| 释义 |
ˈback-stop
Also backstop.
[back a., back- A. 4.]
a. Something placed at the back to serve as a barrier; spec. a mound of earth or embankment set up behind a target on a rifle range. Also fig.
1851F. Starr 20 Yrs. of Trav.'s Life xiii. 143 The remaining shaft..broke off short, and that which when we started was a gig, was now a back stop for horses' heels. 1904Goodchild & Tweney Technol. & Sci. Dict. 37/1 Back stops (Cotton Spinning), buffers, used to prevent the mule carriage from going beyond a certain point during its inward run. 1946Sports Afield Jan. 55/1 (D.A.), Put up two targets on the backstop for the second barrel practice. 1947Landfall I. 43 This being the first issue of Landfall, there is no previous survey to provide a convenient back-stop to discussion. 1954W. Faulkner Fable (1955) 343 The railroad embankment..would serve as a backstop for what bullets neither flesh nor wood absorbed.
b. spec. in Cricket. (See back- B.)
1819Suffolk Chron. 31 July 3/2 They were deprived of two of their best bowlers, and a back-stop. 1867Lillywhite's Cricketer's Companion 120 [He is] an admirable back-stop. Ibid. 127 T. Moore, back-stop of the eleven.
c. Baseball. A fence behind the catcher to stop the ball; also, the catcher himself or his position. U.S.
1889Reach's Official Base Ball Guide 142 Backstop must be ninety feet from home base. 1890H. C. Palmer Stories of Base Ball Field 46 Tom Daly was the greatest catcher..and a careful study of that back-stop's methods behind the bat to-day will help any young catcher.
Hence as v. trans., to support, back up; to supply with necessary additional resources. colloq. (orig. and chiefly U.S.).
1956B. Holiday Lady sings Blues (1973) xiv. 121 Tony kept my job open. He offered to backstop me with the money I needed. 1967Electronics 6 Mar. 29 (Advt.), We'll backstop your control procedures in our analytical labs. 1968P. Tamony Americanisms (typescript) No. 21. 2 An invasion of unsavory schmucks..was thrown back and frustrated by Mayor Daley's phalanx of police and National Guardsmen, backstopped by the United States Army. 1977N.Y. Times 17 June A26/2 The International Monetary Fund can backstop the private system. |