VOA慢速英语2013 Words and Their Stories: A Chip on Your Shoulder

 

Words and Their Stories: A Chip on Your Shoulder

Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

Every week at this time we tell the story of words and expressions used in American English. Some of them are old. Some are new. Together, they form the living speech of the American people.

Some popular expressions are a mystery. No one is sure how they developed. One of these is the expression, carry a chip on your shoulder. A person with a chip on his shoulder is a problem for anybody who must deal with him. He seems to be expecting trouble. Sometimes he seems to be saying, “I’m not happy about anything, but what are you going to do about it?”

A chip is a small piece of something, like a chip of wood. How did this chip get on a person’s shoulder? Well, experts say the expression appears to have been first used in the United¹ States more than one hundred years ago.

One writer believes that the expression might have come from an old saying. The saying warns² against striking³ too high, or a chip might fall into your eye. That could be good advice. If you strike high up on a tree with an axe⁴, the chip of wood that is cut off will fall into your eye. The saying becomes a warning⁵ about the dangers of attacking people who are in more important positions than you are.

Later, in the United States, some people would put a real chip on their shoulder as a test. They wanted to start a fight. They would wait for someone to be brave enough to try to hit it off.

The word chip appears in a number of special American expressions. Another is chip off the old block. This means⁶ that a child is exactly like a parent.

This expression goes back at least to the early sixteen hundreds. The British writer of plays, George Colman, wrote these lines in seventeen sixty-two. “You’ll find him his father’s own son, I believe. A chip off the old block, I promise you!”

The word chip can also be used in a threatening way to someone who is suspected of wrongdoing. An investigator⁷ may say, “We’re going to let the chips fall where they may.” This means the investigation⁸ is going to be complete and honest. It is also a warning that no one will be protected from being found guilty⁹.

Chips are often used in card games. They represent¹⁰ money. A poker¹¹ player may, at any time, decide to leave the game. He will turn in his chips in exchange for money or cash.

This leads to another meaning. A person who finished or died was said to have cashed in his chips. Which is a way of saying it is time for me to finish this program. 

1 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

2 warns   

v.警告( warn的第三人称单数 )；提醒；告诫；预先通知

参考例句：

• He warns that there are some important safety rules for paragliding. 他提醒说滑翔运动里有一些非常重要的安全规则。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• Cancer expert Barrie Cassileth warns that alternative treatments may pose serious dangers. 癌症专家巴瑞 - 卡西莱斯警告，一些替代性的治疗方法可能导致严重的危险。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 癌症与艾滋病

3 striking   

adj.显著的，惹人注目的，容貌出众的

参考例句：

• There is a striking difference between Jane and Mary.简和玛丽之间有显著的差异。
• What is immediately striking is how resourceful the children are.最令人注目的是孩子们的机智聪明。

4 axe   

n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减

参考例句：

• Be careful with that sharp axe.那把斧子很锋利，你要当心。
• The edge of this axe has turned.这把斧子卷了刃了。

5 warning   

n.警告，告诫，训诫，警戒，警报

参考例句：

• The other side paid no attention to our warning.对方不重视我方的警告。
• He realized that his doctor was warning him off drink.他意识到医生在告诫他戒酒。

6 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

7 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

8 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

9 guilty   

adj.犯罪的；有罪的；内疚的

参考例句：

• There wasn't enough evidence to prove him guilty.没有充分的证据证明他有罪。
• Really honest people are ofter made to feel guilty.真正老实的人常被弄得感到犯了罪似的。

10 represent   

vt.表现，表示；描绘，讲述；代表，象征；回忆；再赠送，再上演；vi.提出异议

参考例句：

• I'll represent to him the risk he is running.我要向他指出他所面临的险境。
• We selected her to represent us.我们选她作为我们的代表。

11 poker   

n.扑克；vt.烙制

参考例句：

• He was cleared out in the poker game.他打扑克牌，把钱都输光了。
• I'm old enough to play poker and do something with it.我打扑克是老手了，可以玩些花样。