| 释义 |
▪ I. rustling, vbl. n.|ˈrʌslɪŋ|
[f. rustle v.]
1. The action of the vb., in literal senses; an instance of this; a rustling sound.
1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VI. 93 Wiþ som manere rouschelynge þat he made..his felowe awook. 1565Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Crepitus, The rustlyng or noyse of feete goyng. 1579Spenser Sheph. Cal. Mar. 72, I..then heard no more rustling. 1603Holland Plutarch's Mor. 437 The great rustling and clattering that harneis and armor made. 1641Milton Reform. ii. Wks. 1851 I. 67 They would request us to indure still the russling of their Silken Cassocks. 1706Farquhar Recruiting Officer iv. iii, I hear the rustling of silks. Fly, sir! tis madam Melinda. 1797Mrs. Radcliffe Italian i, They heard a sudden rustling of the branches. 1848Dickens Dombey i, His meditations..were soon interrupted..by the rustling of garments on the staircase. 1875Whitney Life Lang. iv. 64 Containing a rustling or friction of the breath through a narrowed aperture.
2. U.S. colloq. Energetic, bustling activity.
1872R. B. Johnson Very far West 191 ‘Rustling’ is an Americanism, denoting the process of fighting against odds for a living. 1886Milnor (Dakota) Teller 2 July 4/1 It may be expected that some tall rustling will be indulged in during the next few weeks.
3. Stealing (esp. cattle) from farms, ranches, etc. Also transf. and attrib.
1893Aberdeen (S. Dak.) Sun 5 Jan. 7/4 Rustling cattle is an exciting trade and very profitable, but extremely hazardous. 1907[see cattle-rustling s.v. cattle 8 a]. 1924C. E. Mulford Rustlers' Valley x. 118 There had been no signs of rustling for months. 1937Sun (Baltimore) 23 Oct. 3/2 Battle front of the cotton-rustling racket..is the Fabens Island area..comprising 3,000 acres of rich cotton land. 1942E. Paul Narrow St. ix. 69 These crows had learned that living in Paris, near the central markets.., was easier than rustling in the country, exposed to the farmers' shotguns. 1963Wall St. Jrnl. 11 Oct. 9 Add ‘orange rustling’ to the list of crimes against society. 1976Evening Post (Nottingham) 14 Dec. 6/2 It's the peak of the shoplifting season..a time for turkey rustling and Christmas tree thefts.
▪ II. rustling, ppl. a.|ˈrʌslɪŋ|
[f. rustle v.]
1. Producing or giving out a series of light crisp sounds.
1565Cooper Thesaurus, Squamæ crepitantes, rustlyng scales. 1632J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 60 They danced at the sound of the rustling waves. 1667Milton P.L. i. 768 The spacious Hall..Thick swarm'd,..Brusht with the hiss of russling wings. 1735Somerville Chase ii. 257 The rustling Stubbles bend Beneath the driving Storm. 1778J. Scott Mor. Ecl. iii. 9 The bending osier, and the rustling reed. 1813Byron Corsair i. iv, Hoarse o'er her side the rustling cable rings. 1850Thackeray Pendennis lxvi, Under the dark arcades of the rustling limes. 1871Palgrave Lyr. Poems 96 The rustling pine-tree-tops.
2. Of the nature of a rustle.
1565Cooper Thesaurus, Strepitus arboris, the rustlinge noyse of a tree. 1611Cotgr., Vacarme,..the rustling noyse made by armor, or armed men, in a battaile. 1755Phil. Trans. XLIX. 22 Warts..so stiff and elastic, that, when the hand is drawn over them, they make a rust[l]ing noise. 1835J. Duncan Beetles (Nat. Lib.) 252 A rustling sound accompanies its flight. 1870Morris Earthly Par. III. iv. 383 And therewithal a rustling noise he heard.
3. U.S. colloq. Bustling, energetic, active.
1882Cent. Mag. XXIV. 508/2 To do a rustling business is to carry on an active trade. 1884Milnor (Dakota) Teller 17 Oct. 8/1 A rustling real estate dealer of Forman..was in the city most of the week.
Hence ˈrustlingly adv., with a rustling noise; so as to rustle.
1778[W. H. Marshall] Minutes Agric., Digest 67 Do not put Hay into Stack before it be rustlingly dry. 1834Medwin Angler in Wales II. 243 The blasts..howled rustlingly over the dry heather and withered grass. 1887Old Man's Favour iii. ii, Rustlingly she rose, and majestically advanced with outstretched hands. |