let’s talk turkey让我们干点正经事

【使用地区】：美国

【释义】：

Let’s get down to real business．According to an old story，back in Colonial days a white New England hunter unevenly divided the spoils of a day’s hunt with his Native American companion．Of the four crows and four wild turkeys they had bagged，the hunter handed a crow to the Native American and took a turkey for himself，then handed a second crow to the Native American and put still another turkey in his own bag．All the while he kept saying“You may take this crow and I will take this turkey，”or something similar，but the Native American wasn’t as gullible as the hunter thought．When he had finished dividing the kill，the Native American protested“You talk all turkey for you．You never once talk turkey for me!Now I talk turkey to you．”He then proceeded to take his fair share．Many scholars believe that from this apocryphal tale，first printed in 1830，comes the expression let’s talk turkey．

意义如上所示。据说有这么一个古老的故事：在殖民时期，有个新英格兰的白人猎手与他的印第安伙伴分享一天的猎物。他们捕获了四只乌鸦和四只野火鸡。这个猎手把一只乌鸦递给那个印第安人，而把一只火鸡留给自己。然后他又把第二只乌鸦给了印第安伙伴，把另一只火鸡放进自己的袋子。他还一边不停地说着“你拿这只乌鸦，我拿这只火鸡”等之类的话。可是那个印第安人并没有像猎手所想的那样容易受骗上当。当猎手分完猎物后，印第安人抗议说：“你总是对自己说火鸡，却从来没有对我说火鸡!现在我来对你说火鸡”。他然后拿了自己应得的份额。许多学者认为，该用语源于1830年第一次发表的这个杜撰的故事。