VOA慢速英語:Let's Get Down to Brass Tacks!

07 December, 2013

Now, the VOA Special English program Words and Their Stories.

Our expression today is "getting down to brass tacks." It means to get serious about something, to get to the bottom of the situation. For example, a man may say, "I want to work for you. But how much will you pay me?" He is getting down to brass tacks. Or a woman may ask, "You say you love me. Will you marry me?" She, too, is getting down to brass tacks.

How did this expression get started?

There are several ideas...

At one time most women made their own clothes, buying the cloth in small stores. The material was kept in large rolls. And the storekeeper cut off as much as a woman wanted. Brass tacks along his work table helped him measure the exact amount.

Sometimes a busy storekeeper might try to guess how much material to cut off. But this would not be correct. He could get an exact measure only by laying the material down along the brass tacks.

One word expert, however, has another theory. He believes the expression came from seamen who cleaned the bottoms of boats. Strong heavy devices called bolts held the ship's bottom together. These bolts were made of copper. The seaman had to clean the ship down to the copper bolts. American speech soon changed the words copper bolts into brass tacks.

Another idea is that the expression began when furniture was made by hand. Brass tacks were used around the bottom part of the chair. The brass tacks showed that the chair was built to be strong. When something went wrong with the chair, someone quickly examined the bottom to discover the trouble. In other words, someone got down to the brass tacks.

No one is sure where the expression first was used, but everyone is sure what it means today. It is used by people who dislike empty words. They seek quick, direct answers. They want to get to the bottom of a situation. There are others, however, who have no such desire. They feel there is some risk in trying to get down to brass tacks.

This happened in the case of a critic who made the mistake of reading a play written by a close friend. The critic disliked the play a lot. He felt his friend should not be writing plays. But he said nothing. This silence troubled the writer. He demanded that his friend the critic say something about the play. The writer finally heard the critic's opinion. And this "getting down to brass tacks" ended a long friendship.

This VOA Special English program Words and Their Stories was written by Mike Pitts.

I'm Warren Scheer.

Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

現(xiàn)在是美國之音慢速英語詞匯掌故節(jié)目。

Our expression today is "getting down to brass tacks." It means to get serious about something, to get to the bottom of the situation. For example, a man may say, " I want to work for you. But how much will you pay me?" He is getting down to brass tacks. Or a woman may ask, "You say you love me. Will you marry me?" She, too, is getting down to brass tacks.

今天我們要談到的表達(dá)是“getting down to brass tacks(直切正題)”。它的意思是直接切入事物的重點。例如，一個男人可能會說，“我想為你工作，但你能給我開多少薪水?”他直接切入了正題?；蛘咭粋€女人可能會問，“你說愛我，那你會娶我嗎?”她也直接切入了正題。

How did this expression get started? There are several ideas.

這種表達(dá)是怎么開始的呢?對此有幾種不同觀點。

At one time most women made their own clothes, buying the cloth in small stores. The material was kept in large rolls. And the storekeeper cut off as much as a woman wanted. Brass tacks along his work table helped him measure the exact amount.

曾經(jīng)有段時間，大部分女人都在小店里買布料自己做衣服。布料都卷成一大捆，店老板剪下女人們想要的布料長度。沿著工作臺上的一溜銅釘可以幫助店主測量布料的準(zhǔn)確長度。

Sometimes a busy storekeeper might try to guess how much material to cut off. But this would not be correct. He could get an exact measure only by laying the material down along the brass tacks.

有時，忙碌的店主會嘗試估計要剪下的布料長度。但這個估計的長度可能不太準(zhǔn)確，他只能通過銅釘測量才能得到一個準(zhǔn)確長度。

One word expert, however, has another theory. He believes the expression came from seamen who cleaned the bottoms of boats. Strong heavy devices called bolts held the ship’s bottom together. These bolts were made of copper. The seaman had to clean the ship down to the copper bolts. American speech soon changed the words copper bolts into brass tacks.

然而一名詞匯專家有另一種理論。他認(rèn)為這個表達(dá)來自清洗船底的水手。堅固的螺釘把船底連接到一起，這種螺釘用銅制成。水手清洗船時，必須一直清洗到螺釘位置為止。美國方言隨后把copper bolts這個詞變成了brass tacks。

Another idea is that the expression began when furniture was made by hand. Brass tacks were used around the bottom part of the chair. The brass tacks, showed that the chair was built to be strong. When something went wrong with the chair, someone quickly examined the bottom to discover the trouble. In other words, someone got down to the brass tacks.

另一個觀點是，這個表達(dá)開始于手工打造家居的年代。黃銅釘用于椅子底部周圍部分。黃銅釘表明椅子造得很堅固。當(dāng)椅子出問題時，有人會很快檢查椅子底部查找問題。換句話說，有人直切重點。

No one is sure where the expression first was used, but everyone is sure what it means today.

沒人知道這種表達(dá)什么時候第一次開始使用，但大家都知道它在今天代表什么意思。

It is used by people who dislike empty words. They seek quick, direct answers. They want to get to the bottom of a situation. There are others, however, who have no such desire. They feel there is some risk in trying to get down to brass tacks.

它常用于不喜歡說空話的人。這類人追求快速直接的答案。他們想直切主題。然而還有一類人沒有這種意愿，他們認(rèn)為直切主題存在一定風(fēng)險。

This happened in the case of a critic who made the mistake of reading a play written by a close friend. The critic disliked the play a lot. He felt his friend should not be writing plays. But he said nothing. This silence troubled the writer. He demanded that his friend the critic say something about the play. The writer finally heard the critic’s opinion. And this getting down to brass tacks ended a long friendship.

這種情況發(fā)生在一位評論家身上，他在閱讀一位近友寫的劇本時犯了一個錯誤。這位評論家一點也不喜歡這個劇本，他認(rèn)為他的朋友不該寫劇本，但他什么也沒說。這種沉默讓這位寫劇本的作家朋友很是困擾，他非讓評論家就劇本說些什么。這個作家最終聽到了評論家的觀點。而這種直切正題的觀點也讓這段長久的友誼畫上了一個句號。