英语词汇bone to pick的起源、历史背景-英语词源词典

bone to pick. It has been suggested that this expression arose from “an old Sicilian custom” where the father of the bride gave “the bridegroom a bone to pick clean as a symbol of the diffi- cult task of marriage that he was undertaking.” If such a custom exists, it has nothing to do with the phrase, which in modern usage means to have an argument to settle with someone. The expression, though its meaning has varied over the years, is some four centuries old and was probably suggested by two dogs fighting over a single bone tossed between them—a bone of contention—or by a dog preoccupied with a bone, which suggested the phrase’s original meaning of “to mull over some- thing.” The idea is conveyed in several earlier phrases common to English and other languages.

词汇	bone to pick
词源	bone to pick. It has been suggested that this expression arose from “an old Sicilian custom” where the father of the bride gave “the bridegroom a bone to pick clean as a symbol of the diffi- cult task of marriage that he was undertaking.” If such a custom exists, it has nothing to do with the phrase, which in modern usage means to have an argument to settle with someone. The expression, though its meaning has varied over the years, is some four centuries old and was probably suggested by two dogs fighting over a single bone tossed between them—a bone of contention—or by a dog preoccupied with a bone, which suggested the phrase’s original meaning of “to mull over some- thing.” The idea is conveyed in several earlier phrases common to English and other languages.
随便看	son of a bitch stew son of a gun son of a sea cook son of a whore sons of dogs sooner sooner state sop sophistry sophomore sorbonne sorel sos so stingy cheap he-s afraid to set down sotadic sotto voce soubise so ugly that when he was a little boy momma had to tie a pork chop around his neck so the dog would play with him soul brother etc soul driver soul kiss soul ships sound sounding soup