darbies镣铐

【使用地区】：英国

【释义】：

Darbies is an old British expression for handcuffs，but the word oddly enough derives from the name of a usurer．It seems that a shrewd sixteenth—century lawyer and moneylender named Derby drew up an ironclad bond that left no loopholes for debtors to escape through．This contract，used extensively by usurers，came to be called Father Derbie’s bands．Because they were also impossible to“unlock，”it wasn’t long before all manacles were known as derbies，too，the word often pronounced darbies．

此词是一个古英语词，意为“镣铐”。奇怪的是，它源于一个高利贷者的名字。16世纪有一位名叫Derby的精明律师和放债人，起草了一份铁定的合约，使债务人无空子可钻。这份合约后来为高利贷者广为使用，被称为“德比老人的镣铐”(Father Derbie’s bands)。因为镣铐也是无法开启的，所以不久所有的镣铐也都被称为derbies。该词常读作darbies。