해서 '무엇인가를 알고, 보고, 듣고, 또는 느끼고 나서 속으로 은근히 재미있어 하다'라는 뜻.

Larry acted concerned over what had happened to his colleague, but it was clear that he was laughing up his sleeve.

(래리는 자기의 동료에게 생긴 일을 걱정하는 척하였으나, 속으로는 은근히 재미있어 하는 것이 분명했다.)

lip service(입술 인사)

'성의가 없어 동의'를 뜻한다. 입에 발린 또는 말로만 생색을 내고, 실제로는 아무런 결과도 가져오지 않은 것을 두고 하는 표현이다.

The president's support of newly created health insurance policy was merely paying lip service.

(새로 만들어진 보험정책에 대한 대통령의 지지는 단지 입에 발린 말에 지나지 않았다.)

make no bones about

(-에 대하여 뼈를 만들지 않는다.)

'-에 대하여 꺼리지 않다'라는 뜻의 관용구.

The Chairman made no bones about his attempt to investigate the congressman's wrongdoing.

(의장은 그 국회의원의 비행을 조사하려는 자기의 시도를 솔직히 표현했다.)

Nelson's Blood

After Lord Horatio Nelson, Britain's greatest naval hero, was killed at the battle of Trafalgar in 1805 by a sniper firing from the top of the French ship Redoubtable, his body was brought back to England to be buried in St. Paul's Cathedral. The fabled hero became the subject of many legends, including one that his body was brought home pickled in rum. Needless to say, it wasn't long before British sailors were calling rum Nelson's Blood.

NICK OF TIME

This goes back many centuries before the computer age, when accounts and scores were kept on notched sticks of wood, called "tallies." In a contest - soccer, for instance - the tally stick would be nicked each time one side scored. When a last minute score brought victory to one team, that nick was called the nick in time.

The wooden tallies, by the way, were a very important part of the official bookkeeping of the British Government for many centuries. Records were made of sums loaned to the government and the tallies were notched as each repayment was made. This practise was discontinued in 1826 and the frugal lawmakers decided to use the old wooden tallies to stoke the fires in the stoves in the House of Lords.

When this explanation appeared in a newspaper column, it brought an indignant complaint that soccer wasn't even invented until the nineteenth century, so how could ancients have been notching scores for a game that didn't exist? Well, it's a fact that the rules for "association football," as soccer is properly named, were not codified until 1863. But - and it's a mighty big but - these rules merely "brought uniformity to a sport that had existed in diverse forms for many centuries." The words are those of the Encyclopedia International - an authoritative source, even if a chap named William Morris was the executive editor of it. In fact, the encyclopedia notes that the game in various forms was known in ancient Greece and in China, where they probably ran the score up on an abacus.

nip and tuck(근소한 차이와 주름 겹단)

'겨루어서 비슷비슷한, 막상막하의'라는 뜻. 서로 다투는 입장에서 아슬아슬한 차이로 매우 비슷비슷한 입장에서 겨루고 있는 처지를 표현한다.

It was nip and tuck in the beginning, but our team finally won the game.

(처음에는 막상막하였으나, 우리 팀이 마침내 경기에서 승리하였다.)

NO PAIN, NO GAIN

You must suffer in order to progress. This dictum, long uttered by  athletic coaches urging player to train harder, is far more ancient than most of them probably realize. Indeed, "Without pains, no gains" was in  John Ray's proverb collection of 1670, and some versions reinforce it by  adding, "No sweat, no sweet." Modern physical therapists, especially those who help rehabilitate athletes after injury, dispute the truth of the saying and insist that it is just such overdoing that causes the injury in the first place. Nevertheless, many exercise addicts believe it, and it has been transferred to other enterprises as well. No gain without pain." Leonard Wright, Display of Dutie (1589)

nose out of joint(접질린 코)

'기분 나쁜 상태에 있는'의 의미.

코가 관절을 벗어나 있다고 상상만 해도 기분 나쁜 일이다.

Since Nancy got that terrible report card, she has had her nose out of joint.

(그 형편없는 성적표를 받은 후 낸시는 줄곧 기분이 좋지 않았다.)

Not worth a damn Not worth a tinkers's dam

Not worth a damn originally came from the common phrase 'not worth a tinker's dam,' this dam being a pellet of bread used by old-time tinkers to block small holes in pots and pans while they poured in solder to fix the leak. When the patch was secure, the dam was discarded.

So anything 'not worth a tinker's dam' was something utterly worthless.

Not worth a red cent

American pennies - once made with more copper, and thus redder - were formerly called reds, which is what a Californian describing a card game in 1849 meant when he observed, "Silver is not plenty ...on the tables and anybody can...bet a red on any card he chuses." This accounts for the expression not worth a red cent, which has roots in the British 'not worth a brass farthing' and which remains a good descriptive phrase because the penny still has enough copper in it to appear reddish.

O.K.

O.K. has probably been more discussed than any other item in the American language. Everyone from presidents to plumbers has his or her pet theory. Woodrow Wilson thought it was a Choctaw Indian word and should properly be spelled 'Okeh." He persuaded a record company of the 1920s (the one that made the first Louis Armstrong records) to call their product "Okey Records." But history fails to record that President Wilson converted many more people to his belief.

A distinguished Columbia professor, Allen Walker Read, announced in 1941 that the term originated as an abbreviation for the Old Kinderhook Club, a political organization supporting James Van Buren (The Kinderhook Fox) for the presidency in 1840. That theory was generally accepted until, in the mid 1960s, an equally distinguished scholar, Dr. Woodford A. Heflin, proved that O.K. had appeared in a Philadelphia newspaper in 1839 - a year ahead of Read's date. Professor Read then countered with evidence that a Boston paper had O.K. in print even earlier in 1839 - and there the scholarly argument rests.

But not everyone agrees. Charles Berlitz, the eminent linguist, thinks it may well come from 'Aux Cayes," a port in Haiti famous for its superior rum. This theory holds that American sailors were so enthusiastic about the rum that 'Aux Cayes' - later O.K. - became their expression for approval.

There are various other theories of the origins of O.K. The most popular holds that Andrew Jackson, while a court clerk in Tennessee, marked O.K. on legal ducuments as an abbreviation for the illiterate 'Orl Kerrect.' In fact, Jackson was never a court clerk - he was a prosecuting attorney - and he was far from illiterate, serving as representative and U.S. senator before being selected President. Mencken once called O.K. 'the most useful of Americanisms.'

It has certainly been successfull in breeding theories about its origin.

Addition from: Joss, University of Wales Lampeter

I have my own theory for the origins of the expression 'O.K.'. Many settlers of America originated in Scotland, and it is my belief that O.K. is a corruption of 'Och Aye'.

Once in a blue moon(푸른 달 속에 한번씩)

'무엇인가를 매우 드물게 하거나, 좀처럼 하지 않다.'라는 뜻의 구어(口語)적 표현. 우리말의 '가뭄에 콩 나듯이'라는 말과 비슷하다.

He goes shopping once in a blue moon.(그는 어쩌다 한 번 쇼핑하러 간다.)

On the Q.T.

A British broadside ballad (1870) contained the line "Whatever I tell you is on the Q.T." This is the first record of Q.T. for 'on the quiet, in confidence' recorded in English, but no one has established whether the broad-side's anonymous author was the first person to use the initials Q.T. to stand for quiet.

On the Q.T. gained more popularity when it appeared in an 1891 minstrel show number called "Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay." London went 'stark mad with the refrain,' which was written by Henry J. Sayers and sung by Lottie Collins.

The first stanza follows:

A sweet Tuxedo girl you see,

Queen of swell society,

Fond of fun as fun can be

When it's on the strict Q.T.

I'm not too young, I'm not too old,

Not too timid, not too bold,

Just the kind of sport I'm told -

Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay....

on the warpath(출정(出定)길에 오르는, 싸우러 가는)

'전쟁에서 미국 인디언들의 출정(出定)길'에서 비롯된 표현인데, '대단히 화를 내어 적의에 찬 몸가짐을 보이다.'라는 의미임.

When he was insulted in public, George was on the warpath.

(대중(大衆) 앞에서 모욕(侮辱)을 당하자 조지는 매우 화를 내며 적의(敵意)에 찬 태도를 보였다.)

on pins and needles(핀과 바늘 위에)

'걱정 또는 긴장 상태에 있는'이라는 뜻.

핀과 바늘 위에 앉아 있을 때의 심정은 오죽하겠는가. 능히 짐작할 수 있다. 우리말에도 바늘방석에 앉아 있는 것 같다는 비슷한 표현이 있다.

Michael was on pins and needles waiting to receive his report card.

(성적표 받기를 기다리면서 마이클은 매우 불안하였다.)

Paddle your own canoe

The word canoe has been traced back to the time of Columbus and is believed to be derived from a Haitian word, canoa, meaning a small handmade craft, originally one made from a hollowed-out tree trunk. The phrase paddle your own canoe - meaning 'mind your own business' - has been traced back to the early nineteenth century, although canoeing as a sport did not become popular until around 1875. It was a favorite expression of President Lincoln and his frequent use of it probably did much to make it popular.

pay through the nose(코를 통해 지불하다.)

'터무니없이 많은 값을 지불하다'라는 뜻. 볼멘 소리를 하면 즉, 불만을 나타내며 지불하다. 우리말에 있는

'볼멘 소리하다'는 뜻과 비슷한 표현이다.

Everybody is expected to pay through the nose for a luxurious hotel room in a big city.

(대도시에 있는 호화로운 호텔 방은 누구나 비싼 값을 지불할 것으로 여겨지고 있다.)

peter out

It seems unlikely that disappointed American miners during the '49 gold rush derived the expression to peter out, 'to taper off or come to an end,' from the French peter, 'to break wind.' This would indeed have been an expression of their disappointment when a mine failed to yield more gold, but there were ample American words available to express the same sentiment.

Another guess is that the 'peter' here refers to the apostle Peter, who first rushed to Christ's defense in the Garden of Gethsemane, sword in hand, and then before the cock crowed thrice denied that he even knew Him.

Most likely the expression springs from the fact that veins of ore in mines frequently petered out, or turned to stone. The gunpowder mixture of saltpeter, sulphur, and charcoal, commonly called peter by miners, was used as an explosive in mining operations and when a vein of gold was exhausted it was said to have been petered out.

pie in the sky(하늘 위의 파이)

한 마디로 말해서 '그림의 떡'을 의미한다. 상식을 벗어난 어리석고 터무니없는 목표. 하늘에 있는 파이를 먹을 수 있는 가능성이 현실적인지를 생각할 때 매우 재미있는 표현이다. 우리말의 '뜬구름 잡기'와 같은 뜻으로도 해석할 수 있다.

What the candidate promises in pie in the sky.(그 입후보자가 약속하는 것은 터무니없는 것이다.)

pop the question(질문을 쏘다)

'청혼하다'라는 뜻. 총을 쏘듯, 튀밥을 튀기듯 질문을 던질 때의 심정이 결혼(結婚)을 신청(申請)할 때의 심정과 비해볼 만하다.

John said that he would pop the question tomorrow.(내일 청혼할 것이라고 존은 말했다.)

pour oil the troubled waters(거친 바다 위에 기름을 붓다)

'소동을 진정시키다, 싸움을 가라앉히다'라는 뜻. 사회, 정치문제로 일어난 소동을 진정시킬 때 쓰는 표현이다.

나는 할머니로부터 기름을 부으면 성난 파도가 잔잔해진다는 말을 어른들로부터 들은 일이 있다.

His radical ideas appeared to cause real dissention within his own party at first, but he poured oil in the troubled waters in yesterday's speech.

(그의 과격한 사상으로 처음에는 자기 자신의 정당 내에 실질적인 의견 차이를 야기하는 듯이 보였으나, 어제의 연설에서 그는 그 소동을 진정시켰다.)

Pot Luck

No sirloins or barons of beef for peasants in the Middle Ages. Mostly their dinners came from the great iron pots simmering over their fires into which leftovers were tossed from day to day. Often they did not know exactly what they were having for dinner, so when they asked a visitor to take pot luck with them they were not trying to put him off. It was a matter of luck - what was in the port and whether there would be enough of it to go around.

The expression is first recorded in 1592 and came to mean 'plain fare,' nothing fancy, what we usually have, like the French pot-au-feu ("fire-pot"), the ordinary family dinner. In Ireland the pot of hospitality always hung over the open fire ready to be dipped into by any unexpected visitor.

People who offer visitors pot luck today, however, often wind up preparing an impromptu banquet for their guests.

pull one's leg(남의 다리를 끌어당기다)

'누군가를 놀리거나 속이다'라는 뜻으로 구어체 표현이다.

I realize that he was just pulling my leg.

(나는 그가 단지 나를 놀리고 있다는 것을 알아차렸다.)

PUNCH LINE

The words expressing the ultimate point of a joke or story. The term alludes to the boxer's punch, or blow, and has been used figuratively since about 1920, as in "All of their sure-fire punch-lines went over" (Variety, Nov. 25, 1921; cited by OED).

Addition received with thanks from DARNELL HENSON

Punchline refers most assuredly to the vaudeville acts commen in the thirties and late twenties (twentieth century of course). When the joke climaxed, the straight man was usually actually hit by the funny man.

Raining cats and dogs...

Raining cats and dogs goes back many hundreds of years to the Dark Ages, when people believed in all sorts of ghosts, goblins and witches and even thought that animals, like cats and dogs, had magical powers. The cat was thought by sailors to have a lot to do with storms, and the witches that were believed to ride in the storms were often pictured as black cats. Dogs and wolves were symbols of winds and the Norse storm god Odin was frequently shown surrounded by dogs and wolves. So when a particularly violent rainstorm came along, people would say it was raining cats and dogs - with the cat symbolizing the rain and the dogs representing the wind and storm.

New addition:

These are "facts" about life in the 1500's.

Houses had thatched roofs. Thick straw, piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the pets... dogs, cats and other small animals, mice, rats, bugs lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying, "It's raining cats and dogs."

New addition:

Another theory is that it is possible that the word cats is dirived from the Greek work catadupe meaning "water-fall" or it could be raining cata doxas, which is latin for "contrary to experience," or an unusual fall of rain.

Rule of Thumb

There are two good choices here. Brewmasters of old often tested the temperature of a batch of beer by dipping a thumb in the brew, their long experience telling them how well the beer was brewing. One theory has it that our expression for a rough, guesswork estimate derives from this practice.

More likely it stems from the ancient use of the last joint of the thumb as a measuring device for roughly one inch.

Additional information received with thanks from Jayson E. D.

I've heard a couple of times from different sources that the "Rule of Thumb" comes from an Old English law which forbade a man from beating his wife with a rod "thicker than his thumb."

Additional information received with thanks from M.L. van Will

Tailors could actually make a suit of clothes for a "properly-proportioned" man by applying the "rule of thumb".

I'm not sure I remember it correctly and I don't have a string or tape-measure handy but I believe it is as follows:

4 x around the thumb equals the wrist

2 x the wrist equals the neck

2 x the neck equals the waist

2 x the waist equals the span from finger-tip to finger-tip

Of course, if one is not perfectly proportioned, the suit might be a strange fit.

Do I remember correctly (if vaguely) that this is how the Lilliputians measured Gullivan for his new clothes?

Salt of the Earth

Anyone regarded as the finest of his kind is the salt of the earth.

The expression comes from Matthew 5:13,

where Jesus, speaking to his desciples, says:

"Ye are the salt of the earth ...Ye are the light of the world."

SAME OLD SEVEN AND SIX

A call for the meaning of the phrase same old seventy-six brought the following explanation from Colonel J.W. Bender (Ret.) of Alexandria, Virginia:

"Unfortunately for you," he wrote, "the expression - which is as old as the hills - is 'The same old seven and six' which add up to the unlucky number of thirteen. Hence when you ask someone 'How are things?' and the answer is 'The same old seven and six,' it means

No luck!"

Santa Claus

Yes, Virginia, there was a Santa Claus, a real one - probably. The custom of giving presents at Christmas is based on the legend that St. Nicholas - a bishop of Myra in Asia Minor during the fourth century - gave secret dowries to three sisters who could not have been married otherwise and would have been sold into prostitution if it hadn't been for his generosity.

Nicholas, the story goes, was out walking one night when he heard the three sisters crying behind their curtained window. On being told that their poor father could find no husbands for them and had to sell them to a brothel, our Santa Claus dug into his coat and threw three bags of gold to them, disappearing into the night before their father could thank him.

A twist on the tale has the bishop turning three brass balls into bags of gold, which is appropriate for the patron saint of pawnbrokers. St. Nicholas is also the patron saint of the Russian Orthodox Church, Greece, Sicily, Aberdeen, scholars, travelers, sailors, thieves, and children, among other groups.

Despite the lack of historical facts about him, he is no doubt the basis for our Santa Claus. The eve of his feast day, December 6, is a children's holiday when gifts are given in the Netherlands, Austria and elsewhere, the custom calling for someone to dress up as St. Nicholas and present the gifts. The English who settled in New York borrowed both the saint and this custom from the earlier Dutch settlers, moving his day to Christmas, their own gift-giving day, and corrupting his name from the Dutch dialect Sint Klaas to Santa Claus.

Scrooge

Old Scrooge in Dicken's A Christmas Carol is not given any credit in the language for eventually becoming a genial old chap at the tale's end; his name still means a miserly, mean old man (and, sometimes, woman). Incidentally, Scrooge may well be a real Englsh name. Dickens, like Balzac, was in the habit of collecting real names to use in his stories. As Joseph Shipley has pointed out, Scrooge is an apt name for the character, suggesting someone always ready "to put the screws on."

sit on the fence(울타리 위에 앉다)

'논쟁에서 어느 한쪽에도 가담하지 않고 중립을 취하다'라는 뜻. 마당에서 어떤 소동이나 싸움이 일나든지 울타리 위에 앉아 구경만 하면 중립(中立)이 지켜질 것이다. 이 표현은 결정할 용기가 없는 비겁한 인간성을 경멸하는데 사용된다.

A respected statesman doesn't sit on the fence.(존경받는 정치가는 중립을 취하지 않는다.)

soft soap(부드러운 비누)

'아첨, 인사치레'를 의미한다.

Robert felt uncomfortable when his boss was giving him a lot of soft soap.

(Robert는 상사가 인사 치레할 때 마음이 편하지 않았다.)

soup to nuts(수프에서 견과(堅果)까지)

모든 것을 포함한 '처음부터 끝까지'라는 뜻. 수프에서 견과(堅果)까지 없는 것이 없는 식사를 생각해 보라.

His presentation on global issues covered everything from soup to nuts.

(세계적 문제에 대한 그의 발표는 모든 것을 다 포함했다.)

take the bit between one's teeth(이 사이의 재갈)

'무슨 열의와 결의를 가지고 하기 시작한다'라는 뜻.

Planning to get the assignment done, John has decided to take the bit between his teeth.

(주어진 과제를 완수하기로 계획하면서, 존은 결연히 맞서기로 결심했다.)

The Full Monty

(more properly 'the Full Monte')

This expression means the real thing. It originates from the Monte Carlo Car Rally.

It seems that in the early days of the rally, the day before the race itself, the gentlemen of Monte Carlo were allowed to drive around the marked circuit in their own sports cars.

This practice was known locally as 'the Half Monte' ie. a practice.

The 'Full Monte' was therefore...the real thing.

THE BUCK STOPS HERE

Visitors to the Truman Library can see an exact replica of the late President's White House Office. On the desk there is a sign that says: "THE BUCK STOPS HERE". During the administration of President James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, the sign was returned, at his request, to the White House. "Passing the buck" is a phrase from poker, and since President Truman was an ardent player of the game, it is logical to assume that the sign on his desk was derived from his poker experiences. The original buck in card games was a marker placed before the poker player who was to deal the next hand. So "passing the buck" meant shifting the responsibility to another person. Obviously "The buck stops here" meant that Truman was assuming final authority. In the Old West, Silver Dollars were often used as bucks or markers - and that's how the dollar came to get the nickname buck.

take the cake(케이크를 먹다)

'가장 뛰어나다'라는 뜻. 그러나 종종 비꼬며 경멸하는 의미로 쓰일 때가 있다.

When it comes to drinking, he takes the cake.

(술마시는 일이라면, 그가 제일이지.)

the end of one's rope(밧줄의 끝)

'선택의 여지가 없는'이라는 뜻. 갖은 방법으로 다해본 후에도 도저히 선택의 여지가 없는 처지를 뜻한다.

Having tried his best to get into medical school, James finally found himself at the end of his rope.

(제임스는 의과대학에 들어가고자 최선을 다했지만 결국 자기자신으로서는 어쩔 도리가 없음을 알았다.)

the last laugh(최후의 웃음)

'최후의 승리, 또는 만족감'을 나타낸다. 두고 봐야 누가 최후의 승리자가 되는지를 알 것이라는 표현이다. 최후에 웃는 자가 승리자라는 말은 우리말에도 있다.

Do not believe you have won. Let's wait and see who will laugh the last laugh.

(네가 승리했다고 믿지 마라. 누가 최후의 승리를 거둘 것인가를 기다려보자.)

THE WHOLE SHEBANG

The earliest recorded use of shebang is by Walt Whitman in Specimen Days (1862), and Mark Twain used it several times as well. Meaning a poor, temporary dwelling, a shack, this Americanism possibly derives from the Anglo-Irish shebeen, "a low illegal drinking establishment," older than it by a century or so. In the expression the whole shebang, first recorded in 1879, shebang means not just a shack but anything at all, that is, any present concern, thing, business - as in: "You can take the whole shebang," you can take all of it.

THE WHOLE NINE YARDS

For at least 30 years this expression has meant "all of it, everything," as in "Give me the whole nine yards." It did not arise in the garment business but among construction workers, the nine yards referring to the maximum capacity a cement-mixer truck can carry - nine cubic yards of cement.

Addition received with thanks from Orion

I disagree with your origin of the expression: "the whole nine yards". It originally came from Scotland. You have seen Scotsmen's kilts, worn as a skirt with a sporran. These are a later development than the original kilt (or "belted plaid") of the Scottish Highlanders. In the early years (starting around 1600), the Scotsman got up in the morning, took his (approximately) 2 yard X 4 1/2 yard (9 square yard) tartan (which was both his bedroll and clothing), put pleats in it to suit his girth, put his belt under it and lay on it, on his back. With the pleats reaching near the middle of his thigh, he took one side of the tartan and folded it over his middle, then the other side, then brought the belt around and fastened it at his waist. He then stood up and took all of the extra material hanging over the top of his belt, threw it over his shoulder (pinning it there) and (in most cases) fastened his belt around it. This was called the "whole nine yards" to distinguish it from the smaller tartan.

Addition received with thanks from M.L. van Will

According to a recent interview on CBC with a Celt, this expression is attributed to the fact that it should take nine yards of fabric to make a proper kilt and anything less is considered skimping and getting away with less than is respectable -- even though it may not be evident to the casual observer. (CBC is the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.)

Addition received with thanks from Kim Thompson

"I had heard that 'the whole nine yards' origionated in NY by garbage men as a measure of how much garbage a garbage truck would hold."

Addition received with thanks from Tony Padovano

I have heard this expression is from World War II. It referred to the length of the ammo belts used in fighter planes in the Pacific theater. So, when a pilot would take off, his crew would often tell him "Give 'em the whole nine yards."

Addition received with thanks from Bruno Watson

British Frigates of the 19th Century had 27' masts. Speed of the ship was regulated by the amount of sail raised. To achieve full speed, the 'whole nine yards' was hoisted.

throw in the towel(수건을 던져 놓다)

'패배(敗北)로 끝나다, 패배(敗北)를 인정하다'라는 뜻. 이 관용구는 권투시합에서 유래되었는데, 한 선수의 코치 쪽에서 링 안으로 수건을 던져 넣어 패배(敗北)를 표시한데서 유래되었다.

He finally threw in the towel on his political career.(그는 결국 자기의 정치생활을 패배로 끝맺었다.)

Tie the Knot

In ancient times the marriage ceremony in many parts of the world consisted only of a priest or the family patriarch knotting together the garments of the bride and the groom to symbalize a permanent union. The practice, still a customm in some countries today, is the basis for the universal saying to tie the knot, meaning to get married, for which tying the knot has been a symbol in England since at least 1275.

The Greeks followed the custom of untying the knot to declare a marriage. Brides used the Herculean knot, a representation of the snakes entwined on the rod of Mercury, to fasten their woolen girdles. Only the bridegroom was allowed to untie this knot, praying as he did so that the gods would make his marriage as fruitful as that of Hercules - that is, very fruitful indeed, for Hercules once married the 50 daughters of Thestius, all of whom gave birth to his children on the same night. This last was not one of the legendary 12 labors of Hercules.

Tomorrow is another day.

The last words of the film GONE WITH THE WIND (1939), spoken by Vivian Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara, are: 'Tara! Home! I'll go home, and I'll think of some way to get him back. After all, tomorrow is another day!'. The last sentence is as it appears in Margaret Mitchell's novel, but the idea behind it is proverbial. In Rastell's Calisto & Melebea (c 1527) there occurs the line: 'Well, mother, to morrow is a new day.'

TO CALL THE SHOTS

To exercise control over events; to make crucial decisions. This Americanism comes from certain forms of pool or billiards, such as straight pool, in which the player is required to specify both the ball he or she intends to pocket and the particular pocket. In the mid-20th century the expression began to be transferred to  other enterprises, as in "As to where we'll go for our vacation, it's Mom who is calling the shots this year!"

"TO THROW ONE'S HAT IN THE RING"

To enter a contest or announce one's candidacy.

The term comes from boxing, where throwing a hat into the ring once signified a challenge. John L. Sullivan, who after an exhibition bout with sparring partners would sometimes throw his hat in  the ring as a challenge to all comers, offering a prize to anyone who would stay upright with him for a specified length of time. The term dates from the early 19th century and was used figuratively from about 1900 on. Today it nearly always signifies political candidacy.

"My hat's in the ring. The fight is on and I'm stripped to the buff."

turn over a new leaf(새로운 책장을 넘기다.)

'새 생활을 시작하다' '자기가 이제까지 해 온 방법을 바꾸다'라는 의미.

Making up his mind to get into a respected university, James has turned over a new leaf and gets his homework done very night.

(일류대학에 입학하기로 결심하고, 제임스는 새 생활을 시작하고 매일 밤 숙제를 끝냈다.)