| 释义 |
cutting edge, n. and a.
Brit. |ˌkʌtɪŋ ˈɛdʒ|, U.S. |ˈkədɪŋ ˈɛdʒ|
[‹ cutting n. + edge n.]
A. n.
1. A sharp edge on an implement, etc., used for cutting, esp. on the blade of a knife or tool.
1825J. C. Loudon Encycl. Agric. §501 It resembles a large..shovel, strongly prepared with iron on the cutting edge. 1871Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 161218 The trenchant margin of the upper carnassial is worn, as usual, obliquely from without upward and inward, the cutting-edge of the enamel being external. 1916Times (advt.) The guaranteed stainless knife with the keen cutting edge. 1944J. Millar in R. Greenhalgh Pract. Builder x. 336/2 A lewising tool is used for cutting lewis holes, and the cutting edge is made slightly wider than the top portion. 1999Woodworker July 81/2 One is the pocket cutter, another is the ‘stagger tooth’ which lacks any bottom cutting insert but allows the chippings to eject quickly because the cutting edges alternate in height, thus giving extra clearance.
2. fig.
a. A dynamic, invigorating, or incisive factor or quality, esp. one that delivers a decisive advantage. Hence: the latest or most advanced stage in the development of something; the forefront, esp. of a movement; freq. in at (also on) the cutting edge.
1851National Era 10 July 110 We turn the cutting edge of the same judgment to him that answers a necessity of our nature and a pledge and promise of the Divine Master with the cool criticism of ‘visionary’! 1916H. G. Wells Mr. Britling ii. iv. 359 It was all a dream, the dream of a prosperous comfortable man who had never come to the cutting edge of life. 1934E. D. Mitchell & B. S. Mason Theory of Play xii. 283 As individualism and laissez faire with its ruthless competition diminishes in favor of a more cooperative type of community life, the intense drive to win in athletics will doubtless lose its cutting edge. 1958W. M. Cruickshank in W. M. Cruickshank & G. O. Johnson Educ. Exceptional Children i. 41 No one of these people..would ever have considered themselves an educational pioneer, but the work they did was always at the cutting-edge of program development. 1976Birmingham (Alabama) News 5 Sept. e2/1 From my perspective, awash in a vast wave of albums, press releases and sales and play charts, it looks as if pop, and its cutting edge, rock, is in the doldrums. 1997Sunday Times 26 Oct. (Sport section) 3/8 Leeds enjoyed most of the play and most of the chances, but never looked to have the cutting edge to make it count.
b. spec. Directness, trenchancy, and insight (in speech or writing); a scathingly incisive quality or style.
1929L. P. Stryker Andrew Johnson iii. 21 He published for a time what he called a newspaper; it was known as the ‘Jonesboro Whig’, but it was known as a good many other things besides, especially by those who had felt its cutting edge. 1950Times 14 July 7/4 A little more cutting-edge to the wit..would have added salt to the sometimes insipid performances of musical comedy in its prime. 1993Guardian 17 July 25/3 Never famed for his cutting edge, he was surely never as bumblesome in the Commons as he was in the Lords this week.
B. adj. Usu. in form cutting-edge. At the latest or most advanced stage of development; innovative, pioneering.
1975Social Stud. Sci. 5 427 Therefore, one wonders whether the references contained in such ‘cutting-edge’ reports differ in kind from those in full-length articles, which often elaborate on results and their origins. 1977Washington Post (Nexis) 17 Sept. c1 We were not members of the civil-rights movement. We were not the cutting-edge folk. We were people who ran a paper in a small town. 1984Harper's Feb. 20/1 Some large cutting-edge projects are too risky to be financed even by today's relatively healthy venture capital markets. 1996Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 25 Mar. 12/6 The Independent Spirit Awards..are often given for cutting-edge films which are not necessarily box office draws. 2002B 149/2 The club-spawned weekends offer cutting-edge music, and visual and performance art in intimate surroundings. |