Language Café

【Definition】Being 'woke' means being aware. Knowing what's going on in the community – usually as pertains to racial and social justice issues. Woke曾入选2016年牛津词典年度词汇，警示社会中的不公平行为，例如种族主义等。【Origin】The first instance of the use of stay woke is unknown. One of the first instances of public use was in the chorus to Erykah Badu's 2008 song "Master Teachers".

【Definition】Do not disturb a situation as it is - since it would result in trouble or complications【Etymology】 This injunction to avoid stirring up trouble was already a proverb in the 13th century. It alludes to waking up a fierce watchdog and has been stated in English since the late 1300s.

【Definition】 something that misleads or distracts from a relevant or important issue【Etymology】Stems back to the use of a kipper (a strong-smelling smoked fish) to train hounds to follow a scent, or to divert them from the correct route when hunting. These fish were often dyed red because of a lack of refrigeration during those times. Although, no one knows if it's true.herring是一种鱼（鲱鱼），而俚语red herring可不是红色的鲱鱼，意思是为分散注意力而提出的不相干事实或论点。以前鲱鱼数量很多，对于美洲和欧洲地区的人来说，它是一种很重要的食物，以至于许多作家都把大西洋称为the herring pond。不过后来由于过度捕捞，这种鱼的数量开始减少。因为鲱鱼很容易变质，人们就想出一个保存的方法，即先撒上盐、之后用烟熏干，这样鲱鱼的颜色就变成深红色，也就是red herring了。熏制鲱鱼不仅能够保存并改变鱼的颜色，还可以让其带有一种独特的味道。在训练猎犬搜寻狐狸的时候，人们把这些红色的鲱鱼用线栓住放在森林里来吸引猎犬，让它不要追踪狐狸的气味。另外，人们有时候还把鲱鱼放到真正有狐狸出没的地方来测试猎犬的搜寻能力，看它是否能够抵抗其他的味道，继续寻找狐狸的踪迹。由此，人们开始用red herring来表示为迷惑对手而提出的错误的线索或伪造的事实。Red herring最早出现在1420年左右，不过其比喻义直到1884年才开始使用。

【Definition】 Nothing is irreversible until the final act is played out. All is not lost.【Origin】 The musical connection is with the familiar operatic role of Brunnhilde in Richard Wagner's Götterdämmerung, the last of the immensely long, four-opera Ring Cycle. Brunnhilde is usually depicted as a bigger lady who appears for a ten minute solo to conclude proceedings.这句俗语的起源很可能与歌剧有关,特别是那种瓦格纳（德国歌剧家兼作曲家）风格的大型歌剧，通常会有戴着尖角帽盔的大块头女人参加表演。这可能是失传已久的笑话或故事里的一句妙语，讲一些不懂行的人在看歌剧时误把中场间隔当成全剧结束，在起身离去时被人拦住，告诉他们：It's not over until the fat lady sings.It's not over until the fat lady sings 是怎么流行起来的呢? 1976年,一位“圣安东尼奥快报"的体育新闻记者丹·库克在报纸专栏里使用了这句话，两年后又在电视实况评论里用这句话来激励圣安东尼奥"马刺"篮球队的球迷们不要放弃信心，"马刺"果然没有让球迷们失望，和华盛顿子弹队拼进了最后的延长赛。子弹队教练迪克·莫塔学会了这句箴言并活学活用，终于赢得了延长赛的胜利。至此，It's not over until the fat lady sings传遍全美国。

【Definition】Being Inquisitive/nosy can lead you into an unpleasant situation.【Etymology】The 'killed the cat' proverb originated as 'care killed the cat'. By 'care' the coiner of the expression meant 'worry/sorrow' rather than our more usual contemporary 'look after/provide for' meaning.The frequent rejoinder to 'curiosity killed the cat' is 'satisfaction brought it back'.

【Definition】To hear rumors' about something or someone.【Etymology】The term originated in the USA and comes from the telegraph system invented in the 19th century by Samuel Morse. The system required thousands of kilometers of telegraph wire to be installed, held in place several meters above the ground by telegraph poles placed at regular intervals along the telegraph route.People thought the wires and poles looked like the strings used to train vines so the telegraph lines became known as 'the grapevine'. During the American Civil War rumors were often spread via the telegraph lines. When people were asked whether a particular story was true, they would often reply 'I heard it through the grapevine'.

【Definition】1. To think someone or something should be changed. - complaint2. To have a feud with someone or something. - disagreement【Etymology】As regards the etymology of beef, it seems to go back to the cry of hot beef! meaning 'stop thief!' (quasi-rhyming slang but more by coincidence than design, since it is far older than rhyming slang's first widespread use in the 1820s-30s); thus the 18th century cry hot beef, to raise a hue and cry. Came back to prominence through hip hop culture in the mid 90s, with many high profile feuds between major US rappers.

【Definition】 When someone complains about a loss from the past that you can't change.【Etymology】 While the exact origin of the idiom 'don't cry over spilt milk' isn't exactly known, it is quite likely to have come from faery lore. In the days when people believed strongly in fairies, it was common to lay out a shrine for them, consisting of small quantities of food and drink; particularly of their favorite drink, milk. Whenever milk was spilled, it was considered to be nothing more than a little extra offering to the fairies, and nothing to worry about.

【Definition】Deal with a problem if and when it becomes necessary, not before. 【Etymology】The ultimate origin of this proverb, a caution not to anticipate trouble has been lost. The earliest recorded use is in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's The Golden Legend (1851): "Don't cross the bridge till you come to it, is a proverb old and of excellent wit.

【Definition】Don't be ungrateful when you receive a gift.【Origin】The phrase appears in print in English in 1546, as "don't look a given horse in the mouth". As horses develop they grow more teeth and their existing teeth begin to change shape and project further forward. Determining a horse's age from its teeth is a specialist task, but it can be done.