| 释义 |
ˈdog-fight
1. A fight between dogs.
a1656Bp. Hall Rem. 61 (T.) To clap their hands, as boys are wont to do in dog-fights. 1879H. Spencer Data of Ethics xii. §80. 215 It needs but to ask whether men who delight in dog-fights may be expected to appreciate Beethoven's Adelaida.
2. transf. A general disturbance or mêlée; spec. a ‘scrap’ between aircraft.
1880‘Mark Twain’ Tramp Abroad II. 297 No information about prize fights or other dog fights, horse races, walking-matches..or other sporting matters. 1917Kipling Diversity of Creatures 208 The pitiless Whips were even then at the telephones to herd 'em up to another dog-fight. 1919A. E. Illingworth Fly Papers 79 The battle develops into a ‘dog-fight’, small groups of machines engaging each other in a fight to the death. 1928F. E. Baily Golden Vanity xiv. 201 No dividend, reserve fund wiped out, and a dog-fight at the annual general meeting. 1928C. F. S. Gamble N. Sea Air Station xxii. 400 It was decided that all flying-boats should have their hulls ‘dazzle-painted’..so that a pilot could, in a ‘dog-fight’, know at a glance who was in a particular machine. 1937C. Boff Boys' Book of Flying xvii. 190 Inevitably occasions arise in aerial warfare—as in a ‘dog-fight’, where several machines are milling together in whirling confusion. 1939Times 3 Nov. 8/6 During the dogfight the troops and others on the ground took cover, and the only damage done was one or two holes in the roofs of barns. 1958Economist 13 Dec. 967/1 Both employers and unions are to blame for the dogfight that at present passes for industrial relations at BOAC. 1970Globe & Mail (Toronto) 26 Sept. 35/6 On our performance so far, we're in a dogfight for fourth.
So dog-fighting. Hence dog-fight v. intr., to fight or ‘scrap’; also trans. (rare).
c1475Hunt. Hare 233 Sum seyd it was a beyr-beytyng, Sum seyd it was a dogg-feghttyng. 1670Evelyn Diary 16 June, Cock-fighting, dog-fighting, beare and bull baiting. 1929T. E. Lawrence Lett. (1938) 648, I live in barracks (i.e. we dog-fight promiscuously). 1934V. M. Yeates Winged Victory i. 17 It was too risky to stop and fight... Dog-fighting was an amusement for rather nearer home. Ibid. vi. 51 They would dive and zoom..but they would never dogfight Camels. 1941E. C. Shepherd Milit. Aeroplane 14 If the formation [of bombers] gets broken, the single machine may have to ‘take evasive action’, but it will not attempt to dogfight. |