'Iron' Handbag 撒切尔手提包高价售出

By Gabriel Gatehouse, BBC News

Margaret Thatcher used the handbag for over 30 years

媒体英语会带大家一起学习 BBC 撰稿人在报道世界大事时常用到的单词和短语。

Background: 前任英国首相撒切尔夫人的标志性手提包，在伦敦的一家拍卖会上以4万美金的高价成功卖出。在冷战期间，撒切尔夫人曾多次携带这款皮包与美国前总统罗纳德·里根一起参加和前苏联领导人米哈伊尔·戈尔巴乔夫的谈判。

She may have styled herself as the Iron Lady, but in fact it was this shiny black leather accessory that became her most iconic trademark. A member of her cabinet once said that she used the handbag not as a shield but as a weapon.

Thanks to Margaret Thatcher, the word 'handbagging' has entered the English language to describe the former prime minister's abrasive style in dismissing those she disagreed with or who incurred her displeasure.

This particular bag, made by the firm Asprey of Bond Street in London, was used by Margaret Thatcher for over 30 years. It was large enough to hold state papers when required. Partly because of this, the handbag was expected to fetch up to US$160,000. In the event it went for only a quarter of that sum.

Forty grand is still quite a lot of money for a purse, but could it be that the Iron Lady's handbag is finally losing some of its power?