APAD: It will all come out in the wash

来源: 2024-01-27 08:33:46 [博客] [旧帖] [给我悄悄话] 本文已被阅读:

Meaning: Things will work out/We'll find out the truth sooner or later - and

there's no point worrying about it now.

 

Background: This expression alludes to the power of washing to restore the

appearance of clothes to their original state.

 

The earliest recorded use of this sentiment is in Don Quixote by Miguel de

Cervantes (1605): 'All will away in the bucking.'

 

To 'buck' cloth was to steep it in lye as a form of bleaching.

 

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I wondered where they found that meaning of 'buck.' Moreover, as Don Quixote

came first in Spanish, 'All will away in the bucking' must be from one

translation which could be so taken for granted that there was no need to

mention it.

 

I thought of three simiar phrases. "Whatever will be, will be" sounds resigned

or even defeated, and "Hakuna Matata" oblivious and carefree. "We will cross the

bridge when we come to it" implies anxiety and something at stake.