2016年4月21日 星期四
Gimcrack
Did You Know?
Gimcrack is only one of many peculiar-sounding words that have pervaded our language to refer to something ornamental and of little value. Others include bauble, trinket, knickknack, gewgaw, kickshaw and tchotchke. Bauble appears to be the oldest among the group, with usage dating back to the 14th century. Gewgaw and kickshaw first appeared in the 16th century, whereas gimcrack and knickknack established themselves in the 17th century. Tchotchke, borrowed from the Yiddish, is by far the most recent addition to our language, only first appearing as an English word in the 1970s.
"ligeia", which poe thought his best grotesque story, is now, for most readers, a jumble of morbid self-pity, diabolism, and gimcrack gothicism.
波自認《莉蓋婭》是他怪誕小說中的上品,現在大部分讀者認為不過是病態自憐,魔鬼附身,浮華怪誕的大雜燴而已。
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