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“单词背后的故事”是一个电台节目,通过讲故事和举例子,让英语学习者更系统地了解到英语习语的意思与用法。当然,要学以致用才能真正掌握这些习语哦。春节到了,到亲朋好友家拜年的时候,本期习语就可以派上用场咯,用特别的方法表达各人的重要性吧——爷爷是家族的big wheel,而你也许是大家的top banana哦!Ready? Go!
Some expressions describe people who are important or who at least think they are. One such expression is 1)bigwig.
In the 17th century, important men in Europe began to wear false hair called wigs. As years passed, wigs began to get bigger. The size of a man’s wig depended on how important he was. The more important he was, or thought he was, the bigger the wig he wore.
Some wigs were so large they covered a man’s shoulders or back. Today, the expression bigwig is used to make fun of a person who feels important. People never tell someone he is a bigwig. They only use this expression behind his back.
2)Big wheel is another way to describe an important person. A big wheel may be the head of a company, a political leader, a famous movie star. They are big wheels because they are powerful. What they do affects many people.
Big wheels give the orders, other people carry them out. As in many machines, a big wheel makes the little wheels turn. Big wheel became a popular expression after World War II. It probably comes from an expression used for many years by people who fix parts of cars and trucks. They said a person rode a big wheel if he was important and had influence.
The top of something is the highest part. So it is not surprising that “top” is a part of another expression that describes an important person. The expression is 3)top banana. A top banana is the leading person in a comedy show. The funniest comedian is called the top banana, the next is the second banana, and so on.
Why a banana? A comedy act in earlier days often included a part where one of the
comedians would hit the others over the head with a soft object. The object was shaped like the yellow fruit – the banana. Top banana still is used mainly in show
business. Yet the expression can also be used to describe the top person in any area.
A 4)kingpin is another word for an
important person. The expression comes from the game of bowling. The kingpin is the No.1 pin. If hit correctly with the bowling ball the kingpin will make other nine pins fall, and that is the object of this game.
So the most important person in a project or business is the kingpin. If the kingpin is removed, the business or project is likely to fail. Kingpin is often used to describe an important criminal or the leader of a criminal gang.
A newspaper may report for example that police have arrested the suspected kingpin of a car-stealing operation.
Notes
1) bigwig (口)要人,大人物
2) big wheel (俚)重要人物,具有影响力的人,大亨
3) top banana (俚)(粗俗歌舞剧、杂耍等的)主要滑稽演员,重要官员
4) kingpin (组织或活动中的)主要人物,领袖
Some expressions describe people who are important or who at least think they are. One such expression is 1)bigwig.
In the 17th century, important men in Europe began to wear false hair called wigs. As years passed, wigs began to get bigger. The size of a man’s wig depended on how important he was. The more important he was, or thought he was, the bigger the wig he wore.
Some wigs were so large they covered a man’s shoulders or back. Today, the expression bigwig is used to make fun of a person who feels important. People never tell someone he is a bigwig. They only use this expression behind his back.
2)Big wheel is another way to describe an important person. A big wheel may be the head of a company, a political leader, a famous movie star. They are big wheels because they are powerful. What they do affects many people.
Big wheels give the orders, other people carry them out. As in many machines, a big wheel makes the little wheels turn. Big wheel became a popular expression after World War II. It probably comes from an expression used for many years by people who fix parts of cars and trucks. They said a person rode a big wheel if he was important and had influence.
The top of something is the highest part. So it is not surprising that “top” is a part of another expression that describes an important person. The expression is 3)top banana. A top banana is the leading person in a comedy show. The funniest comedian is called the top banana, the next is the second banana, and so on.
Why a banana? A comedy act in earlier days often included a part where one of the
comedians would hit the others over the head with a soft object. The object was shaped like the yellow fruit – the banana. Top banana still is used mainly in show
business. Yet the expression can also be used to describe the top person in any area.
A 4)kingpin is another word for an
important person. The expression comes from the game of bowling. The kingpin is the No.1 pin. If hit correctly with the bowling ball the kingpin will make other nine pins fall, and that is the object of this game.
So the most important person in a project or business is the kingpin. If the kingpin is removed, the business or project is likely to fail. Kingpin is often used to describe an important criminal or the leader of a criminal gang.
A newspaper may report for example that police have arrested the suspected kingpin of a car-stealing operation.
Notes
1) bigwig (口)要人,大人物
2) big wheel (俚)重要人物,具有影响力的人,大亨
3) top banana (俚)(粗俗歌舞剧、杂耍等的)主要滑稽演员,重要官员
4) kingpin (组织或活动中的)主要人物,领袖