| 释义 |
stiffener|ˈstɪf(ə)nə(r)|
[f. stiffen v. + -er1.]
1. A workman who stiffens (cloth, hats, etc.).
1696MSS. Ho. Lords (N.S.) II. 245 Petition of the Glazers and Buckram Stiffeners. 1892Labour Commission Gloss., Stiffener, the person who, after the hat has been sewn, applies to it a stiffening of gelatine to make it firm and to allow it to be properly fitted to the required shape. 1915Morn. Post 20 Dec. 9/4 Manglers and stiffeners, beetlers, driers and stovers.
2. a. Something serving to stiffen; spec. a card, such as a cigarette card, used to stiffen a packet, envelope, etc.
1842Civil Engin. & Arch. Jrnl. V. 363/2 The truss acting only in this capacity of a stiffener to the rib. 1847Brandon Anal. Goth. Archit. 101 That [metalwork] which is spread over the doors of the Chapter House at York, is merely used as a stiffener. 1859R. F. Burton Centr. Afr. in Jrnl. Geog. Soc. XXIX. 133 A stout lath is fastened as a stiffener to the shield lengthwise. 1871Earle Philol. Eng. Tongue 557 Metre acts as a sort of stiffener to the rhythm. 1883Glasg. Weekly Herald 8 Sept. 3/3 As a stiffener of fabrics algin is better than starch. 1889Welch Text Bk. Naval Archit. x. 118 The smaller bulkheads..have vertical angle-bar stiffeners 2 feet apart. 1926Chambers's Jrnl. 10 July 497/2 ‘Stiffener’, the name by which the cigarette-card has always been, and still is, known in the trade. 1967A. Davis Package & Print 55 Cigarette cards..were originally intended as stiffeners (and always known in the trade by this name). The first printed stiffeners were produced in America in 1879. 1971D. Potter Brit. Eliz. Stamps x. 114 As an added attraction they include a stiffener—a card which reduces damage to the envelope in transit—with informative technical and background data.
b. A band of stiff material worn round the neck to keep a neck-cloth in place. Obs.
1818Blackw. Mag. III. 404 No patent stiffeners,—no erect shirt collars. 1866Geo. Eliot F. Holt xvi, Other anomalies now obsolete, besides short-waisted coats and broad stiffeners. 1876Remin. Old Draper 157 Stiffeners were sold of various degrees of height, to suit either a long-necked or a short-necked man.
3. A fortifying or reviving drink, spec. an alcoholic one. slang.
1928D. L. Sayers Unpleasantness at Bellona Club ii. 12 Dick Challoner..took the gasping Fentiman away into the deserted library for a stiffener. 1973G. Mitchell Murder of Busy Lizzie xiv. 161 I'll buy you a stiffener in the bar. 1978J. Pudney Thank Goodness for Cake 128 Another visit to the loo for a stiffener... There are always drinks on the way home. |