英语词汇draw the line的起源、历史背景-英语词源词典

draw the line. When we say “This is where I draw the line,” we are of course laying down a definite limit beyond which we refuse to go. Several attempts have been made to trace actual sources of the figurative “line” in the phrase. One says that it referred to tennis, a sport almost as popular as cricket in England by the 18th century. When tennis was introduced from France four centuries before, according to this story, there were no exact di- mensions for the court and players drew lines beyond which they agreed the ball couldn’t be hit. Another explanation says that the line was cut by a plowhorse across a field to indicate the boundary of a farmer’s holding in 16th-century England. No ex- amples of the figurative expression to draw the line have been found recorded before 1793, but either theory could be right. The phrase could also derive from early prizefights, where a line was drawn in the ring that neither fighter could cross. For a fa- mous American use of drawing the line, see teddy bear.

词汇	draw the line
词源	draw the line. When we say “This is where I draw the line,” we are of course laying down a definite limit beyond which we refuse to go. Several attempts have been made to trace actual sources of the figurative “line” in the phrase. One says that it referred to tennis, a sport almost as popular as cricket in England by the 18th century. When tennis was introduced from France four centuries before, according to this story, there were no exact di- mensions for the court and players drew lines beyond which they agreed the ball couldn’t be hit. Another explanation says that the line was cut by a plowhorse across a field to indicate the boundary of a farmer’s holding in 16th-century England. No ex- amples of the figurative expression to draw the line have been found recorded before 1793, but either theory could be right. The phrase could also derive from early prizefights, where a line was drawn in the ring that neither fighter could cross. For a fa- mous American use of drawing the line, see teddy bear.
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