英语词汇get one-s goat的起源、历史背景-英语词源词典

get one’s goat. High-strung racehorses often have goats as stablemates, on the theory that the goats have a calming effect on the thoroughbreds. But the horses grow attached to their companions and become upset if they are removed, throwing off their performance on the track. It is said that 19th-century gamblers capitalized on that fact by stealing on the preceding day the goat of a horse they wanted to lose a race and that this practice gave us the phrase to get one’s goat—they got the horse’s goat and he became upset or angry. It’s as good an explanation as any, but isn’t supported by much evidence. Jack London was the first to record the expression, in his novel Smoke Bellew (1912), though its usage there has nothing to do with racing. Attempts have also been made to connect the goat in the phrase with the scapegoat of Hebrew tradition; with the word goad, “to anger, irritate”; and to an old French phrase prendre la chèvre, literally meaning “to take the goat,” which dates back to the 16th century and certainly took a long time making the jour- ney to America if it is the source of our expression.

词汇	get one-s goat
词源	get one’s goat. High-strung racehorses often have goats as stablemates, on the theory that the goats have a calming effect on the thoroughbreds. But the horses grow attached to their companions and become upset if they are removed, throwing off their performance on the track. It is said that 19th-century gamblers capitalized on that fact by stealing on the preceding day the goat of a horse they wanted to lose a race and that this practice gave us the phrase to get one’s goat—they got the horse’s goat and he became upset or angry. It’s as good an explanation as any, but isn’t supported by much evidence. Jack London was the first to record the expression, in his novel Smoke Bellew (1912), though its usage there has nothing to do with racing. Attempts have also been made to connect the goat in the phrase with the scapegoat of Hebrew tradition; with the word goad, “to anger, irritate”; and to an old French phrase prendre la chèvre, literally meaning “to take the goat,” which dates back to the 16th century and certainly took a long time making the jour- ney to America if it is the source of our expression.
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