| 词源 |
horsefeathers! As a euphemism for “horseshit!” this word has been around at least since 1925. It may or may not be relat- ed to the term horsefeathers once used in carpentry, these horsefeathers being the feathering strips used in roofing and siding houses. Because they are big feathering strips, they may have been called horse feathers (like horseradish, etc.), but how these horse feathers came to be a euphemism for “horse- shit!” is not clear—unless it came easily to some roofer’s tongue when he had half-said “horseshit!” and a lady abruptly ap- peared upon the scene. On the other hand, horse-feathers may have first been a synonym for “nonsense,” originating with a saying such as, “That’s nonsense, that’s like saying horses have feathers!” |