| 释义 |
Auguste|ˈaʊgʊst|
[Adopted in Fr. spelling auguste, f. G. August (der dumme August circus clown).]
A type of circus clown (see quots.).
The ‘explanation’ of the origin of the word in quot. 1935 is one of several unsubstantiated stories. Robert, Dict. de la Langue Franç., regards Fr. auguste as a noun that has arisen by antonymy from the adj. auguste ‘august, majestic’, but evidence is lacking.
1910W. J. Locke Simon the Jester iv. 42 Auguste..is the generic name of the clown in the French Hippodrome. 1935Observer 15 Dec. 13/3 The Auguste is the man with the battered bowler hat, his jacket on back to front..who always gets the worst of it... The name is supposed to have come about this way: A century ago an English clown, playing in Germany, had the novel idea..of going into the circus with a battered hat and his clothes all wrong. The audience began shouting out, ‘August! August!’ (The German phrase, ‘dumme August’ is equivalent to our word ‘zaney’ or ‘addle⁓pate’.) And the name has stuck to this day. 1950Oxf. Jun. Encycl. IX. 139/1 In the late 19th century a new type of clown appeared in the circus. He was called an ‘auguste’, and wore ill-fitting ordinary clothes..and a large bulbous red nose. |