密歇根新闻广播 不要轻视trifle的各种含义

 

It's no trifle that we received two emails within two weeks about the word "trifle." The first one came from a listener named Matt who writes:

"Something insignificant¹ is often described as 'a mere² trifle.' At the same time, something that could be very challenging is said to be 'nothing to trifle with.' How did we end up with such different meanings for the same word?"

As English Professor Anne Curzan was researching Matt's question, a colleague who also wanted to know more about trifle sent her an email with the subject line "Because I'm triflin'."

Coincidence or kismet? We're pretty sure it's the latter.

Trifle comes in from Old French in the 13th century and has meant basically the same thing for much of its history. It started off as a way to refer to a false tale or foolishness or something trivial. By the 1300s, it can also refer to a small knick knack³ and by the 1500s, a small sum of money.

In the 1500s, we also see trifle used to refer to a particular dessert. The Oxford⁴ English Dictionary describes it as "a dish composed of cream boiled with various ingredients." If that sounds a little suspect to you, fear not. By the 1800s, we get the delicious, more familiar version of a trifle made with layers of sponge cake, custard and other goodies.

In the 1500s we also get the verb "to trifle with" or to treat something with a lack of seriousness or respect. Here's where we see the relationship between the verb form and the noun form that's used to refer to something trivial. If someone tells you not to trifle with something, they're saying that you better take it seriously.

When Curzan's friend wrote "Because I'm triflin'," she was using trifle as an adjective. In the email, she said that she uses "triflin'" to refer to her own "wondering, non-productive ways."

Triflin' has long been part of African American English, as Tanya Ballard Brown discusses in an article she wrote for NPR's Code Switch in 2014:

"When I was growing up in N.C., I knew that, along with shiftless and lazy, one of the worst things a person could be was triflin'. The way my grandma used the word, it seemed to mean shiftless, lazy, useless, worthless and no-good all at once – so nooooo, you did not want to be triflin'."

You'll also find triflin' in dialects of Southern American English. Its use can actually be traced all the way back to the 16th century.

1 insignificant   

adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的

参考例句：

• In winter the effect was found to be insignificant.在冬季，这种作用是不明显的。
• This problem was insignificant compared to others she faced.这一问题与她面临的其他问题比较起来算不得什么。

2 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

3 knack   

n.诀窍，做事情的灵巧的，便利的方法

参考例句：

• He has a knack of teaching arithmetic.他教算术有诀窍。
• Making omelettes isn't difficult,but there's a knack to it.做煎蛋饼并不难，但有窍门。

4 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。