Some of the results looked strange. People said they looked like a grapevine. A large number of the telegraph lines were going in all directions, as crooked as the vines that grapes grow on. So was born the expression, by the grapevine.
有些结果看起来很奇怪。人们说电报线看起来像葡萄藤。大量的电报线通往四面八方，就像葡萄藤一样歪歪曲曲。因此就诞生了这个短语——通过小道消息（by the grapevine）。
Some writers believe that the phrase would soon have disappeared were it not for the American Civil War.
一些作家认为，如果不是因为美国内战，这个短语可能很快就消失了。
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Now, as in those far-off Civil War days, getting information by the grapevine remains something of a game. A friend brings you a bit of strange news. “No,” you say, “it just can’t be true! Who told you?” Comes the answer, “I got it by the grapevine.”
现在，和那些内战早已远去的日子一样，获取小道信息仍有着游戏的味道。一个朋友告诉你一则有些奇怪的消息，“不”，你说：“不可能是真的！谁告诉你的？”对方回答：“这是我得到的小道消息。”
注释：
crooked:弯曲的，歪的
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作者: Bree 时间: 2011-12-10 20:50
Soon after the war began in 1861, ministry commanders started to send battle file reports by telegraph, people began hearing the phrase by the grapevine to describe false as ? ture reports from the battle field, it was like a game was true, who says so
