| 释义 |
▪ I. kitty1|ˈkɪtɪ|
Also 6 Sc. kittie.
[One of the pet forms of the female name Catherine; cf. Kate, Katy, Kit n.4 (Cf. also cutty n., senses 2 and 3.)]
†1. A girl or young woman; a wench; sometimes (= kittie unsell) a woman of loose character. (Cf. kittock.) Sc. Obs.
1500–20Dunbar Poems xiv. 76 Sa mony ane Kittie, drest vp with goldin chenȝe. a1550Christis Kirke Gr. i, Thair come our kitteis weschin clene, In thair new kirtillis. c1560A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) xxvi. 19, I can thame call bot kittie vnsellis, That takkis sic maneris at thair motheris. 1572Lament Lady Scotl. 112 in Satir. Poems Reform. xxxiii, Bot at the last, throw filthy speiche and Counsell, That scho did heir of sum curst Kittie vnsell.
2. Local name for the wren; also kitty-wren.
1825Brockett, Kitty-wren, or Jenny-wren, the wren. 1860All Year Round No. 63. 295 The male wrens of North America..build ‘cock-nests’..like the males of our distinct kitty-wrens. 1885Swainson Prov. Names Brit. Birds 35 Wren... Familiar names. Kitty, Jenny. 1893Newton Dict. Birds, Kitty, a local nickname of the Wren.
b. Also prefixed to, or forming part of the local names of other birds, as kitty-coot, the moorhen (Gallinula chloropus); kitty-needy, the sandpiper; kitty-witch = kittiwake; also name of a small swimming crab, Porcellana platycheles.
1850Zoologist VIII. 2644 note, ‘Kittie-needie’ [Aberdeenshire]..the common sandpiper. 1876Smiles Sc. Natur. vii. (ed. 4) 125 The piping of the kittyneedy..the boom of the snipe, were often heard at night. 1885Swainson Prov. Names Brit. Birds 178 Moor Hen... Kitty coot (Dorset).
▪ II. kitty2
[f. as kit n.3 + -y.]
A kitten; used esp. as a pet name.
1719D'Urfey Pills II. 82 A pretty young Kitty, She had that could Purr.
▸ kitty litter n. chiefly N. Amer. = cat litter n. at cat n.1 Additions.
1949Mansfield (Ohio) News-Jrnl. 9 Feb. 5/1 (advt.) *Kitty Litter 10 lbs $1.50. Your kitty will like it. Takes the place of sand or sawdust. 2004M. Blyth Spin Sisters 89, 62 percent of women say shopping for a bathing suit is more painful than giving birth, and half of us would rather clean the kitty litter box than go through the agony!
▪ III. kitty3
Short for kittiwake.
1806R. Forsyth Beauties Scotl. IV. 460 Some people are fond of eating the young kitties.
▪ IV. kitty4 north. dial. and slang.
[Origin uncertain: cf. kidcote.]
1. A prison, jail, or lock-up; a house of correction.
1825Brockett, Kitty, the house of correction. Newcastle. 1832W. Stephenson Gateshead Local Poems 28 We had a nice tollbooth,..And in its stead we've got..A vile pernicious kitty. 1864Daily Tel. 22 Sept., The Provost [of Jedburgh] ordered another man to be taken into custody; said the crowd, ‘If ane gangs t' the kitty, we'll a' gang’. 1888Monthly Chron. N.C. June 285/1 Wey, man, that's a fine kitty.
2. ‘A pool into which each player in a card-game puts a certain amount of his winnings, to be used in meeting expenses, as for room-rent, refreshments, etc.’ (Cent. Dict.) Also, the money (freq. placed in the centre of the table) taken by the winner of a game or round (the usual sense). So transf., earnings, liquid capital, a reserve fund; a sum of money made up of contributions by people involved in a common activity.
1887J. W. Keller Game of Draw Poker 12 Widow, or Kitty—A percentage taken out of the pool to defray the expenses of the game or the cost of refreshments. 1891E. Dowson Let. 1 July (1967) 206, I shall..refuse to associate myself with penny nap & an unlimited Kittie. 1892Daily Chron. 5 Mar. 9/2 (Farmer Slang) Five or six men playing ‘Nap’, with a kitty for drinks, kitty being the pool and the payment to it of a half-penny. 1903‘J. Flynt’ Rise of Ruderick Clowd iii. 106 ‘Forty [cents] out of every dollar you cop out—understand?’—‘Who gets the rest?’—‘The mob an' the kitty. The kitty is the fall-money reserve. A mob like ours ought to carry a $3000 kitty all the time. It's drawn on when one of us gets arrested an' has to hire lawyers an' get bail. If you get a tumble, for instance, the rest of us'll have to stand by you—see?’ 1905Daily Chron. 12 Sept. 4/7 ‘Kitty wins everything,’ is the bookmakers' plaint. 1909‘O. Henry’ Roads of Destiny xiii. 213 Your thousand dollars is gone into the kitty of this corrupt country on that last bluff you made. 1924T. Rohan Confessions of Dealer iv. 51 The King of the Knock-Out..counts out banknotes to the tune of {pstlg}1,000, and places these notes in the bowl or kitty which occupies the centre of the table. The first man to help himself from the kitty is the dealer who bid {pstlg}100 at the sale. 1929[see full house 2]. 1935A. J. Pollock Underworld Speaks 68/1 Kitty, money taken from virtually every gambling pot for purpose of profits or expenses, or whangdoodles at the end of a friendly home game. 1969Listener 17 July 77/1 In 1949, the authorities at the hall had enough money in the kitty to install a new aluminium roof. 1971Ink 12 June 14/1 Bernie's salesmen kept bringing in the lolly..until by 1970 they had $2.4 billion in their management kitty.
3. Bowls. The jack.
1898D. Willox Poems & Sk. 174 Now, in throwing up the ‘Kitty’, Oor first player's quite a card, But in playing tae't he seldom Ever gangs within a yard. 1909Westm. Gaz. 6 Sept. 4/1 When the bowl goes near the kitty. 1926H. Hendry Poems 98 Kitty, that licht and lively quean, Wha links athort the bowling-green. 1959Chambers's Encycl. II. 476/1 The small white earthenware ball, known as the jack or ‘kitty’, at which the bowls are aimed, must not be more than 8 in. in circumference or 10 oz in weight.
▸ kitty party n. orig. and chiefly Indian English a social lunch at which those attending contribute money to a central pool and draw lots, the winner receiving the money and hosting the next lunch.
1991Sunday Tel. 16 June (Review section) 1/2 There were flocks of women at their *kitty parties [in the Punjab], where they all put money in the kitty for lunch. 1999M. Syal Life isn't all Ha Ha Hee Hee (2000) i. 12 Using the dimpled smile and the mercurial tongue that had..rendered matrons in the neighbourhood giddy with gratitude when he graced their kitty parties. 2003K. Daswani For Matrimonial Purposes 74 All those religious gatherings, baby-naming ceremonies, kitty parties, where she could show off a new, shiny piece of jewellery made by my father. |