| 释义 |
wisecrack colloq. (orig. U.S.).|ˈwaɪzkræk|
Also wise crack, wise-crack.
[crack n. 5.]
A clever, pithy witticism or remark. Also as quasi-adj.
1924G. Ade Let. 20 Dec. (1973) 101 When Geraghty came yesterday, both of us had thought of putting in another character, a young wise-crack small town loafer,..who thinks he is very sly. 1925Sat. Even. Post 14 Feb. 44 The Palace, Chicago, will howl at a wise crack, a nifty, that Duluth audiences won't even flag as it flies over their heads. 1950G. B. Shaw Buoyant Billions 98 The satirical humor of Aristophanes, the wisecracks of Confucius, the precepts of the Buddha. 1959I. & P. Opie Lore & Lang. Schoolch. ix. 174 He might..have seen sense in the wisecracks which..scientifically minded boys indulge in..: ‘What is the matter?’ ‘That which occupies space.’ 1977Rep. Comm. Future of Broadcasting (Cmnd. 6753) ii. 15 Lord Hill..saw no reason why the BBC should have been expected to apologise for a wisecrack in a satire programme..that if you can see the Prime Minister's lips moving you know he is lying. 1979R. Jaffe Class Reunion (1980) i. viii. 109 Say only nice, polite, ladylike things, no nasty wisecracks.
So ˈwisecrack v. intr., to make wisecracks; also trans., with quoted words as obj.; ˈwisecracking ppl. a. and vbl. n.; also ˈwisecracker, one given to making wisecracks.
1915Call (San Francisco) 30 Apr. 17 Wisecrackin' city fellers ain't got nuthin' on you. 1923N.Y. Times 9 Sept. vii. 2 Wise-cracker, a city fellow who makes wise remarks. 1924P. Marks Plastic Age 28 The lights flashed on and the crowd filed out, ‘wise-cracking’ about the picture. Ibid. 113 Carl the flippant, the voluble, the ‘wise-cracker’, lost his tongue. 1927New Republic 12 Oct. 218/2 He has the knack of wise-cracking, and his dialogue is of that slick and well oiled kind that you may meet in good vaudeville. 1939Joyce Finnegans Wake 33 It has been blurtingly bruited by certain wisecrackers.. that he suffered from a vile disease. 1940Graves & Hodge Long Week-End xx. 345 Everyday life could be made interesting on the screen without fictitious drama or wise⁓cracking comment. 1946Sat. Rev. Lit. 2 Nov. 41/1 Both authors wisecrack their way through adverse circumstances. 1949H. Robbins Dream Merchants (1950) 144 Jane saw him come into the office. ‘If it ain't the vice-president himself!’ she wisecracked. ‘How's the picture business?’ 1949G. B. Shaw Sixteen Self Sketches xiv. 82 Without him I might have been a mere literary wise⁓cracker, like Carlyle and Ruskin. 1977Rolling Stone 21 Apr. 58/1 Jim Rockford is a worldly wisecracker. 1979Fortune 21 May 71/1 Fraser wisecracks that the Carter Administration's voluntary wage guidelines have ‘self-destructed’. 1982Daily Tel. 11 May 14 He has defended rioters..with such vigour as to alarm his fellow lawyers, one of whom wisecracked to me: ‘Who will rid us of this turbulent pest?’ 1982E. North Ancient Enemies viii. 105 Liz reminds me..of Tammy, who was tough and wise-cracking. |