| 释义 |
merrythought|ˈmɛrɪθɔːt|
[f. merry a. + thought n.: see below.]
The furcula or forked bone between the neck and breast of a bird; also, the portion of a bird when carved that includes this bone. Also attrib.
The name, like the synonym wish-bone, alludes to the playful custom of two persons pulling the furcula of a fowl until it breaks; according to the popular notion, the one who gets the longer (in some districts, the shorter) piece will either be married sooner than the other, or will gain the fulfilment of any wish he may form at the moment.
1607Dekker Northw. Hoe iii. Wks. 1873 III. 42, I longd for the merry thought of a phesant. 1611Cotgr., Lunette, the merrie-thought; the forked craw-bone of a bird, which we vse, in sport, to put on our noses. 1711Addison Spect. No. 7 ⁋2, I..have seen a Man in Love grow pale and lose his Appetite, upon the plucking of a Merry-thought. 1716R. Waller in Phil. Trans. XXIX. 513 Under the Clavicula or Merry-thought-bone. a1756E. Haywood New Present 269 Then cut up the merry-thought. 1843Lever J. Hinton ii, Simpering old maids cracked merry thoughts with gay bachelors. 1890Coues Field & Gen. Ornithol. ii. 136 The lower belly of the curve, convex forward, fitting in between the forks of the merrythought (Lat. furculum). |