释义 |
Cindeˈrella Name of the heroine of a well-known fairy-tale. Thence applied allusively to a cinder-woman, scullery-maid, etc.; also, a neglected or despised member, partner, or the like. Also attrib. Also, (= Cinderella dance) an early dancing party where the guests are invited until twelve o'clock only.
1840Thackeray in Fraser's Mag. July 101/2, I shall make one more trial..upon the third daughter, a family Cinderella. 1877E. S. Dallas Kettner's Bk. of Table 425 Others..declare that it [sc. Shoulder of Mutton] is the Cinderella of meat—a beauty misunderstood and fit for princes. 1882Society 14 Oct. 4/2 An excellent scheme of subscription ‘Cinderellas’. 1883Standard 8 Jan. 5/2 The ‘Cinderella dance’ is much affected. 1896Daily News 25 July 8/3 For many years the Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire has been a cinderella among railways. 1914Scotsman 14 Oct. 10/1 Their [sc. the Gaelic-speaking peoples' of Scotland] language did not deserve to be the Cinderella of all the languages of the British Empire. 1937C. Boothe Women iii. i, He says you've got a Cinderella Complex. He says most American women have. 1960Times 3 Oct. 14/6 He..returned to college to study Chemistry, coal-tar dyeing, and similar Cinderella subjects. 1962J. G. Bennett Witness xvi. 199 Research, from being the Cinderella of industry, would become its favoured child. 1969Listener 28 Aug. 281/3 It was left to a Cinderella department, weakly and inadequately staffed and with a long record of bad judgment and failure behind it. Hence Cindeˈrellaship. nonce-wd.
1876M. E. Braddon Dead Men's Shoes I. i. 9 Her Cinderella-ship never brought her so low as this. |