APAD: Butter wouldn't melt in his mouth

7
7grizzly
楼主 (文学城)

Meaning:

    Prim and proper, with a cool demeanour

 

Background:

   The allusion in this expression is to people who maintain such a cool

   demeanor that they don't even have the warmth to melt butter.

 

   The phrase is usually used in a derogatory and critical sense and, in the

   past at least, was most often applied to women. Occasionally, it was used to

   denote a quiet meekness and sweetness of temper rather than emotional

   coldness; for example, this description of Mr Pecksniff in Charles Dickens'

   Martin Chuzzlewit:

 

     "It would be no description of Mr Pecksniff's gentleness of manner to adopt

     the common parlance, and say that he looked at this moment as if butter

     wouldn't melt in his mouth. He rather looked as if any quantity of butter

     might have been made out of him, by churning the milk of human kindness, as

     it spouted upwards from his heart."

 

- www.phrases.org.uk [edited]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

When Dickens played with a phrase like in the above example, he felt more like a

comedian than a novelist.

 

I think www.phrases.org.uk made a mistake in the second Background paragraph.

Anyone else think so?

移花接木
不卑不亢? which part or all? quiet meek/sweetness?
7
7grizzly
就是指人举止冷傲,不平易近人。
7
7grizzly
Out of an inferiority complex, sometimes :-)
最西边的岛上
never heard it bf, so learned now. b humble is better 4me;-)
最西边的岛上
thx 4 sharing.
7
7grizzly
Me2 likes to be humble, if not out of fear.
最西边的岛上
humble people might b attacked by bullies, but in the End,
最西边的岛上
right is right, wrong is wrong & b humble ==have inner peace
最西边的岛上
but humble != fear!! ;-))
移花接木
那proper如何解释?
最西边的岛上
I think it means 2follow the right rules and do rightThing;)
7
7grizzly
respectable, especially excessively so (NOAD)
最西边的岛上
like a gentleman or gentlewoman or gentleboy Maowi ;-)
7
7grizzly
I often err on the side of "!=fear!! ":-)))
最西边的岛上
hahahaha
暖冬cool夏
Derogatory, not much so from Dickens‘ context?中文意思冷若冰霜?
暖冬cool夏
中文里,“石头都化了”的反义:-)
7
7grizzly
Right. Mr. Pecksniff was the opposite.
7
7grizzly
第一次听到这个说法。Nice!
7
7grizzly
冷若冰霜 with a bit smugness.
最西边的岛上
很形象哦!在“石头都化了”上面加一杠(==反义)是不就是:“泥土变成了金刚石”?玩笑哈;-)
最西边的岛上
ok, I just tried that face for a min & broke out laughing;-)
暖冬cool夏
形容一个人对另一个人那么好,哪怕是石头都会化了:)你这个是冷的嘴里有块奶油都不化:)一下子记住了!
暖冬cool夏
Right, not as cold as 冷若冰霜:)
7
7grizzly
Always the one to take one for the team. Thanks :-)))
天边一片白云
冰美人。
7
7grizzly
Translation is hard. I don't even try :-)
7
7grizzly
often a provocative pose by some insecure person.
天边一片白云
good one. 很形象