英语词汇spit and polish的起源、历史背景-英语词源词典

spit and polish. Military in origin, this term goes back to Victorian times, probably to the middle of the 19th century, al- though it isn’t recorded before 1895. Meticulous cleaning and smartness of appearance were demanded of sailors in the Brit- ish navy, which became known as the “Spit and Polish Navy.” Enlisted men liked it then no more than they do now and spit and polish—the application of one’s spittle as a polishing agent and much elbow grease to make an object shine—came to be a perjorative term for finicky, wasteful work in general.

词汇	spit and polish
词源	spit and polish. Military in origin, this term goes back to Victorian times, probably to the middle of the 19th century, al- though it isn’t recorded before 1895. Meticulous cleaning and smartness of appearance were demanded of sailors in the Brit- ish navy, which became known as the “Spit and Polish Navy.” Enlisted men liked it then no more than they do now and spit and polish—the application of one’s spittle as a polishing agent and much elbow grease to make an object shine—came to be a perjorative term for finicky, wasteful work in general.
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