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In the early days of human history, people survived by hunting wild animals, or gathering wild grains and plants for food. Then, some people learned to grow crops and raise animals for food. They were the first farmers.
Since the sixteenth century, the word farm has meant agricultural land. But a much older meaning of the word farm is linked to economics. The word farm comes from the Latin word, firma, which means an unchanging payment.
Experts say the earliest meaning of the English word farm was a yearly payment made as a tax or rent.
Farmers in early England did not own their land. They paid every year to use agricultural lands.
In England, farmers used hawthorn trees along the edges of property. They called this row of hawthorns a hedge.
Hedging fields was how careful farmers marked and protected them.
Soon, people began to use the word hedging to describe steps that could be taken to protect against financial loss.
Hedging is common among gamblers who make large bets. A gambler bets a lot of money on one team. But, to be on the safe side, he also places a smaller bet on the other team, to reduce a
possible loss.
You might say that someone is hedging his bet when he invests in several different kinds of businesses. One business may fail, but likely not all.
Farmers know that it is necessary to make hay while the sun shines.
Hay has to be cut and gathered when it is dry. So a wise farmer never postpones gathering his hay when the sun is shining. Rain may soon appear.
A wise person copies the farmer. He works when conditions are right.
A new mother, for example, quickly learns to try to sleep when her baby is quiet, even in the middle of the day. If the mother delays, she may lose her chance to sleep. So, the mother learns to make hay while the sun shines.
Beans are a popular farm crop. But beans are used to describe something of very little value in the expression, not worth a hill of beans. The expression is often used today.
You could say, for example, that a bad idea is not worth a hill of beans.
Language expert Charles Earle Funk said the expression was first used almost seven hundred years ago. He said Robert of Gloucester described a message from the King of Germany to King John of England as altogether not worth a bean.
● farm是我们所熟知的“农场”。但很久以前,它更多地用来表达用来缴付农田的费用或租金。
● hedge最初是指一排排用作圈地之途的山楂树,在这个基础上,人们开始用hedge来形容有形的一排障碍物,或者无形的保护或防御手段,尤其当它用于与经济有关的语境时。
● hedge one’s bets是一个习惯用语,表示“为防止损失而两面下注”。这个词组本来是从赌桌上发展而来的,据说一个厉害的赌手不会把赌注全部放在一方之上,而是把大部分赌注投于自己看好的一方,而将小部分赌注放于对面一方,以此来防止输精光的后果。在这个全民投资的时代,“hedge one’s bets”也指人们分散投资。
● 对一个农民来说,储备好干草(hay)作为过冬的饲料是非常重要的事情。面对风云难测的天气,抓紧一切时间在太阳出来的时候晒好干草就成了头等大事。“Make hay while sun shines.”这句俗语出处即在此,可以译成“抓紧时机;未雨绸缪”等意思。
● 豆类是最平常的农产品,价格低廉。因此即使买上一座小山那么多的豆子,也不需花费太多钱。因此,你如果想表达什么东西或人一文不值,便可以说“not worth a hill of beans”。比如:I’m glad she didn’t marry him. He’s not worth a hill of beans!(我很高兴她最终没有嫁给他,他根本就是一钱不值!)“altogether not worth a bean”也表达相似的意思。
Since the sixteenth century, the word farm has meant agricultural land. But a much older meaning of the word farm is linked to economics. The word farm comes from the Latin word, firma, which means an unchanging payment.
Experts say the earliest meaning of the English word farm was a yearly payment made as a tax or rent.
Farmers in early England did not own their land. They paid every year to use agricultural lands.
In England, farmers used hawthorn trees along the edges of property. They called this row of hawthorns a hedge.
Hedging fields was how careful farmers marked and protected them.
Soon, people began to use the word hedging to describe steps that could be taken to protect against financial loss.
Hedging is common among gamblers who make large bets. A gambler bets a lot of money on one team. But, to be on the safe side, he also places a smaller bet on the other team, to reduce a
possible loss.
You might say that someone is hedging his bet when he invests in several different kinds of businesses. One business may fail, but likely not all.
Farmers know that it is necessary to make hay while the sun shines.
Hay has to be cut and gathered when it is dry. So a wise farmer never postpones gathering his hay when the sun is shining. Rain may soon appear.
A wise person copies the farmer. He works when conditions are right.
A new mother, for example, quickly learns to try to sleep when her baby is quiet, even in the middle of the day. If the mother delays, she may lose her chance to sleep. So, the mother learns to make hay while the sun shines.
Beans are a popular farm crop. But beans are used to describe something of very little value in the expression, not worth a hill of beans. The expression is often used today.
You could say, for example, that a bad idea is not worth a hill of beans.
Language expert Charles Earle Funk said the expression was first used almost seven hundred years ago. He said Robert of Gloucester described a message from the King of Germany to King John of England as altogether not worth a bean.
● farm是我们所熟知的“农场”。但很久以前,它更多地用来表达用来缴付农田的费用或租金。
● hedge最初是指一排排用作圈地之途的山楂树,在这个基础上,人们开始用hedge来形容有形的一排障碍物,或者无形的保护或防御手段,尤其当它用于与经济有关的语境时。
● hedge one’s bets是一个习惯用语,表示“为防止损失而两面下注”。这个词组本来是从赌桌上发展而来的,据说一个厉害的赌手不会把赌注全部放在一方之上,而是把大部分赌注投于自己看好的一方,而将小部分赌注放于对面一方,以此来防止输精光的后果。在这个全民投资的时代,“hedge one’s bets”也指人们分散投资。
● 对一个农民来说,储备好干草(hay)作为过冬的饲料是非常重要的事情。面对风云难测的天气,抓紧一切时间在太阳出来的时候晒好干草就成了头等大事。“Make hay while sun shines.”这句俗语出处即在此,可以译成“抓紧时机;未雨绸缪”等意思。
● 豆类是最平常的农产品,价格低廉。因此即使买上一座小山那么多的豆子,也不需花费太多钱。因此,你如果想表达什么东西或人一文不值,便可以说“not worth a hill of beans”。比如:I’m glad she didn’t marry him. He’s not worth a hill of beans!(我很高兴她最终没有嫁给他,他根本就是一钱不值!)“altogether not worth a bean”也表达相似的意思。