| 释义 |
▪ I. slither, n.|ˈslɪðə(r)|
Also Sc. sclither.
[f. slither a. or v.]
1. pl. ‘Loose stones lying in great quantities on the side of a rock or hill’ (Jamieson). Sc.
1805J. Nicol Poems II. 103 (Jam.), Fir'd wi' hope, he onward dashes, Thro' heather, sclithers, bogs, an' rashes. 1884T. Speedy Sport Highl. xiii. 220 They will often be seen running among the grey stones or ‘sclithers’.
2. local. (See quots.)
1811J. Farey Derbyshire I. 145 The Slither, or indestructible rubble of Limestone. Ibid., It slips from beneath the feet of an animal which attempts to cross it, whence the name Slither, or sliding gravel. 1829Glover's Hist. Derby I. 49 Patches of slither are the most barren spots that can be imagined.
3. techn. (See quot.) Also fig.
1830Examiner 419/2 Slither is, we believe, the technical term..[given] to the cuttings and rubbish put in between the outer and the inner soles of shoes. Ibid., Even the slither of O'Doherty is inserted, while matter of real importance from O'Connell is omitted.
4. a. A slipping or sliding. Also transf. and fig.
1861Trollope Tales of All Countries 67 Then there was a great slither, and an exclamation, and the noise of a fall. 1897W. Westall Red Eagle xxvi, A slither down a slope that would have tried the nerve of a chamois-hunter. 1915E. Wallace Man who bought London ii. 23 So many people were following closely in that hurried slither to the platform. 1970Guardian 12 Nov. 12/2 If the whole slither into inflation is not to accelerate..some private employers will have to stand firm.
b. Something smooth and slippery; a smoothly sliding mass; = sliver n.1 1.
1919E. Pound Quia Pauper Amavi 40 If she goes in a gleam of Cos, in a slither of dyed stuff, There is a volume in the matter. 1955N. Nicholson Lakers xi. 188 Only after rain, when..the rocks are hung with slithers of water like lace curtains against the black slate. 1966G. Greene Comedians i. v. 153 Little fenced saucers of earth where a few palm-trees grew and slithers of water gleamed between. 1981Daily Tel. 27 May 15/1 Calvin Klein's newest dress is a slither of silk shaped simply like an overgrown T-shirt.
▪ II. slither, a. Now dial. and rare.|ˈslɪðə(r)|
Also 4 skliþer, 5 slyther.
[Later variant of slidder a.]
Slippery. Also as adv., smoothly.
a1340Hampole Psalter xxxiv. 7 Þe way of þaim be made merknes and skliþer. Ibid. xxxviii. 1 Lightly it slippis, as we doe when we ga in skliþer way. c1489Caxton Blanchardyn xxiv. 89 The grasse wher vpon he trad was sore weet & slyther. 1892J. Barlow Bogland (1893) 54 Whin⁓ever there's little that ails ye, An' all goes slither as grase.
▪ III. slither, v.|ˈslɪðə(r)|
Forms: 2 sleðren (?), 4 sliþer, 5 slyther, 8– slither; 4 sklythir, 9 Sc. sclither.
[Later variant of slidder v., with normal change of d to th: cf. gather, hither, etc.]
1. intr. To slip, slide, glide, esp. on a loose or broken slope or with a clattering noise; † to fall gently. Freq. with down.
c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 99 Þis is þe holi manne þe ure drihten sende alse snow sleðrende. a1340,c1360[see slithering vbl. n.]. a1450Mankind (Brandl) 109 Yf ȝe sey þat I lye, I xall make yow to slyther. 1788W. H. Marshall Yorksh. II. 353 To Slither,..to slide; as down a rope, a ladder, or the side of a hill. 1825–in many dial. glossaries. 1861Dodson in Peaks, Passes, & Glac. I. 199 He slithered down the polished surface of the gully, like a tree down a timber shoot. 188019th Cent. Sept. 455 The way they [Colorado horses] will climb up places, and slither down places.., is marvellous. 1896Baden-Powell Matabele Campaign xiv, On these [smooth rocks] the men with their nailed boots slithered and clattered to an awful extent.
fig.1878Huxley in Life (1900) I. xxxiii. 502 You go slithering down avalanches of work.
b. trans. To make or cause to slide.
1892Daily News 1 Oct. 2/1 It is many a long day since Meg and Margery took a hand each and slithered him down hill. 1897Pall Mall Mag. Mar. 307 She slithered her feet along the ground.
c. To make (one's way) by slipping or sliding.
1888F. Cowper Caedwalla 223 Quite safely the man slithered his way over the mud.
2. intr. To walk in a sliding manner; to slip along or away.
1848A. H. Clough The Bothie iv. 30 The streets of the dissolute city, Where dressy girls slithering by upon pavements give sign for accosting. 1857Kingsley Two Y. Ago III. 183 Gay girls slithered past him, looked round at him, but in vain. 1894Hall Caine Manxman 36 Philip slithered softly through the dairy door.
3. Of reptiles: To creep, crawl, glide.
1839F. A. Kemble Resid. in Georgia (1863) 262 How horrid it [a snake] did look, slithering over the road. 1883Fortn. Rev. Apr. 563 Feeling an unpleasantly cold something slithering down my right leg. 1888J. Inglis Tent Life in Tigerland 29 An odious, repulsive-looking Säp go (a species of iguana) slithered noiselessly through a gap.
4. Of things: To move in a slipping or sliding manner.
1869Routledge's Ev. Boy's Ann. 600 The rope had ‘slithered’ through his hands. 1869Echo 9 Mar., The blades slither on the water, which at times made the boat roll.
Hence ˈslithering vbl. n. and ppl. a.
a1340Hampole Psalter cxiv. 8 In þe sensualite ȝit we fele sklythirynge [v.r. scliteryng] and lust. c1360E.E. Ps. lv. 13 (Eg.), Þou toke mi saul dede fra, Mi fete fra sliþeringe als-swa. 1840M. Edgeworth Let. 30 Dec. (1971) 573 Not one name when introduced had I been able to make out from Mrs. Hollands slithering pronunciation. 1864J. C. Atkinson Stanton Grange 219 His [a viper's] quiet, slithering gait. 1885A. Brassey The Trades 241 We continued to descend with a rapidity of ‘slithering’ and sliding, which might have considerably alarmed a timid Amazon. 1897Outing XXIX. 596/1 His wheel shot past me with a slithering, vertiginous pace. |