| 释义 |
▪ I. come-ˈback, n.1 dial.
The Guinea-fowl.
1825Hone Every-day Bk. I. 536 The pintados called come-backs squall. 1869R. B. Peacock Lonsdale Gloss. (Philol. Soc.) Come-back, a name given to the guinea fowl, from its common cry, which sounds like the words ‘Come back’. 1888Elworthy W. Somerset Wd.-bk.
▪ II. ˈcome-back, n.2
Also comeback.
[come v. 58.]
1. a. An act of retaliation. orig. U.S.
1896Ade Artie vi. 59, I never will be able to give him the right kind of a hot come-back for what he done to me. 1920C. E. Mulford J. Nelson xvii. 186 No cussed man can spy on me without riskin' a comeback. 1928Sunday Express 10 June 13/1 A Reuter message from New York says:—A snappy come-back by a British Government at our Government. 1959Spectator 14 Aug. 183/2 Up till now she has at least been able to claim financial support from the child's father without fear of a come-back.
b. A verbal retort; a reply. orig. U.S.
1889Kansas Times & Star 9 Nov., He shouldn't thus invite a sarcastic ‘come-back’. 1908C. E. Mulford Orphan xiii. 168 He didn't have no come-back to that, but just looked sort of funny. 1923Wodehouse Inimit. Jeeves xviii. 245 Before I had time to refresh my memory as to what Millicent's come-back had been to that remark, the door opened. 1926Ladies' Home Jrnl. May 19 He hadn't no comeback to that, Cap. 1933Punch 9 Aug. 163/2 It is..even more impossible to find any suitable come-back to the remark, ‘This will be the bathroom’ or ‘Evadne's room’ or ‘the coal-hole’, as the case may be—they all look very much alike in embryo to the wretched listener.
2. colloq. (orig. U.S.). A recovery; a return to a former state of health, prosperity, etc.; spec. a return to one's former position; a reinstatement in a position of authority or power; esp. in phr. to make or stage a comeback, to achieve a success after retirement or failure.
1908K. McGaffey Sorrows of Show Girl 224 But it is a good thing to have a bank account to flash, so that the boob will think he will get a comeback if he does lose. 1920F. S. Fitzgerald This Side Paradise (1921) i. iii. 103 ‘With a little effort you could still stage a come-back.’ ‘No—I'm through.’ 1922A. S. M. Hutchinson This Freedom ii. viii. 148 For a woman there is no come-back. They don't issue return tickets to women. 1924A. J. Small Frozen Gold iii. 90 It looks as though I'm in time to congratulate you on a real come-back. 1929G. B. Shaw Let. 30 May (1952) 284 They seem conclusive as to your having..staged a sensational Come Back. 1951L. P. Hartley My Fellow Devils xxxiv. 362, I shall go downhill... And I shall try to make a come-back. 1952Economist 24 May 520 (heading) Comeback for Fair Trade? 1955E. Hillary High Adventure viii. 149 Band made a bit of a comeback and took a group of Sherpas to Camp 7. 1955Times 12 Aug. 9/4 The odds against this cap, as against all other forms of headgear, staging a notable come-back are considerable. 1970Melody Maker 11 July 6/5 He believes that ‘jazz is definitely making a comeback’.
3. A person who has returned; also, a ghost.
1908Masefield Capt. Margaret xi. 327 ‘Is that the Happy Return?’ ‘We're the jolly come-backs.’ 1955W. de la Mare Beginning 190 It would take his revenant, his come⁓back, his spook,..at least ten minutes to get round..to the front door.
4. A sheep three-quarters merino and one quarter crossbred. Also, the skin or fleece of a sheep of this type. Austral. and N.Z.
1891R. Wallace Rural Econ. Austral. 360 When a pure Merino ram is put to a cross ewe the produce is termed a ‘come-back’ or ‘quarter-back’. 1910C. E. W. Bean On Wool Track ii. 31 A cross between a Shropshire and a merino is also a crossbred; but a cross between this last and a merino comes so near to the Australian merino..that he is called a ‘come-back’. 1928Daily Tel. 28 Aug. 3/6 Greasy merino realised up to 26d, comebacks 21½d. 1955Times 6 May 19/3 Comebacks and crossbreds met very keen competition.
▸ comeback kid n. colloq. (orig. U.S.) (freq. with the) a person who ultimately succeeds after initial difficulties or failure; a person renowned for making unlikely comebacks.
1908Ogden (Utah) Standard 7 Sept. 7/1 If Joe Gans runs to form as the original ‘*come-back kid’ in his third combat with Bat Nelson, the Danish mitt slinger may find that Joe only loaned him the lightweight championship. 1928G. L. Kaufman & E. Ferber Royal Family ii. 188 There you are! You're the comeback kid! 2006Edge (Singapore) (Nexis) 4 Sept. Market watchers see him as a comeback kid of sorts... [He] has failed before as he did spectacularly in Malaysia two decades ago. |