密歇根新闻广播 "gobsmacked"一词的由来

Unless you decided¹ to completely avoid the internet in 2009, there's a good chance you've seen Susan Boyle's first round performance on Britain's Got Talent.

The Scottish singer's rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" attracted millions of views on YouTube. No one was more surprised than Boyle herself, who told CNN she was "gobsmacked."

Boyle's description of herself caused a bit of a stir among those unfamiliar³ with this particular British slang term.

To understand the meaning behind "gobsmacked," it helps to know that a "gob" is a mouth. This word comes from Irish and Scottish Gaelic. It still pops up in other places in British slang – for example, "shut your gob!"

If you say that you were "gobsmacked," it means that you were so surprised or astonished, it was as though someone had smacked² you in the mouth. It's similar to calling something "jaw-dropping."

Interestingly, "gobsmacked" isn't really that old. During the Susan Boyle frenzy⁴ in 2009, Ben Zimmer wrote an article that dated it back to 1956. Since then, the Oxford⁵ English Dictionary has updated its entry for this word with evidence that dates it backto 1935.

While Professor Anne Curzan was researching "gobsmacked," she came across some great synonyms⁶, including "flabbergasted." As a verb, we have evidence of "flabbergast" as early as 1773. At that time, it was identified as new slang.

There are different theories as to where this term that's so fun to say comes from.Michael Quinion goes over a few on his blog, World Wide Words.

One possibility is that "flabbergast" was a regional dialect word that got picked up intobroader slang. Another possibility is that it's a blend of "aghast" and "flabby" – basically, you're so excited that you shake.

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 smacked   

拍，打，掴( smack的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He smacked his lips but did not utter a word. 他吧嗒两下嘴，一声也不言语。
• She smacked a child's bottom. 她打孩子的屁股。

3 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

4 frenzy   

n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动

参考例句：

• He was able to work the young students up into a frenzy.他能激起青年学生的狂热。
• They were singing in a frenzy of joy.他们欣喜若狂地高声歌唱。

5 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。

6 synonyms   

同义词( synonym的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• If you want to grasp English, you must carefully discriminate synonyms. 如果你想掌握好英语，你必须仔细区分同义词。
• Study the idioms and synonyms l wrote down before your test. 学考试前我给你写的习惯用语和同义字。