| 释义 |
Dunkirk
1. |ˈdʌnkɜːk| Name of a town on the coast of French Flanders; hence, a privateer vessel of that town. Also transf. and fig.
1602Dekker Satirom. Wks. 1873 I. 200 Ile march through thy dunkirkes guts for shooting jestes at me. 1607T. Walkington Opt. Glass 89 Like to roving Dunkirkes, or robbing pyrats. a1625Fletcher Elder Bro. iv. ii, Quite shot through 'tween Wind and Water by a she-Dunkirk. 1629Churchw. Acc. Kirton-in-Lindsey in Antiquary (1888) Dec. 21 A trawler..that was taken with Dunkerkes. 1888Athenæum 17 Mar. 335/1 Of persons robbed on the sea by Dunkirks we have several examples [in the Doncaster records].
2. |dʌnˈkɜːk|. The (scene of the) evacuation of the British forces from Dunkirk between 29 May and 3 June 1940; hence used allusively for any similar withdrawal, crisis, etc.; so to do a Dunkirk, to make such a withdrawal. Also attrib., esp. in Dunkirk spirit.
1941Time 9 June 9/2 In far too many items we are still lagging behind and..there may well be more Dunkirks. 1941New Statesman 20 Sept. 275/1 America can look for no Dunkirk To underline the warnings Presidential. 1943Hutchinson's Pict. Hist. of War 4 Aug.-26 Oct. 21/2 Evacuation of some of the enemy's forces, harassed by allied aircraft and naval units, has already begun, but it remains to be seen how successful this minor ‘Dunkirk’ will be. 1944Amer. Speech XIX. 278, I have heard ‘to do a Dunkirk’. 1948Hansard Commons 28 Mar. 2853 He asked me to bring about what he called a ‘Dunkirk evacuation’ of Palestine. 1955Times 8 Aug. 3/3 The Navy had saved the situation, and Dunkirk had become ‘D’ Day. 1956J. Christopher Death of Grass vii. 113 If the country only shows the Dunkirk spirit, we can pull through. 1961Listener 19 Oct. 589/1 The Dunkirk spirit of only starting to try hard when it becomes really necessary is deeply ingrained in the British character. 1961H. Wilson in C. Booker Neophiliacs (1969) ix. 249, I myself have always deprecated..appeals to the Dunkirk spirit as an answer to our problems. 1969Guardian 18 July 20/8 The Church of England faces ‘an ecclesiastical Dunkirk’ unless it recognises the contribution young people can make. |