英语词汇split hairs的起源、历史背景-英语词源词典

词汇	split hairs
词源	split hairs. One Englishman has actually split a human hair 13 times into 14 parts, the world record, and there are drills so fine today that minute holes can be bored in a single hair. How- ever, when the expression to split hairs was coined over three centuries ago (in the original form to cut a hair), it was thought to be impossible to really split a hair and the phrase described any argument making overrefined, caviling distinctions; a hair- splitter was one who quibbled over trifles. Machiavelli was the first to have the word applied to him.
随便看	you betcha etc you better believe you can bet your bottom dollar you can play with my dog you can play with my wife but you’d better leave my gun alone you can run but you can’t hide you can say that again you can take it to the bank you can whistle for it you can’t cheat an honest man you can’t cod me you can’t con me you can’t have your cake and eat it too you can’t judge a book by its cover you can’t keep a squirrel on the ground you can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow-s ear you can’t win ’em all you could have heard a pin drop you couldn’t detect my interest with a high-powered telescope you don’t have money give yourself volunteer you don’t want to go there you furnish the pictures and i’ll furnish the war you gotta believe you have money give money you have the words but you don’t have the music

英语词源词典收录了13259条英语词源词条，基本涵盖了全部常用英语词汇的起源、历史，是研究英语词汇或通过词源学英语的必备工具。