hobnob

巴结，与...亲近 （有权势的人）

The ambitious young student hobnobbed with the faculty at the prestigious college he hoped to attend.

那位野心勃勃的年轻学生巴结上了他想上的名牌大学的老师。

His favorite spot in the club was the bar, where he could hobnob with the big-wigs.

Here, over fiery "monaghahela," Jean Batiste, the sallow half-breed voyageur from the north—and who, deserting the service of the "North West" (the Hudson's Bay Company), has come down the Mississippi, from the "Falls," to try the sweets and the liberty of "free" trapping—hobnobs with a stalwart leather-clad "boy," just returned from trapping on the waters of Grand River, on the western side the mountains, who interlards his mountain jargon with Spanish words picked up in Taos and California.

1849, George Frederick Ruxton, 章號 III, 出自 Life in the Far West (Plains and Rockies; 175), Edinburgh, London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC，頁號 71:

Well, you know all about how we dine, and assume, as you may, that we never ate more heartily, hob[-]nobbed more cordially, or interchanged with more frankness and sincerity all the affectionate social amenities which flow from a community of feeling amongst men who are bound together by the great bond of intellectual citizenship, members of the great "mysteries" of knowledge.

1853 October, Jonathan Freke Slingsby [pseudonym; John Francis Waller], “A Night with the Mystics”, 出自 The Dublin University Magazine, a Literary and Political Journal, 卷 XLII, 號 CCL, Dublin: James McGlashan, 50 Upper Sackville-Street; London: W[illia]m S[omerville] Orr and Company, →OCLC，頁號 495:

A man who never misused his time here; a Fellow of his Colleges, M.A., Lecturer, Don; […] my name, alas is not upon the board—my poverty, indeed, not will, prevented it, and so beneath his wing I dine at the "high table" with the reverend deans, and hobnob with professors.

1855, “Back at Trinity”, 出自 Charles Dickens 編, Household Words. A Weekly Journal, 卷 XI, 期 22 (275 overall), New York, N.Y.: J. A. Dix, publisher, office, No. 10, Park Place, →OCLC，頁號 521，列號 1:

But it must be in solitude. I do not need or desire to hobnob artificially with other old men in order to revisit them in their salad days, and to renew my own.

1952 May, George Santayana, “I Like to Be a Stranger”, 出自 The Atlantic:

We are Sanctified Brethren, […] whom God has chosen to place in Lake Wobegon, Minnesota, a town of about twelve hundred in the center of the state, populated by German Catholics and Norwegian Lutherans, whom Scripture tells us to keep clear of, holding fast to the Principle of Separation[…], which is not such a big problem for my people, because we are standoffish by nature and not given to hobnobbing with strangers. Separation is the exact right Principle for us.

2001, Garrison Keillor, “A Summer Night”, 出自 Lake Wobegon Summer 1956, New York, N.Y.: Viking Press, →ISBN:

[A] club that has earned the right to aspire to hobnobbing with European competitors could find itself brawling against relegation.

2017年October14日, Paul Doyle, “Mauricio Pellegrino yet to find attacking solution for stuttering Southampton: Nothing so far this season suggests the Argentinian will be more successful than Claude Puel in finding the answer to the club’s continuing lack of firepower”, 出自 The Guardian, London，於2017-11-10歸檔自原頁面:


grisly

源自中古英語 grisely、grysly、grissliȝ、griselich、grislich，源自古英語 grisliċ (“恐怖的，骇人的”)，源自grīsan (“使...因惧怕而战栗；颤抖，恐惧；使...颤抖，使...害怕”) （不直接可考，但āgrīsan暗示其存在） + -lic (构成形容词的后缀，表示“像...的，与...有关的”)。
其还可能是古英語 ongrislic、agrisenliċ的词首非重音形式，其为agrīsan (“使...因惧怕而战栗”, 派生出agrise)的过去分词。
对比丹麥語 grusom、瑞典語 gräslig、中古荷蘭語 grezelijc（现代荷蘭語 griezelig）、中古高地德語 grisenlich（现代德語 grässlich、grausen）。

grislier (comparative)
grisliest (superlative)

The photographs of the killings depict a grisly scene.

杀人现场的相片惨不忍睹。

Then clad in cloake of mistie fogges the darke night vp did come, / And with grim grislie looke did seeme to bid me get me home; […]

1610, Richard Niccols, “The Indvction”, 出自 A Winter Nights Vision; being an Addition of such Princes Especially Famous, who were Exempted in the Former Historie, part IV, London: Felix Kyngston, →OCLC; 再版為 Joseph Haslewood 編, Mirror for Magistrates, 卷 II, part II, London: Printed for Lackington, Allen, and Co. Finsbury Square; and Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orms, and Brown, Paternoster Row, 1815, →OCLC，頁號 548:

It was sore travelling for horse and man under the blazing sun, with no food nor water save what he pressed from the pith of the palms, and even these were growing scarce. The only life on the plains was the hard and dusty scrub. Every hour brought a more hopeless and grislier desolation.

1878, John Boyle O'Reilly, “On the Trail”, 出自 Moondyne: A Story from the Under-world, London: George Routledge and Sons, 出版於 1879, →OCLC; 再版為 Moondyne: A Story of Convict Life in Australia, London: George Routledge & Sons, Limited, Broadway House, Ludgate Hill, [1880s], →OCLC, book first，頁號s 23–24:

We know too well the bestial assault you are making upon the Russian people, to whom our hearts go out in their valiant struggle. We will have no truce or parley with you, or the grisly gang who work your wicked will. You do your worst and we will do our best.

1941, Winston Churchill, The Unrelenting Struggle:

In his [Galway Kinnell's] new book, Body Rags, he has brought this style to a kind of perfection, especially in two poems about the killing of animals, "The Porcupine" and "The Bear." These are the grisliest poems I have ever read.

1968 summer, Hayden Carruth, “Making It New”, 出自 The Hudson Review, 卷 XXI, 期 2, New York, N.Y.: Hudson Review, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC; reprinted as “From ‘Making It New’ [Body Rags]”, 出自 Howard Nelson 編, On the Poetry of Galway Kinnell: The Wages of Dying (Under Discussion), Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan Press, 1987, →ISBN，頁號 75:

Perhaps you have to have seen the first film to like this one; to feel, like the young fans of Harry Potter, that without knowing or wanting it, you have grown up with its grisly protagonists.

2017年January19日, Peter Bradshaw, “T2 Trainspotting review – choose a sequel that doesn’t disappoint”, 出自 The Guardian, London，於2017-01-20歸檔自原頁面:


mortifying

mortifyings of the flesh


lately

源自中古英語 lately、latly，等价于late + -ly。对比古英語 lætīċe (“慢慢地”)。

latelier (comparative)
more lately (comparative)
lateliest (superlative)
most lately (superlative)

formerly

（用于英国贵族）原 （“曾经是”，引出旧称呼）

I'd lately returned from Japan.

It's only lately that I've been well enough to get out of bed.

我到最近才发现我身体已经康复到能够下床了。

Don't try to come lately and change your answer now after you've heard everyone else's response.

别想着晚到能听到大家的答案以后再改自己的答案。


marauder

/məˈɹɔːdə(ɹ)/

(流動作案的) 強盜、搶劫者

a band of marauders


loom

源自古諾爾斯語 ljóma (“发光”)。

The clouds loomed over the mountains.


lose

源自中古英語 losen，源自古英語 losian，源自原始日耳曼語 *lusōną，*luzōną，源自原始日耳曼語 *lusą。

導致某物不再為某人所有。 從身體中取出（器官）

He lost his spleen in a car wreck.

他在一場車禍中失去了脾臟。

導致某物不再為某人所有。 減肥；減輕重量

I’ve lost five pounds this week.

I lost my way in the forest.

We lost the football match.

我們輸掉了這場足球比賽。

When we get into the building, please lose the hat.

進入大樓後，請將帽子摘掉

It's already 5:30? My watch must have lost a few minutes.

已經 5:30 了？我的表肯定慢了幾分鐘。


leviathan

源自中古英語 levyethan、levyathan等，源自晚期拉丁語 leviathan，希伯來語 לִוְיָתָן (liv'yatán)的圣经转写。

As I stared across the sea, there arose from the depths a leviathan of a creature, which loomed far above me and my ship.

当我望向大海，大海深处出现了一个巨大的生物，在我和我的船上方的远处游荡。


harass

动词派生自中古法語、古法語 harasser (“使...力竭；折磨，烦扰”)（现代法語 harasser (“使...力竭”)），可能源自古法語 harer (“放狗追”)，源自古法蘭克語 *hara (“此处，到这里”, 命令狗攻击的指令)，源自原始日耳曼語 *hē₂r (“这里”)，最终源自原始印歐語 *ḱe (“这里；这个”) + *ís (“那个，那位”) + *-r。
名词派生自动词。

don't ask, don't tell, don't harass, don't pursue

给...负担，使...紧张

To harass good people is no different than speaking ill of them.

The ſoul that dies this death, is like a loving wife matched with a rigorous huſband: ſhe does what ſhe can to pleaſe him, yet he is never pleaſed; but toſſeth, haraſſeth, and beats her, till ſhe break her heart, and death ſets her free: […]

1761, Thomas Boston, “State II. Namely, the State of Nature or of Entire Depravation. Head I. The Sinfulness of Man’s Natural State. [Of the Corruption of the Will.]”, 出自 Human Nature in Its Four-fold State […], 12th版, Edinburgh: […] David Gray […], →OCLC，頁號 80:

He, who harasseth his household, shall inherit the wind; / And the fool shall be the servant of the wise in heart.

1831, William French and George Skinner（譯者）, A New Translation of the Proverbs of Solomon from the Original Hebrew […], Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] J. Smith printer to the University; London: John Murray […], →OCLC, Proverbs XI:29，頁號 37:

Zeal without judgment is an evil, though it be zeal unto good; / […] / By a shoulder to the wheel downhill harasseth the labouring beast, / And where an obstruction were needed, will harm by an ill judged thrusting-on.

1839, Martin F[arquhar] Tupper, “Of Discretion”, 出自 Proverbial Philosophy: A Book of Thoughts and Arguments, Originally Treated, 3rd版, London: Joseph Rickerby, […], →OCLC，頁號s 147–148:


memo

I made sure to memo him about the client's complaints.

我確保向他提交了關於客戶投訴的備忘錄。


literally

more literally (comparative)
most literally (superlative)

actually

字面意义上的，没有比喻的

really

字面意义上的，没有比喻的

unfiguratively

字面意义上的，没有比喻的

unmetaphorically

字面意义上的，没有比喻的

virtually

简直，几乎，可以说 （用于加强比喻义的程度，而非否定比喻义）

merely

仅仅，不过 （用作广义弱化修饰词）

overliterally

字面意义上的，没有比喻的

figuratively

字面意义上的，没有比喻的

idiomatically

字面意义上的，没有比喻的

metaphorically

字面意义上的，没有比喻的

virtually

字面意义上的，没有比喻的

字面意义上的，没有比喻的

同類詞：etymonically

When I saw on the news that there would be no school tomorrow because of the snowstorm, I literally jumped for joy, and hit my head on the ceiling fan.

我看到新闻说明天学校因为暴风雪停课时，我高兴得真的跳了起来，然后头撞到了吊扇。

[…] Men In Black 3 finagles its way out of this predicament by literally resetting the clock with a time-travel premise that makes Will Smith both a contemporary intergalactic cop in the late 1960s and a stranger to Josh Brolin, who plays the younger version of Smith’s stone-faced future partner, Tommy Lee Jones.

2012年May24日, Nathan Rabin, “Film: Reviews: Men In Black 3”, 出自 The Onion AV Club:

As lawmakers and staff rushed out, aides snatched the boxes containing the Electoral College certificates, making sure that the vandals could not literally steal the results of the election.

2021年January7日, Luke Broadwater, Emily Cochrane, “Inside the Capitol, the Sound of the Mob Came First”, 出自 The New York Times, →ISSN:

简直，几乎，可以说 （用于加强比喻义的程度，而非否定比喻义）

He was so surprised, he literally jumped twenty feet in the air.

My daughter's pet rabbit had babies, and now we've literally got rabbits coming out of our ears.

我女儿的宠物兔子生宝宝了，现在我们家可以说到处都是兔子。

On 9/11 people were literally glued to their TV sets.

9/11事件时大家时时刻刻都盯着电视。

The house was literally electrified; and it was only from witnessing the effects of her genius that he could guess to what a pitch theatrical excellence could be carried.

1827, Sir Walter Scott, “Appendix to Introduction”, 出自 Chronicles of the Canongate，於2021-06-15歸檔自原頁面:

You literally become the ball in a tennis match, you become the report that you are working on […]

[O]ne can assume that the millions or billions of ringgit spent on the war against drugs have gone down the drain, literally.

2017年April22日, New Straits Times, Malaysia，頁號 20:

真的 （增强非比喻义词的语气）

I had no idea, so I was literally guessing.

我不懂，我真的就只是在猜。

I was literally having breakfast when she arrived.

她来的时候我真的就在吃早餐。

She was literally like, "What?", and I was literally like, "Yeah".

她就说了句，“哈？”然后我也回了句，“对。”

Literally who is this?

Pearl: Steven, we are not like the No Home Boys. We are literally standing in your home right now.

仅仅，不过 （用作广义弱化修饰词）

It's not even hard to make—you literally just put it in the microwave for five minutes and it's done.

这根本就不难做——你就把它放进微波炉热了五分钟就做好了。

It won't take me long to get back, cause the store's literally two blocks away.

我回来用不了多久的，因为那个商店就隔了两个街区。


necessarily

more necessarily (comparative)
most necessarily (superlative)

/ˌnɛsəˈsɛɹəli/

/ˌnɛsəˈsɛɹəli/

But clever cities will not necessarily be better ones.

但“聪明”的城市不一定就更好。

2013年September7日, “The multiplexed metropolis”, 出自 The Economist, 卷 408, 期 8852:

It is not necessarily true that children get their morals from their parents.

孩子的道德不一定是从父母那里得到的。

Solutions abound, but not necessarily where we expect them.

解决方案比比皆是，但不一定是我们所期望的。


leverage

/ˈlɛv(ə)ɹɪd͡ʒ/

mechanical advantage

繞樞軸旋轉的槓桿而復合的力；參見扭矩。

operating leverage

在設施的高產能利用率下運作時能夠獲得非常高的回報的能力。

繞樞軸旋轉的槓桿而復合的力；參見扭矩。

A crowbar uses leverage to pry nails out of wood.

In order to proportion the braking force to the weight carried by a wheel - a matter of special importance in the braking of wagons - variable leverage systems are now being introduced in which the end of one axle spring is linked to a control spring in the change-over valve, so automatically varying the leverage exerted by the brake-rod according to whether the wagon is full or empty.

1960 April, “The braking of trains”, 出自 Trains Illustrated，頁號 237:

任何複合的或用來獲得優勢的影響。

Try using competitors’ prices for leverage in the negotiation.

The former Forest man, who passed a late fitness test, appeared to use Guy Moussi for leverage before nodding in David Fox's free-kick at the far post - his 22nd goal of the season.

2011年April15日, Saj Chowdhury, “Norwich 2 - 1 Nott'm Forest”, 出自 BBC Sport:

使用合約確定回報的借入資金來提高投資能力並獲得預期更高的回報，但通常風險較高。

Leverage is great until something goes wrong with your investments and you still have to pay your debts.

Online margin trading is usually based on leverage, where the brokerage effectively lets you borrow more money than you have deposited as collateral.

2011, Brian Dolan, Currency Trading For Dummies, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN，頁號 55:

Both exchanges offer crypto derivatives, which are bets on future fluctuations in cryptocurrency prices. They also offer extreme leverage — up to 125 times on Binance. That means a $1,000 down payment can be turned into a $125,000 gamble.

2021年July23日, Eric Lipton, Ephrat Livni, “‘I Feel Conflicted’: Crypto’s Offshore Trading Moguls Talk Shop”, 出自 The New York Times, →ISSN:


leverage

/ˈlɛv(ə)ɹɪd͡ʒ/

使用；利用；為了充分利用（某物）而進行操縱。

They plan to leverage the publicity into a good distribution agreement.

They plan to leverage off the publicity to get a good distribution agreement.

EAP research has developed advanced methods for producing corpus-informed vocabulary resources, but these have yet to be fully leveraged to promote disciplinary literacy within the secondary school context.

2018, Clarence Green, James Lambert, “Advancing disciplinary literacy through English for academic purposes: Discipline-specific wordlists, collocations and word families for eight secondary subjects”, 出自 Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 卷 35, →DOI，頁號 105:


moment of inertia

The moment of inertia of a rigid body is a quantity that determines the torque needed for a given angular acceleration about a given rotational axis, analogous to how mass determines the force needed for a given acceleration.

The moments of inertia of a heterogeneous body whose boundary is a surface of uniform density may sometimes be found by the method of differentiation.

1882, Edward John Routh, The Elementary Part of a Treatise on the Dynamics of a System of Rigid Bodies, 4th版, MacMillan & Co.，頁號 10:

Consequently, the moment of inertia of a body relative to any axis can be found when that for the parallel axis through its centre of gravity is known.

1884, Benjamin Williamson, An Elementary Treatise on the Integral Calculus, 4th版, Appleton and Company，頁號 292:


lass

源自中古英語 lasse，源自古諾爾斯語 laskura (“少女，未婚女性”)。与低地蘇格蘭語 lassie同源。

同類詞：lad

Come and dance, ye lads and lasses!

My audience to this not-too-easy operation was a small group of Scottish school lasses, who seemed (perhaps naturally) to find the proceedings somewhat mysterious, but at any rate amusing. I wished they would go away, but they didn't, so I had to get on with the job to the accompaniment of a background of giggles!

1952 February, H. C. Casserley, “Permanent Wayfarings”, 出自 Railway Magazine，頁號 77:


marijuana

來自墨西哥西班牙語 marihuana，來自mariguana。最早見於1894年，起源不确定。有一種民間詞源說法認為是受專有名詞 María Juana (“Mary Jane”) 的影響。

/ˌmɛɹɪˈwɑ.nə/

/ˌmæɹɪˈwɑː.nə/

After smoking a bowl of that fine marijuana, they ate some brownies.

吸完一碗上好的大麻之後，他們吃了點巧克力布朗尼。


marmalade

借自中古法語 marmelade，源自葡萄牙語 marmelada (“榅桲酱”)，源自marmelo (“榅桲”)，源自拉丁語 melimēlum (“甜苹果”)，源自古希臘語 μελίμηλον (melímēlon)，源自μέλι (méli, “蜜”) + μῆλον (mêlon, “苹果”)。

柑橘酱 （自15世纪晚期）

lime marmalade

thick cut marmalade


noncommittal

more noncommittal (comparative)
most noncommittal (superlative)

不明确的，不果敢的；不置可否的，含糊的；不情愿的

The Major's face was noncommittal.

市长一副不置可否的表情。

The noncommittal Indians would give no counsel as to fording.

[He] is candid, open-hearted, and hardly non-commmittal enough for his own interest at times.

1818, S.R. Wells, The American Phrenonological Journal, and other miscellany, 卷 10，頁號 234:

A United Nations spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, has previously said the organization would not divulge its sources of information, but welcomed any additional information from the coalition. The United Nations has been noncommittal on the Saudi proposal to send its experts to Riyadh.

2016年June22日, Somini Sengupta, “Saudis Question U.N. Leader Over Report on Rights Violators”, 出自 The New York Times:


nippy

nippier (comparative)
nippiest (superlative)

Gosh, it's a bit nippy today: I'd better wear my gloves.

哇，今天有点冷啊，我得戴手套了。


limp

源自中古英語 limpen (“缺憾”)，源自古英語 limpan，源自原始日耳曼語 *limpaną (“吊着”)，源自原始印歐語 *(s)lemb-、*(s)lembʰ- (“松垮地垂”)。与低地德語 lumpen (“跛脚”)、中古高地德語 limpfen (“蹒跚”)，德語方言词lampen (“松垮地垂”)、冰島語 limpa (“软，弱”)同源。

The bomber limped home on one engine.

轰炸机靠着一个引擎艰难地返航了。

limping verses

The business limped through the recession.

生意颠颠簸簸地撑过了经济萧条。


limp

She walks with a limp.


limp

源自中古英語 *limp、*lemp，源自古英語 *lemp（仅可考于复合词lemphealt (“一瘸一拐”)内），源自原始日耳曼語 *limpaną (“挂着”)，源自原始印歐語 *(s)lemb-、*(s)lembʰ- (“松垮地垂”)。与德語 lampecht (“松弛的”)、冰島語 lempinn、lempiligur (“柔韧的”)同源。见前文。

limper (comparative)
limpest (superlative)

a limp rope


lithe

源自中古英語 lithe，源自古英語 līþe (“轻柔的”)，源自原始西日耳曼語 *linþ(ī)，源自原始日耳曼語 *linþaz，源自原始印歐語 *lentos。与薩特弗里斯蘭語 lied (“瘦的，憔悴的”)，丹麦语和古德语lind (“温和的”)有关。在哥特语中不可考。一些文献指出拉丁語 lenis (“软的”)和/或拉丁語 lentus (“柔软灵活的”)亦为其同源词。

lither (comparative)
lithest (superlative)

lithe weather

lithe body

The coaches are grim, tan, lithe-looking women, clearly twirlers once, on the far side of their glory now and very serious-looking, each with a clipboard and whistle.

1997, David Foster Wallace, “Getting Away From Already Pretty Much Being Away From It All”, 出自 A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, Kindle版, Little, Brown Book Group:

the elephant’s lithe proboscis

… she danced with a kind of passionate fierceness, her lithe body undulating with flexuous grace …

1861, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., Elsie Venner, page 125


nescience

无知，无学（尤指没有正统的信念）

Better to have honest nescience than to have militant ignorance.

诚实的无知比激进的无知好。

To lapse from knowledge into nescience is always possible—there is no law of God or man forbidding it.

1911, Ralph Barton Perry, "Notes on the Philosophy of Henri Bergson," The Journal of Philosophy, Psychology and Scientific Methods, vol. 8, no. 26, p. 720,

Algernon, in a condition of masculine nescience, lets himself become engaged to a woman of whom he knows nothing.


missive

15世纪，源自中世紀拉丁語 missīvus，源自mittō (“发送”)。

a letter missive


mostly

主要、首先；大多；通常、廣泛、大抵、大都。

They're mostly good people, although they have made a few mistakes.

雖然他們都犯過錯，但是他們大多是好人。

Mostly, the microbiome is beneficial. It helps with digestion and enables people to extract a lot more calories from their food than would otherwise be possible. Research over the past few years, however, has implicated it in diseases from atherosclerosis to asthma to autism.

2013年June29日, “A punch in the gut”, 出自 The Economist, 卷 407, 期 8842，頁號s 72-3:


maraud

源自法語 marauder，派生自maraud (“无赖，流浪者”)，源自中古法語 maraud (“无赖”)，源自古法語 *marault (“乞丐，流浪者”)，源自marir、marrir (“烦扰，迷失，迷路”)，源自古法蘭克語 *marrijan (“疏漏；妨碍”)，源自原始日耳曼語 *marzijaną (“疏漏；妨碍；破坏”)，源自原始印歐語 *mers- (“迷；不知道，忘”) + 古法語后缀-ault、-aud。同源词有古高地德語 marrjan、marren (“妨碍”)、古撒克遜語 merrian (“妨碍；浪费”)、哥特語 𐌼𐌰𐍂𐌶𐌾𐌰𐌽 (marzjan, “冒犯”)。与mar有关。

a marauding band

Peace Plunder, Peace, you Rogue; no Moroding now i we'll burn, rob, demolish and murder another time together : This is a Bus'ness must be done with decency.

1684, Thomas Otway, The Works of Mr. Thomas Otway, 卷 2, London: Richard, James, and Bethel Wellington, 出版於 1728, The Atheist; or the Second Part of the Soldier's Fortune，頁號 88:

[…] in one of which they met with a party of French that had been marauding, and made them all prisoners at discretion.

1711, Joseph Addison, The Spectator, no. 90-505, 卷 3, London: Thomas Tickell, 出版於 1721，頁號 115:


negate

借自拉丁語 negātus，negāre (“拒絕、否決”)的過去分詞，源自*nec-aiare（或相似的形式），源自nec (“非；亦非”) + aiere (“說”)。

否認存在、證據或真實性；牴觸

The investigation tending to negate any supernatural influences.


nondescript

more nondescript (comparative)
most nondescript (superlative)

undescribed

（学术文献中）无记载的，无描述的

unidentified

（学术文献中）无记载的，无描述的

He drove a nondescript silver sedan.

他开一辆普通的银色轿车。

There was, besides, a Scots mason, known from his favourite dish as "Irish Stew," three or four nondescript Scots, a fine young Irishman, O'Reilly, and a pair of young men who deserve a special word of condemnation.

1895, Robert Louis Stevenson, “The Second Cabin”, 出自 The Amateur Emigrant:

In 1919, demobilisation specials from Purfleet, Essex, to the North, usually made up of nondescript, almost paintless or grey stock which had seen long wartime service, chalked with slogans, were worked through by way of Bromley and the North London line […]。

1950 April, R. A. H. Weight, “They Passed by My Window”, 出自 Railway Magazine，頁號s 258-259:

We open in a grimy, fluorescent-lit military base somewhere in rural England, where the girl from the poster, Melanie (Sennia Nanua), is the star student in a class full of children who are wheeled into school—or at least, the nondescript concrete room that serves as a school—with their arms, legs, and foreheads bound to their wheelchairs by leather straps.

2017年February23日, Katie Rife, “The Girl With All The Gifts tries to put a fresh spin on overripe zombie clichés”, 出自 The Onion AV Club:

The plaque, of light-blue hue (a tone favoured by the Wiltshire market town's civic society), can be found on a nondescript structure just outside the station.

2021年December29日, Stephen Roberts, “Stories and facts behind railway plaques: Chippenham (1841)”, 出自 RAIL, 期 947，頁號 57:


mermaid

源自中古英語 mermayde (“海的少女”)，源自mere (“海，湖”) + maid，等价于mer- + maid。对比古英語 meremenn、meremennen、meremenin (“人鱼，妖女”)。

mermaid smoothie


nimble

源自中古英語 nymyl、nemel、nemyll、nymell (“敏捷的，迅捷的；准备就绪的；有能的”)，古英語 nǣmel (“善于学习的”)和古英語 numol (“能够拿稳的”)的合并形式，两者均源自niman (“拿，取”) + -el、-ol (联想后缀)，等价于nim + -le。对比德語 nehmen、哥特語 𐌽𐌹𐌼𐌰𐌽 (niman)、古諾爾斯語 nema (“拿”)。详见nim。

nimbler (comparative)
nimblest (superlative)

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-nimble.wav

nimble fingers

He was too nimble for the assailant and easily escaped his grasp.

袭击者不敌他灵活的动作，他轻松挣脱了袭击者的手。

Attempts to introduce versions of "market communism" — in China, Hungary or Yugoslavia — have shown how hard it is to make mainly state-owned economies as nimble as mainly private ones.

1988, The Economist (volume 306, issues 7532-7539, page 13)

She has a nimble mind and can improvise in any situation.

她非常机敏，在任何场合都能随机应变。

"It requires you to be flexible and nimble in your thinking and Huw has already demonstrated that," said Greenwood, [...]

2020年May20日, “Merriman praised over handling of TSC's 'virtual' transition”, 出自 Rail，頁號 12:


lordly

繼承自中古英語 lordly、lordlich，來自古英語 hlāfordlīċ (“貴族；高貴；貴重”)，等同於lord + -ly。
副詞來自中古英語 lordly、lordely、lordliche。

lordlier (comparative)
more lordly (comparative)
lordliest (superlative)
most lordly (superlative)

Show us your lordly might: demonstrate that you can order people and get them to obey.

向我们展现您的威严：证明您可以命令人民并让他们服从。

But they are the peers of the Queensland Parliament, and, having no lordly robes, must approach the Old Country model as closely as possible.

1880, John Nichols, The Gentleman’s Magazine, 卷 248，頁號 60:

[I]n that some form of duty and sacrifice (here, participation in the 1848 Revolution and a recognition of his lordly duty) is not only beneficially character-forming but also leads ultimately to a condition which is 'sublime'.

2006, Steve Wharton, Screening Reality，頁號 104:

Samson, in reply to this, says, “If you are not lordly, nor value your lordly title, as you tell me, and I trust in truth and sincerity, shall I call you a phoenix?

2011, Thomas Smith, C. Matthew McMahon, Therese B. McMahon, Select Memoirs of the English and Scottish Divines，頁號 282:

[H]e's still got his lordly habits, and more so since coming out of the war as a general.' 'A colonel, Sammy,' said Rachel. 'Same thing, good as,' said Sammy. 'Boots, of course, does wear his lordly crown with style,' said Rachel. 'Don't I know it?

2011, Mary Jane Staples, Appointment at the Palace: An Adams Family Saga Novel，頁號 275:


no-show

Out of fifty people who said they would attend, we only had three no-shows.

50个人说他们会参加，他们之中只有3个人没来。

Once they were enrolled […] they never did any work, but Frankel would deliver signed time sheets to the district office, collect the checks, and give them to his fake workers.
And the no-shows would give Frankel the salary money, which he put into Beth Rachel school.

1972, Crawford Gillan, Sir Harold Evans, Essential English for Journalists, Editors and Writers (page 192)


mitt

mitten 的截斷形式。

Hey, get your cotton-picking mitts off my sandwich!


hi

美國英語。首次出現在堪薩斯州印第安人的對話中（1862年）；最初是為了引起注意，可能是中古英語 hey、hy（大約1475年）的變體。也是引起注意的感嘆詞。參見hey。

Hi, how are you?

I just dropped by to say “hi”.

Anna: Pete, hi! Hi, we are here! — Pete: Hi, Anna! Hi, Marsha! — Anna: Hi! — Pete: How are you two? — Marsha: I am great!
#*::
 音頻 (美國)： (檔案)

2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)


hi

I didn't even get a hi.

我連招呼都不跟他打一個。


hi

high的另一種拼寫法，通常用連字符。

Get hi-quality videos here!


mortify

源自盎格魯-諾曼語 mortifier、中古法語 mortifier，源自晚期拉丁語 mortificō (“使...死亡”)，源自拉丁語 mors (“死亡”) + -ficō (“化”)。

使...节制，使...节欲 （身体、食欲等） （自15世纪）

Some people seek sainthood by mortifying the body.

一些人为了追求成为圣人而节欲。

With fasting mortify'd, worn out with tears.

1767, Walter Harte, Eulogius: Or, The Charitable Mason:

Mortify thy learned lust.

Mortify, therefore, your members which are upon the earth.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Colossians 3:5:

使...窘迫，使...难堪，使...屈辱，使...丢人，羞辱 （自17世纪）

I was so mortified I could have died right there; instead I fainted, but I swore I'd never let that happen to me again.

我在那都快要丢人死了，然后我昏倒了，但是我发誓我绝对不会让这种事有第二次。

Then we relapsed into a discomfited silence, and wished we were anywhere else. But Miss Thorn relieved the situation by laughing aloud, and with such a hearty enjoyment that instead of getting angry and more mortified we began to laugh ourselves, and instantly felt better.

1897年 12月（標示為1898年）, Winston Churchill, 章號 5, 出自 The Celebrity: An Episode, 紐約: The Macmillan Company；倫敦：Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:


lief

繼承自中古英語 lef、leve、leef，繼承自古英語 lēof，繼承自原始西日耳曼語 *leub，繼承自原始日耳曼語 *leubaz。
同源詞包括薩特弗里斯蘭語 ljo、ljoo、西弗里斯蘭語 leaf、荷蘭語 lief、德國低地德語 leev、德語 lieb、瑞典語、新挪威語 ljuv、哥特語 𐌻𐌹𐌿𐍆𐍃 (liufs)、俄語 любо́вь (ljubóvʹ)、波蘭語 luby。
副詞可對比德語 lieber、荷蘭語 liever (“寧願，更喜歡”)。

liefer (comparative)
liever (comparative)
liefest (superlative)

I'd as lief have one as t'other.

As far as physiognomy goes, the winners protest that they would as lief have foregone the double points, and the money.

1826, Thomas Byerly, John Timbs, The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction:

these great masters of the art, who would far liefer see us little ones practice it, than themselves engage [...].

1869, RD Blackmoore, Lorna Doone, section II:

Since sware the Parcæ unto me, their friend, / they shall adore my name, my favour prize; / and, as their feats of armèd prowess shend / all feats of rival Rome, I lief devise / some mode of aidance in what things I may, / far as our force o'er man extendeth sway.

1880, Richard Francis Burton, Os Lusíadas, 卷 II，頁號 339:

I'd as lief put on my hat and cane and help you if you think they'll be too heavy.

1902, Josephine Spenser, Corner in Chrysanthemums:


messenger

源自中古英語 messengere、messingere、messangere，源自古法語 messanger，古法語 messagier（對比現代法語 messager）的變體，等同於message + -er。messager的同源對似詞。
代替本土的古英語 boda (“信使，使者”) 和 ǣrendraca (“信使，特使”)。
至於 -ager 被 -enger、-inger、-anger代替的現象，對比passenger、harbinger、scavenger、porringer。這樣做可能只添加了一個 n，或可能是與其他後綴，如中古英語 -ing的混淆。對比古法語 -ange、-enc、-inge、-inghe (對應英語的 -ing) 與 古法語 -age (對應英語的 -age) 的關係。

I'll messenger over the signed documents.

我會把這封簽名文件郵寄出去。


numskull

That numskull will never learn how to compose a letter.


man-hour

Ten workers for two days—that's 160 man-hours.

十個工人工作兩天——就是160工時。

Since 1950 our agricultural output per man-hour has actually doubled!

1962 January 11, John F. Kennedy, Second State of the Union Address:


nosy

nosier (comparative)
more nosy (comparative)
nosiest (superlative)
most nosy (superlative)

好打听的，八卦的，爱管闲事的

They built tall fences, yet the nosy neighbors always seemed to know everything about them.

他们建了高高的篱笆，但是好八卦的邻居们似乎总是知道关于他们的各种事情。


nosy

I might wander down to the construction site for a nosy at what they're building.

我可能待会晃到那片工地瞄一眼他们在起啥东西。


nosy

My brother always nosies into my diary.

我哥哥老是偷看我的日记。


murky

源自中古英語 mirky，等价于murk + -y。与古諾爾斯語 myrkr、俄語 мрак (mrak)、塞爾維亞-克羅地亞語 мра̑к有关。

murkier (comparative)
murkiest (superlative)

模糊的，浑浊的，朦胧的；多云的；隐晦的，暧昧不清的

murky waters

murky territory

They may face an impenetrable word, approach its murky history from every direction, and fail to find a convincing solution (or even any solution: “origin unknow,” “the rest is unclear,” and the like).

2021年April21日, Anatoly Liberman, “Going out on a Limb”, 出自 Oxford Etymologist:

Mr. Farrier, 39, said he often questioned the moral implications of his trips. “It’s very ethically murky territory,” Mr. Farrier said.

2022年October28日, Maria Cramer, “Beaches? Cruises? ‘Dark’ Tourists Prefer the Gloomy and Macabre”, 出自 The New York Times, →ISSN:

China’s murky statistics are fueling widespread public distrust. Its narrow definition of Covid deaths “will very much underestimate the true death toll,” the W.H.O. says.

2022年December23日, Keith Bradsher, Amy Chang Chien, Joy Dong, “As Cases Explode, China’s Low Covid Death Toll Convinces No One”, 出自 The New York Times, →ISSN:


unwittingly

more unwittingly (comparative)
most unwittingly (superlative)

She realized to her horror that she had unwittingly helped those people she most despised.

她惊恐地意识到，她在不经意间帮了她最憎恶的那群人。

[O]nly now it remained that I inquire whether I have right to enter the city of refuge: so I found, that he must not, who lay in wait to shed blood: It was not the wilful murderer, but he who unwittingly did it, he who did it unawares; not out of spite, or grudge, or malice, he that shed it unwittingly: even he who did not hate his neighbour before. Wherefore, […] I thought verily I was the man that must enter, because I had smitten my neighbour unwittingly, and hated Him not aforetime.

1666, John Bunyan, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners: […], London: Printed by George Larkin, →OCLC; 再版為 Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners in a Faithful Account of the Life and Death of John Bunyan: […], London: The Religious Tract Society, […], [1905], →OCLC, paragraphs 218–219，頁號 123:

I have had a deep sense of the sad consequences of mistakes, in things capital; and their impossibility of recovering when compleated; and what grief of heart it brings to a tender conscience, to have been unwittingly encouraging of the sufferings of the innocent.

1697, John Hale, “The Preface”, 出自 A Modest Enquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft, […], Boston, Mass.: Printed by B[artholomew] Green, and J[ohn] Allen, for Benjamin Eliot […], 出版於 1702, →OCLC，頁號 11; reprinted in “Memoir of the Rev. John Hale”, 出自 Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, 卷 VII (Third Series), Boston, Mass.: Charles C[offin] Little and James Brown, 1838, →OCLC，頁號 264:

Of course those ministers who did support this did so unwittingly in most instances, did they not? By unwittingly I mean not knowing that the whole program was controlled and dominated and instigated by the Communist Party.

1955年June27日, Gordon H[arry] Scherer (questioner), “Testimony of Mrs. Anita Bell Schneider”, 出自 Investigation of Communist Activities in the Los Angeles, Calif., Area—Part 1: Hearings before the Committee on Un-American Activities, House of Representatives, Eighty-fourth Congress, First Session, June 27 and 28, 1955: […], Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, →OCLC，頁號 1507:

In the fall of 2016, [Hugh] Hefner was the subject of rumors about his health. As per his wishes, he was to be buried in a crypt next to that of Marilyn Monroe, who'd unwittingly helped launch Playboy into the multi-million-dollar business it became.

2017年September27日, David Browne, “Hugh Hefner, ‘Playboy’ Founder, Dead at 91: Legendary Magazine Editor Helped Spark the Sexual Revolution”, 出自 Rolling Stone，於2018-03-15歸檔自原頁面:

"She had asked at Paddington for a return to Lympstone on the Exmouth branch, where her son was due to pass out as a Royal Marine that afternoon, at the local training camp.
"Presumably, the booking clerk had misheard her and sold her a ticket to Leominster, and other helpful staff had unwittingly helped her on her way.

2022年July13日, “Stop & Examine”, 出自 RAIL, 期 961，頁號 71:


miscellany

借自法語 miscellanées，源自拉丁語 miscellanea，源自miscellus (“混杂的”)，源自misceō (“混”)。

a monthly miscellany of literature


jibe

不详，可能源自古法語 giber (“嬉戏打闹”)。对比英語 jib (“（马）停下不愿继续走”)、古諾爾斯語 geipa (“胡说”)。
名词派生自动词。

He flung subtle jibes at her until she couldn’t bear to work with him any longer.

他动辄开她的玩笑，最后她再也不想和他干活了。

Come, come, we / All are Friends, nor have we Time for Jibe, / Or Anger now, but 'gainſt our common Foes, / The French and Scot; there let your Pray'rs, and Jeſts, / And Blows, be levell’d.

1746, [Charles Macklin], King Henry the VII: Or the Popish Impostor. A Tragedy. […], London: Printed for R. Francklin, […]; R[obert] Dodsley, […]; and J. Brotherton, […], →OCLC, act II, scene i，頁號 24:

[George] Carlin's opening-night monologue included some blunt gibes at organized religion which would almost certainly have been cut out of any other network show.

1975年October27日, Jeff Greenfield, “Ragged but Funny”, 出自 New York, 卷 8, 期 43, New York, N.Y.: New York Magazine Company, →ISSN, →OCLC，頁號 65，列號 3:


jibe

不详，可能与chime (“使...合唱”)有关。

That explanation doesn’t jibe with the facts.

[T]here is something wrong with your figures. They do not jibe with experience. They do not jibe with prices. They do not jibe with what we know.

1926年May13日, Henry H. Glassie (witness), “Statement of Henry H. Glassie, Member of United States Tariff Commission”, 出自 Investigation of the Tariff Commission: Hearings before the Select Committee on Investigation of the Tariff Commission, United States Senate, Sixty-ninth Congress, First Session […] Part 1 […], Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, →OCLC，頁號 529:

This did not jibe with the objectivist view that metaphor is of only peripheral interest in an account of meaning and truth and that it plays at best a marginal role in understanding.

1980, George Lakoff, Mark Johnson, 章號 27, 出自 Metaphors We Live By:


migraine

1777年进行了词形调整（在法語的影响下），源自14世纪晚期的中古英語 megrim，源自13世纪的古法語 migraigne，源自通俗拉丁語中拉丁語 hemicrania (“半边头痛”)的发音，源自古希臘語 ἡμικρανία (hēmikranía)，源自ἡμι- (hēmi-, “半”) + κρανίον (kraníon, “颅”)（亦派生出cranium）其仿译自埃及語 gs-tp (“头痛”)，源自gs (“半”) + tp (“头”)，但是埃及纸莎草内的记录和希腊语内的ἡμικρανία (hēmikranía)也可能纯属碰巧相似。
同源词有megrim、hemicrania。

He had a headache so bad that he wished he was dead, but it was the sort of migraine that promised him he would continue to suffer but not die.

他头痛痛得想死，但是那是那种不会致死而一直折磨你的偏头痛。

After consuming too much coffee every day for six weeks, she got severe migraines that would last up until 47 minutes after her first cup of coffee.

天天过量喝咖啡六周后，她得了一种喝第一杯咖啡后会持续最多47分钟的偏头痛。

It was in 1976, during our first family holiday to Disneyland, California, that my family learned the difference between a headache and a migraine.

2006, Dian Caouette, Migraine Rewritten: A Journey from Debilitating Headache Pain to Regained Health，頁號 6:

A team of international researchers has recently identified the first—ever genetic link to common migraine (common migraine refers to migraine without aura, and it is the most common type of migraine that occurs).

2013, Susan Hutchinson, The Woman's Guide to Managing Migraine，頁號 18:

Migraine headaches are fortunately suffered by a relatively small percentage of people, but for those who do suffer, migraines can literally take over their life.

2013, Health Press Publishing, Natural Therapies and Prevention for Headaches and Migraines, unnumbered page,

Syncope is estimated to occur in bouts of headache in approximately 5% of adult patients with migraine.

1995, Robert A. Davidoff, Migraine: Manifestations, Pathogenesis, and Management，頁號 60:

Migraine is characterized by recurrent unilateral, often pulsating, headaches, worsened by physical activity and associated with nausea, photophobia and phonophobia.

2005, Michael H. Silber, “Chapter 28: Headaches and sleep disorders”, 出自 Christian Guilleminault 編, Clinical Neurophysiology of Sleep Disorders，頁號 337:

Migraine is a common and disabling neurological disorder with substantial variation in the frequency, severity, and duration of headaches (Goadsby, Lipton, & Ferrari, 2002).

2006, Joshua W. Devine, Daily Migraine Prevention and Its Influence on Resource Utilization in the Military Health System, PhD Thesis, page 1,


misdeed

源自中古英語 misdede，源自古英語 misdǣd (“恶行”)，源自原始日耳曼語 *missadēdiz (“恶行”)，等价于mis- + deed。同源词有低地蘇格蘭語 misded (“恶行”)、西弗里斯蘭語 misdied (“恶行”)、荷蘭語 misdaad (“恶行”)、德語 Missetat (“恶行”)、瑞典語 missdåd (“恶行”)、哥特語 𐌼𐌹𐍃𐍃𐌰𐌳𐌴𐌸𐍃 (missadēþs, “恶行”)。

The petty misdeeds of his youth came back to haunt him when he ran for political office and his character was smeared.

他年轻时所犯下的错在他参加政治职位竞选时成为了他的绊脚石，给他的名声留下了污点。

These [putting feet on seats and leaving rubbish behind] are officially among the worst habits revealed by staff working on Northern's trains and at stations. Other bugbears include playing music through loudspeakers, not giving way to passengers getting off the train and actually illegal activities such as fare evasion and vaping in enclosed spaces. The list of misdeeds was released by the operator on March 3 to coincide with Employee Appreciation Day.

2023年March22日, “Stop & Examine”, 出自 RAIL, 期 979，頁號 71:


medical

借自中古法語 medical，源自中世紀拉丁語 medicālis，源自拉丁語 medicus。代替古英語 lǣċe (“醫生”)，其與冰島語 læknir (“醫生”)同源。

more medical (comparative)
most medical (superlative)

medical doctor; medical student

Do you have any medical experience?

你有過醫學方面的經驗嗎？

The US supreme court has ruled unanimously that natural human genes cannot be patented, a decision that scientists and civil rights campaigners said removed a major barrier to patient care and medical innovation.

2013年June21日, Karen McVeigh, “US rules human genes can't be patented”, 出自 The Guardian Weekly, 卷 189, 期 2，頁號 10:

medical marijuana; medical cannabis; medical treatment

藥用大麻；藥用大麻；醫療

A costly medical condition can bankrupt you if it doesn't kill you first.

假如疾病沒有讓你先死去，那麼昂貴的治療費用會讓你破產。

medical examinaton; medical exemption; medical history; medical record; medical diagnosis

醫學檢查；醫療豁免；病史；病史檔案；醫學診斷

medical ward


medical

You'll have to get a medical before you apply for that job.

你應聘之前，得去做個體檢。

After completing a medical and the requisite paperwork on Tuesday to seal the deal, Di María said: “I am absolutely delighted to be joining Manchester United. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in Spain and there were a lot of clubs interested in me, but United is the only club that I would have left Real Madrid for.

2014, Jamie Jackson, "Ángel di María says Manchester United were the ‘only club’ after Real", The Guardian, 26 August 2014:

All UK train drivers must undergo a medical every three years up to the age of 54, and annually from then on.

2021年November17日, “Network News: Age-related medical requirements”, 出自 RAIL, 期 944，頁號 9:


melodramatic

more melodramatic (comparative)
most melodramatic (superlative)

过于情绪化的，多愁善感的

She wrote him a melodramatic letter, threatening to kill herself.

Dearest Eloise,— There is one little and perhaps insignificant French cake, which I feel certain would soon become a favourite in the cottage, more particularly amongst its juvenile inhabitants. It is the famed galette, the melodramatic food of the gamins, galopins, mechanics, and semi-artists of France.

1854, Alexis [Benoît] Soyer, A Shilling Cookery for the People: Embracing an Entirely New System of Plain Cookery and Domestic Economy, London, New York, N.Y.: George Routledge & Co., →OCLC，頁號 125:


lurch

原为航海用语，借自法語 lâcher (“放开”)。

the lurch of a ship, or of a drunkard

The ship was driving rapidly towards the rocky coast, against which she must have been dashed to pieces had she kept afloat a few minutes longer, but she gave a lurch and went down, rose again for an instant, and with another lurch sank, and all was over,—and there were nearly two hundred and fifty human beings struggling with the waves.

1850, William O. S. Gilly, “The Tribune”, 出自 Narratives of Shipwrecks of the Royal Navy […] , London: John W. Parker:


bite off more than one can chew

bites off more than one can chew
biting off more than one can chew
bit off more than one could chew
bitten off more than one could chew

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/en-au-bite off more than one can chew.ogg

I think I bit off more than I could chew when I agreed to paint this house by myself.

我觉得我同意一个人给这个房子上漆的时候有点不自量力了。


euphoria

借自新拉丁語 euphoria，來自古希臘語 εὐφορίᾱ (euphoríā)，來自εὔφορος (eúphoros, “承重牆的”)，來自εὐ- (eu-, “出色地”) + φέρω (phérō, “承擔”)。

The runner was in (a state of) absolute euphoria after winning his first marathon.

这位跑手在第一次赢得马拉松比赛后，处于绝对的兴奋状态。


moratorium

新拉丁语，源自晚期拉丁語 morātōrium，morātōrius (“延期的，延迟的”)中性形式的名词用法，源自拉丁語 moror (“推迟”)，源自mora (“推迟”)，源自原始印歐語 *mere (“推迟，阻碍”)。另见moratory。

/ˌmɒ.ɹəˈtɔː.ɹɪəm/

/ˌmɔː.ɹəˈtɔː.ɹɪəm/

Canada may put a moratorium on cloning for research.

加拿大可能会叫停研究性质的克隆。

It so happened that at that time the moratorium on the death penalty caused by the Supreme Court decision in the Furman case was still in effect.

1990, Gerhard Falk, Murder, an Analysis of its Forms, Conditions, and Causes, McFarland:


been there, done that

為“I have been there and have done that”的省略。

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/en-au-been there, done that.ogg

been there, done that, bought the T-shirt

斷言說話者對某事/某地有親身經驗、了解，而不想再重複去做

No, I don't wanna go paragliding. Been there, done that. I found it awful.

我才不要去玩滑翔傘。早就玩過了，我不喜歡。

Paragliding? Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt and the video.

滑翔啊？早就玩過了，還買了紀念衫跟錄影。

Huntsman feints at being the Snow White retelling no one has ever seen before, but ultimately becomes the “been there, done that” of fairy-tale filmmaking.

2012年May31日, Tasha Robinson, “Film: Review: Snow White And The Huntsman”, 出自 The A.V. Club:

He looked down at my résumé. “Wow, you interned at The New Yorker. Did you apply there?” ¶ “Nope.” ¶ He looked up. ¶ I gave the line a tug. ¶ “I just felt like, ‘been there, done that,’ you know? Also, I dated a few guys in the office so it would've been awkward.”

2013, Iris Smyles, Iris Has Free Time, Berkeley, CA: Counterpoint, →ISBN，頁號 7:


reproduction

/ˌɹiːpɹəˈdʌkʃən/

Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.

未经许可严禁转载本文章。

Jim was proud of the Rembrandt reproduction he owned.

Jim有一个伦勃朗的复制品，他很引以为豪。


etymology

源自中古英語 ethymologie，源自古法語 ethimologie，源自拉丁語 etymologia，源自古希臘語 ἐτυμολογία (etumología)，源自ἔτυμον (étumon, “真意”)和-λογία (-logía, “...的研究”)，源自λόγος (lógos, “词语，解释”)。

The etymology of the term Japlish is disputed and contentiously so.

2018, James Lambert, “A multitude of ‘lishes’: The nomenclature of hybridity”, 出自 English World-Wide，頁號 13:

Although written the same, the words lead (the metal) and lead (the verb) have totally different etymologies.

虽然两者拼写一致，但是lead（铅）和lead（引领）的词源迥然不同。


miscreant

源自中古英語 myscreaunt、miscreaunt，源自古法語 mescreant (“不信者”)（1080年），mescreire (“不相信”)的现在分词（现代形式mécroire）。

坏蛋，恶棍，歹徒，道德沦丧者

Thou art a Traitor, and a Miſcreant;
Too good to be ſo, and too bad to liue,
Since the more faire and chriſtall is the skie,
The vglier ſeeme the cloudes that in it flye:

1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The life and death of King Richard the Second”, 出自 Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, 出版於 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]，頁號 23，列號s 1–2:

The teacher sent the miscreants to see the school principal.

老师把那帮坏学生送去校长那了。

A meagre Catchpole hurries me to fail; No Miscreant, so remorseless, ever tore
Thy Journals, Fog, or knock'd at Franklin's door

a. 1719, Joseph Addison, A Riddle of Dean Swift's verfified


bolshie

来自 Bolshevik（俄語 большеви́к (bolʹševík)，布尔什维克），来自俄語 большевики́ (bolʹševikí, “多数派”) + -ie。

bolshier (comparative)
bolshiest (superlative)

Rachel came in, and Nick felt he'd been caught larking about, Catherine squashing him like some bolshie teenage attempt at seduction.
（請為本引文添加中文翻譯）

2004, Alan Hollinghurst, The Line of Beauty, Bloomsbury, 2005, Chapter 16,

Kate, don't be so bolshie!


plaintive

源自中古英語 pleintif, plentyff ← 法語 plaintif (“悲痛的”) ← plainte (“怨，痛”)；參見plaint，plaintiff。

more plaintive (comparative)
most plaintive (superlative)

伤心的，悲哀的，忧郁的。

a typically plaintive song from Radiohead

來自Radiohead的一首典型的傷感歌曲


simmer

方言词simper的变换形式，源自中古英語 simperen (“炖”)，可能是拟声词。最早记录是不及物动词。名词源自动词。首次記錄於15世纪末叶

煨，炖 （自17世纪中叶）

The soup simmered on the stove.

The locomotive was the now inevitable American 2-8-0, No. 2623. There she stood, effectively blocking the level crossing, simmering gently, massively inert. It was almost dark, and one's final sight was of her high, firelit cab, the enginemen nonchalantly leaning out, waiting for the right-away, while impatient road convoys piled up on both sides of the crossing.

1945 January and February, “Notes and News: American Locomotives in France”, 出自 Railway Magazine，頁號 46:

That way, the heat can circulate under the meat and prevent it from simmering in its juices.

2004, Susan Westmoreland, The Good Housekeeping Cookbook, Hearst Books, →ISBN，頁號 89:

同類詞：bake、sauté

Simmer the soup for five minutes, then serve.

There are other easy ways you can bake and simmer and sauté wild game without qualifying as a gourmet cook.

1981, Phyllis Hobson, Easy Game Cookery, Storey Publishing, →ISBN，頁號 2:

（尤指一系列解决问题的努力没有结果后）记仇，怀恨在心，心怀芥蒂

I tried to get through to him; all that's left for me to do is simmer.

我本来试着解释给他的，现在我除了恼火已经束手无策了。


simmer

The kettle was kept on the simmer.


perennial

1644年，源自拉丁語 perennis (“持续一整年的”)（源自per- (“贯穿”) + annus (“年”)） + -al，可作per- + -ennial分析。

a perennial stream

His artwork has a perennial beauty.

Change is a perennial theme in politics.

改变是政治中一个反复出现的主题。

a perennial candidate


perfectionist

more perfectionist (comparative)
most perfectionist (superlative)

perfectionistic parents

有關本詞的更多用例，請參閱Citations:perfectionist。


paramour

源自中古英語 paramour、paramoure、peramour、paramur，源自古法語 par amor (“为了爱”)。

/ˈpæ.ɹə.mʊə/

/ˈpæ.ɹə.mɔː/

to run away with a paramour

The seducer appeared with dauntless front, accompanied by his paramour.

1848, Thomas Maucalay, The History of England from the Accession of James the Second:

They should be chaste, not lustful, nor taking paramours:

1934, Yusuf Ali (translator), The Holy Qur'an: Text, Translation and Commentary, surah 4, verse 25:

The action scenes are deafening and punchily staged by director Louis Letterier (The Transporter), though I wish he’d set more time aside to spend with Nobby, his paramour Dawn (Rebel Wilson), their shaven-headed brood, and friends

2016年February23日, Robbie Collin, “Grimsby review: ' Sacha Baron Cohen's vital, venomous action movie'”, 出自 The Daily Telegraph (London):


paranoid

more paranoid (comparative)
most paranoid (superlative)

/ˈpɛɹ.ə.ˌnɔɪd/

/ˈpæɹ.ə.ˌnɔɪd/

/ˈpæɹ.ə.ˌnɔɪd/

多疑的，疑心病的，无端猜忌的

Maybe I'm paranoid, but that doesn't mean that they are not out to get me.

可能是我多想了，但是那不能说明他们没有出来抓我。


prefect

源自中古英語 prefect及prefecte，源自古法語 prefect（现代法语préfet），源自拉丁語 praefectus (“监督者，监察者，长官”)，源自praeficere (“使...负责”)。

（古罗马的）长官，队长等

the prefect of the aqueducts; the prefect of a camp, of a fleet, of the city guard, or of provisions; the pretorian prefect, who was commander of the troops guarding the emperor's person

It seems that in the autumn of 803 he went on leave. His uncle Po Chi-chên, had recently been moved from his post at Hsü-chou and promoted to be Prefect of Hsü-chʻang in Central Honan.

1951, Arthur Waley, The Life and Times of Po Chü-i, London: George Allen & Unwin, →OCLC，頁號 33:


melancholy

繼承自中古英語 malencolie，來自古法語 melancolie，來自古希臘語 μελαγχολία (melankholía, “atrabiliousness”)，來自μέλας (mélas)、μελαν- (melan-, “黑色，黑暗，陰暗”) + χολή (kholḗ, “膽汁”)。對照拉丁語 ātra bīlis (“黑膽汁”)。形容詞用法是中古英語的創新，可能受到後綴-y、-ly的影響。

more melancholy (comparative)
most melancholy (superlative)

Melancholy people don't talk much.

“[…] the awfully hearty sort of Christmas cards that people do send to other people that they don't know at all well. You know. The kind that have mottoes[…]. And then, when you see [the senders], you probably find that they are the most melancholy old folk with malignant diseases. […]”

1922, Ben Travers, 章號 1, 出自 A Cuckoo in the Nest:

And then the band slowed the tempo / And the music gets you down / Ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah, ah / It was the same old song / With a melancholy sound / Ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah, ah

1981, Greg Kihn, Steve Wright, “The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)”, 出自 RocKihnRoll, 演出者 The Greg Kihn Band:


pliant

源自中古英語 pliaunt，源自古法語 ploiant，ploiier (“折叠”)的现在分词。

more pliant (comparative)
most pliant (superlative)

Whether in its northern or southern home, the black-throated blue warbler builds its nest of bark, roots, and other pliant material, loose and rather bulky, in a variety of saplings, bushes, and weeds, but always a few inches or a few feet from the ground.

1917, The National Geographic Magazine April 1917, The Warblers of North America

a pliant thread  pliant wax


providence

源自盎格魯-諾曼語 providence、中古法語 providence，及两者词源拉丁語 prōvidentia (“远虑”)，源自prōvidēre (“提供”)的现在分词。取代了本土词古英語 foresċēawung。

对资源的合理安排，节约，节俭 （自17世纪）

His providence in saving for his old age is exemplary.


obnoxious

來自拉丁語 obnoxiōsus (“有害的，危險的”)，來自obnoxius (“受懲罰的；有危險的”)，來自ob (“面對”) + noxia (“傷害”)。

more obnoxious (comparative)
most obnoxious (superlative)

The disturbance had commenced, like those of England, in the refusal of the parliament to sanction an obnoxious tax; but here all resemblance ended.

这场骚乱和英格蘭的骚乱一样，都是从议会拒绝批准一项令人厌恶的税收开始的；但所有的相似之处都在这里结束了。

1834, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Francesca Carrara, 卷 1，頁號 74:

Someone jolted my arm and the contents of my glass spilled onto an immaculate white dress. I felt obnoxious.

有人搖晃著我的手臂，我的杯子裡的東西濺到了一件無瑕的白色連衣裙上。我覺得很討厭。

1989, Antônio Torres, Blues for a Lost Childhood: A Novel of Brazil，頁號 41:

I WOULD HAVE been nine or ten when my mother chased me up a thorn tree with a ceremonial hippo-hide whip. What my crime was, I forget. My mother was, and remains, a woman of exceptional forbearance. I must have done something so obnoxious as to beggar belief.

我九歲或十歲的時候，我媽媽用儀式用的河馬皮鞭子追著我爬上一棵荊棘樹。我的罪行是什麼，我忘記了。我的母親過去和現在都是一個非常寬容的女人。我一定做了一些令人討厭的事情，以至於让人难以置信。

2010年August3日, David Bennun, Tick Bite Fever, Random House，頁號 109:

I always feel out of place when I am around people. I feel obnoxious if I laugh or talk too much.

當我和人在一起時，我總是感到格格不入。如果我笑太多或說話太多，我會感到討厭。

2013, Catherine Hilterbrant, Drive-by Psychosis, →ISBN，頁號 51:

He felt obnoxious and knew perfectly well that he would have no explanation whatsoever had anyone discovered him, but she looked so alluring, so untroubled, so fortunate, that his only concern was the terrible crack the shutter made...quiet as it was.

他感到很討厭，而且很清楚如果有人發現他，他將無法解釋，但她看起來如此迷人，如此無憂無慮，如此幸運，以至於他唯一關心的是百葉窗發出的可怕的破裂聲……尽管它是如此安静。

2013, Molly Cutpurse, Dark Man, →ISBN，頁號 44:

He was an especially obnoxious and detestable specimen of a man.

他是一個特別令人討厭和可憎的男人的樣本。

Throwing stones at the bus is another example of your obnoxious behaviour.

向公共汽車扔石頭是你令人討厭的行為的另一個例子。


overstay

Thailand’s Constitutional Court ruled Wednesday that Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha must suspend his active duties while the court decides whether he has overstayed his legal term in office.

2022年August24日, Tassanee Vejpongsa & Grant Peck, “Thai court suspends PM Prayuth pending ruling on term limit”, 出自 The Washington Post, retrieved 2022-08-24:

overstay one's visa


monstrous

繼承自中古英語 monstrous，來自古法語 monstrueuse、monstrüos，來自拉丁語 mōnstrōsus。對照monstruous。

more monstrous (comparative)
most monstrous (superlative)

a monstrous height

Possibly monster pumpkins may become still more monstrous by the shoots being ringed, and so may other vegetables and fruits where quality is of less importance than mere size.

1901年December20日, “The Ringing of Plants”, 出自 The Agricultural Journal and Mining Record, 卷 4, 期 21，頁號 663:


paleolithic

These laws are absolutely paleolithic.

這些法律絕對都已經老掉牙了。


murder

源自中古英語 murder、murdre、mourdre，变化自早期形式murthre (“谋杀”)（参见murther），源自古英語 morþor (“暗杀，非法杀害”)和古英語 myrþra (“谋杀，他杀”)，两者均源自原始日耳曼語 *murþrą (“死，杀”)，源自原始印歐語 *mr̥tro- (“杀”)，源自原始印歐語 *mer-、*mor-、*mr̥- (“死”)。与哥特語 𐌼𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌸𐍂 (maurþr, “谋杀”)、古高地德語 mord (“谋杀”)、古諾爾斯語 morð (“谋杀”)、古英語 myrþrian (“谋杀”)和morþ有关。
中古英語词形内的-d-可能部分受到盎格魯-諾曼語 murdre的影响，后者源自古法語 murdre，源自中世紀拉丁語 murdrum（亦派生出同源对似词murdrum），源自古法蘭克語 *morþr、*murþr (“谋杀”)，源自同样的日耳曼語族词根，虽然也有可能是完全内部发展的结果（对比burden，其源自burthen）。

The defendant was charged with murder.

Reggie Clemons has one last chance to save his life. After 19 years on death row in Missouri for the murder of two young women, he has been granted a final opportunity to persuade a judge that he should be spared execution by lethal injection.

2012年August21日, Ed Pilkington, “Death penalty on trial: should Reggie Clemons live or die?”, 出自 The Guardian:

Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine.[…]One thing that is true, though, is that murder rates have fallen over the centuries, as policing has spread and the routine carrying of weapons has diminished. Modern society may not have done anything about war. But peace is a lot more peaceful.

2013年July20日, “Old soldiers?”, 出自 The Economist, 卷 408, 期 8845:

There have been ten unsolved murders this year alone.

单单今年以来就有10起谋杀悬案。

The case was that of a murder. It had an element of mystery about it, however, which was puzzling the authorities. A turban and loincloth soaked in blood had been found; also a staff.

1927, F. E. Penny, 章號 4, 出自 Pulling the Strings:

It may be guessed, indeed, that this was the original form of the story, the fairy being the addition of those who considered Jack's thefts from (and murder of) the giant to be scarcely justified without her.

1984, Humphrey Carpenter, Mari Prichard, The Oxford companion to children's literature, page 275:

Captain Sulu, who served under the legendary James T. Kirk for many years, disobeys Starfleet orders in order to try and help Kirk and another old shipmate, Dr. McCoy, who have been imprisoned for the murder of the Klingon chancellor.

2003, Paul Ruditis, Star Trek Voyager: Companion, →ISBN，頁號 131:

Dr. Herrera also knew Hemingway had held Batista's army personally responsible for the brutal murders of his dogs, Blackie (Black Dog) and Machakos.

2011, Carlene Brennen, Hemingway's Cats, →ISBN，頁號 161:

This headache is murder.


murder

The woman found dead in her kitchen was murdered by her husband.

被发现死在厨房的女性是被其丈夫杀害的。

Our team is going to murder them.

我们队必打得他们找不着北。

He's torn my best shirt. When I see him, I'll murder him!

他把我最好的衬衫撕坏了，让我看到他不把他打死。

I could murder a hamburger right now.


protestant

more protestant (comparative)
most protestant (superlative)

a protestant effort

protestant work ethic


paramount

原始印歐語詞
 *h₂éd
源自盎格魯-諾曼語 paramont、paramount (“至高无上的，卓越的；在上面的”)，源自古法語 par、per (“以...的手段”) + amont、amunt (“向上”)。Par派生自拉丁語 per (“以...的手段，通过”)，源自原始印歐語 *per- (“穿过；通过”);amont和amunt则源自拉丁語 ad montem (“朝向山；向上”)，源自ad (“向上往”)（最终源自原始印歐語 *h₂éd (“在；到”)） + montem（mōns (“山”)的宾格单数，最终源自原始印歐語 *men- (“耸立，矗立”)）。

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-paramount.wav

utmost

至高无上的；领先的，领导的

paravail

至高无上的；领先的，领导的

Getting those credit cards paid off is paramount.

把这些信用卡还清是最要紧的事。


outdoors

They went outdoors to light up their cigarettes.


outdoors

She loves the outdoors.


google

The word "oceanfront" has 6,150,000 googles, so I think it must be a real word.

“oceanfront”這個詞在谷歌上有615萬條結果，我覺得這應該是個實際存在的詞。


google

Tom googles all of his prospective girlfriends.

"Have fun and keep googling!"

1998年July8日, Larry Page, “Google Search Engine: New Features”, 出自 eGroups, Google Friends Mailing List，於1999-10-09歸檔自原頁面:

Googling in search of an apology from the former Enron C.E.O. […]

2002年December28日, Bill Keller, “Who's Sorry Now?”, 出自 The New York Times, →ISSN, retrieved 2007-06-24，頁號 A-19:

使用搜索引擎進行網上搜索

I googled him but there were no references to him on the Internet.

我在網上搜了他，但是沒有結果。

出現在互聯網的搜索結果中

His name googles.

他的名字出現在搜索結果中。


pallid

源自拉丁語 pallidus。pale的同源對似詞。

pallider (comparative)
pallidest (superlative)

The patient left the hospital but was very pallid.

病人离开了医院，但还是很苍白无力。


prowl

源自中古英語 prollen，其词源不详。

鬼鬼祟祟地四处徘徊； 觅食或寻找猎物

He prowls each place, still in new colours decked.

a. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., Philip Sidney], “(please specify the page number)”, 出自 The Covntesse of Pembrokes Arcadia [The New Arcadia], London: […] [John Windet] for William Ponsonbie, 出版於 1590, →OCLC; republished in Albert Feuillerat 編, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia (Cambridge English Classics: The Complete Works of Sir Philip Sidney; I), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: University Press, 1912, →OCLC:

Watch the lioness prowling in the shrubbery for zebras.

看那只母狮子在灌木丛里狩猎斑马。

It's easy to sneak vandalism into Wiktionary as there are few other users prowling the Recent Changes page.

维基词典很容易就会被人偷偷破坏，因为没有多少用户盯着“最近更改”页面。

While McCarthy prowled the touchline barking orders, his opposite number watched on motionless and expressionless and, with 25 minutes to go, decided to throw on Nicolas Anelka for Kalou。

2011年January5日, Mark Ashenden, “Wolverhampton 1 - 0 Chelsea”, 出自 BBC:

That dandy has nothing better to do than prowl around town all day in his pinstripe suit.

那个男的没别的事干，整天就穿着件细条纹西装在镇上无所事事地晃来晃去。

to prowl money


prowl

源自中古英語 prollen，其词源不详。

无所事事；鬼鬼祟祟地四处徘徊

I'm going on a midnight prowl.


parking lot

Should we park in that parking lot, or in the garage up the street?

我们要停在停车场里，还是那条街下去的那个车库里？

They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.

1970, Joni Mitchell （作曲作詞）, “Big Yellow Taxi”:

The 101 was a parking lot again today.

101道上今天又堵成停车场了。


prodigal

源自中古法語 prodigal，源自晚期拉丁語 prōdigālis (“浪费的”)，源自拉丁語 prōdigus (“浪费的，挥霍的”)，源自prōdigō (“消耗，浪费”)，源自prōd-（←prō (“前，向前”)） + agō (“驱动”)。还见prodigy。

more prodigal (comparative)
most prodigal (superlative)

[ˈpʰɹɑɾɪɡɫ̩]

He found himself guilty of prodigal spending during the holidays.

他想起放假时没节制地乱花钱，就很有罪恶感。

The prodigal son spent his share of his inheritance until he was destitute.

浪子把自己分到的遗产花到身无分文。

The prodigal heir can only waste his own substance, and the punishment falls, as it should, upon himself; but the prince has an awful responsibility,—the welfare of others is required at his hands;...

1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], 章號 XXIII, 出自 Francesca Carrara. […], 卷 II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC，頁號 257:

乱用...的，大量使用...的

She was a merry person, glad and prodigal of smiles.

她是一个很快乐的人，一直都面带微笑。

How can he be so prodigal with money on such a tight budget?

预算那么紧，他是怎么敢这样乱花钱的。

He generally falls backwards and sometimes succumbs to the fever which ensues; hence as soon as the ordeal is over the women are prodigal of their attentions to him, and rub the swollen arm with a particular kind of herb.

1911, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough, 卷 10，頁號 63:

Granville poised himself over a vast sirloin, stropped his knife briskly, then began to hack away ruthlessly. He was a prodigal server and piled about two pounds of meat on my plate, then he started on the Yorkshire puddings.

1974, James Herriot, Vet in Harness，頁號 201:


perjury

源自盎格魯-諾曼語 perjurie，源自拉丁語 perjurare (“虚假的发誓”)，源自per- + jūrāre。取代了本土词古英語 mānāþ (字面意思是“虚假的发誓”)。

/ˈpɜː(ɹ)dʒəɹi/

We declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.

我们在伪证罪规定下宣誓前述事实真实无误。


plummet

源自中古英語 plommet (“铅球，摆锤”)，自1382年有书面记录，源自古法語 plommet或者plomet，plom、plum (“测深锤”)的指小词，源自拉丁語 plumbum (“铅”)。动词最早记录见于1626年，表示“测量，测深”，其源自名词。

plummets
plummeting
plummetting
plummeted
plummetted

重重地，快速地跌落；暴跌，骤降

After its ascent, the arrow plummeted to earth.

箭上升以后，快速地射向地面。

Some speculated Twitter’s stock would plummet, while another said the company would not have to be owned by “a moron,” using an expletive to refer to Mr. Musk.

2022年October4日, Kate Conger, Lauren Hirsch, “Elon Musk Suggests Buying Twitter at His Original Price”, 出自 The New York Times, →ISSN:

Passenger numbers had been rising sharply. But the replacement of the services by buses, which take far longer because of the number of stations in out-of-the-way villages on the route, will ensure they plummet again.

2022年December14日, Christian Wolmar, “No Marston Vale line trains... and no one in charge seems to 'give a damn'”, 出自 RAIL, 期 972，頁號 46:


prong

來自中古英語 pronge，可能來自中古低地德語 prange (“棍子，約束裝置”)，來自prangen (“按，捏”)，來自古撒克遜語 *prangan，來自原始西日耳曼語 *prangan，來自原始日耳曼語 *pranganą (“壓”)，來自原始印歐語 *(s)preng- (“包裹，限制”)。
與立陶宛語 spriñgti (“窒息或阻塞”)、拉脫維亞語 sprañgât (“繩索，限制”)、古希臘語 σπαργανόω (sparganóō, “用襁褓包裹”)、σπάργανον (spárganon, “襁褓”)同族。參見prank、prance、prink。

細、尖、突出的部分；尖頭

a pitchfork with four prongs

the two prongs of a river

the second prong of the argument


puffy

puffier (comparative)
puffiest (superlative)

puffy breath

A puffy fat man in a tracksuit came jogging around the corner.

一個喘著粗氣、穿著運動服的胖男人在一角慢跑。


propitious

源自盎格魯-諾曼語和古法語 propicius，源自拉丁語 propitius (“有利的，支持的，善良的”)。对比法語 propice、葡萄牙語 propício和西班牙語 propicio。

more propitious (comparative)
most propitious (superlative)

/pɹoʊˈpɪʃəs/

propitious weather


paltry

源自中古低地德語 paltrig (“破旧的，劣质的，无价值的”)，源自palter、palte (“破布”)，源自古撒克遜語 *paltro、*palto (“布，破布”)，源自原始日耳曼語 *paltrô、*paltô (“碎屑，破布，补丁”)。 与低地德語 palterig (“破败的，破碎的”)、方言用词德語 palterig (“微不足道的”)同源。亦对比低地德語 palte (“破布”)、西弗里斯蘭語 palt (“破布”)、薩特弗里斯蘭語 Palte (“布条，袋子”)，德語方言Palter (“破布”)、丹麥語 pjalt (“破布，碎布”)、瑞典語 palta (“破布”)。另见palterly。

paltrier (comparative)
paltriest (superlative)

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-paltry.wav

insignificant

无价值的，无用的，微不足道的，蹩脚的

unimportant

无价值的，无用的，微不足道的，蹩脚的

petty

无价值的，无用的，微不足道的，蹩脚的

trivial

无价值的，无用的，微不足道的，蹩脚的

无价值的，无用的，微不足道的，蹩脚的

This is indeed a paltry flyer about a silly product.

这就是一个愚蠢产品的垃圾传单。

She made some paltry excuse and left.

她找了点蹩脚的借口离开了。

There are a great many languages, like Eskimo and Nootka and, aside from paltry exceptions, the Semitic languages, that cannot compound radical elements.

1921, Edward Sapir, Language: An introduction to the study of speech:

Could someone hope to survive on such a paltry income?

能有人指望这丁点收入过活吗？

Student grants these days are paltry, and many students have to take out loans.

现在的助学金都没有几个钱，很多学生得去借贷款。

"An aged man is but a paltry thing, / A tattered coat upon a stick"

1928, William Butler Yeats, Sailing to Byzantium:

A paltry coward.


polygamous

/pəˈlɪɡəməs/

That Mormon community no longer practises polygamous relationships.

[…] declaring legitimate all children of LDS polygamous marriages […]

2001, Kathryn Daynes, More Wives Than One, p 177


odious

源自中古英語 odious，源自古法語 odieus，源自拉丁語 odiōsus，源自odium (“恨”)。

more odious (comparative)
most odious (superlative)

Scrubbing the toilets in the bar at the end of a Saturday night is an odious task.

You told a lie, an odious damned lie: / Upon my soul, a lie, a wicked lie!

约1603–1604年, 威廉·莎士比亚, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice [奥赛罗]”, 出自 Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (第一对开本), 伦敦: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, 出版於 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii]，行號s 179-80:

I own no crime, unless it be a crime to've hindered you from perpetrating that which would have made you odious to mankind, at least the fairest half.

1750, “Theodora”, Thomas Morell 作詞, George Frideric Handel 作曲:

He looks upon study as an odious fetter; his time is spent in the open air, climbing the hills or rowing on the lake.

1818, Mary Shelley, 章號 6, 出自 Frankenstein，於2013-05-08歸檔自原頁面:


pungent

借自拉丁語 pungens（词根：pungent-），pungo (“刺”)的现在分词。poignant的同源對似詞。

more pungent (comparative)
most pungent (superlative)

I accidentally dropped the bottle of ammonia and after few seconds, a very pungent stench could be detected.

我不小心弄掉了一瓶氨水，过了几秒后就闻到了一股刺鼻的臭味。

I can almost smell the fir scent… resinous, pungent.

1991, Paul Chadwick, Concrete: American Christmas, Dark Horse Books:

The critic gave a pungent review.

评论家给出了一个很尖刻的评论。


ode

來自中古法語 ode，來自晚期拉丁語 ōda，來自古希臘語 ᾠδή (ōidḗ, “歌”)。Aoede的同源對似詞。

[標題]

write an ode to someone


outstanding

more outstanding (comparative)
most outstanding (superlative)

You must pay any outstanding corporate card balance immediately.

您必须立即支付所有尚欠的商务卡结欠款。

The distribution of the capital shall in the case of each loan be based on the capital amount outstanding at the date of the coming into force of the present Treaty.

I kept account of every farthing I spent, and my expenses were carefully calculated. Every little item such as omnibus fares or postage or a couple of coppers spent on newspapers, would be entered, and the balance struck every evening before going to bed. That habit has stayed with me ever since, and I know that as a result, though I have had to handle public funds amounting to lakhs, I have succeeded in exercising strict economy in their disbursement, and instead of outstanding debts have had invariably a surplus balance in respect of all the movements I have led. Let every youth take a leaf out of my book and make it a point to account for everything that comes into and goes out of his pocket, and like me he is sure to be a gainer in the end.

1927-29, M.K. Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, translated 1940 by Mahadev Desai, Part I, Chapter xvi:


pet name

My boyfriend won't let me call him by his pet name, Pookie, in public.

我的男朋友不允許我在大庭廣眾之下叫他的小名 Pookie。


poignant

源自中古英語 poynaunt、poynant，借自盎格魯-諾曼語 puignant、poynaunt等，poindre (“刺”)的现在分词，源自拉丁語 pungō (“刺”)。pungent的同源對似詞。

more poignant (comparative)
most poignant (superlative)

distressing

感人的，动人的，让人感伤的

moving

感人的，动人的，让人感伤的

有说服力的，准确的，利落的，直击要害的

A poignant reply will garner more credence than hours of blown smoke.

一针见血的回答比几个小时的胡诌更能赢得信任。

感人的，动人的，让人感伤的

Flipping through his high school yearbook evoked many a poignant memory of yesteryear.

翻了翻他的高中年鉴，很多人想起了去年那些动人的回忆。

A particularly poignant example of this is a child called Genie (see Curtiss 1977; Rymer 1993), who was deprived of speech input and kept locked up on her own in a room until age thirteen. When eventually taken into care and exposed to intensive language input, her vocabulary grew enormously, but her syntax never developed.

2004, Andrew Radford, Minimalist Syntax: Exploring the Structure of English, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, §1.4，頁號 13:

Hanks shepherds the young girl to safety – first brusquely, and then with a sudden outburst of affection made all the more poignant for the way it is reserved previously. He once again reminds us, quite literally, that he is in many ways the ultimate dad.

2021年February9日, Christina Newland, “Is Tom Hanks part of a dying breed of genuine movie stars?”, 出自 BBC:

His comments were poignant and witty.


prevarication

源自盎格魯-諾曼語 prevaricassion、中古法語 prevarication和其来源，拉丁語 praevāricātiō (“与对手串通；偏离正轨；欺瞒”)，源自praevāricor的词干。

/pɹɪˌvæɹɪˈkeɪʃən/

/pɹɪˌvæɹəˈkeɪʃən/

Prevarication became the order of the day in his government while truth was a stranger in those halls.

Mr Rajoy frustrates many with his prevarication over a fresh euro-zone bail-out, which now comes with a conditional promise from the European Central Bank (ECB) to help bring down Spain’s stifling borrowing costs.

2012年October6日, “Charlemagne: Mysterious Mariano”, 出自 The Economist:


reckoning

reckon的動名詞，來自reckon + -ing。對照荷蘭語 rekening、德語 Rechnung。

By that reckoning, it would take six weeks to go five miles.

按此推算，走五哩路要花上六個星期。

So saying, he called for a reckoning for the wine, and throwing down the price of the additional bottle which he had himself introduced, rose as if to take leave of us.

day of reckoning


passage

繼承自中古英語，源自古法語 passage，源自 passer (“通過”)。

passage of scripture

She struggled to play the difficult passages.

她尽力演奏那些困难的乐段。

He made his passage through the trees carefully, mindful of the stickers.

他小心翼翼地穿过树林，留意着粘人的东西。

議會通過法案 （自17世紀）

The company was one of the prime movers in lobbying for the passage of the act.

该公司是游说此法案通过的主要推动者之一。

the Northwest Passage


passage

繼承自中古英語，源自古法語 passage，源自 passer (“通過”)。

将病原体或干细胞等物质通过宿主或媒介传递

He passaged the virus through a series of goats.

他将病毒传染给了一系列山羊。

After 24 hours, the culture was passaged to an agar plate.

24小时后，将培养物传代至琼脂平板。

開闢一條（尤指海上的）通道

They passaged to America in 1902.

他们于1902年移居美国。


passage

繼承自中古英語，源自古法語 passage，源自 passer (“通過”)。

不到一岁，但已经离开鸟巢，獨自生活

Passage red-tailed hawks are preferred by falconers because these younger birds have not yet developed the adult behaviors which would make them more difficult to train.

不到一岁的离巢红尾鹰是猎鹰者们的首选，因为这些幼鸟尚未发育出成年鸟的行为，所以训练起来不会那么困难。


rehouse

The existing collection of paintings will be rehoused in the new gallery.

現存的藏畫將會保存到新的畫廊。


rehash

（无意义地，基本一样地） 重复；改头换面

Today's parliamentary session only rehashed last week's arguments.

今天的议会会议只是在重复上个星期的争辩。

The CEO of the company only rehashed a speech for the news conference.

公司的CEO只是在新闻发布会上重复了一次演讲。

The general rehashed plans for the war.

将军换汤不换药地定下了战争计划。

分析，回忆 （之前的争吵或不愉快的事）

Let's not rehash what we did last night.

我们别再提昨晚我们干的事了。


rehash

改头换面的作品，换汤不换药的作品

He wrote a bad rehash of an earlier essay.

他把之前的论文改头换面写了一篇很差的论文。


recluse

源自古法語 reclus，reclure的过去分词，源自拉丁語 reclūdere，reclūdō (“公开，揭露；打开”)的现在主动不定式，源自re- + claudō (“关闭”)。

more recluse (comparative)
most recluse (superlative)

a recluse monk or hermit


rundown

Could you give me the rundown on the new rules?

您能简单讲讲新的规定吗？

Smith is caught in a rundown, but Jones will come around to score.

Smith被夹杀了，但是Jones会得分的。


recount

源自古諾曼語和盎格魯-諾曼語 recunter，古法語 reconter的一个变体。

The old man recounted the tale of how he caught the big fish.

老人讲述了他抓到那条大鱼的故事。

to recount one's blessings


overdose

/ˈəʊvə(ɹ)ˌdəʊs/

藥劑過量，用藥過量，吸毒過量

to die of a heroin overdose


overdose

/ˌəʊvə(ɹ)ˈdəʊs/

Be careful not to overdose on those pills.

She overdosed on cocaine.


run-of-the-mill

1922年出现，源自磨坊（mill）每批次（run）产出来的东西都应该一致标准的说法。

more run-of-the-mill (comparative)
most run-of-the-mill (superlative)

普通的，平凡的，平平无奇的

This isn’t your run-of-the-mill refrigerator; you’ll find the extra features well worth the price.

这款不同于那种普普通通的冰箱，您会发现附加功能很值这个价。

The other had the most run-of-the-mill news which make some of my recent run-of-the-mill columns appear like the raciest escapist fare.

1971 November 30, Martin Lapidus, Class Notes: 62, Princeton Alumni Weekly, Volume 72, page 26,

For a deeper, less familiar philosophy, you have to listen to your more run-of-the-mill dossers, and they don't come more run-of-the-mill than Ratso.

In one side of the prestigious commissions, public and private, sacred and profane, which could make the name of an artist, there was a more run of the mill style of painting which already enjoyed a vast clientéle at all levels of society.

1995, Alain Mérot, French Painting in the Seventeenth Century, page 42,

Who the more run-of-the-mill victims were is unclear, since they are often not named or have no emblem glyphs attached to them.

1999, David Drew, The Lost Chronicles of the Maya Kings，頁號 284:

Or even more run-of-the-mill murders which usually turn out to be family or business affairs and where someone's usually heard something or, in the case of the more professional killings, someone wants to do a deal.

2001, Gabrielle Lord, Death Delights, 2002, unnumbered page,


regurgitate

源自晚期拉丁語 regurgitatus，regurgitare的过去分词，re- (表示返回) + gurgitare (“吞食；涌动”)的结合形式，源自gurges (“旋涡，海湾，海洋，深渊”)。

/ɹɪˈɡɝd͡ʒəˌteɪt/

The young gulls were fed by their mother’s regurgitated food.

小海鸥吃它们妈妈反刍出来的食物。

Food may regurgitate from the stomach into the mouth.


ruffian

源自中古法語 rufian，源自意大利語 ruffiano (“皮条客”)。

more ruffian (comparative)
most ruffian (superlative)

残忍的，嗜血的，惨绝人寰的，滥杀的

ruffian rage


rummy

rummier (comparative)
rummiest (superlative)

a rummy flavour


rectal

The customs inspector subjected him to a rectal exam.

海關檢查員讓他去做直腸檢查。


recording

The one-party consent law permits the recording of telephone calls with the consent of at least one of the parties.

單方同意法允許在至少一方的同意之下將電話內容錄音。

I made a recording of the TV show so that I could watch it later.

我把電視節目錄製了下來，這樣我可以以後再看。


prisoner

繼承自中古英語 prisoner，來自古法語 prisonier (對照中世紀拉丁語 prisōnārius)，等同於prison + -er。

被某種情況或某種環境限制或困住或感到被限制或困住的人

I am no longer a prisoner to fear, for I am a child of God.


befitting

more befitting (comparative)
most befitting (superlative)

适合的，相称的，配得上的

He moved with a befitting grace.


pristine

more pristine (comparative)
most pristine (superlative)

纯净的，纯洁的，未被弄脏的；崭新的

The beach back is in pristine condition after a council-led cleanup.

市政组织了一次清扫后，海滩又回到了干干净净的样子。


prerogative

源自盎格魯-諾曼語 prerogative (名词)，源自拉丁語 praerogātīva (“之前的裁决；特权”)，praerogātīvus (“有特权的，有最先发言权力的”)阴性单数的名词用法。

/pɹɪˈɹɒɡ.ə.tɪv/

/pɹəˈɹɑɡ.ə.tɪv/

/pəˈɹɑ.ɡə.tɪv/

（君主等的）裁决权，决定权；君权

Despite being a constitutional monarchy, the British sovereign still retain many royal prerogatives.

尽管英国属于君主立宪制政体，但英国君主仍保留了很多君主特权。

The military fame of a subject was considered as an insolent invasion of the Imperial prerogative; and it became the duty, as well as interest, of every Roman general, to guard the frontiers intrusted to his care, without aspiring to conquests which might have proved no less fatal to himself than to the vanquished barbarians.

1776, Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol I, ch 1-pt i:

Lord Avonleigh had decided on taking refuge in wounded dignity, when he was again addressed by the King. "The castle holds another prisoner, to whom I intend extending the best prerogative of my crown—mercy. Will you order Robert Evelyn to be brought before me?"

1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], 章號 XLII, 出自 Francesca Carrara. […], 卷 III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC，頁號 352:


banger

源自bang + -er。香肠这么称呼的原因是因为它们水很多，但表皮不透水，因此如果在烹饪前不戳破的话很容易爆炸。

bangers and mash

He drives a little four-banger to work.

他开一辆四汽缸的小车去上班。


rhetoric

繼承自中古英語 rethorik、rhetoric，來自古法語 rhetorique，來自拉丁語 rhētorica，來自古希臘語 ῥητορική (rhētorikḗ)，ῥητορικὴ τέχνη (rhētorikḕ tékhnē)的省略，來自ῥητορικός (rhētorikós, “關於公共演說”)，來自ῥήτωρ (rhḗtōr, “公共演說家”)。

It’s only so much rhetoric.


petulant

源自中古法語，源自拉丁語 petulāns，与petere有关。

more petulant (comparative)
most petulant (superlative)

Lack of sleep is causing Dave's recent petulant behavior.

睡眠不足让Dave最近特别任性。

Former associates have described Musk as petty, cruel and petulant, particularly when frustrated or challenged.

December 13 2021, Molly Ball, Jeffrey Kluger and Alejandro de la Garza, “Elon Musk: Person of the Year 2021”, 出自 Time Magazine:


beguile

源自中古英語 begilen、begylen，等价于be- + guile。对比中古荷蘭語 begilen (“欺骗”)。bewile的同源對似詞。

吸引，迷住，使...陶醉

I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming.

1864 November 21, Abraham Lincoln (signed) or John Hay, letter to Mrs. Bixby in Boston

I will never touch The Orb, even though its mysterious glow seduces and beguiles

（因快乐等）让...过的更快 （时间）

We beguiled the hours away

我们在欢乐中很快度过了好几个小时。

They beguile the tedium of this enforced leisure by weaving baskets and playing on certain sacred flutes.

1911, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough, 卷 11，頁號 241:


blasphemous

借自拉丁語 blasphēmus (“褻瀆”)，來自古希臘語 βλάσφημος (blásphēmos, “惡言傷人”)。

more blasphemous (comparative)
most blasphemous (superlative)

His taking the name of God in vain was considered blasphemous.


ragtag

more ragtag (comparative)
most ragtag (superlative)

bedraggled

邋遢的，不整洁的，破烂的

decrepit

邋遢的，不整洁的，破烂的

motheaten

邋遢的，不整洁的，破烂的

tattered

邋遢的，不整洁的，破烂的

邋遢的，不整洁的，破烂的

He liked to wear an old ragtag coat that was so threadbare that he'd get sunburned through it.

他喜欢穿一件破旧的外套。那件外套都磨穿了，他穿着甚至会晒黑皮肤。

The guerrillas were a ragtag band of local thugs, former soldiers, displaced farmers, and political idealists.

那个游击队是一个当地流氓、退伍士兵、无家可归的农民和政治理想家组成的涣散的组织


populace

The populace despised their ignorant leader.

民眾鄙視他們愚昧的領導者。

Throughout the 1500s, the populace roiled over a constellation of grievances of which the forest emerged as a key focal point. The popular late Middle Ages fictional character Robin Hood, dressed in green to symbolize the forest, dodged fines for forest offenses and stole from the rich to give to the poor. But his appeal was painfully real and embodied the struggle over wood.

2006, Edwin Black, 章號 2, 出自 Internal Combustion:


pussy

女性的陰部。（17世紀－）

You have a lovely pussy!

There's a lot of disagreement about where that word came from. Pussy is actually a diminutive of pusillanimous, meaning cowardly. Although maybe the origin doesn't matter, since everyone equates it with the female anatomy anyway?

關於這個詞的來源，有很多分歧。pussy 實際上是「pusillanimous」的縮略語，意思是「懦弱」。儘管也許起源並不重要，因為無論如何每個人都把它與女性的解剖結構等同起來？

[2016, Alexandra Sirowy, The Telling (young adult fiction), Simon & Schuster，頁號 6:

和女性性交 （20世紀－）

I’m gonna get me some pussy tonight.

我今晚要去找些小妞來肏。

The teachers are not there to help you. Most oft them are still freelancers and the last thing they want is more competition. They are there because they need a steady paycheck and they hope to score some pussy!

老師們不是來幫助你的。他們中的大多數人仍然是自由職業者，他們最不想看到的是更多的競爭。他們在那裡是因為他們需要一份穩定的薪水，而且能搞到一些馬子！

1991, Daniel Clowes, Art School Confidential:

懦夫，膽小鬼。（20世紀－）

You're such a pussy!

You ought to hear some of the docs that are the sweetest old pussies with their patients—the way they bawl out the nurses. But labs—they seem sort of real. I don't suppose you can bluff a bacteria—what is it?—bacterium?

你應該聽聽那些對病人最可愛的老娘們儿的說法--他們對護士吆喝的方式。但是，實驗室--它們似乎有點真實。我不認為你能唬住一個細菌─它是什麼？─細菌？

1925, Sinclair Lewis, Martin Arrowsmith (fiction), Harcourt Brace & Company:

I couldn't carry the burden of shame engendered by the bully-boy advertising of "max-strength" cold and flu remedies, the obvious subtext of which is "Get to work, you pussy."

我無法承擔「最大強度」的感冒和流感藥的霸道廣告所帶來的恥辱負擔，其明顯的潛台詞是「去工作吧，你這個娘們」。

2007年November26日, Matt Keating, “Do everyone a favour and don't bring your cold to work”, 出自 The Guardian，於2014-10-06歸檔自原頁面:

Shepard: You're in a bad situation, and I'm going to get you out of here.
Jack: Shit, you sound like a pussy.

謝潑德：你的處境很糟糕，我會帶你離開這裡。
傑克：操，你聽起來像個娘們。

2010, BioWare, Mass Effect 2, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, 經由 PC, →OCLC，幕：Prison Ship Purgatory:


regale

源自法語 régaler (“取悦于，款待”)，源自古法語 regale、rigale，源自gale (“欢乐”)，可能源自日耳曼語族（参见古法語 galer）。受到了古法語 se rigoler (“开心，愉悦”)的影响，其词源不详。对比中古高地德語 begalen (“迷住”)、英語 gale (“唱歌；使...陶醉”)。亦对比英語 gala。

（使用故事等）取悦，使...满足

to regale the taste, the eye, or the ear


based

more based (comparative)
most based (superlative)

（一般用于结合形式）有（怎样的）根据的

That was a soundly based argument.


based

指代精炼可卡因（freebase cocaine），经由basehead一词。由美国歌手Lil B所创来形容自己的生活方式。

unwoke

很棒的，值得赞赏的，令人钦佩的，中肯的

cringe

很棒的，值得赞赏的，令人钦佩的，中肯的

unbased

很棒的，值得赞赏的，令人钦佩的，中肯的

很棒的，值得赞赏的，令人钦佩的，中肯的 （因反对自由主义或左翼价值观而）值得赞赏的

OP is based as fuck

Based and red pilled.

My last account got banned for being too based.

Those who are against Trump are not based at all. On February 16th, The Donald users comment on a “based” post in r/DankMemes which uses a classic Squidward sleeping meme to criticize those who are upset by Chris Pratt going to “church” (one which was purportedly anti-LGBT) but “ok” with sex predators in Hollywood: […]

2019, Kira Stalker, "The Fracturing of the Alt Right: Conflicting Online Discourses Of White Nationalist Communities", thesis submitted to George Mason University, page 139:

His [Brenton Tarrant's] meme-themed shooting greatly represents the spirit of the aussie people, in the sense of shitposting until their last moment, based and redpilled he is.

2019, anonymous, quoted in Cathrine Thorleifsson, "From cyberfascism to terrorism: On 4chan/pol/ culture and the transnational production of memetic violence", Nations and Nationalism, Volume 28, Issue 1, page 293:

Then, in the same month, noted feminist Christina Hoff Sommers was branded “white supremacy-adjacent” by feminist Roxane Gay. Her reasoning? That our beloved “Based Mom” once appeared at an event with Milo Yiannopoulos and didn't disavow him enough.

2020, David Rubin, Don't Burn This Book: Thinking for Yourself in an Age of Unreason，頁號 未標明:


portend

借自拉丁語 portendere (“预测，预知”)，源自por- (“向前”) + tendere (“伸展”)，tendo的现在主动不定式。

Let it be known that the Rapture portends the End of Days.

When the staccato, Neptunes-ian single “Boyfriend” was released in March, musical prognosticators were quick to peg the album it portended, Believe, as Justin Bieber’s Justified, a grown-and-sexy, R&B-centric departure that evolved millennial teenybopper Justin Timberlake into one of the unifying pop-music figures of the aughts.

2012年June26日, Genevieve Koski, “Music: Reviews: Justin Bieber: Believe”, 出自 The A.V. Club，於2020-08-06歸檔自原頁面:


bating

I replied, That he was a very unworthy man, if it were true, to speak slightingly of a family, which was as good as his own, bating that it was not allied to the peerage […].

‘There is but little I have heard from you which I did not expect to hear, and which I ought not to have expected; because, bating one circumstance, it is all very true.’


piety

源自中古英語 piete，借自中古法語 pieté，源自拉丁語 pietās。参见同源对似词pietà and pity。

Colleen's piety led her to make sacrifices that most people would not have made.

Colleen的虔诚使她做出了大部分人不会做出的牺牲。


burnt

more burnt (comparative)
most burnt (superlative)

burnt 作 burn 的一般過去式和過去分詞用法，一般用於英國，其作為形容詞的使用更加廣泛。

The toast was too burnt to eat.


bubbly

bubblier (comparative)
bubbliest (superlative)

Whip the egg white into a bubbly froth.

将蛋清搅拌直到起大量泡沫。

She has a bubbly personality.

泡泡的，类似泡泡的，泡沫质的

The architecture of the conservatory was bubbly.


bubbly

We're getting married–this calls for a bottle of bubbly!

我们要结婚啦！开一瓶香槟庆祝一下！

“[…] Maybe some bubbly for the ladies, since we just bought the house of life, and break camp . . . since they are very appreciative that things got wrapped up so fast.”

2007, L. A. Banks, The Cursed, St. Martin's Griffin, →ISBN:


bareback

bareback riding

bareback sex


bareback

I can ride a horse bareback.

We had sex bareback.


bareback

In this video, the big guy gets to bareback the little guy.

在这部影片里，大个子不戴套插进小个子的屁眼里。


buckra

借自埃菲克語 mbakara或伊比比奧語 mbakara；對照古拉語 buckra (“白人”)。

a buckra yam


procrastinate

procrastination 的逆構詞，或源自拉丁語 prōcrastinātum，prōcrastinō (“推迟到明天”)的过去分词，源自prō (“为了”) + crāstinus (“明天的”)，源自crās (“明天”)。

He procrastinated until the last minute and had to stay up all night to finish.

他一直拖拖拉拉到最后时刻才开始，不得不熬夜才完成。


burrow

源自中古英語 borowe、borewe、borwȝ、burȝe、burh、burye (“动物的藏身处，洞穴”)，可能是中古英語 burgh (“加固了的住处，要塞，藏身处”)的一个变体（参见borough），因此源自古英語 burh，源自原始日耳曼語 *burgz (“要塞；城市”)，源自原始印歐語 *bʰerǵʰ- (“高”)，但这个词义未出现于古英語 burh。但对比荷兰语同源词burcht，其意思相近。
可能与bury (“挖”)有关，这样的话即派生自原始印歐語 *bʰergʰ- (“保护，护卫，保全”)。

（带方向状语）钻（在下方移动来寻找安全处）

The young girl burrowed into the bed.

The journalist burrowed into the origins of the mayor's corruption.

记者深入调查了市长腐败的源头。


bureaucracy

bureau + -cracy，來自法語 bureaucratie，由雅克·克勞德·瑪麗·文森特·德古納所創的新詞，來自bureau (“官方”) + -cratie (“規則”)。

/bjʊəˈɹɒkɹəsi/

/bjʊˈɹɑːkɹəsi/

At that time the administration replaced the system of patronage in the civil service with a bureaucracy.

当时，政府用官僚制取代了公务员队伍中的赞助制。

The bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy. (apocryphal quip)

官僚机构正在扩大，以满足不断扩大的官僚体制的需要。

The head of the civil service promised to clamp down on bureaucracy.

公务员系统的负责人承诺要打击官僚主义。

"If we can capture anything from this awful situation, it is that ability to trust people to do certain things for themselves and to look out for each other, and to give them the tools to do their job as well as they can without having to go through endless bureaucracy to achieve it, which very often just delays and dilutes and doesn't add much value.

2020年May20日, Andrew Haines talks to Stefanie Foster, “Repurpose rail for the 2020s”, 出自 Rail，頁號 35:


risky

riskier (comparative)
riskiest (superlative)

Investing in this start-up company could be risky.

投资这家创业公司有风险。


blasphemy

繼承自中古英語 blasfemye，來自古法語 blasfemie，來自教會拉丁語 blasphēmia，來自古希臘語 βλασφημία (blasphēmía, “褻瀆”)，來自βλασφημέω (blasphēméō, “誹謗”)。

That imam said that drawing the prophet Muhammad is a form of blasphemy.

那名伊瑪目稱，描繪穆罕穆德的樣子是一種褻瀆。

Had God cancelled His everlasting Covenant with Israel? The mere thought was blasphemy! But what did God's silence and the present dark cloud mean?

1920, John Rougier Cohu, The Bible and Modern Thought，頁號 325:

Look, I don't think it ought to be blasphemy, just saying "Jehovah".

你看，他只是說了“耶和華”而已，我不覺得他是要褻瀆。

1979, Monty Python's Life of Brian, 角色 Matthias（John Young）:

Shepard: What happened to those other Alliance officers? The ones who came before me?
Major Kyle: They wanted to take me away from here! They wanted me to abandon this place. Turn my back on my family. They spoke blasphemy!
Major Kyle: I did what I could to make their end quick and painless. I had no other choice. It was necessary to protect my children. Only I can keep them safe.

2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC，PC，幕：Presrop:

The fundamentalists in that religion hold that such views are blasphemy and that religion is above criticism.

2009, Francis, Business Ethics, Tata McGraw-Hill Education, →ISBN，頁號 139:


ramshackle

首次可考于1830年，是ramshackled 的逆構詞，源自ransackled，ransackle (“洗劫”)的过去式，中古英語 ransaken (“掠夺”)的反复态。

more ramshackle (comparative)
most ramshackle (superlative)

/ˈɹæmˌʃæk.əl/

They stayed in a ramshackle cabin on the beach.

他们待在海滩上一个破破烂烂的小屋里。

A ramshackle old empire. (of Austria-Hungary).


bleak

源自中古英語 bleke（亦bleche，→同源对似词bleach (“苍白的”)），和bleike（源自古诺尔斯语）及早期中古英語 blak、blac (“苍白的”)，源自古英語 blǣc、blǣċ、blāc (“苍白的，憔悴的，乌青的；明亮的，闪亮的，闪闪发光的”)和古諾爾斯語 bleikr (“苍白的”)，源自原始日耳曼語 *blaikaz (“苍白的”)。同源词有荷蘭語 bleek (“苍白的”)、低地德語 blek (“苍白的”)、德語 bleich (“苍白的，蜡黄的”)、丹麥語 bleg (“苍白的”)、瑞典語 blek (“苍白的”)、書面挪威語 bleik、blek (“苍白的”)、新挪威語 bleik (“苍白的”)、法羅語 bleikur (“苍白的”)、冰島語 bleikur (“苍白的；粉色的”)。

bleaker (comparative)
bleakest (superlative)

a bleak and bare rock    a bleak, crater-pocked moonscape

一个孤零零的裸露的岩石   荒凉而坑坑洼洼的月球表面

They escaped across the bleak landscape.

他们逃跑时穿过了那片荒地。

We hiked across open meadows and climbed bleak mountains.

他们跋涉过开阔的草地，攀上荒凉的大山。

Wastes too bleak to rear / The common growth of earth, the foodful ear.

1793, William Wordsworth, Descriptive Sketches

不快的，不高兴的；悲怆的

Dany didn’t necessarily have to die, but letting her live would’ve been an assessment of humanity so bleak that even George R.R. Martin, it seems, wants to hope for something better.

2019年May19日, Alex McLevy, “The final Game Of Thrones brings a pensive but simple meditation about stories (newbies)”, 出自 The A.V. Club:

Downtown Albany felt bleak that February after the divorce.

A bleak future is in store for you.

The news is bleak.

The survey paints a bleak picture.

调查描绘出一副悲凉的光景。


repeatedly

more repeatedly (comparative)
most repeatedly (superlative)

He repeatedly violated the court order, and shall now be punished.

他多次违反法庭命令，现在应该受到惩罚。

Scotland had the territory and the momentum, forcing England into almost twice as many tackles and rattling them repeatedly at set-pieces.

2011年October1日, Tom Fordyce, “Rugby World Cup 2011: England 16-12 Scotland”, 出自 BBC Sport:

Since 2017, the DfT has "repeatedly altered the scope of the TRU [TransPennine Route Upgrade] to meet differing ministerial priorities and budget constraints", says the NAO [National Audit Office].

2022年August10日, Mel Holley, “Network News: Question marks over TransPennine upgrade spending”, 出自 RAIL, 期 963，頁號 24:


repossess

to repossess oneself of something lost


rile

源自roil的方言发音。

Money problems rile the underpaid worker every day.

低薪工人每天都因为钱的问题不安宁。

Mosquitoes buzzing in my ear really rile me.

蚊子在我耳边嗡嗡叫，真是烦。

It riles me that she never closes the door after she leaves.

她每次走都不关门，真讨厌。


besmirch

debase

玷污（...的名声），诋毁，丑化

smear

玷污（...的名声），诋毁，丑化

slander

玷污（...的名声），诋毁，丑化

玷污（...的名声），诋毁，丑化

The newspaper was on a campaign to besmirch the actor.


refined

more refined (comparative)
most refined (superlative)

精准的，精确的，尤指： 精妙的，细致的，周全的

The argument, while not persuasive, is quite refined.

那个论点虽然没有说服力，但是还是很细致的。

精准的，精确的，尤指： 成熟的

The curriculum has been carefully refined to meet the needs of foreign students.

课程表经过精心改善来满足外国学生的需求。

文明的，尤指： 高雅的，精良的

In the British Isles, Oxbridge is considered refined; Geordie somewhat less so.

不列颠群岛中，牛津剑桥[的口音]被认为较为高雅，而泰恩赛德就没那么高雅。

文明的，尤指：
优雅的，文雅的，斯文的， 做作的；过于追求高雅的

Don Draper was a man of refined tastes.

唐·德雷柏的品味很高雅。

"Jesus Christ! Was my folks refined. My mam she wouldn't think-a lettin' us young'uns call a pee pot a pee pot. A chamber's what she called it... And by God! Us young'uns had ter call the pee pot a chamber or git our God damn necks wrang."

1946, Elizabeth Metzger Howard, Before the Sun Goes Down, p. 31:

提纯的，无杂质的，尤指： 高纯度的，精制的

Under current guidelines, refined sugar must be at least five times purer than its raw counterpart.

按目前的指导方针，精制后的糖的纯度必须是加工前的纯度的至少5倍。

提纯的，无杂质的，尤指：
精炼的 （无熔渣或合金的）

The Temple at Jerusalem preferred Tyrian shekels, since even with Ba'al's portrait they bore highly refined silver.


refined

We're still purchasing copper ore, but the market for refined is weaker.

我们还在进购铜矿，但是精加工产品的市场更差。


restaurant

借自法語 restaurant，為restaurer的現在分詞，對應拉丁語 restaurans, restaurantis，restauro (“恢復”)的現在分詞，源自第一家餐廳提供的“使精力恢復”湯的名稱。

That Italian restaurant serves some of the best food I've ever had in my life.

那家意大利餐廳做的菜是我這輩子吃到過最好的。

By one o'clock the place was choc-a-bloc. […] The restaurant was packed, and the promenade between the two main courts and the subsidiary courts was thronged with healthy-looking youngish people, drawn to the Mecca of tennis from all parts of the country.

1935, George Goodchild, 章號 5, 出自 Death on the Centre Court:


paradox

源自中古法語 paradoxe，源自拉丁語 paradoxum，源自古希臘語 παράδοξος (parádoxos, “意外的，奇怪的”)。

"This sentence is false" is a paradox.

“这句话是假的”是悖论。

According to one version of an ancient paradox, an Athenian is supposed to say "I am a liar." It is then argued that if the statement is true, then he is telling the truth, and is therefore not a liar […]

1962, Abraham Wolf, Textbook of Logic，頁號 255:

反常结果，意外结果，似非而是的事实

It is an interesting paradox that drinking a lot of water can often make you feel thirsty.

喝很多水会意外地让你很渴。

The most fundamental paradox is that if we're never to use force, we must be prepared to use it and to use it successfully.

1983年May21日, Ronald Reagan, Presidential Radio Address:

Not having a fashion is a fashion; that's a paradox.

不随时尚就是一种时尚，真是矛盾。

How quaint the ways of Paradox! / At common sense she gaily mocks! / Though counting in the usual way years twenty-one I've been alive, / Yet reck'ning by my natal day, / Yet reck'ning by my natal day, / I am a little boy of five!

1879, W. S. Gilbert, “The Pirates of Penzance”, 出自 The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan, 出版於 1941:

He is a paradox; you would not expect him in that political party.

他这个人真是矛盾，怎么就进了那个政党。

You are a paradox of bitch and angel.

1999, Virginia Henley, A Year and a Day, →ISBN，頁號 315:


bats

more bats (comparative)
most bats (superlative)

You must be bats to go out in the cold without a coat on.

在寒冷的天氣裡不穿外套，你一定是瘋了。

"Don't be so bats, Binns! Why should anyone want to pinch just one boot?"
"He might have been a chap with only one leg."

1952, Anthony Buckeridge, Jennings and Darbishire:


beaut

beauty 的截斷形式。

That new car of yours is a real beaut.

你的那辆新车真是漂亮啊。


righteous

源自早期形式rightuous、rightwose、rightwos、rightwise，源自中古英語 rightwise、rightwis，源自古英語 rihtwīs (“正直的，正义的”)，对应于right + -wise（第二个词素的发音被同化成了-ous），又或者right + wise (“方式”)。同源词包括低地蘇格蘭語 richtwis (“正直的”)、古高地德語 rehtwīsic (“正直的，正义的”)、冰島語 réttvíss (“正直的，正义的”)。亦对比thefteous、mighteous。

more righteous (comparative)
most righteous (superlative)

Human beings should take a righteous path, and so should art. We should promote kindness and beauty through art.

righteous indignation


relish

变换自reles (“气味，味道，回味”)，源自古法語 relais、reles (“残留物”)，源自relaisser (“残留”)。

He relishes their time together.

他很享受他们在一起的时光。

I don't relish the idea of going out tonight.

He knows how to prize his advantages, and to relish the honours which he enjoys.

1706, Francis Atterbury, A sermon preached at the Guild-Hall Chapel, September 28, 1706


posthaste

源自信件上的指示‘haste, post, haste’（尽快派送），后解读为post + haste的复合词。

It is imperative that you finish your task posthaste.

你需要赶紧完成你的任务。

"Sasi cannot last through the night." These words from his physician, and the spectacle of my friend, now reduced almost to a skeleton, sent me posthaste to Serampore.

1946 — Paramahansa Yogananda, Autobiography of a Yogi, Ch. 17


reprieve

1571年，意为“带回监狱”，源自中古英語 repryen (“扣押，羁押”)（1494年），可能源自中古法語 repris，reprendre (“拿回”)的一个变位形式，与reprise同源。其词义已被泛化，但还暗含监狱或处刑的色彩。名词用法自1598年可考。对比拉丁語 privare。

The prisoner was saved from execution; the governor had requested a reprieve.

囚犯免于被处死，总督要求了缓刑。


bravado

源自法語 bravade (“自夸”)，源自意大利語 bravata，源自动词bravare (“自夸”)，源自bravo。

/bɹɑːˈvɑːdoʊ/

The angry customer stood in the middle of the showroom and voiced his complaints with loud bravado.

For a bravado he had the organ taken down and conveyed to his father's house, where he had it put up in the chamber where it now stands. It was also for a bravado that he played on it every day. But, by−and−by, the amount of time which he spent at it daily began to increase rapidly.

1891, Rosa Mulholland, The Haunted Organist of Hurly Burly，頁號 12:

Songs like "Hey Bobby", and "Do Ya" drip with innuendo and sexual bravado.

1990 Amy Longsdorf, K.T. Oslin: Personality, Wit and Style To Spare", The Morning Callhttp://articles.mcall.com/1990-08-11/entertainment/2758085_1_oslin-country-music-kt

Stripped of all bravado, Cersei breaks, and shows the very scared, vulnerable woman who has kept her emotions at bay. “I don’t want to die,” she whimpers, “Not like this.” It’s all the more moving for coming from a character who built her identity on steely resolve and contempt for such hoary conceits as fear.

2019年May12日, Alex McLevy, “Westeros faces a disastrous final battle on the penultimate Game of Thrones (newbies)”, 出自 The A.V. Club:

The rise of SOS devices – satellite-synched gadgets that send a signal to rescue agencies when activated – give people bravado, Estrada says. “A lot of people carry these SOS devices and they think they can get into any trouble and they can get help,” he says, adding that he has seen more requests for assistance recently.

2023年February11日, Katharine Gammon, “A mountain of trouble? The draw – and danger – of California’s Mount Baldy”, 出自 The Guardian, →ISSN:

No doubt there is fear despite the bravado, but there is also no significant loss of Ukrainian military cohesion.

2023年April2日, Dan Sabbagh, Ed Ram, “Surrounded and outgunned, Ukraine’s tank crews prepare for battle of Bakhmut”, 出自 The Guardian, →ISSN:


bearing

源自中古英語 beringe、berynge、berende、berande、berand，源自古英語 berende (“结果实的”)（亦作古英語 bǣrende的同义词），源自原始日耳曼語 *berandz，原始日耳曼語 *beraną (“承载，拿着”)的现在分词，等价于bear + -ing。

拿着...的，承载着...的

a gift-bearing visitor

That's a bearing wall.


bearing

源自中古英語 bering、beringe、berynge，等价于bear + -ing。

现状，方向，自己的位置，自己的处境

get/find one's bearings

熟悉环境，了解自己的处境

lose one's bearing

迷失方向（字面义或比喻义）

Do we go left here or straight on? Hold on, let me just get my bearings.

这里该左拐还是直走？等下，我看看我们的位置。

I started a new job last week, and I still haven't quite found my bearings.

我上周刚入职，还不太清楚自己该干嘛。

That has no bearing on this issue.

She walks with a confident, self-assured bearing.

The little green men were clearly professional soldiers by their bearing, carried Russian weapons, and wore Russian combat fatigues, but they had no identifying insignia. Vladimir Putin originally denied they were Russian soldiers; that April, he confirmed they were.

2019年March18日, Steven Pifer, Five years after Crimea’s illegal annexation, the issue is no closer to resolution, The Center for International Security and Cooperation:

A lintel or beam may have four inches of bearing upon the wall.

楣或梁在墙上方能有四英寸的承载物。

The beam has twenty feet of bearing between its supports.

梁在支柱之间有十二英尺的距离。


planting

Take one of the plantings over as a house-warming gift.

將其中一株植物作為喬遷之禮。


boggle

变化或派生自bogle，可能与bug同源。

（使...）僵住，（使...）定住，（使...）退缩

The dogs went on, but the horse boggled at the sudden appearance of the strange beast.

那群狗继续向前冲，但是马看到突然出现的奇怪野兽僵住了。

The horror of the deed and its consequences boggle the imagination.

这种行为和它后果的可怕让想象停了下来。

He boggled at arranging for bread to be left daily at some place within easy walking distance, but let that go.

1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, Sydney: Ure Smith, 出版於 1962，頁號 18:

He boggled at the surprising news.

他听到了这个让人吃惊的消息愣住了。

The mind boggles.

[…] we start and boggle at what is unusual: and like the Fox in the fable at his first view of the Lyon, we cannot endure the sight of the Bug-bear, Novelty.

1661, Joseph Glanvill, The Vanity of Dogmatizing, London: Henry Eversden, Chapter 14, p. 131,

They are best qualified to thrive in [this world] […] whose designs all tend to their own private advantage, without any regard to the publick, or to the good of others; who can use any means conducible to such designs, bogling at nothing which serveth their purpose […]

1685, Isaac Barrow, Of Contentment, Patience and Resignation to the Will of God. Several Sermons, London: Brabazon Aylmer, Sermon 4, pp. 127-128,

From the tenour of your last letter however, I am led to imagine, that you have formed some new attachment.—If it be so, let me earnestly request you to see me once more, and immediately. This is the only proof I require of the friendship you profess for me. I will then decide, since you boggle about a mere form.

1795, Mary Wollstonecraft, letter to Gilbert Imlay dated 4 October, 1795, in Mary Wollstonecraft: Letters to Imlay, London: Kegan Paul, 1879, p. 182,

My imagination boggled at the punishment I would deserve […]

1969, Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, New York: Bantam, 1971, Chapter 15, p. 82,

使...困惑，使...迷惑

The vastness of space really boggles the mind.

宽敞的空间让人难以置信。

The oddities of quantum mechanics can boggle the minds of students and experienced physicists alike.

量子力学的奇异让学生们，也让经验丰富的物理学家们摸不着头脑。