英语词汇set the thames on fire的起源、历史背景-英语词源词典

set the Thames on fire. England’s Thames River, that cradle of so many far-flung sea expeditions, is usually pronounced to rhyme with hems, not James. The name is first recorded as Tamesis, circa a.d. 893. To set the Thames on fire is an old ex- pression, said of the Rhine and other rivers as well, meaning to do something marvelous, to work wonders, to almost set the world on fire. However, one persistent story claims that the Thames in the phrase is not the famous river, but a misspelling of temse, a word for a corn sieve in the 18th century. According to this theory, a joke about a farm laborer who worked his temse so hard that it caught fire probably led to this expression for “to do something remarkable.” As with so many word deri- vations, the truth will probably never be known.

词汇	set the thames on fire
词源	set the Thames on fire. England’s Thames River, that cradle of so many far-flung sea expeditions, is usually pronounced to rhyme with hems, not James. The name is first recorded as Tamesis, circa a.d. 893. To set the Thames on fire is an old ex- pression, said of the Rhine and other rivers as well, meaning to do something marvelous, to work wonders, to almost set the world on fire. However, one persistent story claims that the Thames in the phrase is not the famous river, but a misspelling of temse, a word for a corn sieve in the 18th century. According to this theory, a joke about a farm laborer who worked his temse so hard that it caught fire probably led to this expression for “to do something remarkable.” As with so many word deri- vations, the truth will probably never be known.
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