remark是什么意思圣经、希腊神话中的短语

2021年1月26日发(作者：女高跟鞋)
Bible-related phrases

1. AT THE ELEVENTH HOUR
在最后一刻

Do something at the eleventh hour, and you do it at the very last minute.
It’s
possible that this phrase might have appeared in the language without any
Biblical intervention, but the OED nevertheless credits it to the Parable of the
Labourers in the Gospel of St Matthew (20:1-16), which metaphorically advises
that no matter what time you start work the reward will always be the same.
2. AT YOUR WIT’S END

束手无策；无计可施

The earliest reference to being at your wit’s end in English dates back to the late
14th century. The phrase comes from Psalm 107, in which “they that go down to
the
sea in ships,” namely sailors and seafarers, are described as being thrown
around by a storm at sea so that, “they reel to and fro, and stagger like a
drunken man, and are at their wit’s end” (107: 23
-27).
3. THE BLIND LEADING THE BLIND
问道于盲，外行引导外行

The Roman poet Horace used his own version of the blind leading the blind in the
1st century BC, suggesting that it was already a fairly well known saying by the
time it appeared in the New Testament: “Let them alone: they be blind leaders
of the blind. And if th
e blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch”
(Matthew 15:14). Nevertheless, its inclusion in early editions of the Bible no
doubt popularized its use in everyday language
—
and even inspired a famous
painting by Pieter Brueghel literally interpreting the original quote.
4. BY THE SKIN OF YOUR TEETH
险些错过

The Old Testament Book of Job records how Job is put through a series of trials,
but eventually escapes “with the skin of my teeth” (19:20). Although precisely
what Job meant these words to mean is debatable (and not helped by the fact
that teeth don’t have skin), the usual interpretation is the one we use
today
—
namely, that he escaped only by the narrowest of margins.
5. TO CAST PEARLS BEFORE SWINE
白费好意；对牛弹琴

Meaning “to offer something of value to someone unable to appreciate it,” to
cast pearls before swine comes from the New Testament: “Give not that which
is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample
them under their feet” (Matthew, 7:6).

6. EAT, DRINK AND BE MERRY
人生短暂，及时行乐；今朝有酒今朝醉

This popular sentiment is outlined several times in the Bible (Luke 12:19, 1
Corinthians 15:32), but appears first in the Book of Ecclesiastes: “man hath no
better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry” (8:1
5).
7. TO FALL BY THE WAYSIDE
半途而废

If something falls by the wayside (i.e. by the side of the road), then it fails to be
seen through to completion or is side-lined in favor of some other project or
endeavor. The earliest use of this phrase in English comes from William
Tyndale’s translation of the Bible in 1526, and in particular his version of the
Parable of the Sower, who “went out to sow his seeds, and as he sowed, some
fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured
it”
(Luke 8:5).
8. FEET OF CLAY
致命的弱点

Feet of clay has been used in English since the 19th century to refer to a
fundamental weakness that has the potential to lead to the downfall of
something (or someone) otherwise great and powerful. It comes from the Book
of Daniel (2:31-45), in which the prophet Daniel interprets a dream that the
Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar has had of an enormous, imposing statue.
“This image’s head was of fine gold,” Daniel writes, “his breast and his arms of
silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and
part of clay.” As the dream continues, suddenly a huge
stone strikes the clay
feet of the statue, causing it to collapse and break up into pieces. Daniel
interprets the golden head of the statue as representing Nebuchadnezzar’s
kingdom, while the silver torso represents an inferior kingdom that will follow
his. The brass stomach and thighs represent a third and even more inferior
kingdom that will follow that, and a fourth and final kingdom, partly strong like
iron but partly weak like clay, is represented by its legs and feet. And it is this
weakness, Daniel predicts, that will lead to the downfall of the entire structure.
9. A FLY IN THE OINTMENT
美中不足之处

“Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking
savour,” advises the Book of Ecclesiastes (10:1). The modern wording, a fly in
the ointment, first appeared in the language in the early 1700s.
10. HE THAT TOUCHETH PITCH
近朱者赤
,
近墨者黑

The old adage that he that touches pitch shall be defiled advises that anyone
who has even the slightest contact with someone who’s up to no good cannot
avoid becoming corrupted themselves. The line comes from Ecclesiasticus, a
book in the Biblical Apocrypha written in the 2nd century BC that warns that,
“He that toucheth pitch shall be defiled therewith, and he that hath fellowship
with a proud man shall be like unto him” (13:1).

11. THE LAND OF MILK AND HONEY
肥沃而丰裕的土地；鱼米之乡

In Exodus (3:1-22), Moses is told by the vision of the burning bush to lead the
Israelites out of Egypt and into Canaan, “a land flowing with
milk
and honey.”
The phrase has since come to be widely used of any location promising great
prosperity, respite, and comfort.
12. THE LAND OF NOD
梦乡

Another famous Biblical land is the Land of Nod, lying “east of Eden” according
to the Book of Genesis, to which Cain is exiled after he murders his brother, Abel
(4:16). As a metaphor for falling asleep however, the Land of Nod was first used
by Jonathan Swift in 1738 and is probably nothing more than a pun on a
drooping or “nodding” head.

13. A LEOPARD CANNOT CHANGE ITS SPOTS
江山易改，本性难移

Implying that you cannot alter who you are innately meant to be, the old saying
that a leopard cannot change its spots is a rewording of a verse from the Book
of Jeremiah (13:23), that asks “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or
the
leopard his spots?”

14. LIKE A LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER
怯弱无助，服服帖帖

If someone is blissfully unaware of the disaster about to befall them, then
they’re like a lamb to the slaughter. The phrase is touched on a number of times
in the Bible, most
notably in the Book of Isaiah: “He is brought as a lamb to the
slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his
mouth” (53:7).

15. A MILLSTONE AROUND YOUR NECK
沉重的负担

The image of having a millstone around your neck, in the sense of having some
kind of oppressive burden or responsibility, has been a cliché
in English since
the early 18th century. It comes from a famous New Testament speech in which
Jesus explains that anyone who takes advantage of a child would be better of
having “a millstone … hanged about his neck and be cast into the sea” than to
try to enter into Heaven (Luke, 17:2).
16. TO MOVE MOUNTAINS
愚公移山

The idea that faith can move mountains is repeated a number of times in the
Bible, including in one of the letters of St Paul: “though I have all faith, so that
I could remove mountains … I am nothing” (1
Corinthians 13:2). His words have
been used as a familiar expression of achieving something impossible since the
16th century.
17. THERE IS NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN
事物没有什么意义
,
枯燥
,
只是单纯的重复

As an expression of world-weariness and a tiredness of a lack of new ideas, the
old adage that there is nothing new under the Sun is often wrongly attributed to
Shakespeare, who used a similar line as the opening of his 59th sonnet. In fact,
the phrase comes from the Old Testament Book of Ecclesiastes, which explains
“that
which is done is that which shall be done, and there is no new thing under
the Sun” (1:9).

18. THE WRITING ON THE WALL
不祥之兆

In English, the writing on the wall has been a proverbial omen of misfortune
since the early 18th century. It comes from the Old Testament tale of
Belshazzar’s Feast, a grand banquet hosted by the Babylonian king Belshazzar
for a thousand of his lords. As recounted in the Book of Daniel (5:1-31), in
middle of the feast a ghostly disembodied hand supposedly appeared behind the
king and
wrote on the wall “menemenetekelupharsin.” Unable to interpret the
text himself (the words are literally a list of different Hebrew measurements),
Belshazzar called on the prophet Daniel, who quickly explained that the
message meant the king’s kingdom was soon to be “numbered, weighed, and
divided.” That night, Belshazzar was killed, and Babylon was claimed by the
Persians.