| 释义 |
scrambler|ˈskræmblə(r)|
[f. scramble v. + -er1.]
I.
1. One who scrambles. (Cf. scambler.)
1687Wood Life 5 Sept. (O.H.S.) III. 237 Dr. Derham..was here noted for a scrambler, being in his scarlet, so notorious that they flung things in his face. 1716Addison Freeholder No. 40 ⁋1 All the little scramblers after fame fall upon him, publish every blot in his life [etc.]. 1806W. Taylor in Ann. Rev. IV. 251 Nature..proportions the multiplication of the people to their comforts, and thus provides an everlasting supply of scramblers for subsistence. 1861Sat. Rev. 7 Sept. 236 A scramble for sovereigns..would be sure to attract plenty of scramblers. 1871L. Stephen Playgr. Eur. xiii. (1894) 337 The mountaineer..is not a mere scrambler. 1954M. Connolly Power Tennis 66 Many times I have seen a scrambler unnerve a much better player merely by returning her best placements. 1958Oxford Mail 27 Aug. 4/9 Most of Britain's leading motor-cycle scramblers will be at Brill on October 5. 1961Times 29 Apr. 3/2 Can it be that his consummate skill as a scrambler is beginning to weigh on him? 1967Time 17 Mar. 55 He is known in the trade as a ‘scrambler’, who would just as soon run as throw, who can turn a potential 10-yd. loss into a 50-yd. gain. 1972J. Mosedale Football vi. 86 Quarterbacks usually identified as scramblers got that reputation because they had to run after inept teammates failed to block for them.
II. That which scrambles.
2. A plant, often a climbing one, depending on the support of others.
1902L. H. Bailey Cycl. Amer. Hort. IV. 1935/2 There are many useful climbers among the scramblers. 1953Brit. Commonwealth Forest Terminol. (Empire Forestry Assoc.) I. 116 Scrambler. A plant which, owing to lack of rigidity in its stem, and absence of special climbing organs, uses other vegetation as its support. 1974Country Life 21 Mar. 642/3 This large-flowered scrambler [sc. a Cretan Aristolochia] is probably not very hardy.
3. a. An electronic device used, esp. in telephony and radio, to make speech signals unintelligible, usu. by dividing the signal into distinct frequency ranges which are separately inverted and displaced in frequency.
1950G. Hackforth-Jones Worst Enemy i. 24 This line, which linked me directly with the Rear-Admiral, was fitted with a device known as a ‘scrambler’ which was completely secure against listening in and it was therefore possible to speak freely and at length at all times. 1968New Scientist 19 Dec. 657/3 A simple scrambler that will turn high speech frequencies into low speech frequencies and vice versa can be bought for about {pstlg}100. 1973‘I. Drummond’ Jaws of Watchdog ii. 31 The radio..had a scrambler, so that if the message was picked up accidentally it sounded like static. a1974R. Crossman Diaries (1975) I. 41 Having made a big fuss about national security to George Wigg I have decided to be extremely careful in everything I do personally so I've had scramblers and big safes installed in London as well as here at Prescote. 1981A. Melville-Ross Tightrope vi. 36 You can get me..the Minister's Private Secretary..on the scrambler.
fig.1958Listener 13 Nov. 791/3 Your work of art..has to suffer a further change as it goes through the scrambler of your reader's prejudices.
b. attrib., as scrambler line, scrambler phone, scrambler system, scrambler telephone.
1958L. Durrell Balthazar ii. 29 His work was invisibly dictated by a scrambler telephone. 1958Listener 25 Sept. 462/2 It is a variant of the scrambler system which has been long in use for confidential telephonic communication. 1965Times 16 Feb. 12/2 The ‘scrambler’ telephone can now be bought for {pstlg}50 by individual companies. 1966J. Bingham Double Agent xi. 162 He lifted the scrambler telephone... ‘A scrambled phone is safe, but not entirely safe.’ 1974G. Markstein Cooler lxviii. 234 He..made a call on the scrambler line to London. 1975‘M. Sinclair’ Long Time Sleeping ix. 115 Pringle..switched on the scrambler phone and started writing. 1977C. Forbes Avalanche Express ii. xi. 118 Scholten took the call on his scrambler phone.
Add:4. A motor-cycle designed for use over rough terrain, esp. in moto-cross riding; = trail-bike s.v. trail n.1 17. Also appositively, in scrambler-bike.
1969Time 2 May 31/1 The foursome would prefer tough scramblers, ‘with big drive sprockets, knobby wheels—and more vroom’. 1977Belfast Tel. 22 Feb. 26/9 (Advt.), Schoolboy Scrambler, excellent condition, {pstlg}485 o.n.o. 1986N.Y. Times 16 Nov. x. 16/3 Semver..rents bicycles at $8, mopeds at $10, scooters from $15 to $18 and cross-country scrambler bikes from $20 to $30. 1988Washington Post 8 May (Book World) 15/2 Ralph is a modern shepherd, complete with scrambler-bike and a scrappy education. |