| 释义 |
waste one's breath waste (one's) breathTo talk of, discuss, or say things that are likely to be ignored or are in vain. Don't bother trying to change my mind about this, you're wasting your breath! It looks like I wasted my breath trying to pitch my idea to the board of directors.See also: breath, wastewaste one's breathSpeak in vain (because no one agrees), as in Don't waste your breath complaining to the supervisor-it won't help. This notion was first recorded about 1400 as wasting words. The exact idiom was first recorded in 1667. Also see save one's breath. See also: breath, wastewaste one's breath, toTo talk in vain, because no one will listen. The idea that breath is something that can be saved or wasted dates from the sixteenth century (see also save your breath). Tennyson used the term in “In Memoriam” (1850): “I trust I have not wasted breath.” See also: waste |