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世界上几乎每一种语言都有表达“钱不嫌多”这一意思的谚语，在本期《小词大义》中，我们来学习英语中与此相关的短语。
Almost every language in the world has a saying that a person can never be too rich. Americans, like people in other countries, always want more money. One way they express this is by protesting that their jobs do not pay enough. A common expression is, “I am working for chickenfeed.” It means working for very little money. The expression probably began because seeds fed to chickens made people think of small change. Small change means metal coins of not much value, like nickels which are worth five cents.
An early use of the word chickenfeed appeared in an American publication in 1930. It told about a rich man and his son. Word expert Mitford Mathews says it read, “I’ll bet neither the kid nor his father ever saw a nickel or a dime. They would not have been interested in such chickenfeed.”
Chickenfeed also has another interesting meaning known to history experts andWorld War Two spies and soldiers.
Spy expert Henry S. A. Becket writes that some German spies working in London during the war also worked for the British. The British government had to make the Germans believe their spies were working. So, British officials gave them mostly false information. It was called chickenfeed.
The same person who protests that he is working for chickenfeed may also say, “ I am working for peanuts.”She means she is working for a small amount of money. It is a very different meaning from the main one in the dictionary. That meaning is small nuts that grow on a plant.
No one knows for sure how a word for something to eat also came to mean something very small. But, a peanut is a very small food.
The expression is an old one. Word expert Mitford Mathews says that as early as 1854, an American publication used the words peanut agitators. That meant political troublemakers who did not have a lot of support.
Another reason for the saying about working for peanuts may be linked to elephants. Think of how elephants are paid for their work in the circus. They receive food, not money. One of the foods they like best is peanuts.
When you add the word gallery to the word peanut you have the name of an area in an American theater. A gallery is a high seating area or balcony above the main floor.
The peanut gallery got its name because it is the part of the theater most distant from where the show takes place. So, peanut gallery tickets usually cost less than other tickets. People pay a small amount of money for them.
美国人和其他国家的人一样，总是想要赚更多的钱。他们表达这一欲望的其中一种方式是抗议所得工资太少。 “I am working for chickenfeed.”是常用的一个句子，从字面理解是“我在为挣点鸡食工作”，而鸡食很容易让人联想到微不足道的零钱，因此这句话的意思是“我在为微薄的工资而工作”。
“chicken”还有另外一个有趣的意思，这要追溯到二战时期。一些德国间谍在伦敦期间也同时为英国效力。英国政府必须使德国相信这些间谍依旧在工作，所以会提供一些假情报给他们，这个就叫做“chickenfeed”。
除了“working for chickenfeed”之外，还有一个表达工资微薄的短语是“working for peanuts”。“peanut”一词是“花生”的意思，至于为什么将其与微薄报酬联系起来还没有确切的记载。有一种说法是与在马戏团表演的大象有关，大象没有报酬，只有食物作为奖励，而花生则是他们最喜欢的食物之一。
“gallery”表示美国剧院中主层之上的边座或顶层楼座，“peanut gallery”是指离舞台较远的区域，票价远低于其他位置。
Almost every language in the world has a saying that a person can never be too rich. Americans, like people in other countries, always want more money. One way they express this is by protesting that their jobs do not pay enough. A common expression is, “I am working for chickenfeed.” It means working for very little money. The expression probably began because seeds fed to chickens made people think of small change. Small change means metal coins of not much value, like nickels which are worth five cents.
An early use of the word chickenfeed appeared in an American publication in 1930. It told about a rich man and his son. Word expert Mitford Mathews says it read, “I’ll bet neither the kid nor his father ever saw a nickel or a dime. They would not have been interested in such chickenfeed.”
Chickenfeed also has another interesting meaning known to history experts andWorld War Two spies and soldiers.
Spy expert Henry S. A. Becket writes that some German spies working in London during the war also worked for the British. The British government had to make the Germans believe their spies were working. So, British officials gave them mostly false information. It was called chickenfeed.
The same person who protests that he is working for chickenfeed may also say, “ I am working for peanuts.”She means she is working for a small amount of money. It is a very different meaning from the main one in the dictionary. That meaning is small nuts that grow on a plant.
No one knows for sure how a word for something to eat also came to mean something very small. But, a peanut is a very small food.
The expression is an old one. Word expert Mitford Mathews says that as early as 1854, an American publication used the words peanut agitators. That meant political troublemakers who did not have a lot of support.
Another reason for the saying about working for peanuts may be linked to elephants. Think of how elephants are paid for their work in the circus. They receive food, not money. One of the foods they like best is peanuts.
When you add the word gallery to the word peanut you have the name of an area in an American theater. A gallery is a high seating area or balcony above the main floor.
The peanut gallery got its name because it is the part of the theater most distant from where the show takes place. So, peanut gallery tickets usually cost less than other tickets. People pay a small amount of money for them.
美国人和其他国家的人一样，总是想要赚更多的钱。他们表达这一欲望的其中一种方式是抗议所得工资太少。 “I am working for chickenfeed.”是常用的一个句子，从字面理解是“我在为挣点鸡食工作”，而鸡食很容易让人联想到微不足道的零钱，因此这句话的意思是“我在为微薄的工资而工作”。
“chicken”还有另外一个有趣的意思，这要追溯到二战时期。一些德国间谍在伦敦期间也同时为英国效力。英国政府必须使德国相信这些间谍依旧在工作，所以会提供一些假情报给他们，这个就叫做“chickenfeed”。
除了“working for chickenfeed”之外，还有一个表达工资微薄的短语是“working for peanuts”。“peanut”一词是“花生”的意思，至于为什么将其与微薄报酬联系起来还没有确切的记载。有一种说法是与在马戏团表演的大象有关，大象没有报酬，只有食物作为奖励，而花生则是他们最喜欢的食物之一。
“gallery”表示美国剧院中主层之上的边座或顶层楼座，“peanut gallery”是指离舞台较远的区域，票价远低于其他位置。