词语掌故：来谈谈实质性问题吧！(2/2)

英语自学网

概述：俚语"to get down to brass tacks"从何而来呢？
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校对：夕夜碎流年
翻译&注解：panpanlu
组长：marrywhy
答疑：silvanus_ss
发音点评：唔哈哈哈哈哈哈
本期材料发音模仿地址：http://bulo.hujiang.com/menu/11885/item/855080/Another idea is that the expression began when furniture was made by hand. Brass tacks were used around the bottom part of the chair. The brass tacks showed that the chair was built to be strong. When something went wrong with the chair, someone quickly examined the bottom to discover the trouble. In other words, someone got down to the brass tacks.
No one is sure where the expression first was used, but everyone is sure what it means today. It is used by people who dislike empty words. They seek quick, direct answers. They want to get to the bottom of a situation. There are others, however, who have no such desire. They feel there is some risk in trying to get down to brass tacks.
This happened in the case of a critic who made the mistake of reading a play written by a close friend. The critic disliked the play a lot. He felt his friend should not be writing plays. But he said nothing. This silence troubled the writer. He demanded that his friend, the critic, say something about the play. The writer finally heard the critic's opinion. And this "getting down to brass tacks" ended a long friendship.另一种说法认为，这种表达产生于家具还是手工制造的时候。那时，椅子底部都有钢钉固定，说明椅子很坚固。当椅子出问题的时候，有人会快速检查底部寻找问题产生的原因。换句话说，人们直切要点。
没人知道这个表达最初被用于何处，但现在每个人都知道它的意思。那些不喜欢泛泛而谈的人喜欢用这种表达，他们寻求快速直接的答案，喜欢追根究底。当然也有一些不喜欢打破砂锅问到底的人，他们认为直言不讳有风险。
这种情况发生在一位批评家身上，他在阅读密友写的剧本上犯了这种错误。批评家非常不喜欢这个剧本，他觉得朋友不该写剧本，但他什么也没说。他的沉默令作者苦恼，作者要求批评家朋友评论该剧本。这位作者最终听到了批评家的意见，但批评家的这种“直言不讳”结束了这段长久的友谊。