| 释义 |
▪ I. ‖ sassy, n.|ˈsæsɪ|
Also sass, saucy.
[W. African; believed to represent the Eng. saucy a.]
Used attrib. in sassy-tree, the African tree Erythrophlœum guineense (Cynometra Mannii); also in sassy-bark, sassy-wood, the bark of this tree, a decoction of which is used in West Africa as an ordeal poison.
1856Pharmaceut. Jrnl. XVI. 233 Several very perfect specimens of the inflorescence of the Sassy bark tree. Ibid., The Sassy tree. 1874Treas. Bot. Suppl. s.v. Erythrophlœum, The Sassy-tree has a powerfully poisonous bark. 1883Jrnl. Chem. Ind. 29 Mar. 137/2 On Erythrophleïne, the Principle of the Sassy Bark. 1894Amanda Smith Autobiog. xxvii. 219 She was accused of being a witch, and..the penalty was to drink the sassy wood. 1897M. Kingsley W. Africa 464 In both the sass-wood and Calabar bean drink the only chance for the accused lies in squaring the witch-doctor.
▪ II. sassy, a. colloq. (orig. and chiefly U.S.).|ˈsæsɪ|
[Var. saucy a.1]
Impudent, saucy, ‘cheeky’; outspoken, provocative; conceited, pretentious; self-assured, spirited, bold; vigorous, lively; stylish, ‘chic’. Also quasi-adv.
[1815D. Humphreys Yankey in Eng. i. 22 ‘Ah, you sly boots. Don't be saucy.’ ‘Saisy!’.] 1833S. Smith Life & Writings J. Downing 128 If I should give out now.., them are sassy chaps in Portland would laugh at me. 1862C. F. Browne A. Ward his Book 200 A hansum yung gal, with..a sassy little black hat tipt over her forrerd, sot in the seat with me. 1870‘Mark Twain’ Lett. to Publishers (1967) 38 And then I talked sassy to him for a page or two. 1880J. C. Harris Uncle Remus ii. 24 Brer Rabbit pacin' down de road..dez ez sassy ez a jaybird. 1908J. H. Shinn Pioneers & Makers Arkansas xxxii. 258, I have seen sassy people, but of all sassy people in the world Arkansassy people are the worst. 1917T. H. Comstock Man thou Gavest 12, I kept the sassy little hen. 1936Wodehouse Laughing Gas vii. 77 Have you ever had to look after a sassy, swollen-headed, wisecracking child star? 1945L. Saxon et al. Gumbo Ya-Ya xii. 233 My ma was hard-headed and sassy, and she'd talk right back to anybody, Massa or nobody. 1958J. Kerouac On Road i. x. 75 You can fill your filthy belly and get fat and sassy right before my eyes. 1961New Statesman 11 Aug. 193/2 The film..is big and sassy, full of generous visual effects. 1969N. Cohn A Wop Bopa Loo Bop (1970) xviii. 169 They looked at the things the Who did and analysed them and thought up sassy names for them. If the Who smashed up their instruments..was that violence? Certainly not: it was auto-destruction. 1974K. Millett Flying (1975) iii. 368 Celia's voice sweet brave sassy, ‘Of course I'll be okay.’ 1977Time 7 Feb. 57/1 He has..a stand-up lush of an ex-wife..whose sassy words rain mockery on all. 1977Spare Rib July 50/1, I learned a lot of things from the Beatles about sassiness. I always thought they were sassy, that was my label for them. 1979Arizona Daily Star 5 Aug. i. 10/4 She plays a leading character, Persona Non Grata, a hip, wise, slightly sassy new friend of Alic. 1980W. Safire in N.Y. Times Mag. 21 Sept., The Oxford American Dictionary, a sassy and helpful addition to any library. Ibid. 9 Nov., He initials ‘MFC’, a sadly sassy signal that means ‘measure for coffin’.
Hence ˈsassily adv.; ˈsassiness.
1976C. Weston Rouse Demon (1977) xii. 56 ‘Go ahead, ask me something,’ he urged sassily. 1976‘Trevanian’ Main vi. 128 Now that his first panic is over, something of his haughty sassiness returns. |