| 释义 |
▪ I. hummer, n.1|ˈhʌmə(r)|
Also 7 humber.
[f. hum v.1 + -er1.]
A thing or person that hums.
1. An insect that hums; also, a humming-bird.
1605Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iii. i. Abraham 606 The Swallow's silent, and the lowdest Humber, Leaning upon the earth, now seems to slumber. a1694M. Robinson Autobiog. (Mayor 1856) 7 Swarms of night enemies, the gnats, and hummers. 1796Morse Amer. Geog. I. 737 The hummer is a night bird, peculiar to the mountainous deserts of Peru,..a strange humming [is] made in the air by the rapidity of their flight. 1816Kirby & Sp. Entomol. (1818) II. xxiv. 379 The wasp and hornet..are strenuous hummers. 1870J. Orton Andes & Amazons vi. (1876) 105 Save the hummers, beautiful plumage is rare.
2. A person that hums; one that utters ‘hum!’
1771Contemplative Man I. 107 Tho' he never sung in Form..he was, nevertheless, a great Hummer. 1820[see hawer]. 1885G. Meredith Diana I. 279 To vindicate Diana's name from the hummers and hawers.
3. a. A person or thing characterized by extreme activity, energy, etc.; see hum v. 3, and cf. bouncer, thumper. (colloq. or slang.)
1681Otway Soldier's Fort. i. i, She's a Hummer, such a Bona Roba, ha, ha, ha. 1701Cibber Love makes Man iv. ii, Odd! she's a Hummer! 1888Columbus (Ohio) Evening Disp. 18 Dec., The Franklin county divorce court is a hummer, but it cannot compete with the similar court in Chicago, where a record of six cases an hour has just been made. 1892Current Lit. (U.S.) Apr. 577 The woman of to-day is what is tritely known as a ‘hummer’.
b. A person or thing of extraordinary excellence. colloq.
1907C. E. Mulford Bar-20 (1914) xxiv. 229 She's a hummer—stands two hands under him, and is a whole lot prettier than that picture Cowan has got over his bar. 1919Wodehouse Damsel in Distress (1920) xx. 235 Well, you can't get there quicker than in my car. She's a hummer. 1920C. E. Mulford Johnny Nelson (1921) xvii. 186, I claim I was justified—an' I'll leave it to you if th' joke on Wolf wasn't a hummer? 1934N. Scanlan Winds of Heaven xvi. 150 When the new car was swung out on to the wharf, Mike walked round it and touched it lovingly. ‘She's a hummer, Dad.’ 1945Baker Austral. Lang. ii. xvi. 286 A wow or hummer [to an American] is a bonzer or big twist [to an Australian].
4. slang.
†a. (See quot.) Obs.
a1700B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Hummer, a loud Lie, a Rapper. [Cf. ‘a humming lie’ in humming ppl. a. 2.]
b. False or mistaken arrest (see quot. 1963).
1932Evening Sun (Baltimore) 9 Dec. 31/4 Hummer, false arrest. 1961Rigney & Smith Real Bohemia p. xv, Hummer, an arrest which accidentally leads to a more serious charge. 1963Mencken Amer. Lang. xi. 730 Hummer, any kind of charge placed against a suspect so that he can be held although there is insufficient evidence to hold him on the charge for which he is really wanted.
▪ II. hummer, n.2
[f. hum v.2 + -er1.]
†1. One who ‘hums’ or hoaxes; a humbugger. Obs.
1763Brit. Mag. IV. 261 The hummer when he hath told a lye with a grave face. 1778H. Brooke Epil. Humbugging 17 Our hummers in state, physic, learning, and law.
2. A scrounger. Austral. colloq.
1919W. H. Downing Digger Dial. 29 Hummer, a cadger. 1945Baker Austral. Lang. ii. v. 108 Hummer, poler and bot-fly are additional synonyms for a cadger.
▪ III. hummer, v. dial.|ˈhʌmə(r)|
Also 7 humber.
[Iterative of hum v.1: cf. batter, twitter.]
intr. To make a low humming or murmuring sound: see quots.b. trans. To murmur, mutter. Hence hummering vbl. n. and ppl. a.
1629Lowther in 13th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. vii, Through Scotland the people in church..use a hummering kind of lamentation for their sins. 1637G. Daniel Genius of this Isle 632 The hummering of Gnats. 1674–91Ray S. & E.C. Words 103 To Hummer, to begin to neigh. 1684Last Speech of J. Semple in Cloud Witnesses (1810) 282 He never opened his mouth more but humbred and rose up and went his way. 1781J. Hutton Tour to Caves Gloss., Hummer, to make a low rumbling noise. a1825Forby Voc. E. Anglia, Hummer,..in our use..means the gentle and pleasing sound which a horse utters when he hears the corn shaken in the sieve. a1860J. Younger Autobiog. xix. (1881) 227 Jamie hummered some sort of assent. 1884Chamb. Jrnl. 9 Feb. 86/1 That pretty low ‘hummering’ sound so common with pet horses. |