Before taking everyone to review the "History of Aunt Karen's Family"
Forgot the kid poke link ↓
[What's not to call Karen, this is not looking for scolding]
There are many names in English that have special meanings
Make no mistake
I'm going to sort that out for you today
Cute and funny English slang with people's names!
# 01
Tom, Dick, and/or Harry
In Chinese, many people use "Zhang San, Li Si, Wang Ermazi" to refer to a non-specific person or group of people; in English, if we want to represent a non-specific person or group of people, we can use "Tom, Dick, and/or Harry" to represent Ha.
The origin of this claim is not known, but by looking through the literature, we can see that pairs of common male names such as "Tom and Dick", "Tom and Jack" or "Tom and Tib" were commonly used during the Elizabethan period.
For example, the use can be found in Shakespeare's 1957 Henry IV (Part 1): "I am sworn brother to a leash of Drawers, and can call them by their names, as Tom, Dicke, and Francis."
You'd better get an electrician to fix this - you don't want any Tom, Dick, or Harry messing around with your wiring.
You'd better get a knowledgeable electrician to fix this — don't let anyone tinker with your circuits here.
# 02
Uncle Tom
The word "Uncle Tom" is offensive in English, referring to black people who flatter or disobey whites.
The word comes from a character in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin.
The protagonist of the book, Tom, is an honest and hard-working black slave, who always adheres to his duty as a slave, and tom, who faces the injustice of fate, not only does not complain but goes against the grain, but always infects others with his kindness and piety.
Uncle Tom was then used to describe the disobedient black Americans.
To the radical blacks of the Sixties, he was an Uncle Tom.
To the radical blacks of the 1960s, he was really too submissive.
# 03
Uncle Sam
In the United States, in addition to "Uncle Tom", there is also an "Uncle Sam", but don't think that "Uncle Sam" means "Uncle Sam"!
"Uncle Sam" is an American nickname that refers to the United States or the United States government.
The image is derived from a meat processor named Samuel Wilson in Troy, New York, during the Anglo-American War of 1812-1814. He was industrious, honest, competent, and authoritative, and affectionately called him "Uncle Sam."
The Uncle Sam was also a patriot, having fought in the American Revolutionary War with his father and brother. During the Anglo-American War of 1812, his factory signed a contract with the government for the production of barreled beef for the army, and whenever the U.S. government received beef from him that had been personally inspected, it would be loaded into a special wooden barrel and stamped with the mark of US.
Since The initial of Uncle Sam is US, and the abbreviation of The United States is also U.S., the two names are merged into one, meaning that the beef that has been written by "Uncle Sam" has become the property of "America". So the local people took "Uncle Sam" as an American nickname, and gradually spread.
"Uncle Sam" often appears as a tall, thin man with a white beard and a top hat, especially in political cartoons.
He owed $20 000 in tax to Uncle Sam.
He owes the U.S. government $20,000 in taxes.
# 04
John Bull
In addition to the United States, the United Kingdom also has its own nickname, called "John Bull".
The 18th-century British writer John Abus nottre created a stout and stupid gentleman in The History of John Bull to satirize the war policies of the Whigs at the time.
Since "Bull" means cow in English, it is translated as "John Cow". With the marketing of The History of John Bull, the "John Bull" gradually became a self-deprecating image of the British. Later, John Cow gradually became a reference to Britain, becoming synonymous with Britain.
With the passage of time, the image of "John Bull" underwent intriguing changes, from the original image of a middle-aged captain with a strong body and a full face of flesh to a short fat man who was more than half a hundred years old and five short. So the "John Bull" that appears in the comic is a gentleman wearing a wide-brimmed top hat, flipping shoes, and a jacket shirt. The murderous spirit of that year has converged a lot, and its original pejorative meaning seems to have become positive.
"John Cow" gradually became the image of a troubled doer, and his behavior became the standard behavior of the British.
He was John Bull in a Benedictine robe.
He was an Englishman dressed in a Benedictine robe.
Well, that's it for today's sharing
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