| 词汇 | do a number on |
| 词源 | do a number on. When this voguish slang expression first appeared in the late 1960s, it simply meant “to deceive.” It de- rives, in this sense, from the old vaudeville days, when acts were called numbers because they were numbered on theater programs. The meaning evolved from an act to a pretense and then to an outright deception. Recently, however, the meaning has been softened and extended and to do a number on often means only “to affect,” though still usually in a devi- ous way. |
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