| 词汇 | fly in the ointment |
| 词源 | fly in the ointment. “Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour; so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour.” The un- known author of the biblical book of Ecclesiastes (a Greek ren- dering of the Hebrew word Koheleth, “preacher”) wrote this sometime in the third century b.c. Like many other vivid fig- ures of speech in the 21st book of the Old Testament (“Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity . . .” “For everything there is a season . . .” “He who digs a pit will fall into it . . .” etc.), these words from the first verse of the 10th chapter became proverbial when translated into English. For five centuries now a fly in the ointment has meant a small defect that spoils some- thing valuable or is a source of annoyance. |
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