tenderfoot

• n. 新手，新来者；无经验者

tender,嫩的，foot,脚。引申词义新手。

tenderfoot (n.)

1866, American English, originally of newcomers to ranching or mining districts, from tender (adj.) + foot (n.). The U.S. equivalent of what in Great Britain was generally called a greenhand. As a level in Boy Scouting, it is recorded from 1908.

Among the Indians, more than half of every sentence is expressed by signs. And miners illustrate their conversation by the various terms used in mining. I have always noticed how clearly these terms conveyed the idea sought. Awkwardness in comprehending this dialect easily reveals that the hearer bears the disgrace of being a "pilgrim," or a "tender-foot," as they style the new emigrant. ["A Year in Montana," "Atlantic Monthly," August 1866]

Tender-footed (adj.) "cautious", originally of horses, is recorded from 1680s; of persons from 1854.

1. I guess he is a business tenderfoot.

我猜想他是生意场上的新手.

来自《简明英汉词典》