“单词背后的故事”是一个电台节目，通过讲故事和举例子，让英语学习者更系统地了解到英语习语的意思与用法。当然，要学以致用才能真正掌握这些习语哦。当想表达对方的建议行不通时，除了“It will not work”，你还会其他说法吗？听听本期节目吧，ready? Go!
Young Mr. Smith had an idea for his employer. It was an idea for saving money for the company by increasing prices. At the same time, Smith suggested that the company sell goods of less value.
If his employer liked the idea, Smith might be given more pay. Perhaps he might even get a better job with the company.
Business had been very slow. So Mr. Smith’s employer thought a few minutes about the idea. But then she shook her head. “I am sorry, Smith,” his employer said. “1)It just will not wash.”
Now, the meaning of these English words should be, “It will not get clean.” Yet Smith’s idea did not have anything to do with making something clean. So why did his employer say “It will not wash”?
Most word experts agree that “it will not wash” means “it will not work.” Eric Partridge wrote that the saying probably developed in Britain in the 1800s. Charlotte Bronte used it in a story published in 1849. She wrote, “That won’t wash, miss.” Ms. Bronte seems to have meant that the dyes[染料] used to color a piece of clothing were not good. The colors could not be depended on to stay in the material.
In 19th century England, the expression came to mean an undependable statement. It was used mainly to describe an idea. But sometimes it was used about a person.
A critic once said of the poet Robert Browning注, “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 “2)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.”
Mr. 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.
Notes
1) sth. won’t/doesn’t wash (with somebody) （解释、借口等）对某人来说站不住脚，令某人不能接受；行不通。
2) talk turkey (to sb.) （与某人）郑重其事地谈，严肃认真地谈
注：罗伯特·勃朗宁（1812-1889），与丁尼生齐名的维多利亚时期两大诗人之一，发展和完善了戏剧独白诗（dramatic monologue）的诗歌形式。主要作品有《戏剧抒情诗》(Dramatic Lyrics，1842)、《指环与书》（The Ring and the Book，1868-1869）等，他以精细入微的心理探索而独步诗坛，对英美20世纪诗歌产生了重要影响。他与妻子——著名女诗人伊丽莎白·巴莱特的爱情故事是英国文学史乃至世界文学史上最美的爱情佳话之一。