| 词组 | kid |
| 释义 | kid Admonitions not to use kid to mean "child" seem to have come more from English teachers than from usage commentators, although they do appear in many books written in the early 20th century (such as Vizetelly 1906 and Krapp 1927). As is now generally recognized, the "child" sense of kid is actually quite old, having been recorded as early as 1599. The OED indicates that it was originally "low slang," but it became established in more general use during the 19th century: • Passed a few days happily with my wife and kids — Lord Shaftesbury, diary, 16 Aug. 1841 (OED) • ... and I work too for other people. My kids, and Henry, and my friends —Ellen Terry, letter, 23 Sept. 1896 The "child" sense of kid first became common among the British, but its career as a usage issue has been strictly American. No British commentator that we know of has criticized it. The early resistance to it by Americans has also now largely subsided in the face of many years of widespread use, although it does still have some detractors (Harper 1975, 1985 finds that it is "viewed with distaste by many"). Several recent commentators have defended it staunchly. Flesch 1983, for example, considers it "more personal, more affectionate, more intimate" than child. It has, undoubtedly, an informal quality, but that need not be seen as a disadvantage. As Copperud 1970, 1980 puts it, "The consensus is that it is informal, which means well suited to most contexts." • They were clean enough—the school sees to that. But some of them were pitiful little kids —Robert Frost, letter, 7 Jan. 1913 • ... during their sad little walks with the kids —Bernard Malamud, The Magic Barrel, 1958 • When I was a kid, there were no such things as holidays for me —Frank O'Connor, New Yorker, 28 July 1956 • ... looking like a somber little man among the American kids —Mary McCarthy, Occasional Prose, 1985 • They would thus start kids out on the right path — Simon 1980 • This can drive some kids to even greater rebellion, which often lands them in jail —The Economist, 11 Apr. 1986 |
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