英语词汇fine kettle of fish的起源、历史背景-英语词源词典

fine kettle of fish. A kiddle or kiddle net is a basket set in the sluice ways of dams to catch fish, a device well known from the time of the Plantagenets. Royal officials had the perquisite to trap fish in kiddles, but poachers often raided the traps of fish, frequently destroying the kiddles in the process. Possibly an of- ficial came upon a destroyed trap and exclaimed, “That’s a pret- ty kiddle of fish!” or something similar, meaning “a pretty sorry state of affairs!” and the phrase was born. Repeated over the years, kiddle was corrupted in everyday speech to kettle, giving us the expression as we know it today.

词汇	fine kettle of fish
词源	fine kettle of fish. A kiddle or kiddle net is a basket set in the sluice ways of dams to catch fish, a device well known from the time of the Plantagenets. Royal officials had the perquisite to trap fish in kiddles, but poachers often raided the traps of fish, frequently destroying the kiddles in the process. Possibly an of- ficial came upon a destroyed trap and exclaimed, “That’s a pret- ty kiddle of fish!” or something similar, meaning “a pretty sorry state of affairs!” and the phrase was born. Repeated over the years, kiddle was corrupted in everyday speech to kettle, giving us the expression as we know it today.
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