英语词汇not to be sneezed at的起源、历史背景-英语词源词典

not to be sneezed at. At the beginning of the 19th century the expression to sneeze at meant to consider something unim- portant or boring. “It’s the sort of thing a young fellow of my expectations ought to sneeze at,” said the first writer who used the saying in print. This is guesswork, but the expression may have been suggested by the habit of snuff-taking common among the upper classes at the time. Snuff, also called “sneeze,” was a mixture of tobacco, a little pepper, and other ingredients, snuffed into the nostrils to induce a hearty sneeze, which was considered exhilarating. Since a gentleman bored with a con- versation might resort to snuff-taking and sneezing, perhaps the phrase to sneeze at and its opposite not to be sneezed at arose from the practice.

词汇	not to be sneezed at
词源	not to be sneezed at. At the beginning of the 19th century the expression to sneeze at meant to consider something unim- portant or boring. “It’s the sort of thing a young fellow of my expectations ought to sneeze at,” said the first writer who used the saying in print. This is guesswork, but the expression may have been suggested by the habit of snuff-taking common among the upper classes at the time. Snuff, also called “sneeze,” was a mixture of tobacco, a little pepper, and other ingredients, snuffed into the nostrils to induce a hearty sneeze, which was considered exhilarating. Since a gentleman bored with a con- versation might resort to snuff-taking and sneezing, perhaps the phrase to sneeze at and its opposite not to be sneezed at arose from the practice.
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