释义 |
▪ I. tired, ppl. a.1|taɪəd| [f. tire v.1 + -ed1.] 1. Weakened or exhausted by exertion, etc.; fatigued, wearied; also, sick or weary of, impatient with (something); slang, habitually disinclined to exertion, incorrigibly lazy. a. in the predicate. Also in slang phr. to make (someone) tired (orig. U.S.): to get on the nerves of, irritate.
a1400–50[see tire v.1 5]. c1470Henry Wallace iv. 28 The hors was tyryt, and mycht no forthyr pas. 1523Fitzherb. Husb. §15 The horses..wyll soone be tyred, and sore beate, that they may not drawe. a1550Freiris of Berwik 257 in Dunbar's Poems (S.T.S.) 294, I am verry tyrit, wett and cauld. 1562Turner Herbal ii. 32 b, Medicines which refreshe them that are wery or tyrede. 1573Nottingham Rec. IV. 150 A horse that wase leafte ther tyard. 1590Shakes. Com. Err. iv. iii. 24 The man, sir, that when gentlemen are tired giues them a sob, and rests them. 1704F. Fuller Med. Gymn. (1711) 29 Thro' the greatness of the Perspiration they grow tyr'd. 1782Cowper Gilpin xxxvii, ‘The dinner waits, and we are tired:’ said Gilpin— ‘So am I!’ 1852Mrs. Carlyle Lett. (1883) II. 196, I am very tired; and the tireder I am, the less I sleep. c1883C. H. Hoyt Bunch of Keys i, in America's Lost Plays (1941) IX. 13 That makes me tired! 1888‘J. S. Winter’ Bootle's Childr. vii, I got tired out with him at last. 1897Westm. Gaz. 15 Apr. 2/3 He ‘lived nowhere, did nothing, and, in fact, he was born tired’, was what he told the inspector when he was arrested, and it was a graphic summary of a worthless life. 1904S. E. White Blazed Trail Stories iv. 65 Such talk made Daly tired, and he said so. 1925W. J. Locke Great Pandolfo xiii. 172 ‘Women like you,’ said Myrtilla a trifle sourly, ‘make me tired.’ 1950‘P. Woodruff’ Island of Chamba viii. 124 They make me tired... Things are bound to get worse. b. in attrib. use.
1508Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen 176 Was neuer sugeorne wer set na on that snaill tyrit. 1581A. Hall Iliad viii. 138 Thy chare, thy driuer, and thy seate, a tiered countenaunce shew. 1672Marvell Reh. Transp. i. 129 The tyred Magistrates asked them, whether they had not Halters. 1746–7Hervey Medit. (1818) 211 The tired shepherd has imposed silence on his pipe. 1871J. O. Brookfield Influence II. 74 Nothing is more delicious than the atmosphere of a country house to a tired-out Londoner in the month of August. c. tired Tim (or tired Timothy), usu. associated with weary Willie: the names of two tramps, characters in the comic magazine Illustrated Chips; hence both used as nicknames for tramps or other work-shy people. Also attrib.
1906Daily Chron. 15 Feb. 3/5 Heroes of the Tired Timothy stamp. 1927W. E. Collinson Contemp. Eng. 27 Comic papers..brought home to us the picturesque language of Weary Willy and Tired Tim (the genial tramps—whence these words are frequently used as appellatives for ‘tramps’ in general). 1930H. Herd Diagnosis of Mental Deficiency 10 Mental defectives are the ‘weary Willies and tired Tims’ par excellence. 1932W. S. Churchill Let. 6 Feb. in Ld. Boothby Recoll. Rebel (1978) vi. 86 These two old tired Tims of the Commons have ceased to command my allegiance. 1972J. Porter Meddler & her Murder xii. 157 With Miss Jones in..her Tired-Tim-and-Weary-Willie mood, there was no temptation to linger. d. the tired business man: a cliché, often used with satirical allusion to the short working hours and pleasure-loving habits popularly ascribed to business men. The phrase is said to have been used by Mark Twain in 1896.
1913Vanity Fair Nov. 37/2 ‘I mean simply this, my dear,’ replied the Tired Business Man. 1927A. Huxley Proper Studies 186 From the fetish-worshipper to the metaphysician, from the tired business man to the mystic..every type of human being can find in Catholicism the spiritual nourishment which he or she requires. 1940I. Brown in Best One-Act Plays of 1939 141 Oh, how I've longed to be a Tired Business Man once more—office at ten, out at twelve-thirty, back at three, sign the letters, off home! 1969Listener 20 Mar. 399/1 We often use the cliché of the tired businessman to define the low response..that sustains leg-shows. 2. transf. and fig. Worked out, exhausted, used up; in quot. a 1548, exhausting. Also, of language, literature, etc.: hackneyed, trite.
a1548Hall Chron., Hen. V 49 In a long fight and tyred battaile. 1748Richardson Clarissa VI. 64, I must here lay down my tired pen! 1766Museum Rust. VI. 440 When the upper stratum is tired and foul, the owner may..turn down the worn-out soil. 1899Times 16 June 4/1 The Paris, to use an expressive Americanism, was a tired ship. Ibid. 4/2 The fact that the Paris was a tired ship was one result of the continual striving for records and averages. 1951Chambers's Jrnl. Sept. 521/1 The start of the paper was promising enough, for Greenwood collected a group of writers around him equal to deserving that tired word ‘brilliant’. 1956Sat. Rev. (U.S.) 30 June 34/1 It [sc. a book] is (to use a tired phrase) history made interesting. 1966Listener 28 Apr. 630/3 The Pipeline..turned out to be as tired and cliché-ridden a spy story as any I have heard. b. Of food, flowers, etc.: limp with long exposure, no longer fresh. Of clothes: crumpled, shapeless, or baggy with long wear.
1897Daily News 28 July 8/4 The muslin gowns begin to look more than a little tired. 1909Daily Chron. 3 May 4/7 Colour and shape remind one of a tired cabbage leaf. 1933N. & Q. 26 Aug. 130/1 Today people speak of stale vegetables or fruits as ‘tired’. 1934E. Bowen Cat Jumps 252 Tired dance dresses. 1947H. Nicolson Diary 9 May (1968) 97 The spring-garden has lost its early bloom... The primroses are looking a trifle tired. 1958Spectator 15 Aug. 222/1 The last batch of eggs I got from the local grocer turned out to be very tired. 1963Times 11 June 10/6 In the present heat, merchants are reluctant to pay high prices for ‘tired’ fish. 1974A. Lurie War between Tates (1977) v. 117 He is ill-dressed in a tired grey turtleneck sweater and sagging work pants. 1977G. Marton Alarum 16 Chris read..occasionally munching on a very tired cheese sandwich. c. tired and emotional: joc. euphem. for ‘drunk’.
[1967Private Eye 29 Sept. 9/4 Mr Brown had been tired and overwrought on many occasions.] 1981Lynn & Jay Yes Minister I. iii. 72 Another paper's headline was Hacker tired and emotional after embassy reception. 1982Financial Times 21 May 12/4 Each lock is battery powered so that if the hotel has a power failure the tired and emotional guest can still make [= reach] his bed. 1986Daily Tel. 10 Dec. 13/2 Sensing that Penrose's efforts might have left him tired and emotional, the four Eye men called at the Mirror building. 3. Comb., as tired-eyed, tired-faced, tired-looking.
1841L. Hunt Seer (1864) 85 Happy in their tired-heartiness to get to the first bit of holiday ground they can reach. 1895C. Holland Jap. Wife 91 We leave the terrace, with its lingering crowds of tired-faced holiday-makers. 1905Daily Chron. 30 Aug. 4/7 The tired-eyed conductor took her fare. 1907Westm. Gaz. 3 Dec. 1/3 Vases of somewhat tired-looking pink chrysanthemums. ▪ II. tired, ppl. a.2|taɪəd| [f. tire n.2 or v.4 + -ed.] Fitted or furnished with a tire or tires; chiefly as the second element in a combination, as iron-tired. See also tyred.
1894[see pneumatic-tired (pneumatic a. 5)]. 1896C. Allen Papier Mâché 118 With a weighty parade of iron-tired Juggernaut justice, they marched in state. 1912J. Masefield in Eng. Rev. Feb. 414 Four newly-tired cartwheels hung to cool. |