| 释义 |
‖ piranha|pɪˈrɑːnə, piː-, piˈraɲa|
[Pg., from Tupi piˈra nya, var. of piˈraya, scissors, also this fish.]
1. A carnivorous freshwater fish of the genus Serrasalmus, belonging to the family Characidæ and native to South America; = perai, piraya. Also attrib.
1869R. F. Burton Brazil II. 33 The poor almost live upon the..dreadful Piranha. 1904G. A. Boulenger Let. to Editor, The ferocious S. American fish..Serrasalmo piraya, is known in English books of natural history as the Piranha or Caribe, or Cariba. 1904[see caribe]. 1915Nature 8 Apr. 149/2 Birds, beasts, coral snakes, and piranha fishes, toads and ants, and primitive natives, he [sc. T. Roosevelt] has something to say about. 1927W. M. McGovern Jungle Paths & Inca Ruins xxvi. 269 All these fish were piranhas armed with savage little teeth. 1931[see caribe]. 1954G. Durrell Three Singles to Adventure ii. 53 The piranha is one of the most unpleasant freshwater fish known. It is a flat, corpulent, silver-coloured fish, with the lower jaw protruded. 1960T. Hughes Lupercal 20 Even the Amazon's taxed and patrolled To set laws by the few jaws—Piranha and jaguar. 1962N. Maxwell Witch-Doctor's Apprentice vii. 73 Piranhas, voracious little beasts which attack en masse and can strip the meat off a live cow in minutes. 1968New Scientist 7 Mar. 534/2 There are many types of fish that are classed as piranhas: the common feature is that they have a pair of powerful jaws with razor-sharp teeth. 1977Time 19 Sept. 62/1 (Advt.), Feel Tom Sterling's apprehension, when obliged to take a dip in the piranha-infested Amazon.
2. fig.
a1963S. Plath Ariel (1965) 40 And the fish, the fish—Christ! they are panes of ice, A vice of knives, A piranha Religion. 1977Times 14 Mar. 19/6 Gayle Hunnicutt turned Sarah Pocock into a deceptively girlish piranha who..planned to nibble into tiny pieces everyone in sight. 1978Times 15 May 16/8 It's not just a goldfish bowl in a nationalized industry, it's a piranha bowl. |