| 释义 |
ˈknock-ˈout, a. and n.
A. adj. Characterized by ‘knocking out’ (see knock v. 14); spec.
a. of, or in connexion with, an auction sale (see quots.);
b. of a blow, etc.: Such as to disable or knock out of the contest; also fig.
a.1818Chron. in Ann. Reg. 373/1 Combinations, by a set of men who attend real sales, and drive, by various means, respectable purchasers away, purchase at their own price, and afterwards privately sell the same, under a form of public auction, termed ‘Knock-out Sales’. 1895W. Roberts Bk.-Hunter in London iii. 121 This auction [1726] is interesting..as being the genesis of the knock-out system. 1896Farmer Slang s.v., The lot is knocked down to the knock-out bidders.
b.1898Times 24 Dec. 8/5 The effect of the ‘knock-out’ blow,..delivered, not straight from the shoulder, but sideways and on the tip of the chin, was to produce unconsciousness. 1938Ann. Reg. 1937 90 The task of the Government..was to make impossible the greatest danger to civilisation—the knock-out blow. 1955Times 9 May 19/1 A new fashion has, however, arisen—the cry for knock-out competition in private enterprise.
c. Designating (a system used in) a competition or tournament in which the defeated competitors in each round are eliminated.
1896W. Broadfoot et al. Billiards i. 40 Scarcely a dozen really important handicaps on the old ‘knock-out’ principle have been played in the last twenty years. 1897K. S. Ranjitsinhji Jubilee Bk. Cricket 281 The first elevens meet in a series of matches, played on the ‘knock-out’ system. 1920Motor Cycle 22 July 114/1 Competitors in the motor cycle events were run off in pairs on the knock-out principle. 1921E. B. Turner in E. H. D. Sewell Rugby Football xiv. 244 The competition was run on ‘knock-out’ lines as it is at the present time, the teams which entered being drawn in ties, and those left in after each round being again paired by lot until only two were left in the final. 1928Daily Mail 25 July 16/4 The singles championship held by the Ayton Tennis Club..was played on the knock-out principle. 1953E. Smith Guide Eng. Traditions 94 Besides the League there is also a ‘knock-out’ competition for the English Cup. 1955Times 18 Aug. 4/3 Leeds, Huddersfield, Halifax, and Hull will be expected to go a long way in the various knock-out competitions again. 1966Listener 30 June 936/1 The British Isles are to be invaded by football fans from all over the world bent on seeing the knock-out international competition known as the World Cup. 1974Country Life 2 May 1070/2 By mid-summer we are left with 32 [cricket] clubs who fight it out on a knockout basis.
d. knock-out drops (also occas. sing.), a liquid drug of which drops are put into liquor to render a person unconscious or stupefied (e.g. in order to rob him). Also fig. colloq. (orig. U.S.).
1895J. S. Wood Yale Yarns 152 Our dandy team played a logy, tired sort of game, as if each man had been given knock-out drops, and we all felt blue! 1904Ex-Inspector Elliott Tracking Glasgow Criminals 23 The use of drugs..or what is more familiarly known in criminal circles as ‘knock-out’ drops is common enough in most cities. What is known as ‘knock-out’ drops is chloral hydrate, and from fifteen to thirty grains of it produces a sleep that lasts three hours. 1926J. Black You can't Win xii. 152 Here I learned to beware the crafty shanghaier with his knockout drops. 1955‘N. Shute’ Requiem for Wren viii. 242 About midnight..I took one of Aunt Ellen's things. It was a knock-out drop all right because I didn't wake up till half past nine. 1958Sunday Times 10 Aug. 8/3 The first [film] was a typical knock-out drop—a study of ‘inter-specific interdependence’.
e. Mech. Designating or pertaining to a knock-out (see B. 5 a, b).
1907Installation News Nov. 6/2 The ‘knock-out’ principle as applied to junction boxes. 1925Hodkin & Cousen Textbk. Glass Technol. xxxii. 439 The knock-out arm moves outwards, so that the bottle falls off the mould base into the trough. 1946Du Bois & Pribble Plastics Mold Engin. iii. 104 As the press continues to open, the pin attached to the knockout bar rises and pushes the wedge, with molded piece attached, up out of the cavity. 1955Die Design Handbk. (Amer. Soc. Tool Engineers) v. 23 Knockout slugs should be readily removable from the outside of the box; so care should be exercised to see that the material is pierced from the proper side. Ibid., Knockout dies. 1963H. R. Clauser Encycl. Engin. Materials 104/1 If necessary knockout pins are cast into the mold.
f. Founding. Used in or pertaining to the knocking out of castings and flasks (see knock v. 14 j).
1942Engineering 6 Mar. 195/2 With continuous casting with a mould conveyor, there was great difficulty in adjusting the whole conveyor for uniform speed, so that, when the castings came to the knock-out grid, they would be cool enough for knocking out. 1958Ann. Rep. Chief Inspector of Factories on Industr. Health 1957 15 in Parl. Papers 1958–9 (Cmnd. 558) XIII. 183 Various types of exhaust systems used to control dust and fumes at central knock-out positions..have been examined. 1973Steel Castings Abstr. XXII. 24 (heading) Improving the knock-out properties of silicate bonded sands.
g. colloq. Of a person or thing: of overwhelming or surpassing quality. Cf. B. 4.
1966Crescendo Aug. 41 (Advt.), Chasing a real knockout sound? You'll find the most rewarding instrument..is the Hammond organ. 1968Listener 5 Sept. 307/2 The wit and repartee of the DJ... ‘Hi there— it's great to be with you and welcome to another knock-out show.’
B. n.
1. The practice of ‘knocking out’ at auction sales or in similar transactions; a knock-out sale; also, one of the confederates who ‘knock out’: see A. a, knock v. 14 c.
1854Illustr. Lond. News 7 Oct. 342/2 A knock-out is a combination of bidders at a sale, who, deputing one to bid, save the increase of price which further competition causes, and subsequently have a private sale among themselves. 1864East London Observer 25 June, Witness said a knock-out was where a sum of money was divided among the contractors, and the officials generally,..out of the contract price over and above what ought to be paid for the work... Those who did not get the work had money for putting in tenders so that the favored one got it, and the officials also. 1883A. Lang in Longm. Mag. II. 522 The auctioneer put up lot after lot, and Blinton plainly saw that the whole affair was a knock-out.
2. A knock-out blow: see A. b. Also transf.
1887in Amer. Speech (1950) XXV. 35/1 A knock-out was no more possible with these youngsters. 1891Sporting Life 25 Mar. 7/3 The Barrier man was nearly helpless, and Choynski tried frantically to pull himself together for one good knock out. 1894Morrison Tales Mean Streets, Three Rounds 138 It was a hard fight, and both the lads were swinging the right again and again for a knock-out. 1895G. B. Shaw Let. 17 Sept. (1965) 560 Got up [after cycling smash] within the prescribed ten seconds, but had subsequently to admit knock-out. a1918W. Owen Coll. Poems (1963) 71 One of us got the knock-out, blown to chops. 1944Return to Attack (Army Board, N.Z.) 23/2 The tanks, which had suffered three knockouts from 88-millimetre guns.
3. Polo. (See quot.) U.S.
1894Rules of Amer. Polo Assoc. in M. H. Hayes Mod. Polo (1896) 314 When the ball goes out ends, the side defending that goal is entitled to a knock out from the point at which it crossed the line. When the player having the knock out causes unnecessary delay, the Referee may throw a ball on the field and call play.
4. colloq. A person or thing of overwhelming or surpassing quality. Cf. A. g.
1892Idler June 549 'E's a knockout! 1898J. D. Brayshaw Slum Silhouettes 28 Got a rippin' good voice, ain't he? It's a knock-out. 1908London Mag. June 473/2 The tent is a knock-out. 1918A. Quiller-Couch Foe-Farrell xi. 163 The view from the top is a knock-out. 1920Wodehouse Jill the Reckless (1922) xiv. 213 He had a respect for Wally's opinion, for Wally had written ‘Follow the Girl’ and look what a knock-out that had been. 1935A. Huxley Let. c May (1969) 394 The greatest knockout is the ‘Assumption’ at S. Vincente, where there are also some small pictures of absolutely staggering beauty. 1953R. Lehmann Echoing Grove 190 A whizzing beauty! Really but really a knock-out. 1958Daily Mail 1 Sept. 10/8 The clever, wicked face of Emlyn Williams expressing the words of Dylan Thomas was once again a knock⁓out. 1970A. Cameron et al. Computers & O.E. Concordances 24 I've got a version of Paradise Lost that is a knock-out. 1971Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 11 June 2/1 I'm sick to death of women's liberation. I don't see any real knockouts running around with those placards, just a bunch of unhappy uggas. Nobody would want to spend an evening—much less a lifetime—with them.
5. a. Mech. A device for ‘knocking out’ or ejecting something, esp. from a mould or die.
1893Funk's Stand. Dict., Knock-out, a device for throwing out finished work from a punching- or stamping-machine. 1896O. Smith Press-Working of Metals xii. 243 There is a distinct class of ejecting press- or die-attachments known by the general name of ‘knockouts’, or sometimes and if limited to the lower die, as ‘knockups’. 1915F. D. Jones Diemaking & Die Design vii. 282 The mechanically operated knockout..applied to a punch press..operates more satisfactorily than a rubber bumper. 1919F. A. Stanley Punches & Dies vii. 152 The die is made..with a knock-out which ejects the work after the trimming operation. 1946Du Bois & Pribble Plastics Mold Engin. ix. 371 The knockout pins may be made as sleeve knockouts working over a core pin. 1960Eary & Reed Techniques Pressworking Sheet Metal xviii. 377 Basically, there are two main types of knockouts: the spring knockout and the solid knockout.
b. A part of a box or other article designed to be forced out to form a hole.
[1907: implied in A. e above.] 1939H. P. Richter Pract. Electr. Wiring x. 124 Around the sides [of the outlet box] and in the bottom are found ‘knockouts’—sections of metal that can be easily knocked out to form openings for wire to enter. The metal is completely severed around these sections except at one small point. 1955Die Design Handbk. (Amer. Soc. Tool Engineers) v. 23 Typical single and double dies for producing knockouts in conduit boxes, enclosing boxes, and similar products. 1962Gloss. Terms Glass Industry (B.S.I.) 36 Button (cap, knockout), a portion of a piece of pressed ware so designed that it can be knocked out or off to make a hole.
c. Founding. The process of separating a casting from the flask and sand in which it was made (cf. knock v. 14 j); the place where, or equipment with which, this is carried out.
1942Engineering 6 Mar. 195/3 The method of dealing with mould-making, closing and knock-out must depend upon the nature of the product. Ibid., The cooling of the sand on its way from the knock-out to the reconditioning mill presented some difficulty. 1955H. E. Crivan in W. C. Newell Casting of Steel vi. 227 Mechanical jolt knock-outs are in operation. 1972P. R. Beeley Foundry Technol. viii. 417 The interval before knockout is important from the points of view of moulding box utilisation and of the temperature of the sand in the system. 1973Steel Castings Abstr. XXII. 11 The redesign of castings..and alterations to the plant layout, including the knock⁓out, have reduced the labour required.
6. A ‘knock-out’ competition: see A. c.
1928Observer 4 Mar. 22 Pembroke..have won the finals..of both the football ‘knock-outs’. 1959A. Wesker Roots iii. 66 The fireman's whist drive. Won seven'n six in the knockout.
▸ B. n. Molecular Biol. Inactivation of a particular gene, esp. by artificial addition or deletion of DNA. Also: an organism, esp. a mouse, in which a particular gene has been inactivated.
1991New Biologist 3 331 (title) Knock-in and knock-out. Transgenes, development and disease. 1992Science 5 June 1393/3 Experienced labs can now make a new knockout in less than a year. 1995New Scientist 4 Mar. 16/3 By comparing these mice with the knockouts, biologists should be able to discover how individual genes affect each stage of fetal development. 2003Biotech Week (Nexis) 12 Nov. 454 While one mutation is a large deletion that is predicted to produce an effective knockout of the gene, the second is a point mutation..whose precise effects on protein function are unclear.
▸ A. adj. Molecular Biol. Designating an organism, esp. a mouse, in which a particular gene has been inactivated.
1992Science 5 June 1393/1 Knockout mice represent a major investment both in time and money. 1998J. Panksepp Affective Neurosci. vi. 118 The psychic appeal of cocaine seems to be mediated by the dopamine reuptake site, since knockout mice without this receptor do not appear to desire psychostimulants. 2003Pop. Sci. Jan. 71/2 ‘Knockout’ pigs—animals lacking a gene that coats pig cells with sugars that cause the human body to reject them as foreign. |