| 释义 |
knock-down, a. and n.
[The phr. knock down (see knock v. 10) used attrib. and as n.]
A. adj.
1. a. Such as to knock down or fell to the ground; fig. irresistible, overwhelming.
1690Dryden Amphitryon i. i, This same Arbitrary Power is a knock-down Argument. 1794Sporting Mag. IV. 78/2 After the first knock-down blow, Johnson attempted to shift. 1802Wolcott (P. Pindar) Ld. Belgrave & his Motions Wks. 1812 IV. 514 You've learnt to face a knock-down laugh. 1840–1De Quincey Style Wks. 1859 XI. 220 These..are knock-down blows to the Socratic..philosophy. 1885Courthope Liberal Movement Eng. Lit. iv. 114 The view that Johnson propounded in his direct ‘knock-down’ style. 1971Nature 15 Oct. 441/1 They are used against houseflies, mosquitoes and cockroaches..; their great advantage is that pyrethrin I has a high kill rate and pyrethrin II a high knock down rate.
b. Adapted to be fastened by being knocked flat at the end: see knock v. 10 b.
1869E. J. Reed Shipbuild. xvii. 383 It is advantageous to have plain knockdown or conical points to steel rivets.
2. knock-down price, the price below which an article will not be ‘knocked down’ at an auction; the reserve price. Also, knock-down book, knock-down fee (U.S.).
1888Harper's Mag. Nov. 934/2 Bills for knock-down fees are presented for payment to auctioneers every month. Ibid. 937/2 The knock-down book records the price, buyer, and all particulars of every sale in the Auction-room. 1895Daily News 6 May 6/5 Fairy, favourite spaniel of Lady Bulwer's,..40 gs.;..the knockdown price last year was 54 gs.
3. Constructed so as to be easily ‘knocked down’ or taken in pieces for removal (see knock v. 10 f); sold as, or in the form of, a number of separate parts that require to be assembled.
1795W. Winterbotham Hist. View Amer. U.S. III. 305 Articles of exportation [were]..231,776 Barrels of dried and pickled fish..48,860 Shook or knock-down casks. 1875Knight Dict. Mech. 1239/2 The shook may be said to be a knock-down barrel. 1888Sci. Amer. LIX. 187 To make a knockdown wigwam, the framing should be lashed together with ropes or twine, and the bark tied to the rafters with twine. 1952Archit. Rev. CXI. 241/1 Swedish ‘knock-down’ furniture. Ibid., The production of ‘packaged’ furniture (an adjective which is preferable to either knock-down or demountable, since it not only sounds better, but is more definitive). 1969Sunday Mail (Brisbane) 2 Feb. 26/6 Cars imported in the complete knockdown form. 1971Rand Daily Mail 4 Sept. 10/3 The boat is imported in a knock-down form and is assembled here. 1972‘E. Lathen’ Murder without Icing (1973) vii. 65 Millions of Americans..had stayed up late Christmas Eve to struggle with knockdown toys.
B. n.
1. Something that knocks one down; something overpowering; e.g. strong liquor. slang.
1698W. King tr. Sorbière's Jrnl. Lond. 35 He answer'd me that he had a thousand such sort of liquors,..Old Pharaoh, Knockdown, Hugmatee [etc.]. a1700B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Knock-down, very strong Ale or Beer.
2. An act of knocking down; a blow that knocks down or fells to the ground; fig. an overwhelming blow; a stand-up or free fight. Also (U.S. colloq.) knock-down (and) drag-out: a free-for-all, a rough-and-tumble fight; also transf. and attrib.
1809Sporting Mag. XXXIII. 6 This round produced the first blood, and first knock-down. 1818Lady Morgan Autobiog. (1859) 85 It is a knockdown to all Morgan's arguments and mine. 1827J. F. Cooper Prairie I. iv. 93 Making it a real knock-down and drag-out! 1834Amer. Railroad Jrnl. III. 304/1 He was one of our careless unconcerned knock down and drag out looking sort of fellows. 1837Dickens Pickw. xxxvii, ‘I'll try and bear up agin such a reg'lar knock-down o' talent’ replied Sam. 1845E. Miall Nonconf. V. 437 Let us turn to and have a real Irish knockdown. 1932Tulsa (Okla.) World 13 Mar. v. 2/3 A knock-down-and-drag-out battle betwen Roosevelt and Smith forces. 1941Auden New Year Let. ii. 34 The hard self-conscious particles Collide, divide like numerals In knock-down drag-out laissez-faire. 1949B. A. Botkin Treas. S. Folklore ii. iii. 251 When it comes to knock-down-and-drag-out..political bickering..well, as Donald Davidson's typical Middle Georgia country gentleman, ‘Cousin Roderick’, puts it, ‘Politics is for lawyers.’ 1952B. Ulanov Hist. Jazz in Amer. (1958) viii. 89 Whole choruses..and ensemble sections..are delightful..in knockdown and dragout choruses. 1968Punch 1 May 624/1 An elderly bum who's just sold him the Lincoln Centre at the knock-down drag-out price of fourteen bucks.
3. A ‘knock-down’ piece of furniture: see A. 3.
1875Knight Dict. Mech. 1239/2 Knock-down, a piece of furniture or other structure adapted to be disconnected at the joints so as to pack compactly.
4. The heeling of a ship by the force of the wind.
1888Scribner's Mag. May 526/1 Every bit of that water came in through the hatch at the time of the knock-down. 1926H. Howard Yacht ‘Alice’ 13 Raised deck amidships which gives excellent room below, increases the structural strength and adds greatly to her stability and righting moment in case of a knockdown. 1951H. I. Chapelle Amer. Small Sailing Craft 242 Such a maneuver takes room and also might lead to a knockdown when the boa pays off, as she has no way on. 1973J. R. L. Anderson Death on Rocks xi. 201 Anthea had seen our knockdown... They stood by us until it was clear that we were not going to sink.
5. An introduction. U.S., Austral., and N.Z. slang.
1865‘D. Rattlehead’ Adventures of Fudge Fumble v. 61, I asked the young man if he would go down some night and give me a ‘knock down’ to the family, and Miss Kate, more especially. 1885‘Phudge Phumble’ Adventures Greenhorn in Gotham 39 He loved Lucy at first sight and couldn't help it. So he managed to get a knock down to her. 1896Ade Artie iii. 24 Take me over and gi' me a knock down to the queen in the corner. 1916C. J. Dennis Songs Sentimental Bloke 125 Knock-down, a formal introduction. 1930National Education (N.Z.) May 197/2, I heard one young fellow ask another to ‘give him a knockdown to that tart in the green skirt’. I gathered that he was asking for an introduction to a young lady!! 1937J. Weidman I can get it for you Wholesale xvi. 156 ‘Meet the stable,’ he said, waving his hand to take in the girls... ‘You want a knockdown to something?’ 1945Chicago Daily News 7 Sept. 31/3, I know her well! I'll sell you a knockdown to her for two-bits. 1946F. Sargeson That Summer 66 He called me over and gave me a knock-down, and she was certainly the goods. 1974Telegraph (Brisbane) 28 May 24/1, I think you should meet Fred. And maybe Bert, too. So here's for the knock-down. |