| 释义 |
Old Scratchn.Chiefly Southern U.S.（名词）【多用于美国南部】- The Devil; Satan.魔王；撒旦
- Probably alteration of scrat 可能为 scrat的变化
- from Middle English [hermaphrodite goblin] 源自 中古英语 [两性小妖精]
- from Old Norse skratte [wizard, goblin] 源自 古斯堪的纳维亚语 skratte [巫士，小妖精]
注释- Old Scratch, like Old Nick, is a nickname for the devil. In the last centuryit was widely used in the eastern United States,especially in New England,as is evident from the Devil's name for himself in the well-known Stephen Vincent Benét short story, "The Devil and Daniel Webster.”Now the term has been regionalized to the South. Old Scratch is attested in theOxford English Dictionary from the 18th century onward in Great Britainas a colloquialism: "He'd have pitched me to Old Scratch" (Anthony Trollope).The source of the name is probably the Old Norse wordskratte, meaning "a wizard, goblin, monster, or devil.”Old Scratch， 和 Old Nick 一样都是魔鬼的绰号。 上个世纪，在美国东部，特别是新英格兰地区，这一说法曾广为使用。很明显这一词是源于史蒂芬·文森特·贝内的非常有名的短篇小说“魔鬼和丹尼尔”中魔鬼的名字。现在这一专有名词只在南部仍然使用。 Old Scratch 在牛津英语字典 被证实， 在大不列颠从18世纪起，这个词是作为口头用语而使用的： “他简直要把我扔给魔鬼“ （安东尼·特罗洛普）。这一名字或许源于斯堪的纳维亚语skratte ， 即“巫山，妖精，怪兽或魔鬼”的意思
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