| 词汇 | hissing away a career |
| 词源 | hissing away a career. English actor William Smith (d. 1696) was arguing with a nobleman behind the scenes of George Etherege’s play The Man of Mode, in which he was appearing as Sir Fopling Flutter, “the Prince of Fops.” The nobleman grew so angry about Smith’s characterization (which was said to sug- gest the peer) that he severely beat the actor. When word got back to Charles II, who admired the handsome Smith’s work, the king severely reprimanded the nobleman. But justice was not really served. A large party of the nobleman’s gentleman friends formed a club whose sole purpose was to drive Smith from the stage. They followed Smith from theater to theater, their hisses and catcalls ruining his every performance. Smith soon retired, his only consolation the small fortune he had ac- cumulated over the years. |
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