| 释义 |
▪ I. stew, n.1|stjuː|
Forms: 4 stuwe, (?) stuy, 4–7 stewe, stue, 5 stiewe, stwe, styuye, stywe, stywye, 5– stew.
[a. OF. estui (mod.F. étui case, sheath, also tub for keeping fish in a boat), verbal noun f. estuier to shut up, keep in reserve.
Godefroy has an instance (dated 1396) of OF. estui in the sense of the Eng. word, although he explains it wrongly.]
†1. In the phrase in stew [= OF. en estui], said of fish kept in confinement, to be ready for the table.
c1386Chaucer Prol. 350 Ful many a fat partrich hadde he in Muwe, And many a Breem, and many a luce in Stuwe. 14..Piers of Fullham in Hartshorne Anc. Metr. T. (1829) 119 They to fisshyng goon wyth envy,..And wayte in waraynes all the nyght,..To bribe and bere away the best. That soiourne and kept bien in stiewe For store that nothyng shulde hym remewe. 1573Tusser Husb. (1878) 33 Thy ponds renew, put eeles in stew, To leeue till Lent.
2. A pond or tank in which fish are kept until needed for the table.
1387in E.E. Wills (1882) 2 Þ⊇ sesterne þat longeþ to the stuys. 139.Earl Derby's Exped. (Camden) 74 Cuidam valetto custodienti le Stewe manerii Episcopi, vs. pr. c1400Pilgr. Sowle v. xiv. (1859) 80 The Apostles were the fysshers whiche that Crist found in this worldly see; whiche fisshes he putte in the stewe of his loued chirche. c1450Godstow Reg. 665 Stywys, dichis and briggis. 1539Act 31 Hen. VIII, c. 2 All manner of fisshinges with any nettes [etc.]..in any severall ponde stewe or mote withe an intent to steale fisshe out of the same. 1677Plot Oxfordsh. 234 A contrivance for Fish-ponds,..where the stews not only feed one another,..and may be sewed by letting the water of the upper Ponds out into the lower. 1755Cambridge in World No. 123 ⁋2 It would be a noble employment for the lovers of antiquity, to study to restore those infallible resources of luxury, the salt-water stews of the Romans. 1774T. West Antiq. Furness 95 Their mills, kilns, ovens, and stews for receiving their fish. 1862Ansted Channel Isl. ii. ix. (1865) 213 A somewhat remarkable natural stew or pond exists in Jersey, in the manor of St. Ouen. 1888Goode Amer. Fishes 24 The young fish may advantageously be confined in ‘stews’ or artificial enclosures.
†b. transf. A pond of any kind; also, a moat.
c1440Pallad. on Husb. i. 769 Let make a stewe With rayn watir, thyn herbis to renewe. 1592W. Wyrley Armorie, Capitall de Buz 139 This castle was inuirond with deep stew.
3. An artificial oyster-bed.
1610Holland Camden's Brit. (1637) 335 Oisters, (whereof there are many pits, or stewes). 1624Middleton Game Chess v. iii, He that inuented the first stewes, for Oysters, And other Sea-fish. 1817J. Evans Excurs. Windsor, etc. 452 At Colchester, Milton, &c., stews or layers of Oysters are formed in places which nature had never allotted for them. 1881Ingersoll Oyster-Industr. (Fish. Industr. U.S.) 249 Stew, an artificial bed of oysters. Applied to the old Roman, and also to the modern methods of fattening (English).
4. A breeding place for pheasants.
1888Cassell's Encycl. Dict.
5. attrib., as † stew-pool, stew-pond.
1623Althorp MS. in Simpkinson Washingtons (1860) App. p. l, To Martin 3 daies at the stue poole..00 02 02... To Browne 6 daies raming the stue poole heade..00 03 00. 1797Jane Austen Sense & Sens. xxx, There is a dovecote, some delightful stewponds, and a very pretty canal. 1865G. F. Berkeley Life & Recoll. II. 314 In a stew-pond you may tame a fish to a certain extent.
▪ II. stew, n.2|stjuː|
Forms: 4 stu, stuwe, stuyue, styue, 4–5 stwe, 5 stw, stywe, 4–6 stue, 4–7 stewe, 5 styewe, 6 stuue, pl. stuse, 6– stew.
[a. OF. estuve (mod.F. étuve), a Com. Romanic word, represented by Pr. estuba, Sp., Pg. estufa, It. stufa; the discrepant forms seem to proceed from the two vulgar Latin forms, stūpha (stūfa) and stūpa, both which are recorded in med.Latin. The ulterior etymology is obscure: some regard the word as a verbal noun f. a vulgar L. vb. *extūfāre, f. *tūfus (It. tufo) vapour, a. Gr. τῦϕος. Connexion of some kind no doubt exists between the Rom. word and the Teut. root *stuƀ- in OE. stuf-bæþ hot-air bath, stofa masc. bath (mod.Eng. stove n.), MDu. stove, mod.Du. stoof fem. stove, footwarmer, Du. stoven to stew, OHG. stuba fem. heated room, bath-room (MHG., mod.G. stube room), ON. stufa, stofa wk. fem. room with a fireplace (Sw. stufva, stuga cottage, Da. stue room).
The It. stufa was in the 17th c. adopted as stufe.]
I. A stove, heated room.
†1.
a. A vessel for boiling, a caldron. Obs.
c1305Land Cokaygne 109 Þe leuerokes..Liȝtiþ adun to man is muþ Idiȝt in stu ful swiþe wel Pudrid wiþ gilofre and canel. 1590Spenser F.Q. i. xi. 44 As burning Aetna from his boyling stew Doth belch out flames, and rockes in peeces broke. 1603Shakes. Meas. for M. v. 321 Here in Vienna, Where I haue seene corruption boyle and bubble, Till it ore-run the Stew.
†b. A furnace for heating rooms by flues. Obs.
1688Holme Armoury iii. 424/1 A Stew or Stove... This is a thing by which Rooms are made warm, for Sick and Crazy Bodies, which cannot approach near a Fire.
†2.
a. A heated room; a room with a fireplace.
c1374Chaucer Troylus iii. 601 Troylus..myght it se Thurgh out a lytel wyndowe in a stuwe, Ther he by-shet syn myd⁓nyght was [in] mewe. c1400Mandeville (1839) xi. 131 It fresethe more strongly in tho Contrees than on this half; and therfore hathe every man Stewes in his Hous, and in tho Stewes thei eten and don here Occupatiouns. 1572R. H. tr. Lavater's Gosts & Spir. (1596) 165 They heard a knife falling from the upper part, or flore of the stewe, wherein they were, yet sawe they nothing.
†b. ‘A hatter's drying room.’ Obs. or spurious; the F. étuve has this sense.
1847Halliwell.
3. A heated room used for hot air or vapour baths: hence, a hot bath. Obs. exc. Hist. or arch.
1390Gower Conf. III. 291 The bathes and the stwes bothe Thei schetten in be every weie. c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 192 His bodi schal be wel frotid in þe baþ ouþer in a stewe. c1440Promp. Parv. 481/1 Stwe, bathe, stupha, terme. 1460–70Bk. Quintessence 16 Þe paralitik man schal be hool..if ȝe make him a stewe hoot and moist with herbis, þat is to seye, eerbe yue [etc.]. c1483Caxton Dialogues 42 Natalye the wyf of the stewes Kepeth a good styewe,..They goon thedyr to be stewed Alle the strangers. 1540–1Elyot Image Gov. 84 After his exercise..he entred into a baine or stew not hotte, where he taried sometyme by the space of one houre. c1550H. Lloyd Treas. Health lxiii. (Copland) U ij, Then put the pacient in a stewe or hote house. 1648Gage West Ind. 142 There is scarce any house which hath not also in the yard a stew, wherein they bath themselves with hot water. 1656W. Dugard Comenius' Gate Lat. Unl. §467. 135 Being entred into a stew or hot⁓hous, we get up into the sweating-tub, and draw out the sweat. 1799Tooke View Russian Emp. I. 357 A messuage consists of a dwelling-house, a few little store-rooms, stables, and a stew or hot-bath, by which the yard is inclosed. c1800Canning Poet Wks. (1827) 39 Oh! where is the great Doctor Dominicetti, With his stews and his flues, and his vapours to sweat ye? 1809A. Henry Trav. 301 Stews, sudatories, or sweating-houses, are resorted to for cure of sickness, for pleasure, or [etc.]. 1855Dunglison Med. Lex., Stove..is used for drying various substances, as plants, extracts, conserves, &c. or for taking vapour baths. In this case the stew or stove is said to be wet or humid; in the opposite case, it is said to be dry. 1865Pall Mall Gaz. 23 Sept. 6/2 Above the vaults the original Turkish bath, or ‘stew,’ remains in good preservation.
4. A brothel. (Developed from sense 3, on account of the frequent use of the public hot-air bath-houses for immoral purposes. Cf. bagnio.)
a. In plural (chiefly collect.; sometimes, a quarter occupied by houses of ill-fame).
1362Langl. P. Pl. A. vii. 65 Iacke þe Iogelour And Ionete of þe stuyues. c1386Chaucer Friar's T. 34 So been wommen of the styves,..yput out of my cure. 1436Rolls of Parlt. IV. 511/1 No person that had dwelled at the comone Stywes. c1450J. Capgrave St. Aug. vi. 8 He used tauernes and stewis and swech sory gouernauns as [etc.]. c1460Towneley Myst. xxx. 350 Ye Ianettys of the stewys, and lychoures on lofte. c1520Skelton Magnyf. 1226 Some of them renneth strayght to the stuse. 1550Crowley Epigr. 281 The bawdes of the stues be turned all out. 1581G. Pettie tr. Guazzo's Civ. Conv. ii. (1586) 90 b, Many Gentlemen..thinke it no lesse shame to be seene in y⊇ companie of y⊇ baser sort, than to be taken in the common stewes. 1593Nashe Christ's T. 77 London, what are thy Suburbes but licensed Stewes? 1621Burton Anat. Mel. iii. ii. ii. i. (1624) 367 In Italy and Spaine, they haue their stewes in every great Citty. 1655Fuller Ch. Hist. v. 239 At this time also, by the King's command, were the Stewes suppressed. 1681[D'Urfey] Progr. Honesty iv. 4 Tickets from the Beldame of the Stews. 1709Steele Tatler No. 33 ⁋9 All Affectation by any other Arts to please the Eyes of Men, would be banished to the Stews for ever. 1791Boswell Johnson an. 1776, 5 Apr., He strongly censured the licensed stews at Rome. 1838Dickens O. Twist xl, Among the most noisome of the stews and dens of London. 1865J. Hatton Bitter Sweets xxxvi, He frequented the dens and fashionable stews of the metropolis. 1873Dixon Two Queens iii. i. I. 118 Their ranks were filled by rogues and scare-crows from the styes and stews.
fig.1657Trapp Comm. Job iv. 13. II. 43 Carnall hearts are..stewes of unclean thoughts.
¶ Erroneous explanation.
1836S. Cooper Pract. Surg. (ed. 6) 332 (Cassell) In the borough of Southwark..there were places called stews, where prostitutes were confined, and received the benefits of surgical assistance. 1888Cassell's Encycl. Dict., Stew..an early form of lock hospital.
†b. in plural form construed as sing. Obs.
1530Tindale Answ. More iv. ii. Wks. (1573) 320/1 His setting vp in Rome a stues not of women onely, but of the male kynde also agaynst nature, and a thousand abhominations to grosse for a Turke, are tokens good inough that he is y⊇ right Antichrist. 1572R. T. Discourse 33 b, Hee deflowred Maydes and straungers: made Lateranense (that holy Pallace) a Stewes, and brothall house. 1611Cotgr., Huleu, the name of a Stewes in Paris. 1632Lithgow Trav. ix. 406 A playne Stewes or Brothel house. 1650W. Brough Sacr. Princ. (1659) 230 Lasciviousness..is sacrilegiously to make the Body (God's Temple) a Stewes. 1691d'Emiliane's Frauds Rom. Monks 61 A Monk..very scandalously kept a publick Stews.
†c. in sing. Obs.
c1384Chaucer H. Fame 26 By abstinence, or by sekenesse, Prison, stewe, or grete distresse. 1554Bale Declar. Bonner's Articles 43 Hys house was nothing elles but a common stewe. 1611Shakes. Cymb. i. vi. 152 To Mart As in a Romish Stew. 1634Canne Necess. Separ. (1849) 145 For the glory of God, that it may appear his house to be no cage of unclean birds, no sty of swine, no den of thieves, no stew or brothel-house. 1640Depos. 5 Mar. in Glouc. Dioc. Reg., The breeding of the said Judith Ansley was noe better then in a Stewe or whorehouse. 1790Bystander 373 Father and son may, with propriety, be seen together at the same stew. 1809Kendall Trav. I. xiii. 155 Dost thou suppose, villain, I am acquainted with bad houses? What dost thou want of a stew?
†d. (sing. and pl.) A bawd or prostitute. Obs.
1552Huloet, Stew, bavde, or marchaunt of whores, leno. 1578Whetstone 1st Pt. Promos & Cass. iv. iii, Shall Cassandra now be termed, in common speeche, a stewes? 1639Mayne City Match v. v, I have matcht a Stewes; The notedst woman oth' Towne. 1650Sir A. Weldon Crt. King James 146 Instead of that beauty he had a notorious Stew sent him.
II. Senses derived from stew v.2
5. a. A preparation of meat slowly boiled in a stew-pan, generally containing vegetables, rice, etc.
1756M. Calderwood in Coltness Collect. (Maitl. Club) 252 They can dress..upon this stove, a roast, a boill, a fry, a stew and a bake. 1817Byron Beppo vii, Because they have no sauces to their stews. 1840Dickens Old C. Shop xviii, It's a stew of tripe..and cow-heel..and bacon..and peas, cauliflowers, new potatoes, and sparrow-grass, all working up together in one delicious gravy. 1873‘Ouida’ Pascarel I. 53 Mariuccia poured her stew into a dish.
fig.1859Dickens T. Two Cities ii. iv, The last sediment of the human stew that had been boiling there all day.
b. Irish stew: a dish composed of pieces of mutton, potatoes, and onions stewed together.
1814Byron Devil's Drive i, The Devil..dined on..a rebel or so in an Irish stew. 1826in Sheridaniana 253 An Irish stew was that on which he particularly plumed himself. 1891Spectator 14 Nov. 669/2 A recipe for Irish stew.
6. A state of excitement, esp. of great alarm or anxiety.
1806J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life i. Introd., Our perplexities and alarms, at which they presume to sneer under the nick-names of rubs, bores, stews, takings, &c. 1809Lady Lyttelton Corr. (1912) 85 Poor Mr. Allen is in a stew about his sermon. 1817–8Cobbett Resid. U.S. (1822) 18 What a stew a man would be in, in England, if he had his grain lying about out of doors in this way! 1825Brockett N.C. Gloss. s.v., In a sad stew, in a state of great perplexity. 1849E. E. Napier Excurs. S. Africa II. 248 As you may readily fancy, I was all the time in a most confounded stew, lest the tender, pulpy branches should give way. 1884Sword & Trowel Jan. 41 As to France..she is in an everlasting stew.
7. colloq. A state of being overheated or bathed in perspiration. Cf. stew v. 3 a, d.
1892A. M. Fairbairn in W. B. Selbie Life (1914) ix. 330, I never was in such a stew, as it were confined in a stove within stoves. 1911Webster.
III. 8. attrib., as (sense 2) † stew-door; (sense 4) † stew-holder, stew instructed adj.; (sense 5) stewgravy, stew-jar; also stew-bum U.S. slang, a tramp, spec. one who is habitually drunk (cf. bum n.4 1). † stew-hole, a hole in the floor of a kitchen to serve as a cooking fireplace; † stew-side, a quarter occupied by stews or brothels; stew-stove, a cooking stove. Also stew-house.
1902Bookman (N.Y.) Aug. 541/2 The dictum of the ordinary tramp (the ‘gay-cat’ and *stew-bum). 1918[see dingbat 1]. 1952B. Harwin Home is Upriver xiii. 127 How come you to be a drunk damn' stew-bum when I found you?
1922Joyce Ulysses 167 Scoffing up *stewgravy with sopping sippets of bread.
c1374Chaucer Troylus iii. 698 He..gan þe *stewe dore al soft vn-pynne.
c1430in Phil. Trans. XXX. 842 That no *Stew-holder keep noo Woman wythin his Hous that hath any Sycknesse of Brenning. 1598Stow Surv. 331 In a Parliament holden at Westminster the 8. of Henry the second, it was ordayned..That no stewholder or his wife should let or stay any single woman to go and come freely at all times.
1780Young Tour Irel. I. 100 The *stew hole in his kitchen.
1633Ford Love's Sacrif. iv. i, Her *stewe⁓instructed Art.
1913D. H. Lawrence Sons & Lovers 79 The *stew-jar was in the oven.
1552Huloet, *Stewside or place for whores, suburrana regio.
1727[E. Dorrington] Philip Quarll (1816) 56 He cut a hole in the ground.., after the manner of *stew-stoves in noblemen's kitchens.
▪ III. stew, n.3 Sc. and north.|stjuː|
[Of obscure etymology.
The sense history of stew n.2 and the related vb. seems to exclude the possibility of connexion with those words. From the similarity of sense, the word has been supposed to be cognate with (M)Du., LG. stof, OHG. stoup (mod.G. staub), Da. støv, dust; but the phonological possibility of this has not been shown.]
Suffocating vapour, stench, or clouds of dust.
1375Barbour Bruce xi. 614 Sic ane stew raiss owth thame then Of aynding, bath of hors and men. 1513Douglas æneis ii. x. 88 With stew, puldir, and dust mixt on this wise. 1571H. Charteris Lyndesay's Wks. Pref. A iv b, Fra that fyre rais sic ane stew, quhilk struik sic sturt to thair stomokis, that thay rewit it euer efter. 1781J. Hutton Tour to Caves (ed. 2) Gloss. 96 Stew, when the air is full of dust, smoke, or steam. 1828Carr Craven Gloss., Stew, vapour, dust, an offensive smell. 1867Goodwife at Home xxiv. 9, I fear ye'll sconfice wi' the reek, An a' the stoor an' stew.
▪ IV. stew, n.4|stuː, stjuː|
U.S. colloq. abbrev. of stewardess c.
1970D. Harper Hijacked (1971) 23 If a stew flies five years, she'll keep on as long as the company lets her. 1975B. Meggs Matter of Paradise (1976) v. iii. 122 She had been with Pan Am herself as a ‘stew’. 1979S. Barlay Crash Course i. 6 I'm Mara. I used to be a stew myself.
▪ V. † stew, v.1 Obs.
Also 3 steowien.
[Early ME. steowi, stewe (the compound wiðstewe occurs c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 15), perh. repr. OE. *steowan:—WGer. *stawwjan (3 sing. *stawiþ), whence MLG., MHG. stöuwen, stauwen to check, restrain, hinder, mod.G. stauen to dam up.]
trans. To check, restrain.
c1205Lay. 6266 And he sette stronge lawen to steowien his folke. a1225Leg. Kath. 374 Stille beo þu þenne & stew swuche wordes. Ibid. 658 Meistre ham swa þt ha beon mid alle istewet & stille. Ibid. 1529 Stew þe, & stille þine wordes. c1250Prayer to our Lady 34 in O.E. Misc. 193 Moder ful of milce..læte me steowi mi flesc. a1400Morte Arth. 1489 Thay..alle stewede wyth strenghe, that stode theme agaynes. c1400Sege Jerus. 48/841 (E.E.T.S.) Waspasian stynteþ of þe stour, steweþ his burnes, Þat wer for-beten & bled.
▪ VI. stew, v.2|stjuː|
Forms: 5 stiwe, stuwe, stewyn, stuwyn, stuyn, 5–6 stewe, 5–7 stue, 5– stew. pa. pple. 5 stewid, -yde, y-stwyde, -yed, 6 stuyd, 7 stewd.
[a. OF. estuver (mod.F. étuver), related to estuve stew n.2 Cf. Pr. estubar, Sp., Pg. estufar, It. stufare.]
†1. trans. To bathe in a hot bath or a vapour bath.
c1400tr. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh. 69 Aftir þat stewe þe with stewynge couenable to þe tyme, for þat mekyl profytes. c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 192 At morowe he schal be stewid, and whanne he swetiþ his bodi schal be frotid wiþ vinegre. c1430Pilgr. Lyf Manhode ii. xxxii. (1869) 87 Oon day thou chaufest him the bath, and sithe stiwest [orig. estuues] him. c1440Gesta Rom. (Addit. MS.) lxv. 381 Then seide the precidente, ‘steweth hyme, ande than shalle he speke’. c1440Promp. Parv. 481/2 Stuwyn menn, or bathyn (v.r. stuyn in a stw), balneo. a1533Ld. Berners Huon cxlv. 543 And the lady had iiii ladyes to serue her and she was baynyd and stuyd, and aparaylyd. 1541Copland Guydon's Form. X iij b, It were behouefull to bath or stewe the membre with the infusyon of a pyece of yren. 1599A. M. tr. Gabelhouer's Bk. Physicke 2/1 For ach in the heade. Seeth Wormewoode in water... Some there are which boyle the same in vinegar, and soe stue therwithe their head. 1665Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1677) 39 The sweat dropt from us no otherwise than if we had been stew'd in Stoves or hot Baths.
2. Cooking.
a. trans. To boil slowly in a close vessel; to cook (meat, fruit, etc.) in a liquid kept at the simmering-point.
c1420Liber Cocorum (1862) 14 Stue thy peions thus thou schalle. c1430Two Cookery-bks. i. 9 Pertrich stewyde. Ibid., Smale Byrdys y-stwyde. c1440Promp. Parv. 481/2 Stuwyn mete (v.r. stuyn) stupho. 1530Palsgr. 735/2, I stewe wardens, or any frutes, or meates, je esteuue. 1594Gd. Huswifes Handmaid Kitchin 15 b, To stue a Neates foote. 1598Shakes. Merry W. iii. v. 121 And in the height of this Bath when I was more then halfe stew'd in grease (like a Dutch-dish) to be throwne into the Thames. 1606― Ant. & Cl. ii. v. 65 Thou shalt be whipt with Wyer, and stew'd in brine. 1632Sherwood, To stew meate, cuire, ou bouillir la chair entre deux plats. 1669Sir K. Digby's Closet opened 178 To stew a Breast of Veal. 1688Holme Armoury iii. 82/2 To Hash is to stew any Meat that is cold. 1769Mrs. Raffald Engl. Housekpr. (1805) 121 To stew a Turkey brown. c1770H. Glasse Compl. Confectioner 22 Pour it on your pippins, and stew them till they are quite tender. 1816Tuckey Narr. Exped. R. Zaire iii. (1818) 122 Earthen pots..in which they boil or stew their meats. 1828Scott F.M. Perth xxviii, Pits, wrought in the hill-side and lined with heated stones, served for stewing immense quantities of beef, mutton, and venison. 1873‘Ouida’ Pascarel II. 6 We saw the food stewed and fried ere it came to us.
b. intr. Of meat, fruit, etc.: To undergo stewing; to be cooked by slow boiling in a closed vessel. Also (of an infusion of tea, etc.), to ‘stand’ on the leaves, etc. Also transf., of the pot containing it.
1594Gd. Huswifes Handmaid Kitchin 1 Let them [Turneps, etc.] stew till they be verie tender. 1701Compl. Caterer 79 Let them all Stew well together. c1770H. Glasse Compl. Confectioner 25 Let them [pears] stew over a slow fire for half an hour. 1842Loudon Suburban Hort. 548 Catillac [pear]... Large, broadly turbinate, brownish-yellow, and red, stews a good colour. 1906Rep. Brit. Assoc. Adv. Sci. 783 There is found in tea and coffee an astringent substance which gives the well-known bitter taste to the infusions when they are allowed to ‘stew’. 1942R.A.F. Jrnl. 3 Oct. 25 An imposing enamel teapot stands on top, quietly stewing. 1979W. H. Canaway Solid Gold Buddha xxiv. 158 The tea stewed for fifteen minutes or so.
c. In fig. phrases, with the sense: To be left to suffer the natural consequences of one's own actions; as to leave to (or let) stew in one's own juice. Cf. fry v.1 3, and F. cuire dans son jus. Also in the senses: To be left to one's own devices, to be kept in a state of uneasy suspense, and ellipt., as to leave (one) to stew, to let (one) stew.
1656Earl of Monmouth tr. Boccalini's Advts. Parnass. ii. liii. (1674) 204 [He] could not better discover Hypocrites, than by suffering them (like Oysters) to stew in their own water. 1885Times 21 May 8/3, I have held that it would be possible..with some reservations, to allow the Soudan to ‘stew in its own grease’. 1885Sir W. Harcourt Sp. at Lowestoft 14 Dec., Liberals must not be in a hurry to turn the Tories out. He would let them for a few months stew in their own Parnellite juice. 1901Scotsman 7 Mar. 7/4 Abyssinian soldiers are to be withdrawn, and the Tigreans are to be left to stew in their own juice. 1921Galsworthy To Let ii. vii. 184 ‘Please don't let me bother you if you've got people.’ ‘Not at all... I want to let them stew in their own juice for a bit.’ 1928W. S. Maugham Ashenden vii. 116, I left her to stew in her own juice for a week before I went to see her. She was in a very pretty state of nerves by then. 1934‘G. Orwell’ Burmese Days ii. 38 Office babus are the real rulers of this country now... Best thing we can do is to shut up shop and let 'em stew in their own juice. 1961B. Fergusson Watery Maze xv. 378 The Japanese in Tenasserim could safely be left to stew in their own juice once we had Rangoon. 1976W. Greatorex Crossover 182 ‘It was me,’ Calder said. ‘I made up the story.’ Calder let them stew in the silence. 1980Church Times 3 Oct. 9/2 After letting us stew for three months, the Lord served up a miracle in the form of a perfect house for us in Berkeley.
3. transf.
†a. trans. To bathe in perspiration.
1605Shakes. Lear ii. iv. 31 Came there a reeking Poste, Stew'd in his haste, halfe breathlesse, painting forth From Gonerill his Mistris, salutations. 1620J. Taylor (Water P.) Praise Hemp-seed (1623) 31 Drencht with the swassing waues, and stewd in sweat. 1673R. Head Canting Acad. 133 The expectation of..punishment had stew'd him in a cold sweat. 1686tr. Chardin's Trav. Persia 226 We did not feel the Coldness of the Weather: For the Crowd of People..almost stew'd us before we got out. 1687A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. ii. 49 We encamped close by this Castle, all scorched with the Sun, and stewed in Sweat.
†b. fig. To soak, steep, imbue. Obs.
1602Shakes. Ham. iii. iv. 93 To liue In the ranke sweat of an enseamed bed, Stew'd in corruption. c1630Quarles Solomons Recant. Solil. ii, Wks. (Grosart) II. 174/2 Stue thy heart in mirth, And crush the childe of sorrow in her birth. 1635Brome Sparagus Gard. v. xiii, His conscience is stewd in Bribes. 1822Hazlitt Table-t. Ser. ii. (1869) 223 An opinion is vulgar that is stewed in the rank breath of the rabble.
c. To confine in close or ill-ventilated quarters. Chiefly with up.
1590Greene Mourn. Garm. (1616) 5 If Aristotle had still, like a Micher, been stewed vp in Stagyra, he had neuer written his workes. 1698Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 92 The Rich Banyans..stew themselves out of a penurious humour, crowding Three or Four Families together into a Hovel. 1714Macky Journ. Eng. (1729) II. 38 Formerly the Country Ladies were stewed up in their Fathers old Mansion Houses, and seldom saw Company. 1812Sir J. Sinclair Syst. Husb. Scot. i. 17 Cattle suffer much from being huddled together, and stewed close up in a low-roofed cow-house in winter.
d. intr. To stay excessively long in bed. Also, to remain in a heated or stifling atmosphere; hence slang, to study hard.
1671Tuke Adv. Five Hours i. (ed. 3) 15 Sir, they have certain Niches in their Walls, Where they climb up a Nights, and there they stew, In their own Grease, till Morning. 1705Vanbrugh Confederacy ii. i, Abroad, abroad, abroad already? why, she uses to be stewing in her bed three hours after this time. 1832Warren Diary Late Physic. II. iv. 219 What a gloomy man that Dr. ― is..! he keeps one stewing in bed for a week, if one has but a common cold. 1866Routledge's Ev. Boy's Ann. 706 Cooper was stewing over his books. 1870M. Bridgman R. Lynne I. vi. 81 The sea-breezes will freshen me up, after stewing in this hole. 1897M. Kingsley W. Africa 576, I had been stewing for nine months and more in tropic and equatorial swamps. 1906Westm. Gaz. 17 Sept. 4/1 Should the charms of his book lure him to sleep,..the string tied to his tuft of hair would instantly remind him of the..necessity to ‘stew’ for the ensuing examination.
e. To fret; to suffer anxiety or suspense; to be in an agitated state.
1917S. Lewis Innocents xviii. 208, I was suspicious of these fellows that are always petting and stewing over their wives in public. 1930E. B. White Lett. (1976) 91 White has been stewing around for two days now, a little bit worried. 1932‘A. Bridge’ Peking Picnic iii. 31 He seemed to be stewing, so I told him to come over and have a cocktail later on. 1949E. Pound Pisan Cantos lxxx. 92 Stewing with rage Concerning the landlady's doings with a lodger unnamed. 1956W. H. Whyte Organization Man x. 129 They don't want a man to fret and stew about his work. 1974R. Harris Double Snare xviii. 133, I wouldn't let them go to life imprisonment... Why shouldn't they stew a little? 1979Tucson Mag. Mar. 23/1 City planners don't just sit around and stew over traffic congestion.
▪ VII. stew, v.3 Sc.
Also 9 steuch.
[f. stew n.3]
intr. To stink, emit a stench.
1563Winȝet tr. Vincent. Lirin. xxxi. Wks. (S.T.S.) II. 64 Thai knaw thair stink to na man almaist haistelie to be plesand, gif it stewit and reikit out naikit and plane. 1891J. J. H. Burgess Rasmie's Büddie 63 Da stink o brimstin in a bizz Cam steuchin but. |