A critic once said of the poet Robert Browning,
"He won't wash."
The critic did not mean that the poet was not a clean person. He meant that Browning's poems could not be depended on to last.
Today, we know that judgment was wrong. Robert Browning still is considered a major poet. But very few people remember the man who said Browning would not wash.
Happily for the young employee Smith, his employer wanted him to do well in the company. So the employer
"talked turkey"
to him. She said, "Your idea would be unfair to our buyers. Think of another way to save money."
A century ago, to talk turkey meant to talk pleasantly. Turkeys in the barnyard were thought to be speaking pleasantly to one another. In recent years, the saying has come to mean an attempt to teach something important.
Word expert Charles Funk tells how he believes this change took place.
He says two men were shooting turkeys together. One of them was a white man. The other was an American Indian. The white man began stating reasons why he should get all the turkeys for himself. But the American Indian stopped him. He told the white man,
"Now, I talk turkey to you."
Mister Smith thought of a better idea after his employer
talked turkey
to him. He was given an increase in pay. So if your idea
"will not wash,"
try
"talking turkey"
to yourself and come up with a better idea.
最新
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25