这些词和短语看起来很普通，但是仔细研究你就会发现它们古老的起源。老实说：一些英语表达很奇怪…同时引起了许多问题。很多说法的起源都较近，但是有趣的是，许多俚语单词和短语都可以追溯至很远。这里将列出7个可以追溯至古英语的短语：

　　1。 Decked Out

　　盛装，光彩照人

　　This commonly used phrase stems from Dutch — the form of the Dutch language spoken from around 1200-1500。 The word decked means “to cover，” which makes sense because if someone is “decked out” they’re covered in fancy clothes， jewelry， etc。 It can also describe objects， like your house， which might be decked out with flashing Christmas lights。

　　这个常用的短语起源于荷兰语 — 这种形式大概在1200—1500形成。Decked意为‘穿，覆盖’。如果用“decked out”来描述某人，就说明他们佩戴珠宝，盛装出席，光彩照人。Deck也可以描述物体，例如，房子在圣诞节时张灯结彩。

　　2。 Idiot

　　傻瓜，笨蛋

　　Don’t worry， we’re not talking about you。 But you can thank the Greeks for this word， which we all throw around a little too loosely。 As you probably know， ancient Greece was big on the whole democracy thing， so people who didn’t participate in the political process or in their community were viewed in a negative light。 The Greek word idiot was used to describe those people， who were considered ignorant and overly preoccupied with themselves。

　　不要担心，我们不是在说你笨。但是你可以感谢希腊人创造了这个我们经常在日常生活中使用的词。正如你可能知道的一样，古希腊很重视民主制度，所以那些不参加政治活动的人就被视为消极。希腊单词idiot被用来描述无知和过分关注自己的人。

　　3。 Moron

　　傻瓜，痴愚者

　　Blame the ancient Greeks again。 This regularly used insult comes from the Greek word móros， meaning “foolish” or “stupid。”

　　Moron这个单词同样源于希腊，由希腊单词móros演化而来，意为‘傻的’，‘愚蠢的’，通常用来侮辱别人。

　　4。 To Butter Someone Up

　　恭维某人

　　This is one of those expressions you use without thinking。 Taken literally， it sounds messy and unpleasant， but it actually means heaping praise and flattery on someone in order to get something from them。 This phrase is rumored to originate from an ancient Indian religious custom。 People would throw balls of butter at statues of gods when seeking their favor。 We don’t recommend trying this custom on your boss…

　　这是一件你不用思考就可以做的事情。从字面上理解，这句话听起来很脏而且会令人感到不愉快，但是事实上这意味着对某人的赞美和奉承，以便从他们那里取得一定的好处。据说这个短语起源于一个古老的印度宗教习俗。人们在向神寻求帮助时会把黄油涂在他们的雕塑上。我们不建议你对老板也这样做…

　　5。 Goth

　　野蛮人，粗野的人

　　Remember those kids in high school who wore all black， listened to punk rock， and went a little crazy with the eyeliner？ You may have guessed that the term goth is short for gothic， a medieval style of architecture and literature。 But you may not have known that the words goth and gothic refer back to ancient history。 The Goths were a Germanic tribe that invaded Rome in the third century and are said to have played a role in the fall of the Roman Empire。 The Romans considered the Goths uncivilized barbarians。 But those “barbarians” held pockets of power for a few centuries。 Fast forward to medieval Europe， where Gothic architecture was seen as uncultured and barbaric， as opposed to its predecessor， Renaissance architecture。 The architecture led to the dark， horror-based literature and culture， which inspired those kids from your high school。

　　你还记得那些孩子吗？他们上高中，穿着黑色的衣服，听着朋克摇滚，眼线画得近似疯狂。你可能已经猜到goth这个词氏gothic的缩写，gothic是中世纪的一种建筑风格，也是一种文学形式。但是你可能不知道goth和gothic也指古代的历史。哥特人属于日耳曼族，在三世纪入侵罗马。据说，哥特人在罗马帝国的陷落中扮演着重要的角色。罗马人认为哥特人是不文明的野蛮人。但是这些“野蛮人”却拥有了几个世纪长的权利。快进到中世纪的欧洲，与文艺复兴时期的建筑相比，哥特式的建筑被认为是野蛮的，不文明的。这种建筑指向黑，恐怖的文学和文化，这些都使那些高中的孩子们感到好奇。

　　6。 Running Amok

　　胡作非为，横冲直撞