| 释义 |
▪ I. ˈfish-tail, n.
[f. fish n.1]
a. The tail of a fish. Chiefly attrib. of things resembling a fish's tail in shape or action, e.g. a spreading flame from a kind of gas-burner, hence called fish-tail burner, fish-tail-jet (also shortened fish-tail); fish-tail wind (see quot. 1875).
1840Mech. Mag. XXXII. 343/2 The best small light is..the fish-tail jet. 1852J. Bourne Screw Propeller 56 Fowles's Fish-tail Propeller. 1864Sala in Daily Tel. Oct., I turned on a fishtail burner. c1865Letheby in Circ. Sc. I. 128/2 In the case of cannel coal, the holes are small; and for common London gas they are rather large. The former are known by the name of Lancashire or Scotch fish-tails. 1872O. W. Holmes Poet Breakf.-t. x. (1885) 247 We have no more reverence for the sun than we have for a fish-tail gas burner. 1875Times 16 July 5/5 A nasty shifting breeze blowing down the ranges all day, now on this side, now on that,—a ‘fishtail’ wind. 1882Daily News 15 Sept. 6/1 The day was bright with a strong fish-tail wind. 1892Daily News 29 Mar. 6/6, I spliced it to the bedstead, in what they call a fishtail knot. 1931[see fish-tail v.]. 1939M. B. Picken Lang. Fashion 57/3 Fish-tail, shaped like tail of fish; having cut-out V in end.—f[ish-tail] drapery, train, as on a formal gown, shaped like fish-tail. 1963Gloss. Mining Terms (B.S.I.) iii. 8 Drag bit (fishtail bit, pilot bit), a rotary bit which has two or more cutting blades or wings with hard⁓faced cutting edges. (Various types are the two-wing, three-wing, fishtail and pilot bits.)
b. Hence as predicative adj. rare.
1891Daily News 28 Mar. 5/6 The wind was very fish-tail and tricky.
▪ II. ˈfish-tail, v.
[f. the n.]
intr. To cause the tail of an aircraft or the back of a motor-car to swing from side to side (in aircraft in order to reduce the landing speed; also said of the aircraft or car itself). Hence ˈfish-tailing vbl. n.
1927N.Y. World 23 July 2/6 She looped,..fish-tailed and then swooped some. 1931Vanity Fair Nov. 78/2 Fishtailing, which is swishing the machine from side to side to reduce the forward speed, explains a fishtail landing as zig-zagging after touching ground, in order to slow down when coming into a small field. 1942J. Aldridge Signed with their Honour 14 He put his flaps down and fish-tailed in. 1957Life 29 Apr. 132/1 Causing his rear wheels to spin or the rear end to ‘fish-tail’, that is, swing back and forth. 1967L. Forrester Girl called Fathom xi. 129 She..sat there, stiffly swaying as the car fish-tailed, straightened out. 1971Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 28 Jan. 31/6 One of the cars appeared to be fishtailing. |