| 释义 |
Plan B, n.
Brit. |ˌplan ˈbiː|, U.S. |ˈplæn ˈbi|
Forms: also with lower-case initial(s).
[‹ plan n. + B n. (indicating second position in a series). Compare slightly later Plan A n.]
1. The second of a series of plans (esp. ordered by preference, expediency, etc.).
1863J. C. Ropes Let. 19 Oct. in J. C. Gray & J. C. Ropes War Lett. (1927) 242 You will perceive that in Plan B the road is on a sort of Hill or rising ground itself; that there are slopes either way to our and to the rebel position. 1870Rep. U.S. Commissioners Paris Universal Expos. 1867 134 According to plan A, with the whole head of Bessemer steel the cost per ton..is {pstlg}8 12s. 1d.; and secondly, according to plan B, with the top or wearing surface of the rail only of Bessemer steel, the cost..is {pstlg}8 6s. 8d. 1937Jrnl. Higher Educ. 8 335/1 Plan A will be a continuation of the present program. Plan B provides ‘that..Juniors and Seniors may either pursue Plan A or may receive a modified or less intensive form of tutorial instruction’. 1950Jrnl. Negro Educ. 19 128/1 Plan B is objectional [sic] for its divisive emphasis. Plan C is not economically practical. 1964N.Y. Times 11 Dec. 1/3 Plan A, the one least attractive to the Republicans, will be passed first. It will be signed into Law. Then Plan B will be passed as an amendment and signed... The same thing will be done with Plans C and D. 2002Sporting News 11 Nov. We had all these different scenarios... We had to do a final lap with Richard, and a race winner, and a champion. We had Plan A and Plan B and Plan C.
2. colloq. (freq. humorous). An alternative course of action (which may not really exist) for use when one's original strategy is unworkable or has failed. Cf. Plan A n. 2.
1977Washington Post 5 Oct. e4/2 When you resort to plays like that, that is Plan B... That means you didn't spend enough time on Plan A. 1989M. Ripley Just Another Angel (BNC) 135 Rebecca said not to worry and that she and Clara always followed Plan B—to hide in the ladies—if anything went wrong. 1997A. Garland Beach 194 The only problem with plan B was that, like most plan B's, it didn't exist. We had several options but could never agree on which one to take. 2001Time 16 July 28/3 For the past 14 years, Yucca has been the..only site for a permanent repository in which to store nuclear waste... There is no Plan B.
3. Amer. Football. In the National Football League: a scheme under which a team retains rights over a certain number of its players at the expiration of their contracts, encumbering their ability to sign with another team, the remainder of the players being able to negotiate freely with other teams. Freq. attrib., esp. in Plan B free agency, Plan B free agent. Now hist.
The scheme, introduced in February 1989, was ended by a 1992 district-court ruling that it violated federal antitrust laws.
1988Chicago Tribune 18 Nov. iv. 3/2 Plan B would make more than 500 players free..regardless of their current contract status. 1990Sports Illustr. 10 Sept. 84/2 During the off-season the Giants lost 10 players, including two starters, to Plan B free agency. 1994Federal Suppl. (U.S.) 8361463/2 The revised player mobility and employment rules represent a successful effort by NFL players to eliminate Plan B. 2000Sports Illustr. (Electronic ed.) 28 Aug. After leaving the Niners as a Plan B free agent in 1990, Craig suited up for the Los Angeles Raiders. |