释义 |
▪ I. putter, n.1|ˈpʊtə(r)| [f. put v.1 + -er1.] A person or thing that puts, in various senses. 1. A beast that pushes or butts with the head or horns: cf. put v.1 1. Obs. exc. dial. |ˈpʌtə(r)|.
1382Wyclif Exod. xxi. 29 If an oxe be an hornputter fro ȝisterday and the thridde day hens. 1388Ibid. 36 The oxe was a puttere. 1825Jamieson, Putter...2. An animal that butts with the head or horns. 2. One who or that which puts (in current senses of the vb., lit. and fig.); one who or that which places or sets; one who propounds a question, etc. Also with extension, as putter to death, putter to flight, etc.: see also 8.
c1425Cursor M. 3744 (Trin.) Skilful is iacob his nome Þat is to say in riȝt langage Putter out of heritage. a1515Dunbar Poems lxxxv. 29 Haill,..puttar to flicht Of fendis in battale! 1581Savile Tacitus, Hist. iii. lxxiii. 160 Euery man was a commaunder, and no man a putter in execution. 1587Golding De Mornay xxxii. 509 The putters of Iesus and of his disciples to death. a1704R. L'Estrange (J.), The most wretched sort of people are dreamers upon events and putters of cases. 1821Lamb Elia, Mackery End, The putter of the said question. 1847L. Hunt Men, Women & B., Lying (1876) 133 O love of truth!..putter of security into the heart. †3. ‘Prob., the horn or erector of the cheffroun or head-dress’ (Jamieson's Dict. 1880). Obs.
1516Inv. R. Wardr. (1815) 27 Item, ane cheffroun with ane putter with settis of perle siclik send to the quene in Ingland. †4. An instrument for crimping a ruff; also called putting-stick or poting-stick (see pote v.).
1583Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. (1882) 36 This instrument [must] be heated in the fire, the better to stiffen the ruffe... And if you would know the name of this goodly toole, forsooth the deuill hath giuen it to name a putter, or else a putting sticke. [1602: see pooter n.] †5. See quot. and cf. putterling. Obs. rare.
a1670Spalding Troub. Chas. I (1850) I. 297 He had about 800 men..and six puttaris or schort peices of ordinans. 6. Coal-mining. A man or boy employed in ‘putting’ or propelling the trams or barrows of coal from the workings; a haulier; orig. one who pushed the tram or barrow from behind: see put v.1 4. Also attrib., as putter-boy, putter lad.
1708J. C. Compl. Collier (1848) 36 Barrow-Men, or Coal-Putters..put or pull away the full Corves of Coals. 1812J. Hodgson in J. Raine Mem. (1857) I. 97 This work was done by putters and barrow-men, the latter pulling before, and the former putting or thrusting behind. 1880Daily News 17 Sept. 6/3 Two putter lads were found jammed against some broken tubs. 1893Labour Commission Gloss. s.v., The tram containing the coal is sometimes pushed by the boy, and sometimes pulled by a pony, hence the terms hand-putters and pony-putters. †7. See quot. Obs. [Perh. a different word.]
1807Sir R. Wilson in Life (1862) II. viii. 374 The road..being made of putters or young trees. 8. With adverbs, forming compound agent-nouns corresponding to adverbial combinations of put v.1 (branch V.): as putter away, putter back, putter forth, putter forward, putter in, putter together; putter down, (a) one who puts something down, in various senses (see put v.1 42); (b) spec. = putter off (b); putter off, † (a) one who shoots off or discharges a missile (obs.); (b) one who passes off something fraudulently (? obs.); (c) one who defers or postpones; putter on, † (a) one who urges on, an instigator, inciter; (b) one who puts something on, or affixes it to, something else, esp. a workman employed in doing this in various manufactures, etc.; putter out, (a) one who extinguishes; (b) one who deposits or lends money at interest; (c) one who puts an animal out to graze or feed; (d) see quot. 1865; putter up, (a) one who puts something up, in various senses (see put v.1 56); (b) spec. one who prearranges a robbery or other criminal proceeding (slang).
1552Huloet, *Putter awaye, expulsor. *Putter backe, repulsor.
1701Stanhope St. Aug. Medit. (1720) ix. 22 Come, thou *putter down of the proud and teacher of the Meek. 1869Trollope He Knew xxxv, A republican, a putter-down of the Church, a hater of the Throne. 1906P.T.O. 16 June 16/2 Three men as a rule take an active part in a forgery—the ‘putter-up’, the capitalist who finds the necessary funds; the ‘blacksmith’, the actual forger; and the ‘putter-down’, who actually presents the forged document and obtains the money. 1926Clues Nov. 162/1 Putter-down, the party who passes forged checks for the real forger.
1824Examiner 724/2 The fabricators and *putters-forth of such ‘Narratives’. 1886Eng. Hist. Rev. I. 746 William Squire, the putter-forth of the ‘Squire Papers’, was before their issue concerned in two hoaxes.
1632Brome Novella v. i, The Chambermayde, a kind of *putter-forwards, Sir, to the businesse.
1881Instr. Census Clerks (1885) 97 Bolt Making:..*Putter-in.
1615Chapman Odyss. xviii. 379 Troy traines vp approued sonnes In deeds of armes: braue *putters off of shaftes. a1700B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Queere-cole-fencer, a Receiver and putter off [of] false Money. 1803in Spirit Pub. Jrnls. VII. 227 note, Fabius is the patron saint of delayers and putters-off.
1611Shakes. Wint. T. ii. i. 141 You are abus'd, and by some *putter on, That will be damn'd for't. 1613― Hen. VIII, i. ii. 24 My good Lord Cardinall, they vent reproches Most bitterly on you, as putter on Of these exactions. 1864A. McKay Hist. Kilmarnock (ed. 4) 254 He was a putter-on in a printwork.
a1586Sidney Arcadia (1622) 470 O know him, and become not the *putters out of the worlds light. 1610Shakes. Temp. iii. iii. 48 Men Whose heads stood in their brests? which now we finde Each putter out of fiue for one, will bring vs Good warrant of. [Cf. quot. s.v. put v.1 43 j.] 1639Rec. Dedham, Mass. (1892) III. 65 After the sayd owner or putter out of ye same Swyne shall haue knoweledge therof. 1795J. Aikin Manchester 239 A number of hands are also employed by the putters-out on account of the merchants in Manchester. 1865Brierley Irkdale I. 125, I succeeded in obtaining a situation as putterout to a firm in Manchester. Ibid. note, Putterout is a term applied to the person who gives out the work to handloom weavers.
1767Misc. in Ann. Reg. 220/1 Many a *putter together of long and short verse in Latin. 1881Instr. Census Clerks 45 Scissors Putter Together.
1812J. H. Vaux Flash Dict., *Putter up, the projector or planner of a put-up affair, as a servant in a gentleman's family, who proposes to a gang of housebreakers the robbery of his master's house. 1859Sala Tw. round Clock (1861) 137 The chief swineherd and I were friends. He was my ‘putter-up’ at skittles. 1881Instr. Census Clerks (1885) 75 Hosiery Manufacture:..Putter-up. Ibid. 76 Boot and Shoe Making:..Putter-up. Ibid. 88 China, Porcelain, Manufacture:..Putter-up. 1891Pall Mall G. 15 Sept. 2/3 [The bull] is..a beast of burden, or a putter-up of flesh for the benefit of the Madrid butchers. 1929C. Humphreys Great Pearl Robbery i. 12 The police knew that Grizard was the ‘putter-up’. 1975M. Crichton Great Train Robbery ii. 18 Edward Pierce..accumulated sufficient capital to finance large-scale criminal operations, thus becoming what was called ‘a putter-up’. ▪ II. putter, n.2|ˈpʌtə(r); in sense 1 also ˈpʊtə(r)| [f. put, putt v.2 + -er1.] 1. One who ‘puts’ or throws a heavy stone or other weight: see put v.1 2, v.2 2. Chiefly Sc.
1820Hogg Wint. Even. T. I. 265 ‘Thou's naething of a putter’, said Meg,..; ‘an thou saw my billy Rwob put, he wad send it till here’. 1884H. C. Bunner in Harper's Mag. Jan. 303/1 The champion..putter of the ponderous weight. 1898Allbutt's Syst. Med. V. 915 Sprint-runners, putters of weights, wrestlers and the like. 2. Golf. a. A club used in ‘putting’: cf. put v.2 3. driving putter: see quot. 1881 and driving vbl. n. 3 b.
1743Mathieson Goff in Poems on Golf (1867) 59 Let each social soul Drink to the putter, the balls, and the hole. 1805Forsyth Beauties Scotl. I. 84 The putter is used where a short stroke is intended. 1833G. F. Carnegie Golfiana in R. Clark Golf (1875) 151, I see Mount-Melville stand Erect, his driving putter in his hand. 1857Chambers's Inform. People 693/2 The putter..is a short-shafted, stiff club, with a large, flattish head, and square face; it is used when the ball arrives within close proximity to the hole. 1877M. M. Grant Sun-Maid ix, The ‘putter’ has expelled the mallet. 1881Forgan Golfer's Handbk. 11 The two varieties of Putters are used for very different purposes. They are the most ‘upright’ fellows in the set... The ‘Green Putter’..is employed on the putting-green... One function of the Driving-Putter..is to force a ball out of long grass... The Driving-Putter is fast falling into disuse. b. A player who ‘puts’ (well or ill).
1857Chambers's Inform. People 694/1 To be a good putter, is what all golfers aim at, and comparatively few ever attain. 1895W. T. Linskill Golf (ed. 3) 21 A player who is a really good putter is often more than a match for the longest driver. ▪ III. putter, n.3|ˈpʌtə(r)| [Echoic. Cf. put-put n.] A muffled explosive sound characteristic of an internal-combustion engine, as an outboard motor, etc. Also applied to an engine or vehicle which makes such a sound.
1942‘N. Shute’ Pied Piper 224 There was a fishing⁓boat..coming in from the sea; faintly they heard the putter of an engine. 1948G. Greene Heart of Matter II. i. ii. 118 Across the river the tinkering in the launch went on: the sharp crack of a chisel, the clank of metal, and then again the spasmodic putter. 1964J. Masters Trial at Monomoy ii. 56 The putter of the marine diesels and the slap and sigh of the sea. 1969Listener 12 June 814/1 We heard the first putter of outboard motors that, by mid⁓morning, become the background noise of the region. 1975Islander (Victoria, B.C.) 27 July 7/1 We had a small open boat with an inboard engine. This ‘putter’ would provide slow but reliable transportation. 1979R. Laidlaw Lion is Rampant xiv. 111, I could hear the putter of farm machinery. ▪ IV. putter, v.1 Obs. exc. dial.|ˈpʌtə(r)| [An onomatopœic word, akin to patter and mutter. Cf. the parallel Sw. puttra to mutter.] intr. To mutter; to grumble.
1611Cotgr., Brimboter, mumble, putter, mutter, grumble, or babble vnto himselfe. c1903J. H. in Eng. Dial. Dict. (Norf.) s.v. Puter, She putters all day long. ▪ V. ˈputter, v.2 orig. U.S. [var. of potter v.: cf. pudder.] = potter v. 4 and 5. Hence ˈputterer, ˈputtering vbl. n. and ppl. a., ˈputteringly adv.
1878L. M. Alcott Under Lilacs xii. 130 Ben infinitely preferred to watch ants and bugs..rather than ‘putter’ over plants with long names. 1878L. C. Bell in Wide Awake Jan. 24/1 Every morning in the midst of his chores, Max found time for a long, hovering, puttering visit. Ibid., Max likes to ‘putter’ with the housework, too. 1882Century XXV. 202 The aged grandfather of this group was usually absent after wood, or else puttering near the fire-place. 1887Harper's Mag. Aug. 479 So wanderingly, putteringly benevolent are some of his letters. 1894Mrs. Alden in Chicago Advance 27 Dec. 448/3 If you two girls would stop your everlasting puttering over paint and embroidery, and do something. 1895Sarah M. H. Gardner Quaker Idyls v. 85 He was a hard-workin' kind of a putterer. 1897Kipling Capt. Cour. iii. 82 But it's a putterin' job all the same. 1907J. M. Synge Let. 3 June (1971) 153 Yesterday we puttered about, and today we are going for another long expedition. 1925R. Frost Let. 20 June (1964) 174, I am free to putter my days out without even writing any more. 1925J. G. Macleod in Oxf. Poetry 26 His still moving body Like a strange motor-boat propelled by nothing puttered round The headland. 1931D. L. Sayers Five Red Herrings xxiv. 278 He would be the one person who might habitually see Campbell having breakfast and puttering about the house. 1952Arena (N.Z.) XXXI. 5 Real man of mystery he was these days. Puttering round the whare at all hours. 1960M. K. Joseph I'll Soldier no More 150 Tired, they putter slowly back to billets. 1977G. Durrell Golden Bats & Pink Pigeons v. 121 The Box fish puttered to and fro like some weird, orange boat. ▪ VI. putter, v.3|ˈpʌtə(r)| [Echoic. Cf. put-put v.] intr. To make an intermittent explosive sound characteristic of an internal-combustion engine; to move, making such a sound. Hence ˈputtering vbl. n. and ppl. a.
1937M. Lane At Last Island ix. 270 The boat puttered and back-fired out of the harbour. 1947J. Steinbeck Wayward Bus 197 The rain had diminished so that there was only a faint puttering on the roof. 1956J. Masters Bugles & Tiger i. 31 A groaning truck..backfired and puttered steadily down the road to the plains. 1958Times 7 July 9/4 The mower must depend on human exertion and not be of the petrol-puttering kind. 1971P. Crampton tr. Heyerdahl's Ra Expeditions vii. 163 Our first hesitant moves were now being followed by excited journalists and experienced old salts on board the puttering vessels which circled about us. 1975New Yorker 28 Apr. 98/3 They [sc. Hanoians] rent rowing shells or go for a ride in the motorboats that putter back and forth between its islands. |