久久亚洲国产成人影院-久久亚洲国产的中文-久久亚洲国产高清-久久亚洲国产精品-亚洲图片偷拍自拍-亚洲图色视频

 
 
 

Words and their stories: top brass

VOA 2012-11-12 10:57

 

Get Flash Player

Download

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

The Italians have an old saying, "Il dolce far niente." The words mean it is sweet, or enjoyable, to do nothing.

On weekends and during holidays, many of us enjoy doing nothing. But most of the time we have to work. And, to keep our jobs, we must work hard. Our employer will not like it if we do nothing.

American workers often call their employers bosses. The word boss comes from the Dutch word, baas, meaning master.

Sometimes company bosses are called the brass. They also are sometimes called top brass, or brass hats.

Experts disagree about how these strange expressions started. But, they may have come from Britain. Leaders of the nineteenth century British army wore pieces of metal called oak leaves on their hats. The metal, brass, has a color similar to that of gold. So a leader or commander came to be called a member of the brass. Or he might have been called a brass hat. Or, even the top brass.

By the nineteen forties, the expression had spread beyond military leaders. It also included civilian officials.

A newspaper in the American city of Philadelphia used the term in nineteen forty-nine. It called the most important police officials, top brass.

Other expressions that mean boss or employer have nothing to do with brass or hats. One of these is big cheese. A cheese is a solid food made from milk.

The expression probably started in America in the late nineteenth century. Some experts believe it comes from a word in the Uersian or urdu languages -- chiz. The meaning is a thing. So the meaning of big cheese may be a big thing.

Other experts say the word cheese in this expression was really an incorrect way of saying chief. The word chief means leader. So the expression may mean big leader.

An employer usually does not object to being called boss. But most workers would not call their employers big cheeses, top brass or brass hats to their faces.

These words are not really insulting. But neither do they show great respect.

Employers also have expressions to describe their workers. One of them that describes a good worker is that he or she works like a Trojan.

This expression probably comes from the ancient writings of the Greek poet Homer. He wrote about the Trojans who lived in the city of Troy. He said Trojans worked very hard to protect their city.

Now, the expression often is used to describe an employee who works hard for a company. A loyal, hard-working employee is said to work like a Trojan.

So be happy if your company's brass hats say you work like a Trojan. They may consider you valuable enough to increase your pay.

相關閱讀

DC dinosaur hunter; New family movies

Puberty lessons for African girls may raise attendance

Russian Prime Minister calls for ban on smoking in public

The business of learning mandarin

(來源:VOA 編輯:Julie)

 
中國日報網英語點津版權說明:凡注明來源為“中國日報網英語點津:XXX(署名)”的原創作品,除與中國日報網簽署英語點津內容授權協議的網站外,其他任何網站或單位未經允許不得非法盜鏈、轉載和使用,違者必究。如需使用,請與010-84883561聯系;凡本網注明“來源:XXX(非英語點津)”的作品,均轉載自其它媒體,目的在于傳播更多信息,其他媒體如需轉載,請與稿件來源方聯系,如產生任何問題與本網無關;本網所發布的歌曲、電影片段,版權歸原作者所有,僅供學習與研究,如果侵權,請提供版權證明,以便盡快刪除。

中國日報網雙語新聞

掃描左側二維碼

添加Chinadaily_Mobile
你想看的我們這兒都有!

中國日報雙語手機報

點擊左側圖標查看訂閱方式

中國首份雙語手機報
學英語看資訊一個都不能少!

關注和訂閱

本文相關閱讀
人氣排行
搜熱詞
 
 
精華欄目
 

閱讀

詞匯

視聽

翻譯

口語

合作

 

關于我們 | 聯系方式 | 招聘信息

Copyright by chinadaily.com.cn. All rights reserved. None of this material may be used for any commercial or public use. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. 版權聲明:本網站所刊登的中國日報網英語點津內容,版權屬中國日報網所有,未經協議授權,禁止下載使用。 歡迎愿意與本網站合作的單位或個人與我們聯系。

電話:8610-84883645

傳真:8610-84883500

Email: languagetips@chinadaily.com.cn

主站蜘蛛池模板: 精品毛片视频 | 黄色三级欧美 | 亚洲欧美日韩国产精品久久 | 欧美日韩第二页 | 亚洲国产国产综合一区首页 | 亚洲国产欧美在线不卡中文 | 日产一区两区三区四区 | 国产精品线在线精品 | 欧美一区二区三区免费 | 日本不卡在线一区二区三区视频 | 99久热在线精品视频播 | 国产成人丝袜网站在线观看 | 亚洲天堂免费 | 丝袜足液精子免费视频 | 欧美一区永久视频免费观看 | 国内精品久久久久久久aa护士 | 韩国v欧美v亚洲v日本v | 99国产精品欧美久久久久久影院 | 亚洲黄色片网站 | 欧美一区二区三区免费看 | 欧美老妇69交 | 91精品欧美综合在线观看 | 老司机成人免费精品视频 | 大片国产片日本观看免费视频 | 毛片com | 久久中文字幕免费视频 | 韩国成人毛片aaa黄 韩国福利一区 | 欧美日韩精品一区二区 | 看中国一级毛片 | 亚洲国产专区 | 尤物蜜芽福利国产污在线观看 | a国产成人免费视频 | 精品国产一区二区三区www | 国产成人精品久久 | 亚洲欧美自拍一区 | 亚洲国产精品一区二区久久 | 亚洲成a人片在线观看精品 亚洲成a人片在线观看中 | 亚洲精品国产高清不卡在线 | 欧美久久视频 | 国产美女做爰免费视频软件 | 免费国产99久久久香蕉 |