| 释义 |
quavery, a.|ˈkweɪvərɪ|
[f. as quavering ppl. a. + -y1.]
Apt to quaver; somewhat quavering.
1519W. Horman Vulg. 240 A quauery or maris and vnstable foundacion, must be holpe with great pylys of alder rammed downe. 1866M. E. Braddon Lady's Mile 35 Quavery old sextons. 1890Hall Caine Bondman iii. iv, He began to sing..in his hoarse and quavery voice. 1965House & Storey Lett. C. Dickens I. 557 A quavery line is drawn under ‘Ill! He ill!’, and another under ‘Any time while the—’. The writing of the last three lines gets progressively more shaky. 1975Daily Tel. 10 Nov. 2/6 A woman's voice in the crowd soared above the others, quavery but sweet.
So ˈquavery-ˈmavery, in an uncertain or precarious condition. rare.
1809Malkin Gil Blas x. ii. ⁋3 Your father..is standing, as a body may say, quavery-mavery between life and death. a1825Forby Voc. E. Anglia, Quavery-mavery, undecided; and hesitating how to decide. |