英语词汇give a whaling to的起源、历史背景-英语词源词典

give a whaling to. Many etymologists believe this phrase should be give a waling to, as a wale is a mark raised on the flesh by the blow of a stick or whip. But the key word in the phrase has been spelled with an h ever since it first appeared, two cen- turies ago. This suggests that a whaling, “a terrible beating,” was one given with a whalebone whip, though the wales it raised may have contributed to the phrase, making it more vivid. Rid- ing whips were commonly made of whalebone in the 18th and 19th centuries and were used to beat more than horses. Whalebone, incidentally, is a misnomer: It’s not made from the bones of a whale but from a substance found in the whale’s up- per jaw.

词汇	give a whaling to
词源	give a whaling to. Many etymologists believe this phrase should be give a waling to, as a wale is a mark raised on the flesh by the blow of a stick or whip. But the key word in the phrase has been spelled with an h ever since it first appeared, two cen- turies ago. This suggests that a whaling, “a terrible beating,” was one given with a whalebone whip, though the wales it raised may have contributed to the phrase, making it more vivid. Rid- ing whips were commonly made of whalebone in the 18th and 19th centuries and were used to beat more than horses. Whalebone, incidentally, is a misnomer: It’s not made from the bones of a whale but from a substance found in the whale’s up- per jaw.
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