| 释义 |
▪ I. highball, n.
Also high ball, high-ball.
1. A game, a species of poker, played with balls and a bottle-shaped receptacle.
1882C. M. Chase Editor's Run in New Mexico 134 Mexican monte, keno, faro, high ball, etc., are the prevailing games. 1894J. N. Maskelyne Sharps & Flats xi. 261–266. 1894 Westm. Gaz. 23 Apr. 3/1 Methods of cheating with dice, at highball, poker, roulette.
2. (In full highball signal.) A signal to proceed given to a locomotive driver, formerly by hoisting a ball aloft. Also gen., a signal to go ahead, a clear way, a straight course. U.S.
1897Chicago Record 1 Mar. 6/1 ‘Milk trains’..have ‘rights’ over the rails and get nothing but ‘high balls’. 1909Sat. Even. Post 26 June 9/1, I gave 'em the highball signal to go ahead. 1920J. M. Hunter Trail Drivers of Texas 68 We had a high ball trail from there on. Ibid. 354 Mr. Butler and I told them [sc. cowboys]..to strike a high ball to town. 1931‘D. Stiff’ Milk & Honey Route 207 High ball, signal for a train to pull out of town. 1938A. E. Parkins South 168 We are informed that the signal the conductor waves to the engineer to go ahead is still known as the ‘high ball’ on most lines. 1940Sat. Even. Post 16 Nov. 18 Picking up the highball as he drifted out of the freight yards, Engineer Joe De Nobel gave her the throttle. 1959J. Thurber Years with Ross iv. 63 The parlance of railroading—deadhead, highball, whistle stop, gandy dancer.
3. A drink of whisky and soda or other mineral water served with ice in a tall glass. Also attrib. U.S.
1898N.Y. Jrnl. 16 Sept. 4/2 Evening dress and khaki talked much sport and a little war over ‘high balls’ or chicken livers. 1899Ade Doc. Horne ii. 11 Lush..drank two magnificent ‘high balls’. 1909Eaton & Underhill Runaway Place 128 The pleasant occupation of consuming three chocolate éclairs and a high ball. 1915Wodehouse Something Fresh iii. 59 Beyond Baxter, a cigar in his mouth and a weak high-ball at his side, the Earl of Emsworth took his ease. 1925H. L. Foster Trop. Tramp Tourists 109 The crowd from Ohio..celebrated by drinking several highballs. 1933N. Coward Design for Living iii. i. 1 Who'd like a highball? 1949F. Maclean Eastern Approaches i. vii. 82 The crystal chandeliers shed a cheerful light on the silver trays of highballs and old⁓fashioneds. 1959Sears, Roebuck Catal. Spring & Summer 1394/3 Highball glasses. 1965Amer. Speech XL. 77 In sophisticated drinking circles the term high-ball has become practically archaic... The illuminati ask for ‘whiskey and water’ or ‘Scotch and soda’. 1973H. Nielsen Severed Key viii. 92 A soiled highball glass on the counter.
▪ II. ˈhighball, v. U.S. slang.
[f. the n.]
a. intr. To give a locomotive driver a signal to proceed; also transf.
b. To go or travel at speed (const. it or with adv.).
c. trans. To drive (a locomotive or vehicle) at speed.
1912Railroad Man's Mag. XVII. 493 The con high⁓balled, and the manifest freight Pulled out on the stem behind the mail. Ibid., She whistled twice and high⁓balled out, They were off—down the Gila Monster Route. 1931‘D. Stiff’ Milk & Honey Route v. 53 Often they highball the cops and you get raided. 1935Partridge Slang To-Day (ed. 2) 442 Highball, to travel swiftly; to depart, esp. hastily. 1941Amer. Speech XVI. 233/1 High ball, to speed up operations. 1941Pop. Sci. Monthly May 76 Its smooth power..is fully available, whether the giant is pulling away from a dead stop or highballing along at its maximum governed speed. 1943S. K. Farrington Railroading from Head End 48 We highballed out at 5:05. No hurry, no lost motion, no excitement—just clocklike precision by every man jack of them. 1945This Week Mag. 14 July 19/2 He highballed the big locomotive down the tracks. 1946Sat. Even. Post 11 May 27/3 Everyone else had highballed..out of there. 1961Amer. Speech XXXVI. 271 Imagine yourself on the seat of an enormous freighter, high-balling it down a West Coast highway. 1962Ibid. XXXVII. 131 A logging train that is highballing or making a fast run. 1971M. Tak Truck Talk 82 Highball it, to drive a tractor-trailer at or near its top speed. |