Words and Their Stories: Brass Tacks
Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.
现在是美国之音慢速英语词汇典故节目。
Our expression today is "getting down to brass tacks." It means to get serious about something, to get to the bottom of the situation. For example, a man may say, " I want to work for you. But how much will you pay me?" He is getting down to brass tacks. Or a woman may ask, "You say you love me. Will you marry me?" She, too, is getting down to brass tacks.
今天我们要谈到的表达是“getting down to brass tacks（直切正题）”。它的意思是直接切入事物的重点。例如，一个男人可能会说，“我想为你工作，但你能给我开多少薪水？”他直接切入了正题。或者一个女人可能会问，“你说爱我，那你会娶我吗？”她也直接切入了正题。
How did this expression get started? There are several ideas.
这种表达是怎么开始的呢？对此有几种不同观点。
At one time most women made their own clothes, buying the cloth in small stores. The material was kept in large rolls. And the storekeeper cut off as much as a woman wanted. Brass tacks along his work table helped him measure the exact amount.
曾经有段时间，大部分女人都在小店里买布料自己做衣服。布料都卷成一大捆，店老板剪下女人们想要的布料长度。沿着工作台上的一溜铜钉可以帮助店主测量布料的准确长度。
Sometimes a busy storekeeper might try to guess how much material to cut off. But this would not be correct. He could get an exact measure only by laying the material down along the brass tacks.
有时，忙碌的店主会尝试估计要剪下的布料长度。但这个估计的长度可能不太准确，他只能通过铜钉测量才能得到一个准确长度。
One word expert, however, has another theory. He believes the expression came from seamen who cleaned the bottoms of boats. Strong heavy devices called bolts held the ship's bottom together. These bolts were made of copper. The seaman had to clean the ship down to the copper bolts. American speech soon changed the words copper bolts into brass tacks.
然而一名词汇专家有另一种理论。他认为这个表达来自清洗船底的水手。坚固的螺钉把船底连接到一起，这种螺钉用铜制成。水手清洗船时，必须一直清洗到螺钉位置为止。美国方言随后把copper bolts这个词变成了brass tacks。
Another idea is that the expression began when furniture was made by hand. Brass tacks were used around the bottom part of the chair. The brass tacks, showed that the chair was built to be strong. When something went wrong with the chair, someone quickly examined the bottom to discover the trouble. In other words, someone got down to the brass tacks.
另一个观点是，这个表达开始于手工打造家居的年代。黄铜钉用于椅子底部周围部分。黄铜钉表明椅子造得很坚固。当椅子出问题时，有人会很快检查椅子底部查找问题。换句话说，有人直切重点。
No one is sure where the expression first was used, but everyone is sure what it means today.
没人知道这种表达什么时候第一次开始使用，但大家都知道它在今天代表什么意思。
It is used by people who dislike empty words. They seek quick, direct answers. They want to get to the bottom of a situation. There are others, however, who have no such desire. They feel there is some risk in trying to get down to brass tacks.
它常用于不喜欢说空话的人。这类人追求快速直接的答案。他们想直切主题。然而还有一类人没有这种意愿，他们认为直切主题存在一定风险。
This happened in the case of a critic who made the mistake of reading a play written by a close friend. The critic disliked the play a lot. He felt his friend should not be writing plays. But he said nothing. This silence troubled the writer. He demanded that his friend the critic say something about the play. The writer finally heard the critic's opinion. And this getting down to brass tacks ended a long friendship.
这种情况发生在一位评论家身上，他在阅读一位近友写的剧本时犯了一个错误。这位评论家一点也不喜欢这个剧本，他认为他的朋友不该写剧本，但他什么也没说。这种沉默让这位写剧本的作家朋友很是困扰，他非让评论家就剧本说些什么。这个作家最终听到了评论家的观点。而这种直切正题的观点也让这段长久的友谊画上了一个句号。 |