| 释义 |
whiplash, v.|ˈhwɪplæʃ|
[f. prec. n.]
1. trans.
a. To inflict sudden or severe harm on.
1957A. MacNab Bulls of Iberia viii. 83 The bull's trajectory is accordingly also bent in an arc... The bull is not now being violently whip-lashed as in the ‘benders’, but is being smoothly worn down. 1975Business Week 14 July 50 Whether such a complex plan can be managed effectively, or whether it will be whiplashed by the short-term interest of elected officials and mired in a new superbureaucracy is perhaps the most important unanswered question. 1980N.Y. Times 28 June 9/5 Much of the playing was perfunctory. Mr. Getz had a ghastly time, whiplashed between feedback and reed trouble that led to a classic climactic squeak. 1982Christian Sci. Monitor 5 Oct. b 2/2 Oil field service companies have been ‘whiplashed’ as profit-starved major oil companies have sharply cut back drilling programs.
b. To jerk in a contrary direction; spec. to cause a whiplash injury to.
1971Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 27 May 55/1 Parents who shake their babies in a fit of temper are threatening their lives, a surgeon has warned. Severe shaking can ‘whiplash’ the baby's head, causing blood clots on the brain. 1980Washington Post Mag. 30 Nov. 53/1 (caption) The final solution to the problem of the hook on your tape measure slipping off the edge of the credenza to which you've attached it, whiplashing the tape into your eye. 1982J. Gardner For Special Services xiii. 133 The force of impact had whiplashed the man's head, breaking his neck.
2. intr. To move suddenly and forcefully, like a whip that is cracked. Also fig.
1963Lebende Sprachen VIII. 169/3 [Drivers' vocabulary.] To whiplash. 1. his head whiplashed. 2. the trailer whiplashed. 1971Daily Tel. 13 Dec. 3/2 The Environment Department is investigating methods used to fix posts for motorway crash barriers. It fears that if they have not been planted deep enough, a crash might uproot them and allow a stretch of high-tension metal barrier to ‘whiplash’ across the carriageways. 1972D. Delman Sudden Death (1973) iii. 77 He set us against each other. And he figures..one of us..is going to whiplash with something he can use. 1977Washington Post Mag. 27 Nov. 40/3 Conservatives say they can't do or say anything because it will hurt their careers. It's like the old backlash has whiplashed. 1983Washington Post 20 Feb. g3/6 The cable that catches the planes when they come in snapped. It whiplashed around the deck and caught the Chief in the spine. 1983D. Boggis Women they sent to Fight xxxviii. 220 Margaret released her... Zelaszny whiplashed round..terrified. |