| 释义 |
kite-flying, vbl. n.
[kite n. 9 b.]
1. lit. The flying of a kite on a string. Also attrib.
1804T. A. Ward Diary 5–6 Oct. in Peeps into Past (1909) viii. 51/1 He went away..to renew the sport of kite-flying. 1827D. Johnson Ind. Field Sports 168 This..man spent..his time in..pigeon flying, or paper kite flying. 1849Dickens Dav. Copp. (1850) xvii. 179 He never took an active part in any game but kite-flying. 1926M. Leinster Dew on Leaf v. 199 Towards the end of the kite-flying season, numerous Chinese had made their way to various pieces of rising ground with these toys. 1962W. O. Mitchell Kite ii. 14 Kite-flying would be a lot like taking a drive on Sunday or going on a picnic.
2. slang. The raising of money (a) by persons collusively exchanging accommodation bills or cheques on different banks, in none of which they possess sufficient funds; (b) by one person transferring accounts between banks and creating an illusory balance against which he cashes cheques; (c) by a person passing forged, stolen, or unbacked cheques.
1834Blackw. Mag. XXXVI 500/2 Some accommodating associate in the noble art and mystery of ‘kite-flying’. 1848Bartlett Dict. Amer. 195 Kite flying,..a combination between two persons, neither of whom has any funds in bank, to exchange each other's checks, which may be deposited in lieu of money, taking good care to make their bank accounts good before their checks are presented for payment. Kite flying is also practised by mercantile houses... A house in Boston draws on a house in New York at 60 days or more, and gets its bill discounted. The New York house, in return, meets its acceptance by re-drawing on the Boston house. 1850Thackeray Pendennis II. xxiv. 244 That kite-flying, you know, Mr. M., always takes two or three on 'em to set the paper going. Altamont put the pot on at the Derby, and won a good bit of money. 1951‘H. Cecil’ Painswick Line vi. 55 ‘Kite flying’ is a method of borrowing money from a bank, which is not prepared to lend it to you. 1964Z. Progl Woman of Underworld xix. 178 Passing dud cheques (kite-flying) calls for unwavering nerve and audacity. 1970M. Kenyon 100,000 Welcomes iv. 23 Forgery? Fraudulent conversion? Kite-flying?
3. Sending up a ‘kite’ or ballon d'essai. Also attrib.
1898‘A. Hope’ in Daily News 4 Apr. 7/1 Principally it [sc. the press interview] was said to be used as a means of what might be called kite-flying. 1899Ibid. 29 June 5/4 The object of Boer diplomacy is to prolong the kite-flying stage indefinitely until commercial interests..urge England to accept anything. 1927Daily Tel. 30 Aug. 8/6 These suggestions are dismissed in British circles as mere ‘kite-flying’. 1958Economist 20 Dec. 1058/2 The Belgrade newspaper, Borba, which is often the government's mouthpiece, has emphasised..that if other countries would accept immigrants from Jugoslavia these would be allowed to leave... If this was kite-flying, the kite has been allowed to drop to the ground with a thud. 1969Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 2 May 3/8 State D.L.P. secretary (Mr. J. Judge), said: ‘This is nothing but kite-flying. The D.L.P. will be making no decision on preferences until the Central Council meets next Tuesday.’
So (as a back-formation) ˈkite-fly v. trans. and intr.; ˈkite-flyer.
1844Knickerbocker XXIV. 258 The most persevering kite-flyers that I know of, are the Reformers. 1860Bartlett Dict. Amer. (ed. 3) 231 Kite-flier, a financier who practises the operation of ‘kite-flying’. 1876Monthly Packet June 577 Heavy bets are laid on the best kite-flyers. 1896Daily News 1 Dec. 8/5 Franklin's experiences as a scientific kite-flyer. 1935‘D. Hume’ Gaol Gates are Open 8 Higher in the hierarchy of crime come the ‘kite flyers’, who cash worthless cheques. 1965Listener 22 July 111/2 The irrelevance of his office to foreign affairs..stressed that he was merely kite-flying. 1968‘L. Egan’ Serious Investigation (1969) iii. 34 Right now we've got a con man operating on the pensioners, and a kite flyer passing all the rubber checks. 1972Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 16 Jan. 2/7 Sarasota, Fla... Some 89 contestants jammed Lido Beach for the Association's 4th Annual International Flyoff, held in honor of America's foremost kiteflyer Ben Franklin. |