密歇根新闻广播 分手是艰难的

 

Breaking up is hard to do.

That's according to Neil Sedaka's signature song anyway. Maybe that's why we didn't start doing it until the 20th century.

Actually, that's not quite true. We've been breaking things up for centuries. It's the idea of breaking up a relationship that's fairly new.

The verb "break up" started with the meaning of physically¹ breaking something up into pieces, like ice or stone. By the 15th century, it could refer to dissolving or disbanding something. You could, for example, break up a household or break up a fight.

By the 1800s, "break up" had taken on another meaning which was to upset or disturb, or to excite or make laugh. It's not until the 20th century that we start to see the newer meaning of ending a relationship. The Oxford² English Dictionary cites this use back to 1912, and we're still using it today.

During our research, we came across the seasonally³ appropriate "break-up" synonym⁴ "give the mitten⁵." This phrase goes back to the mid-1800s, and it was usually from a woman to a man.

If you're wondering how mittens⁶ got tied up with rejection⁷, there are a few theories.

On his blog World Wide Words, Michael Quinion writes that he finds the most persuasive⁸ one to be that "give the mitten" goes back to a French tradition of sending a suitor mittens in order to reject a proposal. There were some traditions where, as a part of a deal, you would give someone gloves or mittens. If they rejected the deal, they would give you back the gloves or mittens.

1 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

2 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。

3 seasonally   

参考例句：

• The price of vegetables fluctuates seasonally. 蔬菜的价格随季节变动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They moved seasonally among various vegetation types to feed on plants that were flourishing. 它们还随着季节的变化而在各种类型植物之间迁移，以便吃那些茂盛的植物。 来自辞典例句

4 synonym   

n.同义词，换喻词

参考例句：

• Zhuge Liang is a synonym for wisdom in folklore.诸葛亮在民间传说中成了智慧的代名词。
• The term 'industrial democracy' is often used as a synonym for worker participation. “工业民主”这个词常被用作“工人参与”的同义词。

5 mitten   

n.连指手套，露指手套

参考例句：

• There is a hole in the thumb of his mitten.他的手套的姆指上有个洞。
• He took her money in one hand and with the other hand he grasped her mitten and said "Take me to where you live.I want to see your brother and meet your parents".他一手接过她的钱，一手抓起她的连指手套，“带我去你住的地方，我想见见你的弟弟和你的父母。

6 mittens   

不分指手套

参考例句：

• Cotton mittens will prevent the baby from scratching his own face. 棉的连指手套使婴儿不会抓伤自己的脸。
• I'd fisted my hands inside their mittens to keep the fingers warm. 我在手套中握拳头来保暖手指。

7 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

8 persuasive   

adj.有说服力的，能说得使人相信的

参考例句：

• His arguments in favour of a new school are very persuasive.他赞成办一座新学校的理由很有说服力。
• The evidence was not really persuasive enough.证据并不是太有说服力。