英语词汇keep a straight face的起源、历史背景-英语词源词典

keep a straight face. To refrain from laughing. One story has this expression deriving from Irish peat diggers, who have to make their spade thrusts perfectly vertical when digging out peat (thus keeping a straight spade face—“face” here the work- ing side of the implement). I can find no proof of this and the words more likely were suggested by someone trying to keep his face from squinching up in laughter. The phrase is first recorded in an 1897 issue of the Spectator: “The story is one which few people, to use an expressive vulgarism, will be able to read ‘with a straight face.’ ”

词汇	keep a straight face
词源	keep a straight face. To refrain from laughing. One story has this expression deriving from Irish peat diggers, who have to make their spade thrusts perfectly vertical when digging out peat (thus keeping a straight spade face—“face” here the work- ing side of the implement). I can find no proof of this and the words more likely were suggested by someone trying to keep his face from squinching up in laughter. The phrase is first recorded in an 1897 issue of the Spectator: “The story is one which few people, to use an expressive vulgarism, will be able to read ‘with a straight face.’ ”
随便看	purse pursuit of happiness push hit the panic button push of pike pushover puss pussel-gutted pussyfoot put a flea in one-s ear put all your eggs in one basket put a sock in it putative put in a good word for someone put in one-s two cents’ worth put it all in the first paragraph put lay one-s finger upon put nothing smaller than your elbow in your ear put one-s best foot forward put one-s foot in one-s mouth put one-s oar in another-s boat put on nothing but the radio put on the buskin put on the dog put on the gloves put on the spot