| 释义 |
not at home, advb. phr.
Not prepared to receive visitors or accessible to callers. Also as n. or adj.
1829[see at home 1 b]. 1831Society I. 307 He was on that young lady's not-at-home list. 1874Hardy Far from Madding Crowd I. ix. 123 ‘I can't see him in this state. Whatever shall I do?’ Not-at-homes were hardly naturalized in Weatherbury farm-houses, so Liddy suggested—‘Say you're a fright with dust, and can't come down.’ 1923Mrs. Beeton's Bk. Househ. Managem. i. 35 When visitors present themselves the servant charged with the duty of opening the door will..answer without hesitation if the family are ‘not at home’, or ‘engaged’. |