| 释义 |
tight rope, ˈtight-rope, n.
Now freq. as one word. 1. A tightly stretched rope, wire, or wire cable, on which rope-dancers and acrobats perform feats of equilibristic skill. Also fig. (Contrasted with slack-rope.)
1801Strutt Sports & Past. iii. iv. (1810) 188 Tumbling and jumping through a hoop..and dancing upon the tight⁓rope. 1861Thackeray Four Georges iv. (1876) 105 A charming young Prince who danced deliciously on the tight-rope. 1934Essays & Stud. XIX. 123 He moves with complete security on the tight-rope of serio-comic wit. 1959Daily Tel. 30 Nov. 1 For 35 minutes the Deputy Leader balanced himself on a verbal tightrope which purported to bridge the awesome gap within the party. 1979Sci. Amer. Nov. 126/3 The nocturnal S. laevistriatus beetles are on an energy tightrope.
2. Comb., as tight-rope dancer, tight rope dancing, tight rope walk, tight rope walker, tight rope-walking vbl. n. and ppl. adj.
1824Advt. (Theatre-Royal, Worcester) in Henry Bristow Ltd. Catal. (1973) No. 205, The celebrated Mr. Wilson, the tight rope dancer. 1890Spectator 22 Nov. 729/2 An interview with a tight-rope dancer.
1800W. Dyott Diary July (1907) I. 138 Besides rural sports in the gardens, such as gipsies guying, lofty tumbling and tight-rope dancing. 1890Tight-rope-dancing [see billiard-playing s.v. billiards 2]. 1952R. Knox Hidden Stream vi. 55 We, in this tight-rope-walk business of trying to live our lives..want more than a metaphysical conviction that God exists.
1869Atlantic Monthly July 83/2 This tight-rope walker was one of the most exemplary domestic little bodies imaginable. 1910Encycl. Brit. IV. 77/1 Blondin (1824–1897), French tight⁓rope walker and acrobat. 1979R. Jaffe Class Reunion (1980) ii. xi. 287 When he was drunk he had a slow and precise quality, like a tightrope walker. 1982C. Castle Folies Bergère i. 24 Tightrope walkers, magicians and sleight-of-hand artists..attracted Parisians and tourists.
1958Spectator 30 May 675/1 Admiral Auboyneau, who had been doing some tightrope-walking of his own in the previous weeks, finally came out for the rebels. 1981Times Lit. Suppl. 3 Apr. 368/2 Ours is the age of heartless efficiency and tight-rope-walking virtuosity in music.
Hence ˈtight-rope v., intr. to perform on the tight-rope; trans. to walk along as if on a tight-rope.
1858A. Mayhew Paved with Gold ii. vii, A small..garden, intersected with gravel paths not broader than deal boards, which entailed balancing on those who tight-roped its walks. 1908Daily Chron. 1 Feb. 5/6 He has tumbled and tight-roped, slept under hedges, and accepted presents from reigning potentates. |