burn one's fingers, to

burn one's fingers

Harm oneself, as in I'm staying away from risky stocks; I've burned my fingers often enough. Some believe this expression came from a legend about a monkey who gets a cat to pull its chestnuts out of the fire (see cat's paw); others hold it is from an English proverb: "Burn not thy fingers to snuff another's candle" (James Howell, English Proverbs, 1659). [c. 1700]

burn one's fingers, to

To hurt or harm oneself. Some writers believe this term comes from the old story about a monkey who persuades a cat to pull its chestnuts out of the fire (see cat’s paw). Others believe it comes from an old English proverb stated by James Howell in 1659 as, “Burn not thy fingers to snuff another man’s candle,” and by Samuel Palmer in 1810, “The busiebody burns his own fingers.” The connotation of interfering in someone else’s affairs has vanished, and the modern cliché means simply to get hurt by performing any hazardous or foolhardy action.

词组	burn one's fingers, to
释义	burn one's fingers, to burn one's fingers Harm oneself, as in I'm staying away from risky stocks; I've burned my fingers often enough. Some believe this expression came from a legend about a monkey who gets a cat to pull its chestnuts out of the fire (see cat's paw); others hold it is from an English proverb: "Burn not thy fingers to snuff another's candle" (James Howell, English Proverbs, 1659). [c. 1700] See also: burn, finger The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. burn one's fingers, to To hurt or harm oneself. Some writers believe this term comes from the old story about a monkey who persuades a cat to pull its chestnuts out of the fire (see cat’s paw). Others believe it comes from an old English proverb stated by James Howell in 1659 as, “Burn not thy fingers to snuff another man’s candle,” and by Samuel Palmer in 1810, “The busiebody burns his own fingers.” The connotation of interfering in someone else’s affairs has vanished, and the modern cliché means simply to get hurt by performing any hazardous or foolhardy action. See also: burn The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer See also: for (one's) (own) sake for sake put (oneself) on the line put yourself on the line wash (one's) hands of (someone or something) wash hands of wash one's hands of wash your hands of wash your hands of somebody/something wash your hands of something/someone
随便看	duty bound duty bound, to be duty bound to (someone or something) duty calls DW DWAI DWB dweeb dwell dwell in an/(one's) ivory tower dwelling dwell on dwell (up)on (someone or something) dwindle away dye dyed-in-the-wool dyed in the wool dye in the wool dying dying day, to one's dying is as natural as living dying to do dying to (do something) dying to know dying to know (something)