2012年2月25日 星期六

For good measure/ample bosom/ A-cup


Women with small breasts may be at lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those with more ample bosoms.

相較於乳房豐滿的人,胸部小的女人罹患第二型糖尿病的風險可能較低。

Researchers at Harvard University, in the U.S., and the University of Toronto, in Canada, surveyed 92,106 women and found those who had a D-cup or larger at the age of 20 were at around three times higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those with an A-cup.

美國哈佛大學和加拿大多倫多大學的研究人員,對9萬2106名婦女的調查發現,D罩杯或以上的20歲婦女,罹患第二型糖尿病的風險比A罩杯婦女高約3倍。



ample[am・ple]

  • レベル:大学入試程度
  • 発音記号[ǽmpl]

[形](-pler, -plest)
1 (量が)豊富な, (…に)(あまるほど)十分な((for ..., to do)). ⇒SUFFICIENT 1
an ample supply of water
十分な水
The area has ample rainfall for agriculture.
その地域には農業に十分な雨量がある
We have ample time to discuss that matter.
その問題を話し合う時間が十分ある.
2 (程度などが)高い;(スペースなどが)広い, 大きい
an ample bosom [bust]
豊満な胸.





For good measure

In addition to the required amount. For example, Whenever she bakes she adds a little more cinnamon for good measure, or He didn't argue with my price, so I gave him some extra supplies for good measure.


As an additional extra.

Origin

'Good measure' has been part of the language since the first English-speaking 'purveyor of fyne goodes' set up shop, and it just means 'an ample or generous quantity of that which is sold by measure'.

The first instance of the expression in print is found where many other first coinages originated, in John Wyclif's Middle English translation of the Bible, circa 1384, in Luke 6:38:

Thei schulen yyue in to youre bosum a good mesure, and wel fillid, and schakun togidir, and ouerflowynge; for bi the same mesure, bi whiche ye meeten, it schal be metun ayen to you.
[They shall give into your bosom a good measure, and well-filled, and shaken together, and overflowing; for by the same measure, by which ye mete, it shall be meted again to you.]

We might expect the extended term 'in good measure' to refer to an abundance of something. In fact, its rather the reverse. 'Measured' also means 'moderate; restrained' and if a person acts 'in good measure' they are being especially temperate in their actions. As it happens, Wyclif was also one of the first to put that meaning of 'good measure' into print, in a collection of sermons known as Controversial Tracks, circa 1400, which was directed at the clergy:

Ye shulden lyue on ye puple in good mesure as Paul biddin.
[You be sustained by the people in moderation, as St. Paul bids you.]

It wasn't until much later that the use of the phrase 'good measure' returned to its original 'ample' meaning. In the 19th century people began to express the idea of things being 'thrown in for good measure', that is, added as a complimentary extra portion. In 1811, the British mathematician Patrick Kelly wrote The Universal Cambist, which was an exhaustive study of the weights and measures in use in different parts of the world and a method of converting from one to another. In the notes on Swedish measurement he included:

Corn, and other dry commodities, are measured by Tunnor. The Tunne is divided into 32 Kappar. But to every Tunna of wheat 4 Kappar are allowed for good measure.

Before long, the expression 'for good measure' began to be used figuratively, that is, in circumstances where no actual measurement was taking place. An example appears in the May 1850 edition of the American magazineLittell's Living Age, in a report of a public flogging in California:

'Give him another for good measure' - 'Hit him again' - were the sounds which greeted his ears.

'For good measure' might appear to be linked to the 'Baker's dozen', as both phrases express the notion of a little extra being added above the absolute requirement. In fact, the two phrases aren't connected, 'Baker's dozen' being much older. While the extra that was added 'for good measure' was added willingly, the extra that made up a Baker's dozen was added under threat of severe punishment. In mediaeval England, being light in the loaves was as risky as being 'light in the loafers' was prior to the decriminalisation of homosexuality in the 1967 Sexual Offences Act.


The Phrase A Week newsletter goes to 123,000 subscribers (92,000 by e-mail, 31,000 by RSS feed).

沒有留言: