| 释义 |
west coast
1. The western coast of a country or region; in some cases with capital initials as a proper name. Also attrib.
1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xviii. 113 Þere I sawe sothely..Out of þe west coste a wenche, as me thouȝte, Cam walkynge in þe way. 1689Acts Parlt. Scot. (1875) XII. 54/2 That two friggetts be gott to cruse on the west coasts. 1801M. Downie Observ. Atmosphere 89 Those parts of the West coasts of Africa which lie between the Tropics. 1845N.Z. Jrnl. 13 Sept. 234/2 Of the west coast of the Middle Island, commonly called by the whalers the ‘West Side’, we heard a good deal. 1850Calif. Courier (San Francisco) 2 Dec. 2/1 Our position here on the West Coast has been and still is a peculiar one. 1862Jrnl. R. Geogr. Soc. XXXII. 294 Arrangements entered into with the Provincial Government of Nelson for the survey of the West Coast district of that province. 1897M. Kingsley Trav. W. Afr. 8 Sound knowledge..collected during an acquaintance with the West Coast of over thirty years. 1926A. Huxley Jesting Pilate iv. 287 The stranger coming to the West Coast will be astonished by the amount of casual embracement. 1959A. McLintock Descr. Atlas N.Z. p. xvi, The road..here swings in a northerly direction..towards Arthur's Pass, 3,020ft, and thence to the West Coast. 1971Country Life 9 Dec. 1642/2 Last year..the west-coast herrings proved to be the only plentiful supply in northern Europe. 1977H. Fast Immigrants ii. 88 We're the lifeline, the West Coast, San Francisco.
2. (Usu. with capital initials.) Used attrib. with reference to a style of modern jazz playing that was centred on Los Angeles in the 1950s, typified by small ensembles, technical sophistication, and elaborate writing. orig. U.S.
Cf. West Coaster below, quot. 1954.
1954Downbeat 7 Apr. 6/1 The latest example of this thinking-by-pigeonholes is the attempt to convince the populace that there is a growing west coast school of jazz. Ibid. 19 May 16/3 Nat Hentoff's comments on ‘west coast jazz’ aroused considerable comment. 1959News Chron. 12 Aug. 6/5 He is not only benevolent about West Coast jazz but aware of its technical ins and outs. 1961Times 4 Feb. 11/5 Music of considerable variety, ranging from some vigorous Dixieland..to West Coast Jazz (with Palm Court cello). 1962Melody Maker 21 July 7/1 Some of the 1954 tracks have a nostalgic, almost dated, appeal, in the writing, it is so typical of West Coast jazz of the time—neat, smooth and often very clever. 1980New Grove Dict. Mus. XX. 371/2 Miles Davis's 1949–50 recordings were an initial influence as is shown by such archetypal West Coast performances as Rogers's Didi (1951).
3. Used attrib. to designate a kind of large rear-view mirror (see quot. 1963). orig. U.S.
1963Amer. Speech XXXVIII. 46 West coast mirror,..a large, square, rear-view mirror attached to the side of a cab. 1968Globe & Mail (Toronto) 17 Feb. 41 (Advt.), Mercury 3/4 ton pickup... 4 speed transmission, west coast mirrors. 1980Truck & Bus Transportation (Austral.) Mar. 96/1 All-round vision is generally good, but Cronulla Carrying have gone one step further by replacing the meagre standard mirrors with the efficient west-coast type.
Hence West Coaster, (a) one who lives on the West Coast; spec. (N.Z.) = coaster 3 c; (b) a player or devotee of West Coast jazz.
1896N.Z. Alpine Jrnl. II. 157 He was..not a native born West Coaster. 1936‘R. Hyde’ Passport to Hell ii. 54 He washed shirts for the brawny West Coasters. 1941O. Duff N.Z. Now v. 71 The people are never ‘Southlanders’..as the people of the West Coast are ‘West Coasters’. 1949M. Steen Twilight on Floods ii. ii. 198 Eighty-five per cent West Coasters die of fever, or return home total wrecks! 1954Time 1 Feb. 38/2 Today, the liveliest center of developing jazz is California... The West Coasters include such names as..Shelly Manne.., Shorty Rogers.., Gerry Mulligan and Stan Getz.., Dave Brubeck. 1958K. Goodwin in P. Gammond Decca Bk. Jazz xiii. 148 Groups from four to nine pieces have been most popular among the West Coasters. 1974M. Braithwaite Ontario ii. 7 It is nonsense to maintain that there are no special characteristics of Canadians from different regions of the country. West Coasters are different from those who live on the East Coast. 1977Times 16 May 8/7 Their effect on humourless West Coasters [sc. in California] was..devastating. |