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jimmy789
Joined: 20 Apr 2009
Posts: 1
Location: TAIWAN
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 Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 7:02 am Post subject: Some habit of sentences |
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Dear Teachers,
why when we describe a big rain we use" It rains cats and dogs"?
does it have any special reasons?
and the other question is
why so many proverbs have "jack" inside?
such as
"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy; all play and no work makes Jack a mere boy."
and
"All shall be well, Jack shall have Jill."
etc.
does there any story about "jack"?
Thank you very much.
Sincerely
jimmy |
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dragn
Joined: 17 Feb 2009
Posts: 450
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| Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 5:07 pm Post subject: |
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Hi Jimmy...welcome to the Help Center!
| Quote: |
why when we describe a big rain we use" It rains cats and dogs"?
does it have any special reasons? |
Nope. The origin of this phrase is buried in antiquity; nobody knows for certain where it came from. There are a few fanciful "explanations" floating around on the web, but none can be substantiated.
| Quote: |
| why so many proverbs have "jack" inside? |
I suppose it's just because Jack is a common name; one used for a generic English-speaking male. Beyond that, there's no special reason I know of.
Sorry, no fascinating story behind it that I am aware of.
Greg |
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