Where did that come from?

Some English words and expressions have interesting origins. 一些英文字词用语的起源相当耐人寻味。

Did you ever hear an English expression and wonder, "Where did that come from?" The stories behind some words and phrases are as interesting as the phrases themselves. Let's look at a few.

Shambles
A mother might describe a teen's room as being a shambles, meaning big mess. The word comes from the Saxon word Scamel, which means a stall that displays meat. In Britain, the Shambles was a street containing  butcher shops and markets. By the end of the day, leftovers of the messy meat trade littered the street. So the name came to mean an undesirable mess.

Tide over
When something gets you through a short-term problem, it tides you over. For example, a loan of some money can tide you over until payday. This phrase came from the rise and fall of the sea. As you rise with the tide, it lifts you out of trouble, like water lifting a boat off a reef.  The idea of the tide assisting you suggests the need of something to "help" you overcome a problem.

Long Time No See
Americans use this phrase all the time, and most don't notice that it's not grammatical. Betty Kirkpatrick, in her book Cliches, reveals the reason. This phrase is rooted in Chinese rather than English.

The expression is thought to have originated with Chinese immigrants in 19th century America. These English learners likely shortened the English phrase "It's been a long time since I've seen you" into something easier for them to say.

The Boondocks
When you're out in the boondocks, or the boonies, you're far away from civilization. American soldiers made this phrase popular during the Vietnam War. Boondock comes from the Tagalog word bundok, which means mountain. In the Philippines, the mountains are in the middle of nowhere, far away from the large cities on the coast. The phrase first came into the English language around the turn of the 20th century.

At that time, American soldiers began to serve in the Philippine. By 1909 the word boondocks was already in the dictionary.

Left Holding the Bag
When you are left holding the bag, you have been left with the responsibility or given the blame for something. Maybe your friends offered to help you clean up after a party. But they go home and abandon you, and you are left holding the bag. This expression came from criminals who were about to get caught. They would give their bag of loot to one member of the group while the rest of them made a run for it.  The one left holding the bag was arrested and blamed for the crime.

Make a Beeline for Something
Hungry kids make a beeline for snacks! The phrase means to go swiftly and directly toward something. The origin of this phrase came from nature and the behavior of bees. When a bee is out hunting for nectar and finds it, it returns to the hive. It then performs an extraordinary dance to tell the other bees the location of the nectar. Then the other bees can fly directly to the source of the nectar.
Grammar Tips:
....the name came to mean an undesirable mess.
"came to mean "- being here to do something.-
We came to see how you are doing.
"came to mean"- here is nothing to do with "being here"
"came to mean" -eventually understood as.
"come to appreciate "-
After spending time with his American host family, the French student came to appreciate American culture more.
"come to understand "-
After learning to spend quality time with his children. Mr. Carson came to understand his children more.

Vocabulary Tips:
butcher-肉贩，肉铺的老板。屠夫，蒯子手，残杀他人的人。屠宰牲口。血腥屠杀。
*Tommy's mom told him to go to the butcher's shop and buy some pork chops.
*These soldiers were found guilty of butchering the captives.
desirable -向往的，具有吸引力的。
undesirable - 令人不快的，不受欢迎的，令人讨厌的。something you don't want it.
*The drug has undesirable side effects including dizziness, hair loss and rashes.
*The houses near the railway are often considered undesirable because of the noise.
origin- where come from.
Saxon - people who move from Germany long long time ago.
overcome（现在式）, overcame （ 过去式）, overcome （过去分词） .- 克服，战胜.
grammatical -（重音在第二节）合乎文法的， 文法上正确的
grammar -文法
*His letters might not be grammatical, but they are full of passion.
*These grammatical errors cost him a lot of points on his paper.
civilization - 文明，文明世界。
*The professor is famous for his historical Western civilization studies.
*After months of research work in the wild, we were ready to get back to civilization.
civilization - 某个时期，某个地方的文化或文明。
*Mayan civilization.
nowhere-not important place, very far away , no one really know where is. a place not too many people live there. 无人之地，不知名的地方。
*Our car broke down in the middle of nowhere.
*Starting from nowhere, this businessman became a millionaire after years of hard work.
Tagalog- an Austria language that speak in Philippine.
abandon-抛弃，放弃，离弃。
*The captain decided to abandon ship to keep the staff safe.
*The boy was abandoned by his parents and was raised in an orphanage.
*The stolen vehicle was abandoned near the dock.
make a run for it -快跑，逃走， 快跑去躲避什么。
*The thief got panicked and made a run for it when a police officer walked by.
*The hostage made a run for it when the police attacked the robbers.
swiftly-敏捷的，快速的
*He ran swiftly forward and made a touchdown.
*The locksmith swiftly made a copy of the original key.
*After the customers left, the waiter swiftly changed the tablecloth and set the table.
given a blame - even you didn't do it at origin, but you holding the bag, you are responsible and get blame for it.
Chat Room:
tide someone over - get a small portion of something that can help you going until you get something. 临时得到一些帮助而能让你度过眼前的困境。
tide -潮流，海潮。潮水。
go with the tide 顺从潮流 =  drift with the tide. 随波逐流。
drift -毫无目的的漂流。
go against the tide.- 逆流而上。
tide-大环境状况，趋势。大局势。
the tide turned.-大环境状况，趋势。大局势改变了。
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the Boondocks = the sticks  -偏远地方。穷乡僻壤。
the sticks -偏远地方。穷乡僻壤。
in the middle of nowhere -无人知道的地方，远离村庄，或是无村庄的地方
His car broke down, and stuck  in the middle of nowhere.
no man's land -世界大战，两军交帐时，三不管地带，现在用来形容"前不着村,后不着店".
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bag-袋子
left holding the bag-leave you responsible for something. 被黑锅。
left the cat out of the bag.-猫从袋子里跑出来。指“无意间泄露秘密。”.
The birthday party is a surprise, so don't let the cat out of the bag.
a mixed bag- 袋子里装有各式各样的东西。指“大杂烩”，“多元组合”的团队，有来自各个不同族裔的人。多元化的组合。




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