eat the leek 含羞忍辱收回自己的狂言
He boasted that he could easily beat his opponent, but after his defeat he had to eat the leek.他夸口说可以轻易打败对手，结果却给对手打败，只有含羞忍辱收回自己的狂言了。解析：从前威尔斯人每逢圣大卫节(St David's Day)就在帽子上插韭葱。据说，七世纪的时候，撒克逊人入侵威尔斯，圣大卫教威尔斯人在帽子上插韭葱做记号，合力打败了侵略者，这就是威尔斯人在圣大卫节插韭葱习俗的由来。莎士比亚戏剧《亨利五世》(Henry V)里的威尔斯人弗鲁爱林(Fluellen)就是因为帽子上插了难闻的韭葱，给英格兰人皮斯托(Pistol)嘲讽，一怒之下，用棍子打皮斯托，还强迫他把韭葱吃了。所以，英国人现在说eat the leek(吃韭葱)，等于说“忍受耻辱”或“被迫收回自己说过的狂言”。
页:
[1]