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born in the purple

2014年05月09日

"... the present monarch, who was not born to the purple but had been appointed King."
from Seoul, the Capital, Japan.

Traditionally, born in the purple[1] was a category of members of royal families born during the reign of their parent. This was later loosely expanded to include all children born of prominent or high ranking parents.[2]


Wikipedia.




PR
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An albatross around one's neck

2014年01月22日
An albatross around one's neck:

A burden which some unfortunate person has to carry.

This phrase refers to lines from the poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, in which the eponymous mariner, who shoots an albatross, is obliged to carry the burden of the bird hung around his neck as a punishment for and reminder of his ill deed.
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paisan (Italian-American slang)

2014年01月22日
paisan
It's a word that's used with Italians or Italian Americans when informally, but friendly, adressing one another. It means "brother" or "fellow countryman". Shortened from paisano, and is sometimes spelled paesan.

"Hey, paisan! How's the veal parmigiana?"
"Delicious, best in the city!"
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thornbird

2014年01月22日

What, d'you think I'm a thornbird? (You think I'd tell you if I had an affair? That would destroy our lives, I wouldn't inflict that pain on myself.)

Thornbird may refer to:

Birds

  • A mythical bird that searches for thorn trees from the day it is hatched. When it finds the perfect thorn, it impales itself, and sings the most beautiful song ever heard as it dies.
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gawped at

2013年08月30日
chiefly British: gawk. (stared at)
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