| 释义 |
self-made man
Translationsself-made man
self-made manOne who became successful and/or wealthy through hard work and not by inheritance or help from others. Joe is a self-made man who worked long, hard hours to turn his small business into a large, successful company.See also: manself-made man, aA man who has become rich and influential through his own actions, without the help of inherited wealth, powerful friends, or similar assistance. This term originated earlier but came into wide use from the nineteenth century on, when the phenomenon itself became more common. Two twentieth-century writers are among those who used it ironically. “A self-made man is one who believes in luck and sends his son to Oxford,” wrote the novelist Christina Stead (House of All Nations, 1938); and E. B. White (One Man’s Meat, 1944) wrote, “Luck is not something you can mention in the presence of self-made men.” |