By Gabriel Gatehouse, BBC News

媒體英語(yǔ)會(huì)帶大家一起學(xué)習(xí) BBC 撰稿人在報(bào)道世界大事時(shí)常用到的單詞和短語(yǔ)。

Background: 前任英國(guó)首相撒切爾夫人的標(biāo)志性手提包，在倫敦的一家拍賣(mài)會(huì)上以4萬(wàn)美金的高價(jià)成功賣(mài)出。在冷戰(zhàn)期間，撒切爾夫人曾多次攜帶這款皮包與美國(guó)前總統(tǒng)羅納德·里根一起參加和前蘇聯(lián)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人米哈伊爾·戈?duì)柊蛦谭虻恼勁小?/p>

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?