| 释义 |
second-class, a.
[f. prec.]
1. Of or belonging to the class (in any sense of the word) next to the first. Also absol. a place in the second class (in an examination); also a second-class railway ticket or compartment.
1837–8Civ. Engin. & Arch. Jrnl. I. 324/1 A Birmingham first class coach weighs 3 tons 17 cwt. 2 qrs... I have not weighed our second class open carriages. 1839Bradshaw's Rly. Time Tables 10th Mo. 25th, Birm'ham to L'pool, Gentlemen riding in their own Carriages charged Second Class Fares. Ibid., L'pool to Manch., On Sundays—Second Class Train, 7 Morning. 1846[see first-class B. 1]. 1861Chamb. Jrnl. 23 Mar. 177/2, I ride in second-class carriages, because the fare is cheaper than that of the first-class. 1863A. H. Clough Poems (ed. 2) 300 Punctual they met, a second-class he took. 1888Kipling Wee Willie Winkie (1907) 205 There was only one Second-class on the train. 1899Statesm. Year-bk. 1123 The Sudan has been divided into..three second-class districts. 1901Kipling Kim vii. 166 Father Victor..put him into an empty second-class next to Colonel Creighton's first. 1956Times 4 June 10/7 In 1875 one of the railway companies abolished ‘second class’, and called it ‘third’.
b. second-class matter (U.S.): postal matter consisting of periodicals sent from the office of publication; now replaced by second-class mail (not restricted to the U.S.): mail sent at the lower of two rates; so second-class letter, etc.
1873U.S. Postal Laws ii. viii. 176 Postage on second-class matter must be prepaid in money. 1883Sci. American 6 Jan. (title) Entered at the Post Office of New York, N.Y. as Second Class Matter. 1968Times 19 Mar. 2/1 Principal recommendations are: a two-tier system providing a first class letter service..and a slower second class service. Ibid. 9/1 The proposal for a first and second class mail service is a confession of failure. 1972R. Hill Fairly Dangerous Thing i. i. 11 A confirmation had been sent off the previous day, second-class mail. 1976Cumberland & Westmorland Herald 4 Dec. 9/6 A second-class letter posted after the last collection on a Friday night would not be dealt with until the following Monday. 1981G. Hammond Revenge Game xiv. 155 Put a second-class stamp on it and it may never get there.
c. second-class road: a road of a second class; a B-road (see B 2 (ii)).
1906Min. Evidence R. Comm. Motor Cars 191/2 in Parl. Papers (Cd. 3081) XLVIII. 89 The roads within the country used for heavy traffic may be divided into three classes: first-class roads,..second-class roads, which require strengthening only, [etc.]. 1914in 5th Ann. Rep. Road Board 77 in Parl. Papers 1914–16 XXXV. 127 The roads are to be divided into three classes—1. First Class; 2. Second Class; 3. All other roads. 1922Michelin Guide Gt. Brit. (ed. 6) (Atlas) 31 Second-class roads are designated ‘B’ with its [sic] number. 1975‘G. Black’ Big Wind for Summer ii. 29, I drove..into a second-class road that became acutely third class.
d. second-class citizen: a person assigned to an inferior class of citizenship; one deprived of normal civic and legal rights; also in extended and fig. uses. Hence second-class citizenship. orig U.S.
1942Time 6 July 16/3 Finerty..argued that destitute ‘second-class citizens’ like Waller were barred from serving on Virginia juries. 1948G. Orwell Let. 4 Jan. in Coll. Ess. (1968) IV. 401 Zilliacus wrote in demanding what amounts to Fascist legislation and creation of 2nd-class citizens. 1951I. Shaw Troubled Air xv. 217 Cohen..can't get into an hotel. He tells Levy, ‘..we're second-class citizens in this country.’ 1958J. K. Galbraith Affluent Soc. ix. 107 We relegate one important class of production to a second-class citizenship. 1965Austral. Encycl. I. 322/1 These people [sc. convicts] were second-class citizens, well versed in the routines of unorthodox speech. 1972D. Lessing Golden Notebook (ed. 2) p. viii, Women are second-class citizens, as they are saying energetically and competently in many countries. 1974Listener 17 Jan. 95/3 To show what the graphic artist (a second-class citizen in the art world) is capable of. 1975S. Lauder Killing Time on Corvo xvii. 160 Brazil..offered more opportunities to an educated girl than the restrictions, the second-class citizenship, of old-fashioned Portugal.
2. quasi-adv. By a second-class conveyance.
1863Mrs. Gaskell Let. 1 June (1966) 702 We shall have..to return—I was going to say 2nd class. 1877Trollope Amer. Senator II. xxv. 268 Why could she not go by herself, second class, like any other young woman? 1906A. Upward Eben. Lobb 206 Seymour says he came second-class,..and he had absolutely no luggage. 1974Times 22 Oct. 14/4 I'll pay rail fares, of course. Second class. I always travel second class. |