| 词源 |
not what it’s cracked up to be. Martin Van Buren, not a very popular president, though he gave us the expression o.k., was once disparaged by Davy Crockett, who said he “is not the man he is cracked up to be.” The expression, meaning “not what he is generally believed to be,” is apparently an Americanism dat- ing back to the 1830s, but it may have British roots that go back much further, for cracked here has the old meaning of to boast or brag, a usage that dates back to at least the 16th century. |