“喝墨水”,字面意思是“drink ink”,表明“上学读书(study in a school,spend time at school)”,是一种诙谐的用法。
我国历史上,北齐朝廷曾命令在考试时对“成果滥劣者”要罚喝墨水,喝多少按滥劣程度而定。这条荒诞的法规沿用了几个朝代,后来虽不盛行了,但用墨水比方“学识或书本知识(book learning)”的用法却保存下来。
“喝墨水”与不同的词调配能够表明人的文化水平凹凸,如:喝过洋墨水,可翻译成“have studied abroad”。
例句:
胸无点墨
Without any learning
他喝过几天墨水就看不起家乡人了。
As he has got some schooling, he looks down upon the folks in his hometown.