One word expert, however, has another theory. (1)_______________________________________________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.
然而一名词汇专家有另一种理论。坚固的螺钉把船底连接到一起，这种螺钉用铜制成。水手清洗船时，必须一直清洗到螺钉位置为止。美国方言随后把copper bolts这个词变成了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. (2)_________________________
另一个观点是，这个表达开始于手工打造家居的年代。黄铜钉用于椅子底部周围部分。黄铜钉表明椅子造得很坚固。当椅子出问题时，有人会很快检查椅子底部查找问题。。
No one is sure where the expression first was used, but everyone is sure what it means today.
没人知道这种表达什么时候第一次开始使用，但大家都知道它在今天代表什么意思。
发表于 2011-5-23 15:53
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发表于 2011-5-24 22:42
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