英语词汇catcalls的起源、历史背景-英语词源词典

catcalls. Though this word, first recorded in 1659, is inspired by the nocturnal cry, or “waul,” of the cat, catcalls are actually “human whistles expressing disapproval.” A catcall was appar- ently first “a squeaking instrument, a kind of whistle used especially in British music halls to express impatience or disap- probation.” It then came to mean a shrill shrieking whistle peo- ple made in imitation of the instrument and used for the same purposes. In America, however, such shrill whistles (though in this case not called catcalls) can be expressions of approval of a performance.

词汇	catcalls
词源	catcalls. Though this word, first recorded in 1659, is inspired by the nocturnal cry, or “waul,” of the cat, catcalls are actually “human whistles expressing disapproval.” A catcall was appar- ently first “a squeaking instrument, a kind of whistle used especially in British music halls to express impatience or disap- probation.” It then came to mean a shrill shrieking whistle peo- ple made in imitation of the instrument and used for the same purposes. In America, however, such shrill whistles (though in this case not called catcalls) can be expressions of approval of a performance.
随便看	chartreuse liqueur chaste tree chat chateaubriand chattel chatter chatterbox chauffeur chautauqua chauvinism chaw stick cheap as a sardinian cheap john cheapskate cheat check checkered cabs checker-out checkmate cheddar cheechako cheek by cheek cheek by jowl the jig is up the juice ain’t worth the squeeze