| 释义 |
give-away colloq. (orig. U.S.).|ˈgɪvəweɪ|
Also give away, giveaway.
[f. the vbl. phr. to give away (see give v. 54).]
1. The act of giving something away; a thing or things that are given away; a free gift; spec. (a) a game in which the object is to lose points or to force one's opponent to make captures, etc.; (b) a price so low that the goods so sold are virtually ‘given away’; (c) a radio or television programme or the like in which prizes are given to participants for performing some specified task. Freq. attrib.
1872Newton Kansan 19 Dec. 2/2 We are decidely opposed to the give-away game. 1889‘Mark Twain’ Yankee xlii. 486 The stock was for sale at a giveaway. 1899J. D. Champlin Young Folks' Cycl. Games (ed. 2) 181 Give-away chess... The Give-away game differs from the ordinary one. 1905Westm. Gaz. 13 Sept. 8/1 They are advertising their stock at give-away prices. 1916R. K. Wood Tourist's N.W. xiii. 361 Alert Bay and other Indian villages of the British Columbia coast are occasionally enlivened by Potlatch or Give-away festivals, at which the Indian host bestows his worldly goods upon his invited amid formal dancing. 1934M. H. Weseen Dict. Amer. Slang (1935) xii. 167 Give away, free samples and prizes. 1940Time 22 June 56/2 Information Please, opposite Pot o' Gold, in self-defence instituted a giveaway on its own high intellectual plane—sets of Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1948Ibid. 4 Oct. 33/2 Plugged as a giveaway show..Split the Atom was even endowed with a sponsor. 1948Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News 11 Nov. 4/6 He denies that ‘audience participation’ shows—he dislikes the term ‘giveaways’—are only nuisance programs that attract morons. 1952Manch. Guardian Weekly 13 Mar. 4/4 The state pays out..‘giveaway grants’ to Negroes who..deserve a university education. 1953Ibid. 11 June 4/3 Where a considerable choice of viewing exists..the bulk of viewers would immediately transfer their allegiance..to a..big ‘give-away’ show. 1958Punch 8 Oct. 457/3 Railwaymen loading cereal packets at Stretford found a live 3·7 anti-aircraft shell in the wagon. They say this is taking give-away too far. 1960Guardian 16 Mar. 8/5 They have their ‘give-aways’, ranging from a set of books to a motor-car. 1962Rep. Comm. Broadc. 1960 58 in Parl. Papers 1961–2 (Cmnd. 1753) IX. 259 The appeal of the ‘give-away’, of prizes of values quite disproportionate to the skill or knowledge involved in the contest. 1969Daily Tel. 20 Oct. 1/1 The feeling among..MPs is that the Prime Minister will wait for the electoral benefits of a ‘give-away’ Budget before calling an Election.
2. An inadvertent betrayal or revelation of oneself, of plans, the truth, etc.; freq. in dead give-away, a complete betrayal; also, a person or thing that causes such a betrayal or revelation.
1882W. A. Baillie-Grohman Camps in Rockies 14 The dead ‘give away’..removed the shadowy blemish from his character. 1882G. W. Peck Peck's Sunshine 83 A piece of that dog as big as a finger would ruin a butcher. It would be a dead give away. 1897C. M. Flandrau Harvard Episodes 224, I gave my own name, but Dilly didn't; he had one all ready that went with his initials on his underclothes, so it wouldn't be a give-away. 1901Westm. Gaz. 28 Sept. 2/1 ‘When I was at Poona in '76—’ ‘My dear Colonel,’ purred Reginald, ‘fancy admitting such a thing! Such a give-away for one's age!’ 1904Ibid. 19 May 3/2 When Mr. Chamberlain went on to declare that the Government's amendment and his own had the same idea, the give-away was complete. 1924Galsworthy White Monkey ii. ix, She also realised the give-away. 1924G. Overton Cargoes for Crusoes 156 The patient has come to the conclusion that he is a dead giveaway, that everybody sees in him what the psycho⁓analyst sees. 1952[see analyse v. 4 b]. 1959‘P. Quentin’ Shadow of Guilt xi. 96 Her expression was a dead give-away. 1970Daily Tel. 11 Aug. 11/2 An ancient parquet-floored hall which even the stealthiest house breaker couldn't negotiate without a salvo of giveaway creaks. |