November 22, 2015　=========
☆ whine 弱音を吐く
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When I put the Japanese translation into my dictionary for today’s word, it came up with two meanings, one was “whine” and the other was “show the white feather.” Um, what?! I have never heard of the phrase, “show the white feather.” Have you?
Of course, I know the meaning of “whine”… I have young kids who prefer to whine rather than speak normally and ask for what they want!!
But, “show the white feather”? No idea! I’ve heard of the “white flag” meaning that the person is surrendering or trying to make peace during a war or battle. So I guess that the “white feather” was similar. It turns out that while the “white flag” is a symbol of peace, the “white feather” is actually a sign of cowardice. So when you say that someone is “showing the white feather” you mean that they are being a coward.
Interesting… do you think that “being a coward” and “whining” are the same? I think that when my kids are whining, they are being annoying, not being cowards!! Ha ha 😉 But I guess that they are whining because they want something but are afraid that the big adult has the power and they don’t so perhaps whining is a little related to being cowardly. What do you think?
Bye,
Chris