| 释义 |
ˈslacker
[f. slack v.]
1. (See quot. 1877, and cf. slaker 2.)
1797Trans. Soc. Arts XV. 155 An oak head and slacke[r] is placed on the end [of the drain] next the land. 1877N.W. Linc. Gloss., Slacker, a shuttle or stopgate to hinder the passage of water.
2. colloq. A person who shirks work, or avoids exertion, exercise, etc. Also, spec. used in Mil. contexts in the war of 1914–18.
1898Westm. Gaz. 7 Apr. 4/1, I said it was a silly thing to do, and they retorted that I was a ‘slacker’. 1914‘Bartimeus’ Naval Occasions v. 37 What about a song, you slacker! 1917‘Taffrail’ Sub ii. 62 An habitual slacker at Osborne, however, was soon sized up, and if repeated warnings did not cause him to mend his ways, he generally got the Order of the Boot at the end of his third term. 1921H. Williamson Beautiful Years 217 He was a little slacker, the kind that used cribs later on in school life. 1933H. C. Bailey Mr. Fortune Wonders 109 Eston strode past him with a laugh, ‘Had enough already?’ and Cicely pattered after crying, ‘Slacker!’ 1964A. Whitehouse Epics & Legends of First World War vi. 134 The..League..rendered important service in..handling the ‘slacker’ and conscientious-objector groups. 1969R. Maugham Link ii. 16 ‘You're a slacker and you're a shirker,’ he said. ‘You're a little runt in many ways. But you're the best of the lot of them.’
▸ orig. and chiefly U.S. A person regarded as one of a large group or generation of young people (esp. in the early to mid 1990s) characterized by apathy, aimlessness, and lack of ambition. Cf. Generation Xer n. at Generation X n. Derivatives.
This use was popularized by Richard Linklater's 1991 U.S. film Slacker.
1990Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tennessee) (Nexis) 29 Aug. c5 Here was the full range of Austin lifestyles—old hippies, Hispanic teenagers, middle-age black professionals, underachieving writers and musicians known around town as ‘slackers’, [etc.]. 1991N.Y. Times 15 Mar. c34/3 The word ‘slacker’, he [sc. Richard Linklater] explained, is a Texas nickname for the type of non-student who clusters around the University of Texas campus eking out a marginal income while living a quasi-collegiate existence. 1991Observer 8 Dec. 58/4 Nirvana certainly have the scruffy, shaggy look of ‘slackers’ (US slang for twentysomethings). 1994Rolling Stone 19 May 66/1 Garofalo began her career as a stand-up in Providence, R.I., where she attended college, and later in Boston where she held slacker approved jobs like bike messenger and health-club receptionist. 1998Rec. Collector Apr. 40/1 Following the success of his infamous ‘Loser’ single in 1994—catching the wave of the slacker zeitgeist. |