英语访谈对话 389 The History of the Tie

　　Mike: That's right.

　　Todd: Now you told me an interesting story about the necktie. Can you explain where the necktie came from?

　　Mike: Well, my understanding is that the necktie originated from Croatia. Originally, several hundred years ago, when the Croatians went into battle they would have a scarf or a handkerchief that protected their necks when they went into battle, and when they fought, and what they started doing was wearing this scarf or this handkerchief around their neck almost as an accessory and they wore this in the 17th, I believe it was 18th century maybe, or 17th century. They went to visit Louis the 14th in France on some sort of official visit, a delegation of Croatians, that rhymes, and they wore their handkerchiefs, and apparently Louis the 14th was so impressed and thought is was such a cool looking accessory that he adopted it as a fashion item for the French and it became the necktie, and the French word for necktie comes from the French word for Croatian, which is "cravate", so the cravate origin is from the Croatian. That's the story as far as I know it.

　　Todd: Wow, so today people wear neckties because of Croatia?

　　Mike: Because of Croatians and that doesn't make me feel any better because I hate wearing a necktie, but I guess I can't change history.