看到這個短語，大家都會覺得很形象， "burn the candle at both ends"一天中日出前日落后都點蠟燭工作，那么就是說"某人工作非常勤奮"。這個短語一定在電燈發明前就出現了吧。
沒錯，這個短語的確在電燈發明前就出現了，當時蠟燭是每家每戶的日常必需品。不過這個短語的最初的含義是蠟燭兩端都被點著，因此很快就被用完。勤儉持家的人是不可能這樣做的，所以引申義是"某人將金錢揮霍掉"，而這個短語中 "burn"本來就有"揮霍"的意思，例如在19世紀美國鐵路日志上的一段話： "...they had been 'burning the candle at both ends,' and instead of holding in reserve a portion of their easily acquired earnings, they had been spending money with a lavish hand." 這里，短語被用于描述鐵路方面的管理不善。
如今這個短語的意思從 "某人揮霍金錢" 發展為"揮霍體力和精力"，也就有了"某人夜以繼日地從事高強度工作以至累得筋疲力竭"的意思。現在這個短語有兩個含義：(1) 某人工作過于辛苦，睡眠時間極短，如2000年《底特律新聞》上的用法: "Our students are...trying to burn the candle at both ends, they're not only studying, but most of them are working several jobs" ； (2) 某人因參與社會活動過多而導致睡眠時間極少，如2000年《丹佛落基山新聞》上引述一棒球手的話: "I have to keep going to get ahead. That's the only way I know how to be successful. I've played with a lot of guys who had better ability, and...they would go out and party and stuff and burn the candle at both ends and not take it seriously" 。
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