| 释义 |
skunk works, n. orig. U.S.
Brit. |ˈskʌŋk ˈwəːks|, U.S. |ˈskəŋk ˌwərks|
Forms: [Also with capital initials.]
[‹ skunk n. + the plural of work n. (compare sense 18 s.v.), as alteration of Skonk Works, the name of a fictional factory in Al Capp's ‘L'il Abner’ comic strip (see note).
An account of the term's origin is given in B. R. Rich Skunk Works (1994) 112. The original operation was located next to a plastics factory which reminded workers there of the outdoor still called the ‘Skonk Works’ in the ‘L'il Abner’ comic strip by the cartoonist, Al Capp, in which one of the characters, Injun Joe, would make ‘kickapoo joy juice’ from old shoes and dead skunk. Rich says that ‘one day..a designer..picked up a ringing phone and announced, ‘Skonk Works’... Soon everyone was calling it that... In 1960, Capp's publisher objected to our use of Skonk Works, so we changed it to Skunk Works and registered the name and logo as trademarks.’]
Originally: an engineering and design technical consultancy service provided by the Lockheed Advanced Development Company (see quot. 1981). Hence, in wider use: a small, freq. informal group within an engineering, computing, or other company working, often in secret or in isolation from the rest of the company, on a radical and innovative project. Also: the offices or laboratory in which such work takes place.
A proprietary name in the U.S.
[1956N.Y. Times 10 Nov. 25/5 The ‘skunk works’... got its name because its owner, Charles N. Granville, is a self-confessed zany who firmly believes the ‘skunk works’ is as good a description as any of a perfume concern.] 1962D. Wise & T. B. Ross U-2 Affair iv. 47 Wilson would have to approve the larger funds involved in building limited quantities of the plane... They decided to take him to the Skunk Works and ‘The Ranch’, the test area at Watertown Strip. 1976Harvard Business Rev. (Nexis) May 139 Before a dollar is spent, a skunk-works staff is indoctrinated to ask, ‘Will it contribute to short-range profit?’ 1981Official Gaz. (U.S. Patent Office) 21 Apr. tm425 Lockheed Corporation... Skunk Works. For engineering, technical consulting, and advisory services with respect to designing, building, equipping, and testing commercial and military aircraft and related equipment... First use Jun. 23, 1943; in commerce Jun. 23, 1943. 1991Harvard Business Rev. July–Aug. 90/1 While skunkworks typically operate in obscurity, corporate project teams at..Japanese companies are very high profile. 2000Guardian 23 Nov. (Online section) 13/2 CEOs with a long-range view knew that if even 10% of their skunkworks and laboratory inventions could be brought to market someday, the R&D was well worth the effort. |