英語拾零:Knock on Wood!

Knock on Wood!

　　Knock on wood 按字麵的意思就是“敲敲木頭”, 這個短語是指接觸木製的東西可以確保好運、甩掉壞運氣。這是一個典型的英語慣用語。

1). 祈求事情順利,老天保佑
I've had this car for three years now and it's never let me down. Knock on wood!

2).祝好運
If you buy these shares,you'll make a lot of money. Knock on wood!

典故:

某時期的人們相信精靈寄宿於樹木,隻要觸摸樹木,並向居住其中的精靈表達敬意,既可招來幸運.
做法是一邊念著"KNOCK ON WOOD",一邊敲樹木或用手觸摸木製物.

同義詞:

1) Touch wood!

2) to have your fingers crossed.
祈求一切順利

A:My brother David's going to have an operation tomorrow.
B:I hope everything goes well.
A:Thank You. We all have our fingers crossed.

3) to keep your fingers crossed.

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Knocking on wood

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Knocking on wood, and the spoken expression "knock on wood" or "touch wood" are used to express a desire to avoid "tempting fate" after making some boast or speaking of one's own death.

The expression is usually used in the hope that a good thing will continue to occur after it has been acknowledged. So, for example, one might say: "The rain looks like it's holding off, touch wood", or "Knock on wood, I'm much better now.". Another Example would be "I have never had to use my gun before, touch wood".

Brief History

It is commonly thought that knocking on wood has been a superstitious action to ward off evil throughout history involving Pagan belief systems. The same reference claims that knocking on wood is also used in some form of Christianity, but in a different context, where the wood represents the cross. offers another explanation, where here the wood represents the rosary.

Another explanation for this practice is the pagan belief that spirits (dryads) lived in trees.By knocking on the wood of a tree while making some sort of a bold statement, the speaker could prevent the spirit from hearing him and stop the spirit from interfering^{[citation needed]} or out of respect for the wood spirit, touching a tree indicated seeking protection from the particular spirit.

However historian Steve Roud finds no evidence in the British Isles for the earlier theories, suggesting that the superstitions have not been traced beyond children's games of tag of the early nineteenth century. According to Roud, the earliest documented references to "touching wood" are from 1805 and 1828 and concern chasing games like "Tiggy-touch-wood", where you are safe from being "tagged" if you "touch wood", says Roud, "'Tiggy-touch-wood" was an extremely well-known game, and it is more than likely that the phrase was passed into everyday language.


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