释义 |
ˈcentre-bit [see bit n.1 6.] An instrument turning on a projecting centre-point, used for making cylindrical holes. (Noted as a burglar's tool.)
1794Rigging & Seamansh. I. 150 Centre-bit, a bit, having in the middle of its end a small steel point, with a sharp edge on one side to cut horizontally, and a sharp tooth on the opposite side to cut vertically. 1833A. Fonblanque Eng. und. 7 Admin. (1837) II. 315 There are picklocks, files, and centre-bits available for robbery. 1838Dickens O. Twist xix, ‘None,’ said Sikes. ‘'Cept a centre-bit and a boy.’ 1845Darwin Voy. Nat. xviii. (1852) 409 [He] then rapidly turns the curved part, like a carpenter's centre-bit. 1855Tennyson Maud i. i. xi, And Sleep must lie down arm'd, for the villainous centre-bits Grind on the wakeful ear in the hush of the moonless nights. 1857Reade Never too late ii. (D.) His intelligence bored like a centre-bit into the deep heart of his enemy. |