释义 |
ˈshape-up U.S. Also shapeup. [f. vbl. phr. to shape up: see shape v.] 1. A system of hiring dock workers for the day or half-day by arbitrary selection from a gathering of men on site. Also transf.
1940Sun (Baltimore) 8 Nov. 22/7 Under the shape-up system..longshoremen are forced to gather on the docks..every morning from 5 o'clock on..for the sake of a half day's pay. 1948Ibid. 26 Nov. 2/2 Retention of the traditional twice-a-day ‘shapeup’ or work call, with the guarantee of four hours work for men called to work only once in a single day. 1954Ibid. 9 Apr. 20/4 There are now from 22 to 24 cities being considered for the major leagues... This is the opinion of Ford Frick, baseball's high commissioner... ‘Of course,’ Frick said, ‘I don't know when their shape-up will take place.’ 1967Boston Sunday Herald 30 Apr. 1. 7/1 Boston's union long⁓shoremen have sounded the death knell of their traditional but unwieldy dock shape-up. 1977Time 17 Oct. 57/2 When Marlon Brando starred in On the Waterfront (1954), the morning shape-ups of New York Dock workers were pretty much as the movie portrayed them—noisy, brawling scenes of men fighting for the jobs available. 2. The action or an instance of shaping up.
1963Washington Post 2 Oct. d2 The United States Olympic track and field team will have a final ‘shapeup’ meet in the Los Angeles Coliseum. 1977Time 7 Feb. 20/2 He [sc. Lipshutz] presides at the daily 8 a.m. staff meetings... She is the only..outspoken liberal at Lipshutz's daily shape-ups. Ibid. 4 Apr. 60/2 Then, as the Central Intelligence Agency became mired in inefficiency, Schlesinger was tapped for the shape-up operation. As CIA director he immediately began to demythologize the agency. |