“摇钱树”是汉语中的俗语,比喻借以赚大钱的人或物,似略带贬义。巧合的是英语中也有“摇钱树”的同义俗语,不过“树”变成了“牛”:“milch cow”,也可拼为“milk cow”。在英国19世纪作家萨克雷的名著《名利场》中就有这样的句子:“His interesting patient Jos,was a regular milch cow tothe doctor…”(那怪有趣的病人乔斯成了医生靠得住的摇钱树……)。“milch cow”在《新英汉词典》 “Cashmaker” is a colloquial phrase in Chinese. A metaphor for people or things that make a lot of money seems to be slightly derogatory. Coincidentally, in English, there is also a synonym for “cash cow”, but the “tree” becomes “cattle”: “milch cow”, but also spelled “milk cow.” In the famous 19th-century writer Sackley’s famous Vanity Fair, there is such a sentence: “His interesting patient Jos, was a regular milch cow to the doctor...” (The weird patient Jos became a reliable cash cow for doctors... ...). “milch cow” in the New English-Chinese Dictionary