英语词汇“catch as catch can”的英英意思、用法、释义、翻译、读音、例句、短语、词组-英语词典

Phrases

P1. to catch one's death: (originally) to die; to be killed; (later) (more fully to catch one's death of cold): to catch cold and die; (hence, in weakened sense) to suffer from being exposed to the cold; to catch a severe cold.

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the world > health and disease > ill health > be in ill health [verb (intransitive)] > fall ill > fatally

to catch one's deathc1325

to catch one's death of cold1739

the world > health and disease > ill health > injury > injure [verb (intransitive)] > be injured > be wounded > suffer mortal wound

to catch one's deathc1325

the world > life > death > [verb (intransitive)] > receive fatal illness or injury

to catch one's death of cold1739

the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > disorder of respiratory organs > have disorder of respiratory organ [verb (intransitive)] > catch cold

to catch a coldc1460

to get, have, or take a cold1537

to catch one's death of cold1739

to catch one's death1861

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 7708 Richard caȝte þer is deþ.

c1475 (a1400) Sir Amadace (Taylor) in J. Robson Three Early Eng. Metrical Romances (1842) 30 (MED) I traue I haue keȝte my dede.

1573 G. Gascoigne Hundreth Sundrie Flowres 357 By too too much Dan Croesus caught his death, And bought with bloud the price of glittering gold.

1599 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet ii. iv. 52 Beshrewe your heart for sending me about To catch my death with iaunsing vp and downe.

1691 G. Miege New State Eng. i. xiii. 179 The beautifull Rosamond..catched her Death, by the poysonous Dose the jealous Queen forced upon her.

1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 517. ¶2 I am afraid he caught his Death the last County Sessions.

1739 Gentleman's Relig. 46 Having caught her Death of Cold in a large Room, or being stewed to Death in a small one.

1851 N. Hawthorne Memoria 53 I must take care of this little girl immediately, or she will catch her death-a-cold.

1861 Southern Lit. Messenger Nov. 343/2 You'll ketch yer death in this bad night air.

1908 R. B. Newman Belle Islers xxxvi. 374 She waded through the slush and caught her death of cold, and that was the end of her.

1986 D. Koontz Strangers i. i. 25 You shouldn't come out on a night like this without a sweater. You'll catch your death.

2016 Facts (Clute, Texas) 4 Apr. 20/2 Do get into dry clothing before you catch your death of cold.

†P2. In various idiomatic expressions in which catch is equivalent in meaning to take.

a. to catch one's leave: to say goodbye; to take one's leave. Obsolete.

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a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 1053 Wiþ clipping & kessing þei kauȝt here leue.

c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 1118 Þay..Kysten ful comlyly & kaȝten her leue.

a1500 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Trin. Dublin) l. 1693 (MED) Þan bowys he..Keches lufly hys leue.

b. to catch haste: to hurry; to make haste. Obsolete. rare.

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a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1957) iii. x. l. 51 The scharp dreid maid ws so to cach haist.

c. to catch council: to seek consultation. Obsolete. rare.

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c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 50^v Counsell was kaght of knightes & oþer.

d. to catch the field: to occupy a battlefield. Obsolete. rare.

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c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 127^v Thre thowsaund full þro þrang into batell..kaghten the fild.

P3. catch as catch can and variants.

a. Used in various constructions to refer to a situation in which one is free to take what one can, or (more generally) to exploit the opportunity for personal gain, esp. disregarding rules or moral principles; (in later use also) with reference to a disorganized situation in which one does the best one can.

(a) In predicative use, and as a noun.

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the world > existence and causation > causation > chance or causelessness > [noun] > haphazardness or randomness

catch as catch cana1393

die1548

hazard1548

random1565

haphazard1569

chance-medley1583

lay1584

lottery1593

haphazarding1787

randomness1803

haphazardness1857

happy-go-luckiness1866

chanciness1870

flukiness1888

haphazardry1910

randomicity1936

society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > wrestling > [noun] > types of wrestling

catch as catch cana1393

in-play1713

Cumberland and Westmorland (style, etc.)1823

Cornish wrestling1824

arm-wrestling1846

professional wrestling1884

sumo1893

all in1934

mud-wrestling1936

lucha libre1943

wrist-wrestling1973

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. l. 4422 Among thebreus was non insihte, Bot cacche who that cacche myhte, And ech of hem hise lustes soghte.

1653 S. Fisher Παιδοβαπτιζοντες Παιδιζοντες: Baby-baptism 605 Among whom [sc. the Clergie] its catch as catch can too, so that some get all..and some none.

1656 J. Harrington Common-wealth of Oceana 135 An occasionall Committee, exposed unto the catch that catch may, of the parties interested.

1787 W. Pick Sportsman & Breeder's Vade Mecum 186 The Deep-one..plays catch as catch can, And he who out-schemes us is held the best man.

1858 S. Austral. Weekly Chron. 23 Oct. (Suppl.) 1/5 Mr. Babbage..has treated the Government to a game of ‘Catch who catch may,’ having packed up his traps and set out..on a three months' expedition.

1997 J. Sallis Eye of Cricket xxxvii. 188 I..quit trying to force patterns..onto the catch-as-catch-can of what I actually lived, the rigorous disorder of my days.

(b) In the verb phrase to catch as catch can (and variants).

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a1529 J. Skelton Why come ye nat to Courte (?1545) sig. A.ii^v So That rage must make pyllage To catche that catche may.

1673 J. Arrowsmith Reformation iii. ii. 30 Here Gallants take these keys. Now you may enter and catch who catch can a la mode d' Angleterre.

1752 S. Johnson Rambler No. 197. ⁋3 In a world where all must catch that catch can.

1833 Age 15 Sept. 293/2 The young gemmen's plan was to catch as catch can.

1907 Medico-pharmaceutical Critic & Guide Dec. 167 There are many things taught in the colleges, so that the young physician is bewildered and catches as catch can.

1985 Listener 7 Mar. 14/2 The concept of broadcasting based on cities..leaves large areas in between to catch-as-catch-can, by cable television or home earth terminal.

2010 C. Read Rise & Fall Econ. Empire xxx. 262 Financial and industrial capitalists alike tried to expand what was theirs... Everyone was catching as catch can.

(c) Used as a parenthetic proverbial phrase.

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1540 J. Palsgrave tr. G. Gnapheus Comedye of Acolastus Prol. sig. Bij^v Yea Terence bearyng wytnes, is set forth in the myddes. i. set forth free for all men (catche who catche maye) it can not, not be to prayse. i. it can not be but prayse worthy, [etc.].

1555 J. Heywood Two Hundred Epigrammes with Thyrde sig. E.i^v Catch that catch may.

1616 F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Scornful Ladie i. sig. B4^v Men, weomen, and all woe: catch that catch may.

1821 J. Edmeston Anston Park vi. 59 I might, perhaps, have been a lady, if I had been like some servants—catch as catch can;—but I always loved to wait upon you.

1935 Winnipeg Free Press 22 Mar. 15/6 A good name is better than gold. A penny saved is a penny gained...Catch that catch may.

(d) As an adjectival phrase (chiefly in attributive use). Now usually with hyphens.

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1833 Standard 8 Feb. A ‘catch and catch can’ game among the youths and sages to whom is intrusted the destiny of Great Britain.

a1854 E. Grant Mem. Highland Lady (1988) I. xiv. 300 At the schools it is a sort of catch who can system, get all you can, deceive all you can, conceal all you can.

1907 J. H. Moore With Speaker Cannon through Tropics xiii. 359 We finished our catch-as-catch-can breakfast, and began to make plans for another day on the island.

1974 Washington Post 15 Dec. b5/2 Moser..views the clinical training as ‘very unstructured, very catch-as-catch-can. If they happen to get with a physician who is a good teacher, they are fine’.

1993 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 3 Mar. 6/2 The catch-as-catch-can atmosphere of Lombard Street and Wall Street.

2013 J. Lotz Pilgrim Souls i. iv. 80 I had adapted to the catch-as-catch-can life of a freelancer, becoming a snapper-up of unconsidered trifles.

b. Wrestling. Now usually with hyphens. Used to indicate a manner of wrestling in which few holds or throws are barred.

(a) As an adverbial phrase.The phrase is used in quot. 1617 in the context of wrestling, but probably shows the use covered at Phrases 3a.

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1617 T. Middleton & W. Rowley Faire Quarrell ii. sig. E2 Chaw. Ile wrastle with any man for a good supper. Trim. I marry sir, ile take your part there, catch that catch may.]

1836 Bell's Life in London 20 Mar. Wrestling.—A match has been made between the Oldham and Bolton champions, for £20 a-side, the best out of three fair back-falls, catch as catch can.

1879 St. Louis (Missouri) Globe-Democrat 18 Apr. 2/3 John McMahon..challenged Prof. Wm. Miller to wrestle, ‘catch as catch can’, with the use of the feet, for $500 a side.

1938 Daily Mail 22 Aug. 13/5 Wright is here to wrestle catch-as-catch-can with Earl McCready.

(b) As an adjectival phrase (in attributive use).

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1867 Standard 13 Aug. 6 The other sports included wrestling in the ‘catch who catch can’ style.

1898 Earl of Suffolk et al. Encycl. Sport II. 548/2 The principal chips associated with catch as catch can wrestling are the double Nelson, the half Nelson, the heave [etc.].

1905 Daily Chron. 21 Dec. 9/5 A catch-as-catch-can wrestler needs to be wonderfully active.

1992 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 31 Aug. 4 Robert McNamara received the McPherson Challenge Trophy for his two wins in the catch-as-catch-can and Cumberland-style unlimited weight categories.

(c) As a noun; (sometimes) spec. a style of wrestling first introduced in the 1870s, deriving principally from Lancashire wrestling (now historical). Also figurative.

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1901 Black & White Budget 30 Nov. 315/1 The Lancashire style of wrestling, with which the Catch-as-Catch-Can is largely identical, is perhaps the roughest in the world.

1935 C. Isherwood Mr. Norris changes Trains xv. 243 Arthur's orientally sensitive spirit shrank from the rough, healthy, modern catch-as-catch-can of home-truths and confessions.

2011 Sunday Times (Nexis) 20 Mar. (London 2012 Suppl.) Freestyle wrestling developed in part from catch-as-catch-can, a form popular in the 19th century at fairs in Britain and America.

P4. to catch one's breath and variants.

(a) To inhale; to take a breath or breaths; to breathe freely. In later use: esp. to rest and recover one's normal rate of breathing, after a period of vigorous activity.

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the world > life > the body > respiratory organs > breathing > breathe [verb (intransitive)] > recover

to take (one's, a) breatha1398

to catch one's breath1806

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iii. l. 1461 Sche cawhte breth and seide thus.

1482 W. Caxton tr. Higden's Prolicionycion vi. xxi. f. cccx^v Atte laste by prayers of goode men that stode aboute hym he caught breth and sente for the clerke.

1763 J. Johnson New Royal & Universal Eng. Dict. II. To respire, to breathe. To catch breath.

1794 W. Billings Continental Harmony p. xvii Instead of saying, that you may stop to take breath, I should have said that you may stop to catch breath; and even that must be done without losing time.

1806 N. Curtis in T. M. Harris Disc. delivered before Humane Soc. 26 In about ten minutes he was observed to gape and catch his breath, and gradually recovered.

1817 J. Riley Authentic Narr. Loss Amer. Brig Commerce iii. 30 The billows..following each other in quick succession, scarcely gave us time to catch a breath before we were again literally swallowed by them.

1882 S. R. Watkins 1861 vs. 1882 ‘Co. Aytch’ xiii. 169 We had been charging and running, and had stopped to catch our breath right under their reserve and main line of battle.

1920 S. Lewis Main St. x. 112 She hastened from shelter to shelter, catching her breath in the lee of a barn.

2005 R. Horsfall Dancing on Thorns xviii. 277 Michel..leant over and propped his hands on his knees, struggling to catch his breath. He was soaked in sweat.

(b) figurative. To take a (short) pause in which to reflect, relax, or restore one's equilibrium after a period of intense activity, emotional upheaval, etc.; to regain one's composure sufficiently to assimilate or evaluate changed circumstances.

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1833 J. Downing Let. 10 June in Newburyport Herald 18 June 1/3 When we've been on the road I couldn't catch my breath hardly long enough to write my name.

1882 C. E. L. Riddell Daisies & Buttercups III. v. 127 Banks closed, and duns keeping quiet within their own houses, and debtors trying to catch their breath.

1918 U.S. Investor June 1000/1 When it was over and you had caught your breath, you did your full share in Red Cross and other campaigns.

1975 M. Mayer Nature of Beast vi. 331 The prolongation of adolescence..indicates a year or two off, before or during college, for kids to catch their breath, write poetry, sling hash.

2012 H. D. Winokuer & D. L. Harris Princ. & Pract. Grief Counselling v. 70 This is all just too much to absorb—it is too many losses and too many adjustments without a chance to catch your breath in between.

b. To check the breath suddenly, esp. as a result of feeling surprise, joy, desire, or other strong emotion; to gasp (cf. to hold one's (also the) breath at breath n. Phrases 5a). Also in to catch a person's breath: to cause a person to check his or her breath suddenly or gasp.

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1701 J. Norris Of Relig. Disc. in Common Conversat. 39 Without any Sighing or Winking, or Catching the Breath, or Skrewing up the Mouth.

1760 Ordinary of Newgate's Acct. iv. 6/1 Even when arraigned she sobbed and caught her breath, as if foretasting the death she expected.

1834 F. Marryat Peter Simple III. ix. 120 ‘I see her,’ replied I, catching my breath with joy.

1855 Ld. Tennyson Maud xiv. iv, in Maud & Other Poems 49 I..Felt a horror..Prickle my skin and catch my breath.

1883 M. Oliphant Hester III. ii. 37 What even if it did not succeed? It blanched his countenance and caught his breath to think of this.

1932 G. Greene Stamboul Train i. i. 12 A face..that made her catch her breath with longing.

1948 C. Rice Big Midget Murders viii. 63 He glanced around at the walls, caught his breath, and said, Great Jumping Joshua.

2012 T. Hardie House of Wind Prol. 1 The vista to each side of the narrow road will catch your breath at any hour, in any season.

P5. to catch fire (also afire, on fire).

a. To ignite; to begin to burn; to burst into flames.Cf. to take fire at fire n. and int. Phrases 2l(a).

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the mind > emotion > passion > ardour or fervour > become ardent or fervent [verb (intransitive)] > become inflamed with passion

heata1225

tind1297

lowea1333

anheat1340

to catch firec1400

kindlea1450

to take firea1513

inflame1559

broil1561

calenturea1657

the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > burning > burn or be on fire [verb (intransitive)] > catch fire or begin to burn

quicka1225

kindle?c1225

tindc1290

atend1398

to catch fire (also afire, on fire)c1400

quickenc1425

enkindle1556

fire1565

to set on fire1596

take1612

catch1632

conflagrate1657

to fly on fire1692

to go up1716

deflagrate1752

flagrate1756

inflame1783

ignite1818

to fire up1845

c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xvii. l. 219 A candel þat cauȝte hath fyre & blaseth.

1558 T. Phaer tr. Virgil Seuen First Bks. Eneidos v. sig. P.iv His arow swift from him did flie, In sight it caught a fyer, and flamyng forth it went in skie.

1587 J. Polemon 2nd Pt. Bk. Battailes sig. J The barrelles of Gunpouder that were in one of the shippes caught on fire.

1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. 45 In Illyricum there is a cold spring, ouer which, if ye spread any clothes, they catch a fire and burne.

1687 J. Clayton Let. in R. Boyle Corr. (2001) VI. 220 We found a shelly coale, the Candle being then put down into the hole, the Air catched fire.

1761 W. Lewis Mat. Med. (ed. 2) 445 Fine petroleum catches fire on the approach of a flaming body.

1796 H. Hunter tr. J.-H. B. de Saint-Pierre Stud. Nature (1799) I. 480 But how comes it, that air and water, though agitated ever so much, never catch fire?

1826 Asiatic Jrnl. & Monthly Reg. Oct. 379 A number of rockets were thrown at the car, until at length it caught fire and blew up.

1880 Baltimore Underwriter 5 Mar. 105/1 The heroine gets too near an open grate and the train of her dress catches fire.

1950 M. F. McKeown Them was Days iv. 74 It was the only way to put out a fire once one of them stick chimneys caught on fire inside.

1971 in R. Allsopp Dict. Caribbean Eng. Usage (1996) (at cited word) One building obliquely opposite the service station-restaurant caught afire, and the roof and first storey..were destroyed.

2006 St. Petersburg (Florida) Times (Nexis) 22 Sept. 5 a An underground electrical cable caught fire Thursday, sending smoke billowing into the streets.

b. figurative. Of a person, a person's temperament, etc.: to be filled with passion, enthusiasm, energy, etc.; to become inflamed with strong emotion; (of an emotion) to be aroused suddenly; to flare up. Also (in later use) of a campaign, an idea, etc.: to grow or develop rapidly; to flourish.Cf. to take fire at fire n. and int. Phrases 2l(b).

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1533 tr. Erasmus Enchiridion Militis Christiani xiv. sig. Lvi^v The disposycion of man is frayle and prone to vyces, he catcheth mischeuous ensample at ones: none otherwyse than thou catchest fyre if it be put to.

1653 Z. Bogan Medit. Mirth Christian Life ii. 181 As if hatred could no sooner be kindled; but sorrow, and trouble must presently catch a fire.

1734 I. Watts Reliquiæ Juveniles lii. 208 His Soul catch'd Fire.

1872 ‘G. Eliot’ Middlemarch I. ii. xxii. 402 I have a hyperbolical tongue: it catches fire as it goes.

1886 ‘H. Conway’ Living or Dead x. 106 Now, don't catch on fire like that, Philip.

1937 Montana Standard 12 June 8/1 No one figured he would catch afire. But he did. Knocking 'em a mile, chipping 'em dead and rolling 'em in, he blazed the first nine in 33.

1955 Titusville (Pa.) Herald 13 Jan. 2/4 Sparked by enthusiastic workers, the recreation park campaign caught on fire from the start.

1982 S. K. Penman Sunne in Splendour (1984) i. viii. 101 His normally phlegmatic temperament suddenly caught fire.

2015 Wall St. Jrnl. 11 Apr. c4/5 Dozens of gender-neutral pronouns have been put forth over the years, including ‘thon’, ‘xe’ and ‘ze’, but all have failed to catch fire.

P6. to catch hold and variants.

a. Chiefly with of, †at, or on. To take hold of (a person or thing) with the hands; to seize; to grasp. Also of a thing: to become attached to.Cf. to take hold at hold n.¹ Phrases a.

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the mind > possession > taking > seizing > seize [verb (transitive)]

gripea900

afangOE

to lay hands (or hand) on or upon (also in, to)OE

repeOE

atfonga1000

keepc1000

fang1016

kip1297

seize1338

to seize on or upon1399

to grip toc1400

rapc1415

to rap and rendc1415

comprise1423

forsetc1430

grip1488

to put (one's) hand(s) on (also in, to, unto, upon)1495

compass1509

to catch hold1520

hap1528

to lay hold (up)on, of1535

seisin?c1550

cly1567

scratch1582

attach1590

asseizea1593

grasp1642

to grasp at1677

collar1728

smuss1736

get1763

pin1768

grabble1796

bag1818

puckerow1843

nobble1877

jump1882

snaffle1902

snag1962

pull1967

the world > movement > absence of movement > hold or holding > hold [verb (transitive)] > lay hold of or grasp

i-fangc888

gripc950

repeOE

befongOE

keepc1000

latchc1000

hentOE

begripec1175

becatchc1200

fang?c1200

i-gripea1225

warpa1225

fastenc1225

arepa1250

to set (one's) hand(s onc1290

kip1297

cleach?a1300

hendc1300

fasta1325

reachc1330

seizec1374

beclipc1380

takea1387

span1398

to seize on or upon1399

getc1440

handc1460

to catch hold1520

to take hold1530

to lay hold (up)on, of1535

grasple1553

to have by the backa1555

handfast1562

apprehend1572

grapple1582

to clap hold of1583

comprehend1584

graspa1586

attach1590

gripple1591

engrasp1593

clum1594

to seize of1600

begriple1607

fast hold1611

impalm1611

fista1616

to set (one's) hand to1638

to get one's hands on1649

1520 Dyetary Ghostly Helthe sig. a.v Beware that the deuyll in no wyse fynde you in this snare, but yf ye be caught therin, breke out betymes before he catche holde vpon you.

1529 T. More Supplyc. Soulys ii. f. xxxvi^v He wold gladly cach hold of sum small handell to kepe hys money fast.

1537 W. Tyndale Expos. Epist. John 80 The deuel can ketch no hold on them.

1607 N. Geffe tr. O. de Serres Perfect Vse Silke-wormes 96 The threeds wil catch hold at the said broome, or bushes.

1645 G. Walker Sermon 3 That is the Dog-bryar, and of all Brambles is most full of sharp hooked pricks,..so that they rend and teare where they catch hold.

1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 249 I catch'd hold of Friday.

1772 R. B. Sheridan Let. July (1966) I. 31 I stept up and caught hold of his wrist or the hilt of his sword.

1862 Knickerbocker Feb. 202 Wait till they ‘ketch hold on 'im’—‘that's all.’

1879 Scribner's Monthly Dec. 228/1 The tender rootlets catch hold of this at once, and in a day or two the plant is growing as well as ever.

1956 R. Chase Amer. Folk Tales 37 That tree..had a few low branches to it, so she caught hold on them and cloomb right on up.

1972 B. K. Wilson Tales told to Kabbarli 30 Catch hold, catch hold, and I will pull you out!

2009 C. Unsworth Bad Penny Blues xxx. 297 Jackie caught hold of my hand and squeezed it.

b. figurative. Without construction. Of disease, a fire, etc.: to begin to spread; to take hold. Also of an idea, initiative, etc.: to gain support or popularity; to become established.Cf. to take hold at hold n.¹ Phrases b.

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1529 T. More Supplyc. Soulys ii. f. xxix^v The fyre..shall..in the sowlys that are vnclensyd..hastely catch holde and kepe them fast & burne them wyth incessaunt payn.

1554 J. Gwynneth Declar. State wherin Heretikes leade Liues xxii. f. 12 It pleaseth the goodnes of god, that trewe faith, with good zele, shall yet catche holde.

1600 J. Perrott 1st Part Consideration Humane Condition ii. i. 29 If thou be noble borne, then commonly pride and presumption catch holde and lay such violent handes on thy will.

1656 Duchess of Newcastle Natures Pictures x. 294 Fire having a nature to catch hold, and to dilate, and so to feed it self upon all things.

1784 D. Young Observ. Fire 46 They threw earth upon the lint stacks that were close by the mill, which prevented the fire from catching hold.

1894 Rocky Mountain News (Denver) 27 Aug. 2/4 ‘Do it again!’ rose above the din, and the idea catching hold developed into a loud roar, ‘Do it again!’

1922 Theatre Mag. Feb. 110/1 It is interesting to see how this idea caught hold and spread.

1989 H. Johnson Story of Wine xxxv. 357 Fungus diseases caught hold and ravaged the vineyards.

2008 St. Petersburg (Florida) Times (Nexis) 6 Apr. 1 b Despite backing from several top civic leaders and the chamber of commerce, the initiative never caught hold.

c. figurative. Chiefly with of. To seize, grasp, or appropriate (an idea, a fact, etc.); (also) to gain control over.Cf. to take hold at hold n.¹ Phrases b.

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1581 R. Mulcaster Positions v. 32 It is more then likely, wherof so euer the first charact came, that necessitie caught hold of it, to serue her owne tourne.

1610 T. Morton Encounter against M. Parsons ii. xi. 158 The impietie whereof..durst more boldly seeke refuge at Gods sanctuary euen the holy Scripture, and there to catch hold at the examples of Christ his speeches.

1692 J. Washington tr. J. Milton Def. People Eng. ii. 26 This Saying you catch'd hold off, thinking it would make for your purpose.

1782 in Asiatic Ann. Reg. 1808 (1811) 591/2 I saw that there would be people enough cooly to catch hold of his idea.

1806 Cobbett's Weekly Polit. Reg. 5 Apr. 481 To catch hold of some of the prominent facts will be sufficient for every present purpose.

1865 Evangelical Repository Dec. 101 Libertinism and indulgence and vice have caught hold of multitudes of the world's youth.

1935 C. Beaton Diary in Self Portrait with Friends (1979) vi. 48 Mrs Simpson proved an exceptionally difficult woman to draw. I found nothing facile to catch hold of.

1990 G. Claridge et al. Sounds from Bell Jar Pref. p. xi Dr Claridge..caught hold of our airy assumptions..and tethered them to the firm ground of his own discipline.

2001 Independent (Nexis) 11 June (Features section) 7 In Japan they think I'm an angel, and I don't think that's entirely accurate. Hopefully they won't catch hold of that idea in England.

P7. Proverb. you can't catch an old bird with chaff and variants: a wise or experienced person cannot easily be deceived. Also in allusive use. Now rare.

c1600 Timon (1980) iv. ii. 56 An olde birde is not caught with chaffe Hee that will cheate mee must arise betimes.

1674 J. Golborne Friendly Apol. 17 If you resolve to be wise, and to laugh At all his follies, are not catch'd with chaff Of vain pretences.

1732 Compl. Coll. Rep., Lyes, & Stories i. 49 Others said, that the Whigs were old Birds, they would not be catch'd with Chaff.

1815 D. Humphreys Yankey in Eng. i. 21 I guess, he is trying to ketch me—but it won't du. I'm tu old a bird to be ketch'd with chaff.

1855 W. M. Thackeray Newcomes II. xv. 144 They ogled him as they sang..with which chaff our noble bird was by no means to be caught.

1936 C. F. Gregg Danger at Cliff House v. 45 Henry Prince was too old a bird to be caught with such chaff.

1975 Miami (Okla.) News-Record 30 Mar. b11/3 Saul of Tarsus, not a man to be caught with chaff, heard this message and believed.

†P8. to catch the air: to pant; to struggle for breath. Obsolete. rare.Cf. to catch one's breath at Phrases 4.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > disordered breathing > have or cause breathing disorder [verb (intransitive)] > become short of breath > gasp or catch breath

gape1352

gaspa1393

to catch the aira1616

kink1691

keck1721

a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 (1623) iii. ii. 375 A greeuous sicknesse..That makes him gaspe, and stare, and catch the aire, Blaspheming.

P9. In phrases with nouns denoting acts of seeing.

a. to catch a glimpse (also a sight, a view, etc.) of and variants: to see suddenly or briefly. Also figurative.Cf. phrases with have and get at have v. 10b(b) and get v. 8b.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > seeing or looking > see [verb (transitive)] > succeed in seeing or catch sight of

underyetec1000

aspya1250

kenc1275

ofyetec1275

choosea1300

akenc1300

descrivec1300

ofkenc1300

readc1300

espyc1320

descryc1330

spyc1380

discernc1405

discover1553

scan1558

scry1558

decern1559

describe1574

to make out1575

escry1581

interview1587

display1590

to set sight of (in)c1595

sight1602

discreevec1650

glance1656

to catch a glimpse of1679

steal1731

oversee1735

glimpse1779

twig1796

to clap eyes on1838

spot1848

sky1900

1679 tr. M.-C.-H. de Villedieu Unfortunate Heroes 258 Nerisa had convey'd her self away with such speed, that I could not catch a sight of her.

1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones II. v. x. 203 Caught a View of the Lovers just as they were sinking out of Sight.

1761 Kept Mistress 135 You catch a Sight of a pretty Face in a broken Glass.

1825 A. Knapp & W. Baldwin Newgate Cal. IV. 378/1 My daughter caught a sight of me.

1872 W. H. Dixon W. Penn (rev. ed.) i. 2 He caught some glimpses of the pirate holds.

1944 ELH 11 139 In Byron's social career we catch glimpses of the true Regency buck in all his glittering aspects.

2010 C. Karras & S. M. Zusy Motorcycle Touring in Pacific Northwest viii. 79 On a short stretch of the highway about 10 miles southeast of Sisters, you may also catch a brief view of Mount Jefferson.

b. to catch sight of.Cf. to lose sight of at sight n.¹ 4c.

(a) To see suddenly; to come suddenly in view of.

ΚΠ

a1726 M. Ashley-Cooper tr. Xenophon Cyropædia (1728) I. ii. 204 An Eagle of happy Omen flying towards them, caught Sight of the Hare as it run.

1797 J. Douglas Hist. Julia D'Haumont I. xi. 198 Being placed with her head towards the fire, lest, catching sight of the portrait, she might again relapse into a fit.

1845 J. Coulter Adventures Pacific ix. 115 I caught sight of a huge seal waddling up out of the water.

1888 West Shore (Portland, Oregon) Mar. 144/2 How I strained my eyes to catch sight of him ahead, as I rounded every curve and angle!

1971 V. Canning Queen's Pawn ii. 32 She caught sight of her face in the small mirror over the kitchen table.

2014 New Yorker 27 Oct. 13/2 The disconcerting change in perspective that occurs when an astronaut first catches sight of the Earth from space.

(b) figurative. To perceive intellectually; to understand; to gain insight into.

ΚΠ

1824 tr. E. De Jouy Sylla Hist. Preamble p. xxvii A theory by which I think I have caught sight of the solution of the great dramatic question which at this moment shares the attention of the literary world.

1885 Cent. Mag. May 76/1 Emerson apparently never caught sight of the fact that in humanity there is a reversal of those laws by which matter and brute-life led up to man.

1902 B. Kidd Princ. Western Civilization x. 343 We catch sight..for the first time in history, of a conception round which a practical system of world-politics..is actually slowly beginning to centre.

1969 A. Lingis tr. E. Lévinas Totality & Infinity 21 Does not lucidity..consist in catching sight of the permanent possibility of war?

2005 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 27 Feb. (Late ed.) (Film section) 1 The show reveals what the industry is thinking in the moment and lets us catch sight of the future.

c. to catch a look and variants: to manage to see, esp. by putting oneself in a particular position or situation. Chiefly with at.

ΚΠ

1757 Poems Several Gentlemen Oxf. 19 Each Student..runs thro' ev'ry Street in Town, To catch a Look at Polly.

a1763 T. Godfrey Prince of Parthia (1765) i. ii. 106 Didst thou observe the croud, their eagerness, Each put the next aside to catch a look?

1848 E. C. Gaskell Mary Barton I. vii. 120 He turned to catch a look at her sweet face.

1964 R. Gover Here goes Kitten 21 I swing about on that stool, catch one look at that face—jes keep right on a-swingin till the stool's facin the bar again.

2008 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) (Nexis) 26 Mar. (Today section) 42 This collection is a wonderful opportunity for fans of Olley to catch a look at her amazing works.

P10. colloquial. In phrases expressing emphatically that a person would never do a particular thing. Cf. sense 9a.

a. you won't catch me (also him, her, etc.) —— and variants. Chiefly with present participle.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > impossibility > desire the impossible [phrase] > absence of possibility

you won't catch me1698

not a cat (in hell)'s chance1796

pigs might fly1840

there is (also was, etc.) no way (that)1908

not a hope (also chance) in hell1923

it's (just) not on1935

pigs have wings1936

that'll (also that will) be the day1941

not on your Nelly1959

1698 J. Turner Phisico-theol. Disc. Divine Being 32 I must tell you, that you shall never catch me making Resolutions what to do when I am dying.

1704 Rehearsal of Observator 2 Sept. They shall ne'r Catch me Believing or not Believing, but as serves the Cause.

1741 B. Mills Exam. Remarks Curate of Canterbury 39 He shall never catch me entering the Lists with him again.

1839 Metropolitan Aug. 432 Hackney, to-night!!! a hundred miles to-night!!! sure you are mad!..You'll not catch me doing it, I can tell you.

1870 E. Warren Bloomfield x. 96 All I say is, I hope he'll give part of it [sc. the money] to the poor; but you'll not catch him at that.

1916 W. O. Bradley Stories & Speeches 18 You'll never ketch me hollerin' at no Republican gatherin'.

1952 Daily Courier (Connellsville, Pa.) 13 Dec. 9/4 He answered in the booming terms typical of his stalwart type, ‘You don't catch me wearing any of those old-fashioned nightshirts!’

2015 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 24 Oct. 19 If this is what the voters of England want, anyone would think they'd gone mad. You wouldn't catch me saying such a thing, of course.

b. catch me (also him, her, etc.)!; (formerly also) †catch me (also him, her, etc.) at it! and variants.

ΚΠ

1738 J. Swift Treat. Polite Conversat. 15 Ay, Miss, catch him at that, and hang him.

1821 I. Hoole Scenes at Brighton II. i. 7 ‘You had nothing to do but to have sported an upper benjamin, and you could have played the ruffian's part in a minute.’ ‘Catch me at it,’ said Lovelace.

1830 J. Galt Lawrie Todd II. v. iv. 143 Catch me again at such costly daffin.

1886 W. H. Mallock Old Order Changes II. x. 58 He never did a stroke [of work], as you say. Catch him!

1903 Evangelical Episcopalian Aug. 224 ‘Catch me going to the country!’ she said. ‘Why, I'd die of lonesomeness!’

1936 N. Coward Fumed Oak i, in To-night at 8.30 II. 41 Mrs. Rockett: I can always go to a boarding-house or a private hotel. Doris: Catch you!

2005 J. B. Glad Improbable Solution (2006) xii. 108 Catch her going up those stairs to his apartment at the time of day when there was more foot and automobile traffic on Main Street than any other hour!

P11. Cricket.

a. to catch and bowl (a person): (of a bowler) to dismiss (a batter) by catching the ball after it has been struck and before it touches the ground. Chiefly (and in earliest use) in passive. Cf. sense 49.

ΚΠ

1838 Standard 30 Aug. G. Cary, Esq., caught and bowled by Russell.

1883 in Daily Tel. 15 May 2/7 Peate..caught and bowled Hearn.

1904 P. F. Warner How we recovered Ashes v. 78 Rhodes missed catching and bowling Gregory.

1959 Times 7 Aug. 4/2 He was caught and bowled off a steepler.

2011 Independent (Nexis) 7 Mar. (Sport section) 10 Tahir had Trott caught and bowled for 52 from 94 balls.

caught and bowled (a) n. an instance of dismissing a batter in which the bowler catches the ball after it has been struck and before it touches the ground; (b) adj. (of a catch) that is made by the bowler (rare).

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > dismissal of batsman > [adjective] > manner of dismissal

b.1769

leg before wicket1795

lbw1843

caught and bowled1875

spreadeagled1920

1875 Standard 21 Aug. 6 Remnant was got rid of by an easy caught and bowled for a really well hit innings of 25.

1924 J. B. Hobbs My Cricket Mem. 169 Then Mr. Simms got rid of Woolley with a magnificent ‘caught and bowled’.

1950 W. Hammond Cricketers' School v. 52 I have seen Larwood take some of the speediest single-handed caught-and-bowled catches ever put up on any cricket field.

2017 Sun (Nexis) 10 Sept. 58 Broad dropped a caught and bowled offered by Shane Dowrich before the Windies wicketkeeper mispulled Toby Roland-Jones to mid-on.

P12. to catch it.

a. colloquial. To be reprimanded or scolded; to be punished.See also to catch it hot at hot adj. and n.¹ Phrases 5, to catch it in the neck at neck n.¹ Phrases 2b.

ΚΠ

1821 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Sept. 162/2 I would therefore have you stand clear the next time, otherwise you'll catch it.

1834 F. Marryat Jacob Faithful III. ix. 161 We all thought that Tom was about to catch it.

1872 W. Black Strange Adventures Phaeton xvi. 218 He catches it if he does not bring home a fair proportion to his wife.

1921 B. K. Seymour Intrusion (1922) iii. iv. 263 I ran into him to-day coming along to you. I said he'd catch it for coming home before time and disturbing you.

1940 M. de la Roche Whiteoak Chron. i. xii. 107 Good lord..we shall be late for the party and I shall catch it.

2006 Washington Post (Nexis) 12 July b1 She was very, very angry... I just knew from past experience he was going to catch it.

b. Originally Military slang. To be killed or wounded in an attack, esp. by gunfire.

ΚΠ

1837 United Service Jrnl. Aug. 480 The following stave..I wrote myself when I was laid up in ordinary in Greenwich:..At Teneriffe we caught it there, and Nelson lost his good right arm; But all the shots they blazed away, they never did myself much harm.

1886 C. Bell tr. L. Tolstoy War & Peace I. xv. 234 Our hussars will catch it now; they are within range of the guns.

1920 P. Gibbs Now it can be Told iii. 168 ‘We caught it badly,’ said some of them I met later in the day, bandaged and bloody,..while gassed men lay on stretchers about them.

1951 M. Spillane Long Wait v. 66 I don't like the way Minnow died. He was sitting there and bang, just like that he caught it.

1988 L. Sanders Timothy's Game (1989) iii. iv. 328 ‘One of my guys caught it.’ ‘Ah, Jesus,’ Cone says. ‘Bad?’ ‘I think so. It looked bad... Oh, God, what am I going to tell his wife?’

P13. Originally U.S. to be caught short.

a. To be taken by surprise (originally by a change in the stock market); to be put at a sudden disadvantage; to be caught unawares.

ΚΠ

1855 Bangor (Maine) Daily Whig & Courier 26 June With the exception of the few who are caught short in this turn of the market, there is a strong feeling among the brokers that the ‘good time’..is approaching.

1866 Nation 8 Mar. 316/2 The clique has..bought up all the floating Erie, and expects to realize its profit by supplying the luckless speculators who are ‘caught short’.

1920 Econ. Jrnl. 30 118 It is like a ‘bear squeeze’ on a stock market, when bulls have been caught short.

1955 Pacific Stars & Stripes (Tokyo) 10 Oct. 6/4 The signal school wasn't caught short. The ablutions were spotless.

1973 ‘E. Ferrars’ Foot in Grave (1990) vi. 93 If for some reason she happened to be caught short when the bank was closed, the grocer would always cash a cheque.

1996 Independent 15 Jan. 7/3 Mr Handy encouraged young people to build up a ‘portfolio of skills’ so they are not caught short when employment ends suddenly.

2004 Jrnl. Courier (Jacksonville, Illinois) 6 Feb. 6/2 [The father] was caught short when the boy asked, ‘Dad, what's erectile dysfunction?’

b. To be caught by an urgent need to urinate or defecate, especially when there are no toilet facilities available.

ΚΠ

1930 S. J. Perelman Let. 31 Oct. in Don't tread on Me (1987) 7 The gent caught short in Central Park, slips into the bushes and lets down his galluses.

1969 ‘W.A. Ballinger’ Men that God made Mad xvii. 166 She'd made the English think she was caught short out there in the country and she had put them to flight with their faces red.

?1972 R. Galton & A. Simpson Best of Steptoe & Son (1989) 39 I'm sorry to hear about your illness. If you get caught short, the bog's outside.

1991 R. Rendell Kissing Gunner's Daughter (1992) xvi. 198 She could only have been ten minutes from her own house but..it was possible even then, one could be ‘caught short’.

2006 Teen Now Spring 59/3 I was known as ‘pee boy’ growing up because I was always getting caught short.

P14. Rowing. to catch the beginning and variants: to grip the water with the oar at the beginning of a stroke. Cf. catch n.² 12. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > travel by water > propelling boat by oars, paddle, or pole > propel boat by oars, paddle, or pole [verb (transitive)] > row (a boat) > make a stroke > grip water at the beginning of stroke

to catch the beginning1865

1865 Sporting Gaz. 8 Apr. 253/3 Cambridge..have a fair idea of catching the beginning, but they row the first part of their stroke too much in the air.

1898 Earl of Suffolk et al. Encycl. Sport II. 273/2 The beginning must be caught with full power.

1902 Encycl. Brit. XXXII. 307/2 Swivel rowlocks..are considered unsuitable to eight-oared rowing, where the beginning of the stroke has to be firmly and smartly caught.

1938 Times 19 Mar. 6/7 Stewart, at No 3, was rowing light and was not catching the beginning, but the rest of the crew were keeping a splendid length against the wind.

P15. Surfing. to catch a wave and variants: to move towards and then drop into a wave, so as to be able to ride it. Also figurative and in figurative contexts.

ΚΠ

1907 Evening Jrnl. (Washington, Iowa) 19 Sept. I shall never forget the first big wave I caught out there in the deep water.

1968 W. Warwick Surfriding in N.Z. 2 The Duke..caught a wave and rode it until a short distance from the shore.

1972 Proc. ABA National Marketing Conf. 27 My hope is that this can assist the banking industry in catching the wave of consumerism and riding its crest smoothly to shore.

2016 Independent (Nexis) 7 May 82 Never caught a wave before? No problem. Escape and recharge at one of these beginner-friendly camps.

P16. (I'll) catch you later (also tomorrow, again, etc.) and variants: (as an expression at parting) ‘I'll see you later, tomorrow, etc.’; goodbye for the moment, until tomorrow, etc.See also catch you later alligator in quot. 1978 at alligator n.² 5b, and see you later at later adv., adj., and int. Phrases 1.

ΚΠ

1938 Valley Sunday Star-Monitor-Herald (Brownsville, Texas) 4 Dec. 8/3 Gotta game today, but I'll catch you tomorrow.

1949 Collier's 12 Nov. 55/1 Britten lost a little of his affability. ‘We're around,’ he said. ‘We'll catch you later.’

1972 G. Trudeau Doonesbury (comic strip) in Sarasota (Florida) Herald-Tribune 3 Oct. 6 c/7 ‘Please! Go away!!’ ‘O.K... Catch you tomorrow.’

1997 I. Sinclair Lights out for Territory (1998) 192 Lovely to meet you. Catch you again sometime.

2003 S. Brooke 2cool2btrue xvii. 156 ‘Catch you later,’ she purrs, squeezing his arm.

P17. Caribbean. to catch (one's) arse (also ass): to suffer or undergo misfortune, hardship, or difficulty.Cf. catch-arse n. and adj.

ΚΠ

1956 S. Selvon Lonely Londoners 8 I catching my arse as it is, how I could help them out?

1970 M. Hodge Crick Crack, Monkey (1981) iv. 15 Them that walketh in the paths of corruption will live to ketch dey arse.

2019 @trinimarn 25 Nov. in twitter.com (accessed 30 May 2020) Many folks don't know how he started, but he real ketch arse in the early days.

P18. colloquial (chiefly U.S.) to catch feelings: to develop or experience romantic feelings.Originally in the language of hip-hop.

ΚΠ

1991 ‘Naughty by Nature’ O.P.P. (transcribed from song) in Naughty by Nature She kept on coming back and catchin' feelings.

2001 M. Major 4 Guys & Trouble ii. 31 Hey, hos can be some of the best people on this planet, as long as you don't catch feelings for them.

2011 N. Flowers & C. Parker He was my Man First v. 36 Boning was one thing, but catching feelings for a chick was an entirely different story.

P19. In various idiomatic phrases. to catch (a person) bending: see bend v. 9d. to catch a crab: see crab n.¹ 10. to catch the eye (of): see eye n.¹ Phrases 2c(a). to catch (a person) napping: see nap v.¹ 2. to be caught red-handed: see red-handed adj. 1c. to catch a Tartar: see Tartar n.² 4. to catch (a person) with his or her trousers down: see trousers n. Phrases 4. to catch unawares: see unawares adv. 2b.

单词	catch as catch can
释义	> as lemmas catch as catch can Phrases P1. to catch one's death: (originally) to die; to be killed; (later) (more fully to catch one's death of cold): to catch cold and die; (hence, in weakened sense) to suffer from being exposed to the cold; to catch a severe cold. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > be in ill health [verb (intransitive)] > fall ill > fatally to catch one's deathc1325 to catch one's death of cold1739 the world > health and disease > ill health > injury > injure [verb (intransitive)] > be injured > be wounded > suffer mortal wound to catch one's deathc1325 the world > life > death > [verb (intransitive)] > receive fatal illness or injury to catch one's death of cold1739 the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > disorder of respiratory organs > have disorder of respiratory organ [verb (intransitive)] > catch cold to catch a coldc1460 to get, have, or take a cold1537 to catch one's death of cold1739 to catch one's death1861 c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 7708 Richard caȝte þer is deþ. c1475 (a1400) Sir Amadace (Taylor) in J. Robson Three Early Eng. Metrical Romances (1842) 30 (MED) I traue I haue keȝte my dede. 1573 G. Gascoigne Hundreth Sundrie Flowres 357 By too too much Dan Croesus caught his death, And bought with bloud the price of glittering gold. 1599 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet ii. iv. 52 Beshrewe your heart for sending me about To catch my death with iaunsing vp and downe. 1691 G. Miege New State Eng. i. xiii. 179 The beautifull Rosamond..catched her Death, by the poysonous Dose the jealous Queen forced upon her. 1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 517. ¶2 I am afraid he caught his Death the last County Sessions. 1739 Gentleman's Relig. 46 Having caught her Death of Cold in a large Room, or being stewed to Death in a small one. 1851 N. Hawthorne Memoria 53 I must take care of this little girl immediately, or she will catch her death-a-cold. 1861 Southern Lit. Messenger Nov. 343/2 You'll ketch yer death in this bad night air. 1908 R. B. Newman Belle Islers xxxvi. 374 She waded through the slush and caught her death of cold, and that was the end of her. 1986 D. Koontz Strangers i. i. 25 You shouldn't come out on a night like this without a sweater. You'll catch your death. 2016 Facts (Clute, Texas) 4 Apr. 20/2 Do get into dry clothing before you catch your death of cold. †P2. In various idiomatic expressions in which catch is equivalent in meaning to take. a. to catch one's leave: to say goodbye; to take one's leave. Obsolete. ΚΠ a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 1053 Wiþ clipping & kessing þei kauȝt here leue. c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 1118 Þay..Kysten ful comlyly & kaȝten her leue. a1500 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Trin. Dublin) l. 1693 (MED) Þan bowys he..Keches lufly hys leue. b. to catch haste: to hurry; to make haste. Obsolete. rare. ΚΠ a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1957) iii. x. l. 51 The scharp dreid maid ws so to cach haist. c. to catch council: to seek consultation. Obsolete. rare. ΚΠ c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 50^v Counsell was kaght of knightes & oþer. d. to catch the field: to occupy a battlefield. Obsolete. rare. ΚΠ c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 127^v Thre thowsaund full þro þrang into batell..kaghten the fild. P3. catch as catch can and variants. a. Used in various constructions to refer to a situation in which one is free to take what one can, or (more generally) to exploit the opportunity for personal gain, esp. disregarding rules or moral principles; (in later use also) with reference to a disorganized situation in which one does the best one can. (a) In predicative use, and as a noun. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > causation > chance or causelessness > [noun] > haphazardness or randomness catch as catch cana1393 die1548 hazard1548 random1565 haphazard1569 chance-medley1583 lay1584 lottery1593 haphazarding1787 randomness1803 haphazardness1857 happy-go-luckiness1866 chanciness1870 flukiness1888 haphazardry1910 randomicity1936 society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > wrestling > [noun] > types of wrestling catch as catch cana1393 in-play1713 Cumberland and Westmorland (style, etc.)1823 Cornish wrestling1824 arm-wrestling1846 professional wrestling1884 sumo1893 all in1934 mud-wrestling1936 lucha libre1943 wrist-wrestling1973 a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. l. 4422 Among thebreus was non insihte, Bot cacche who that cacche myhte, And ech of hem hise lustes soghte. 1653 S. Fisher Παιδοβαπτιζοντες Παιδιζοντες: Baby-baptism 605 Among whom [sc. the Clergie] its catch as catch can too, so that some get all..and some none. 1656 J. Harrington Common-wealth of Oceana 135 An occasionall Committee, exposed unto the catch that catch may, of the parties interested. 1787 W. Pick Sportsman & Breeder's Vade Mecum 186 The Deep-one..plays catch as catch can, And he who out-schemes us is held the best man. 1858 S. Austral. Weekly Chron. 23 Oct. (Suppl.) 1/5 Mr. Babbage..has treated the Government to a game of ‘Catch who catch may,’ having packed up his traps and set out..on a three months' expedition. 1997 J. Sallis Eye of Cricket xxxvii. 188 I..quit trying to force patterns..onto the catch-as-catch-can of what I actually lived, the rigorous disorder of my days. (b) In the verb phrase to catch as catch can (and variants). ΚΠ a1529 J. Skelton Why come ye nat to Courte (?1545) sig. A.ii^v So That rage must make pyllage To catche that catche may. 1673 J. Arrowsmith Reformation iii. ii. 30 Here Gallants take these keys. Now you may enter and catch who catch can a la mode d' Angleterre. 1752 S. Johnson Rambler No. 197. ⁋3 In a world where all must catch that catch can. 1833 Age 15 Sept. 293/2 The young gemmen's plan was to catch as catch can. 1907 Medico-pharmaceutical Critic & Guide Dec. 167 There are many things taught in the colleges, so that the young physician is bewildered and catches as catch can. 1985 Listener 7 Mar. 14/2 The concept of broadcasting based on cities..leaves large areas in between to catch-as-catch-can, by cable television or home earth terminal. 2010 C. Read Rise & Fall Econ. Empire xxx. 262 Financial and industrial capitalists alike tried to expand what was theirs... Everyone was catching as catch can. (c) Used as a parenthetic proverbial phrase. ΚΠ 1540 J. Palsgrave tr. G. Gnapheus Comedye of Acolastus Prol. sig. Bij^v Yea Terence bearyng wytnes, is set forth in the myddes. i. set forth free for all men (catche who catche maye) it can not, not be to prayse. i. it can not be but prayse worthy, [etc.]. 1555 J. Heywood Two Hundred Epigrammes with Thyrde sig. E.i^v Catch that catch may. 1616 F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Scornful Ladie i. sig. B4^v Men, weomen, and all woe: catch that catch may. 1821 J. Edmeston Anston Park vi. 59 I might, perhaps, have been a lady, if I had been like some servants—catch as catch can;—but I always loved to wait upon you. 1935 Winnipeg Free Press 22 Mar. 15/6 A good name is better than gold. A penny saved is a penny gained...Catch that catch may. (d) As an adjectival phrase (chiefly in attributive use). Now usually with hyphens. ΚΠ 1833 Standard 8 Feb. A ‘catch and catch can’ game among the youths and sages to whom is intrusted the destiny of Great Britain. a1854 E. Grant Mem. Highland Lady (1988) I. xiv. 300 At the schools it is a sort of catch who can system, get all you can, deceive all you can, conceal all you can. 1907 J. H. Moore With Speaker Cannon through Tropics xiii. 359 We finished our catch-as-catch-can breakfast, and began to make plans for another day on the island. 1974 Washington Post 15 Dec. b5/2 Moser..views the clinical training as ‘very unstructured, very catch-as-catch-can. If they happen to get with a physician who is a good teacher, they are fine’. 1993 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 3 Mar. 6/2 The catch-as-catch-can atmosphere of Lombard Street and Wall Street. 2013 J. Lotz Pilgrim Souls i. iv. 80 I had adapted to the catch-as-catch-can life of a freelancer, becoming a snapper-up of unconsidered trifles. b. Wrestling. Now usually with hyphens. Used to indicate a manner of wrestling in which few holds or throws are barred. (a) As an adverbial phrase.The phrase is used in quot. 1617 in the context of wrestling, but probably shows the use covered at Phrases 3a. ΚΠ 1617 T. Middleton & W. Rowley Faire Quarrell ii. sig. E2 Chaw. Ile wrastle with any man for a good supper. Trim. I marry sir, ile take your part there, catch that catch may.] 1836 Bell's Life in London 20 Mar. Wrestling.—A match has been made between the Oldham and Bolton champions, for £20 a-side, the best out of three fair back-falls, catch as catch can. 1879 St. Louis (Missouri) Globe-Democrat 18 Apr. 2/3 John McMahon..challenged Prof. Wm. Miller to wrestle, ‘catch as catch can’, with the use of the feet, for $500 a side. 1938 Daily Mail 22 Aug. 13/5 Wright is here to wrestle catch-as-catch-can with Earl McCready. (b) As an adjectival phrase (in attributive use). ΚΠ 1867 Standard 13 Aug. 6 The other sports included wrestling in the ‘catch who catch can’ style. 1898 Earl of Suffolk et al. Encycl. Sport II. 548/2 The principal chips associated with catch as catch can wrestling are the double Nelson, the half Nelson, the heave [etc.]. 1905 Daily Chron. 21 Dec. 9/5 A catch-as-catch-can wrestler needs to be wonderfully active. 1992 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 31 Aug. 4 Robert McNamara received the McPherson Challenge Trophy for his two wins in the catch-as-catch-can and Cumberland-style unlimited weight categories. (c) As a noun; (sometimes) spec. a style of wrestling first introduced in the 1870s, deriving principally from Lancashire wrestling (now historical). Also figurative. ΚΠ 1901 Black & White Budget 30 Nov. 315/1 The Lancashire style of wrestling, with which the Catch-as-Catch-Can is largely identical, is perhaps the roughest in the world. 1935 C. Isherwood Mr. Norris changes Trains xv. 243 Arthur's orientally sensitive spirit shrank from the rough, healthy, modern catch-as-catch-can of home-truths and confessions. 2011 Sunday Times (Nexis) 20 Mar. (London 2012 Suppl.) Freestyle wrestling developed in part from catch-as-catch-can, a form popular in the 19th century at fairs in Britain and America. P4. to catch one's breath and variants. a. (a) To inhale; to take a breath or breaths; to breathe freely. In later use: esp. to rest and recover one's normal rate of breathing, after a period of vigorous activity. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > respiratory organs > breathing > breathe [verb (intransitive)] > recover to take (one's, a) breatha1398 to catch one's breath1806 a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iii. l. 1461 Sche cawhte breth and seide thus. 1482 W. Caxton tr. Higden's Prolicionycion vi. xxi. f. cccx^v Atte laste by prayers of goode men that stode aboute hym he caught breth and sente for the clerke. 1763 J. Johnson New Royal & Universal Eng. Dict. II. To respire, to breathe. To catch breath. 1794 W. Billings Continental Harmony p. xvii Instead of saying, that you may stop to take breath, I should have said that you may stop to catch breath; and even that must be done without losing time. 1806 N. Curtis in T. M. Harris Disc. delivered before Humane Soc. 26 In about ten minutes he was observed to gape and catch his breath, and gradually recovered. 1817 J. Riley Authentic Narr. Loss Amer. Brig Commerce iii. 30 The billows..following each other in quick succession, scarcely gave us time to catch a breath before we were again literally swallowed by them. 1882 S. R. Watkins 1861 vs. 1882 ‘Co. Aytch’ xiii. 169 We had been charging and running, and had stopped to catch our breath right under their reserve and main line of battle. 1920 S. Lewis Main St. x. 112 She hastened from shelter to shelter, catching her breath in the lee of a barn. 2005 R. Horsfall Dancing on Thorns xviii. 277 Michel..leant over and propped his hands on his knees, struggling to catch his breath. He was soaked in sweat. (b) figurative. To take a (short) pause in which to reflect, relax, or restore one's equilibrium after a period of intense activity, emotional upheaval, etc.; to regain one's composure sufficiently to assimilate or evaluate changed circumstances. ΚΠ 1833 J. Downing Let. 10 June in Newburyport Herald 18 June 1/3 When we've been on the road I couldn't catch my breath hardly long enough to write my name. 1882 C. E. L. Riddell Daisies & Buttercups III. v. 127 Banks closed, and duns keeping quiet within their own houses, and debtors trying to catch their breath. 1918 U.S. Investor June 1000/1 When it was over and you had caught your breath, you did your full share in Red Cross and other campaigns. 1975 M. Mayer Nature of Beast vi. 331 The prolongation of adolescence..indicates a year or two off, before or during college, for kids to catch their breath, write poetry, sling hash. 2012 H. D. Winokuer & D. L. Harris Princ. & Pract. Grief Counselling v. 70 This is all just too much to absorb—it is too many losses and too many adjustments without a chance to catch your breath in between. b. To check the breath suddenly, esp. as a result of feeling surprise, joy, desire, or other strong emotion; to gasp (cf. to hold one's (also the) breath at breath n. Phrases 5a). Also in to catch a person's breath: to cause a person to check his or her breath suddenly or gasp. ΚΠ 1701 J. Norris Of Relig. Disc. in Common Conversat. 39 Without any Sighing or Winking, or Catching the Breath, or Skrewing up the Mouth. 1760 Ordinary of Newgate's Acct. iv. 6/1 Even when arraigned she sobbed and caught her breath, as if foretasting the death she expected. 1834 F. Marryat Peter Simple III. ix. 120 ‘I see her,’ replied I, catching my breath with joy. 1855 Ld. Tennyson Maud xiv. iv, in Maud & Other Poems 49 I..Felt a horror..Prickle my skin and catch my breath. 1883 M. Oliphant Hester III. ii. 37 What even if it did not succeed? It blanched his countenance and caught his breath to think of this. 1932 G. Greene Stamboul Train i. i. 12 A face..that made her catch her breath with longing. 1948 C. Rice Big Midget Murders viii. 63 He glanced around at the walls, caught his breath, and said, Great Jumping Joshua. 2012 T. Hardie House of Wind Prol. 1 The vista to each side of the narrow road will catch your breath at any hour, in any season. P5. to catch fire (also afire, on fire). a. To ignite; to begin to burn; to burst into flames.Cf. to take fire at fire n. and int. Phrases 2l(a). ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > passion > ardour or fervour > become ardent or fervent [verb (intransitive)] > become inflamed with passion heata1225 tind1297 lowea1333 anheat1340 to catch firec1400 kindlea1450 to take firea1513 inflame1559 broil1561 calenturea1657 the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > burning > burn or be on fire [verb (intransitive)] > catch fire or begin to burn quicka1225 kindle?c1225 tindc1290 atend1398 to catch fire (also afire, on fire)c1400 quickenc1425 enkindle1556 fire1565 to set on fire1596 take1612 catch1632 conflagrate1657 to fly on fire1692 to go up1716 deflagrate1752 flagrate1756 inflame1783 ignite1818 to fire up1845 c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xvii. l. 219 A candel þat cauȝte hath fyre & blaseth. 1558 T. Phaer tr. Virgil Seuen First Bks. Eneidos v. sig. P.iv His arow swift from him did flie, In sight it caught a fyer, and flamyng forth it went in skie. 1587 J. Polemon 2nd Pt. Bk. Battailes sig. J The barrelles of Gunpouder that were in one of the shippes caught on fire. 1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. 45 In Illyricum there is a cold spring, ouer which, if ye spread any clothes, they catch a fire and burne. 1687 J. Clayton Let. in R. Boyle Corr. (2001) VI. 220 We found a shelly coale, the Candle being then put down into the hole, the Air catched fire. 1761 W. Lewis Mat. Med. (ed. 2) 445 Fine petroleum catches fire on the approach of a flaming body. 1796 H. Hunter tr. J.-H. B. de Saint-Pierre Stud. Nature (1799) I. 480 But how comes it, that air and water, though agitated ever so much, never catch fire? 1826 Asiatic Jrnl. & Monthly Reg. Oct. 379 A number of rockets were thrown at the car, until at length it caught fire and blew up. 1880 Baltimore Underwriter 5 Mar. 105/1 The heroine gets too near an open grate and the train of her dress catches fire. 1950 M. F. McKeown Them was Days iv. 74 It was the only way to put out a fire once one of them stick chimneys caught on fire inside. 1971 in R. Allsopp Dict. Caribbean Eng. Usage (1996) (at cited word) One building obliquely opposite the service station-restaurant caught afire, and the roof and first storey..were destroyed. 2006 St. Petersburg (Florida) Times (Nexis) 22 Sept. 5 a An underground electrical cable caught fire Thursday, sending smoke billowing into the streets. b. figurative. Of a person, a person's temperament, etc.: to be filled with passion, enthusiasm, energy, etc.; to become inflamed with strong emotion; (of an emotion) to be aroused suddenly; to flare up. Also (in later use) of a campaign, an idea, etc.: to grow or develop rapidly; to flourish.Cf. to take fire at fire n. and int. Phrases 2l(b). ΚΠ 1533 tr. Erasmus Enchiridion Militis Christiani xiv. sig. Lvi^v The disposycion of man is frayle and prone to vyces, he catcheth mischeuous ensample at ones: none otherwyse than thou catchest fyre if it be put to. 1653 Z. Bogan Medit. Mirth Christian Life ii. 181 As if hatred could no sooner be kindled; but sorrow, and trouble must presently catch a fire. 1734 I. Watts Reliquiæ Juveniles lii. 208 His Soul catch'd Fire. 1872 ‘G. Eliot’ Middlemarch I. ii. xxii. 402 I have a hyperbolical tongue: it catches fire as it goes. 1886 ‘H. Conway’ Living or Dead x. 106 Now, don't catch on fire like that, Philip. 1937 Montana Standard 12 June 8/1 No one figured he would catch afire. But he did. Knocking 'em a mile, chipping 'em dead and rolling 'em in, he blazed the first nine in 33. 1955 Titusville (Pa.) Herald 13 Jan. 2/4 Sparked by enthusiastic workers, the recreation park campaign caught on fire from the start. 1982 S. K. Penman Sunne in Splendour (1984) i. viii. 101 His normally phlegmatic temperament suddenly caught fire. 2015 Wall St. Jrnl. 11 Apr. c4/5 Dozens of gender-neutral pronouns have been put forth over the years, including ‘thon’, ‘xe’ and ‘ze’, but all have failed to catch fire. P6. to catch hold and variants. a. Chiefly with of, †at, or on. To take hold of (a person or thing) with the hands; to seize; to grasp. Also of a thing: to become attached to.Cf. to take hold at hold n.¹ Phrases a. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > taking > seizing > seize [verb (transitive)] gripea900 afangOE to lay hands (or hand) on or upon (also in, to)OE repeOE atfonga1000 keepc1000 fang1016 kip1297 seize1338 to seize on or upon1399 to grip toc1400 rapc1415 to rap and rendc1415 comprise1423 forsetc1430 grip1488 to put (one's) hand(s) on (also in, to, unto, upon)1495 compass1509 to catch hold1520 hap1528 to lay hold (up)on, of1535 seisin?c1550 cly1567 scratch1582 attach1590 asseizea1593 grasp1642 to grasp at1677 collar1728 smuss1736 get1763 pin1768 grabble1796 bag1818 puckerow1843 nobble1877 jump1882 snaffle1902 snag1962 pull1967 the world > movement > absence of movement > hold or holding > hold [verb (transitive)] > lay hold of or grasp i-fangc888 gripc950 repeOE befongOE keepc1000 latchc1000 hentOE begripec1175 becatchc1200 fang?c1200 i-gripea1225 warpa1225 fastenc1225 arepa1250 to set (one's) hand(s onc1290 kip1297 cleach?a1300 hendc1300 fasta1325 reachc1330 seizec1374 beclipc1380 takea1387 span1398 to seize on or upon1399 getc1440 handc1460 to catch hold1520 to take hold1530 to lay hold (up)on, of1535 grasple1553 to have by the backa1555 handfast1562 apprehend1572 grapple1582 to clap hold of1583 comprehend1584 graspa1586 attach1590 gripple1591 engrasp1593 clum1594 to seize of1600 begriple1607 fast hold1611 impalm1611 fista1616 to set (one's) hand to1638 to get one's hands on1649 1520 Dyetary Ghostly Helthe sig. a.v Beware that the deuyll in no wyse fynde you in this snare, but yf ye be caught therin, breke out betymes before he catche holde vpon you. 1529 T. More Supplyc. Soulys ii. f. xxxvi^v He wold gladly cach hold of sum small handell to kepe hys money fast. 1537 W. Tyndale Expos. Epist. John 80 The deuel can ketch no hold on them. 1607 N. Geffe tr. O. de Serres Perfect Vse Silke-wormes 96 The threeds wil catch hold at the said broome, or bushes. 1645 G. Walker Sermon 3 That is the Dog-bryar, and of all Brambles is most full of sharp hooked pricks,..so that they rend and teare where they catch hold. 1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 249 I catch'd hold of Friday. 1772 R. B. Sheridan Let. July (1966) I. 31 I stept up and caught hold of his wrist or the hilt of his sword. 1862 Knickerbocker Feb. 202 Wait till they ‘ketch hold on 'im’—‘that's all.’ 1879 Scribner's Monthly Dec. 228/1 The tender rootlets catch hold of this at once, and in a day or two the plant is growing as well as ever. 1956 R. Chase Amer. Folk Tales 37 That tree..had a few low branches to it, so she caught hold on them and cloomb right on up. 1972 B. K. Wilson Tales told to Kabbarli 30 Catch hold, catch hold, and I will pull you out! 2009 C. Unsworth Bad Penny Blues xxx. 297 Jackie caught hold of my hand and squeezed it. b. figurative. Without construction. Of disease, a fire, etc.: to begin to spread; to take hold. Also of an idea, initiative, etc.: to gain support or popularity; to become established.Cf. to take hold at hold n.¹ Phrases b. ΚΠ 1529 T. More Supplyc. Soulys ii. f. xxix^v The fyre..shall..in the sowlys that are vnclensyd..hastely catch holde and kepe them fast & burne them wyth incessaunt payn. 1554 J. Gwynneth Declar. State wherin Heretikes leade Liues xxii. f. 12 It pleaseth the goodnes of god, that trewe faith, with good zele, shall yet catche holde. 1600 J. Perrott 1st Part Consideration Humane Condition ii. i. 29 If thou be noble borne, then commonly pride and presumption catch holde and lay such violent handes on thy will. 1656 Duchess of Newcastle Natures Pictures x. 294 Fire having a nature to catch hold, and to dilate, and so to feed it self upon all things. 1784 D. Young Observ. Fire 46 They threw earth upon the lint stacks that were close by the mill, which prevented the fire from catching hold. 1894 Rocky Mountain News (Denver) 27 Aug. 2/4 ‘Do it again!’ rose above the din, and the idea catching hold developed into a loud roar, ‘Do it again!’ 1922 Theatre Mag. Feb. 110/1 It is interesting to see how this idea caught hold and spread. 1989 H. Johnson Story of Wine xxxv. 357 Fungus diseases caught hold and ravaged the vineyards. 2008 St. Petersburg (Florida) Times (Nexis) 6 Apr. 1 b Despite backing from several top civic leaders and the chamber of commerce, the initiative never caught hold. c. figurative. Chiefly with of. To seize, grasp, or appropriate (an idea, a fact, etc.); (also) to gain control over.Cf. to take hold at hold n.¹ Phrases b. ΚΠ 1581 R. Mulcaster Positions v. 32 It is more then likely, wherof so euer the first charact came, that necessitie caught hold of it, to serue her owne tourne. 1610 T. Morton Encounter against M. Parsons ii. xi. 158 The impietie whereof..durst more boldly seeke refuge at Gods sanctuary euen the holy Scripture, and there to catch hold at the examples of Christ his speeches. 1692 J. Washington tr. J. Milton Def. People Eng. ii. 26 This Saying you catch'd hold off, thinking it would make for your purpose. 1782 in Asiatic Ann. Reg. 1808 (1811) 591/2 I saw that there would be people enough cooly to catch hold of his idea. 1806 Cobbett's Weekly Polit. Reg. 5 Apr. 481 To catch hold of some of the prominent facts will be sufficient for every present purpose. 1865 Evangelical Repository Dec. 101 Libertinism and indulgence and vice have caught hold of multitudes of the world's youth. 1935 C. Beaton Diary in Self Portrait with Friends (1979) vi. 48 Mrs Simpson proved an exceptionally difficult woman to draw. I found nothing facile to catch hold of. 1990 G. Claridge et al. Sounds from Bell Jar Pref. p. xi Dr Claridge..caught hold of our airy assumptions..and tethered them to the firm ground of his own discipline. 2001 Independent (Nexis) 11 June (Features section) 7 In Japan they think I'm an angel, and I don't think that's entirely accurate. Hopefully they won't catch hold of that idea in England. P7. Proverb. you can't catch an old bird with chaff and variants: a wise or experienced person cannot easily be deceived. Also in allusive use. Now rare. Π c1600 Timon (1980) iv. ii. 56 An olde birde is not caught with chaffe Hee that will cheate mee must arise betimes. 1674 J. Golborne Friendly Apol. 17 If you resolve to be wise, and to laugh At all his follies, are not catch'd with chaff Of vain pretences. 1732 Compl. Coll. Rep., Lyes, & Stories i. 49 Others said, that the Whigs were old Birds, they would not be catch'd with Chaff. 1815 D. Humphreys Yankey in Eng. i. 21 I guess, he is trying to ketch me—but it won't du. I'm tu old a bird to be ketch'd with chaff. 1855 W. M. Thackeray Newcomes II. xv. 144 They ogled him as they sang..with which chaff our noble bird was by no means to be caught. 1936 C. F. Gregg Danger at Cliff House v. 45 Henry Prince was too old a bird to be caught with such chaff. 1975 Miami (Okla.) News-Record 30 Mar. b11/3 Saul of Tarsus, not a man to be caught with chaff, heard this message and believed. †P8. to catch the air: to pant; to struggle for breath. Obsolete. rare.Cf. to catch one's breath at Phrases 4. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > disordered breathing > have or cause breathing disorder [verb (intransitive)] > become short of breath > gasp or catch breath gape1352 gaspa1393 to catch the aira1616 kink1691 keck1721 a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 (1623) iii. ii. 375 A greeuous sicknesse..That makes him gaspe, and stare, and catch the aire, Blaspheming. View more context for this quotation P9. In phrases with nouns denoting acts of seeing. a. to catch a glimpse (also a sight, a view, etc.) of and variants: to see suddenly or briefly. Also figurative.Cf. phrases with have and get at have v. 10b(b) and get v. 8b. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > seeing or looking > see [verb (transitive)] > succeed in seeing or catch sight of underyetec1000 aspya1250 kenc1275 ofyetec1275 choosea1300 akenc1300 descrivec1300 ofkenc1300 readc1300 espyc1320 descryc1330 spyc1380 discernc1405 discover1553 scan1558 scry1558 decern1559 describe1574 to make out1575 escry1581 interview1587 display1590 to set sight of (in)c1595 sight1602 discreevec1650 glance1656 to catch a glimpse of1679 steal1731 oversee1735 glimpse1779 twig1796 to clap eyes on1838 spot1848 sky1900 1679 tr. M.-C.-H. de Villedieu Unfortunate Heroes 258 Nerisa had convey'd her self away with such speed, that I could not catch a sight of her. 1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones II. v. x. 203 Caught a View of the Lovers just as they were sinking out of Sight. 1761 Kept Mistress 135 You catch a Sight of a pretty Face in a broken Glass. 1825 A. Knapp & W. Baldwin Newgate Cal. IV. 378/1 My daughter caught a sight of me. 1872 W. H. Dixon W. Penn (rev. ed.) i. 2 He caught some glimpses of the pirate holds. 1944 ELH 11 139 In Byron's social career we catch glimpses of the true Regency buck in all his glittering aspects. 2010 C. Karras & S. M. Zusy Motorcycle Touring in Pacific Northwest viii. 79 On a short stretch of the highway about 10 miles southeast of Sisters, you may also catch a brief view of Mount Jefferson. b. to catch sight of.Cf. to lose sight of at sight n.¹ 4c. (a) To see suddenly; to come suddenly in view of. ΚΠ a1726 M. Ashley-Cooper tr. Xenophon Cyropædia (1728) I. ii. 204 An Eagle of happy Omen flying towards them, caught Sight of the Hare as it run. 1797 J. Douglas Hist. Julia D'Haumont I. xi. 198 Being placed with her head towards the fire, lest, catching sight of the portrait, she might again relapse into a fit. 1845 J. Coulter Adventures Pacific ix. 115 I caught sight of a huge seal waddling up out of the water. 1888 West Shore (Portland, Oregon) Mar. 144/2 How I strained my eyes to catch sight of him ahead, as I rounded every curve and angle! 1971 V. Canning Queen's Pawn ii. 32 She caught sight of her face in the small mirror over the kitchen table. 2014 New Yorker 27 Oct. 13/2 The disconcerting change in perspective that occurs when an astronaut first catches sight of the Earth from space. (b) figurative. To perceive intellectually; to understand; to gain insight into. ΚΠ 1824 tr. E. De Jouy Sylla Hist. Preamble p. xxvii A theory by which I think I have caught sight of the solution of the great dramatic question which at this moment shares the attention of the literary world. 1885 Cent. Mag. May 76/1 Emerson apparently never caught sight of the fact that in humanity there is a reversal of those laws by which matter and brute-life led up to man. 1902 B. Kidd Princ. Western Civilization x. 343 We catch sight..for the first time in history, of a conception round which a practical system of world-politics..is actually slowly beginning to centre. 1969 A. Lingis tr. E. Lévinas Totality & Infinity 21 Does not lucidity..consist in catching sight of the permanent possibility of war? 2005 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 27 Feb. (Late ed.) (Film section) 1 The show reveals what the industry is thinking in the moment and lets us catch sight of the future. c. to catch a look and variants: to manage to see, esp. by putting oneself in a particular position or situation. Chiefly with at. ΚΠ 1757 Poems Several Gentlemen Oxf. 19 Each Student..runs thro' ev'ry Street in Town, To catch a Look at Polly. a1763 T. Godfrey Prince of Parthia (1765) i. ii. 106 Didst thou observe the croud, their eagerness, Each put the next aside to catch a look? 1848 E. C. Gaskell Mary Barton I. vii. 120 He turned to catch a look at her sweet face. 1964 R. Gover Here goes Kitten 21 I swing about on that stool, catch one look at that face—jes keep right on a-swingin till the stool's facin the bar again. 2008 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) (Nexis) 26 Mar. (Today section) 42 This collection is a wonderful opportunity for fans of Olley to catch a look at her amazing works. P10. colloquial. In phrases expressing emphatically that a person would never do a particular thing. Cf. sense 9a. a. you won't catch me (also him, her, etc.) —— and variants. Chiefly with present participle. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > impossibility > desire the impossible [phrase] > absence of possibility you won't catch me1698 not a cat (in hell)'s chance1796 pigs might fly1840 there is (also was, etc.) no way (that)1908 not a hope (also chance) in hell1923 it's (just) not on1935 pigs have wings1936 that'll (also that will) be the day1941 not on your Nelly1959 1698 J. Turner Phisico-theol. Disc. Divine Being 32 I must tell you, that you shall never catch me making Resolutions what to do when I am dying. 1704 Rehearsal of Observator 2 Sept. They shall ne'r Catch me Believing or not Believing, but as serves the Cause. 1741 B. Mills Exam. Remarks Curate of Canterbury 39 He shall never catch me entering the Lists with him again. 1839 Metropolitan Aug. 432 Hackney, to-night!!! a hundred miles to-night!!! sure you are mad!..You'll not catch me doing it, I can tell you. 1870 E. Warren Bloomfield x. 96 All I say is, I hope he'll give part of it [sc. the money] to the poor; but you'll not catch him at that. 1916 W. O. Bradley Stories & Speeches 18 You'll never ketch me hollerin' at no Republican gatherin'. 1952 Daily Courier (Connellsville, Pa.) 13 Dec. 9/4 He answered in the booming terms typical of his stalwart type, ‘You don't catch me wearing any of those old-fashioned nightshirts!’ 2015 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 24 Oct. 19 If this is what the voters of England want, anyone would think they'd gone mad. You wouldn't catch me saying such a thing, of course. b. catch me (also him, her, etc.)!; (formerly also) †catch me (also him, her, etc.) at it! and variants. ΚΠ 1738 J. Swift Treat. Polite Conversat. 15 Ay, Miss, catch him at that, and hang him. 1821 I. Hoole Scenes at Brighton II. i. 7 ‘You had nothing to do but to have sported an upper benjamin, and you could have played the ruffian's part in a minute.’ ‘Catch me at it,’ said Lovelace. 1830 J. Galt Lawrie Todd II. v. iv. 143 Catch me again at such costly daffin. 1886 W. H. Mallock Old Order Changes II. x. 58 He never did a stroke [of work], as you say. Catch him! 1903 Evangelical Episcopalian Aug. 224 ‘Catch me going to the country!’ she said. ‘Why, I'd die of lonesomeness!’ 1936 N. Coward Fumed Oak i, in To-night at 8.30 II. 41 Mrs. Rockett: I can always go to a boarding-house or a private hotel. Doris: Catch you! 2005 J. B. Glad Improbable Solution (2006) xii. 108 Catch her going up those stairs to his apartment at the time of day when there was more foot and automobile traffic on Main Street than any other hour! P11. Cricket. a. to catch and bowl (a person): (of a bowler) to dismiss (a batter) by catching the ball after it has been struck and before it touches the ground. Chiefly (and in earliest use) in passive. Cf. sense 49. ΚΠ 1838 Standard 30 Aug. G. Cary, Esq., caught and bowled by Russell. 1883 in Daily Tel. 15 May 2/7 Peate..caught and bowled Hearn. 1904 P. F. Warner How we recovered Ashes v. 78 Rhodes missed catching and bowling Gregory. 1959 Times 7 Aug. 4/2 He was caught and bowled off a steepler. 2011 Independent (Nexis) 7 Mar. (Sport section) 10 Tahir had Trott caught and bowled for 52 from 94 balls. b. caught and bowled (a) n. an instance of dismissing a batter in which the bowler catches the ball after it has been struck and before it touches the ground; (b) adj. (of a catch) that is made by the bowler (rare). ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > dismissal of batsman > [adjective] > manner of dismissal b.1769 leg before wicket1795 lbw1843 caught and bowled1875 spreadeagled1920 1875 Standard 21 Aug. 6 Remnant was got rid of by an easy caught and bowled for a really well hit innings of 25. 1924 J. B. Hobbs My Cricket Mem. 169 Then Mr. Simms got rid of Woolley with a magnificent ‘caught and bowled’. 1950 W. Hammond Cricketers' School v. 52 I have seen Larwood take some of the speediest single-handed caught-and-bowled catches ever put up on any cricket field. 2017 Sun (Nexis) 10 Sept. 58 Broad dropped a caught and bowled offered by Shane Dowrich before the Windies wicketkeeper mispulled Toby Roland-Jones to mid-on. P12. to catch it. a. colloquial. To be reprimanded or scolded; to be punished.See also to catch it hot at hot adj. and n.¹ Phrases 5, to catch it in the neck at neck n.¹ Phrases 2b. ΚΠ 1821 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Sept. 162/2 I would therefore have you stand clear the next time, otherwise you'll catch it. 1834 F. Marryat Jacob Faithful III. ix. 161 We all thought that Tom was about to catch it. 1872 W. Black Strange Adventures Phaeton xvi. 218 He catches it if he does not bring home a fair proportion to his wife. 1921 B. K. Seymour Intrusion (1922) iii. iv. 263 I ran into him to-day coming along to you. I said he'd catch it for coming home before time and disturbing you. 1940 M. de la Roche Whiteoak Chron. i. xii. 107 Good lord..we shall be late for the party and I shall catch it. 2006 Washington Post (Nexis) 12 July b1 She was very, very angry... I just knew from past experience he was going to catch it. b. Originally Military slang. To be killed or wounded in an attack, esp. by gunfire. ΚΠ 1837 United Service Jrnl. Aug. 480 The following stave..I wrote myself when I was laid up in ordinary in Greenwich:..At Teneriffe we caught it there, and Nelson lost his good right arm; But all the shots they blazed away, they never did myself much harm. 1886 C. Bell tr. L. Tolstoy War & Peace I. xv. 234 Our hussars will catch it now; they are within range of the guns. 1920 P. Gibbs Now it can be Told iii. 168 ‘We caught it badly,’ said some of them I met later in the day, bandaged and bloody,..while gassed men lay on stretchers about them. 1951 M. Spillane Long Wait v. 66 I don't like the way Minnow died. He was sitting there and bang, just like that he caught it. 1988 L. Sanders Timothy's Game (1989) iii. iv. 328 ‘One of my guys caught it.’ ‘Ah, Jesus,’ Cone says. ‘Bad?’ ‘I think so. It looked bad... Oh, God, what am I going to tell his wife?’ P13. Originally U.S. to be caught short. a. To be taken by surprise (originally by a change in the stock market); to be put at a sudden disadvantage; to be caught unawares. ΚΠ 1855 Bangor (Maine) Daily Whig & Courier 26 June With the exception of the few who are caught short in this turn of the market, there is a strong feeling among the brokers that the ‘good time’..is approaching. 1866 Nation 8 Mar. 316/2 The clique has..bought up all the floating Erie, and expects to realize its profit by supplying the luckless speculators who are ‘caught short’. 1920 Econ. Jrnl. 30 118 It is like a ‘bear squeeze’ on a stock market, when bulls have been caught short. 1955 Pacific Stars & Stripes (Tokyo) 10 Oct. 6/4 The signal school wasn't caught short. The ablutions were spotless. 1973 ‘E. Ferrars’ Foot in Grave (1990) vi. 93 If for some reason she happened to be caught short when the bank was closed, the grocer would always cash a cheque. 1996 Independent 15 Jan. 7/3 Mr Handy encouraged young people to build up a ‘portfolio of skills’ so they are not caught short when employment ends suddenly. 2004 Jrnl. Courier (Jacksonville, Illinois) 6 Feb. 6/2 [The father] was caught short when the boy asked, ‘Dad, what's erectile dysfunction?’ b. To be caught by an urgent need to urinate or defecate, especially when there are no toilet facilities available. ΚΠ 1930 S. J. Perelman Let. 31 Oct. in Don't tread on Me (1987) 7 The gent caught short in Central Park, slips into the bushes and lets down his galluses. 1969 ‘W.A. Ballinger’ Men that God made Mad xvii. 166 She'd made the English think she was caught short out there in the country and she had put them to flight with their faces red. ?1972 R. Galton & A. Simpson Best of Steptoe & Son (1989) 39 I'm sorry to hear about your illness. If you get caught short, the bog's outside. 1991 R. Rendell Kissing Gunner's Daughter (1992) xvi. 198 She could only have been ten minutes from her own house but..it was possible even then, one could be ‘caught short’. 2006 Teen Now Spring 59/3 I was known as ‘pee boy’ growing up because I was always getting caught short. P14. Rowing. to catch the beginning and variants: to grip the water with the oar at the beginning of a stroke. Cf. catch n.² 12. Now rare. ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > propelling boat by oars, paddle, or pole > propel boat by oars, paddle, or pole [verb (transitive)] > row (a boat) > make a stroke > grip water at the beginning of stroke to catch the beginning1865 1865 Sporting Gaz. 8 Apr. 253/3 Cambridge..have a fair idea of catching the beginning, but they row the first part of their stroke too much in the air. 1898 Earl of Suffolk et al. Encycl. Sport II. 273/2 The beginning must be caught with full power. 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXXII. 307/2 Swivel rowlocks..are considered unsuitable to eight-oared rowing, where the beginning of the stroke has to be firmly and smartly caught. 1938 Times 19 Mar. 6/7 Stewart, at No 3, was rowing light and was not catching the beginning, but the rest of the crew were keeping a splendid length against the wind. P15. Surfing. to catch a wave and variants: to move towards and then drop into a wave, so as to be able to ride it. Also figurative and in figurative contexts. ΚΠ 1907 Evening Jrnl. (Washington, Iowa) 19 Sept. I shall never forget the first big wave I caught out there in the deep water. 1968 W. Warwick Surfriding in N.Z. 2 The Duke..caught a wave and rode it until a short distance from the shore. 1972 Proc. ABA National Marketing Conf. 27 My hope is that this can assist the banking industry in catching the wave of consumerism and riding its crest smoothly to shore. 2016 Independent (Nexis) 7 May 82 Never caught a wave before? No problem. Escape and recharge at one of these beginner-friendly camps. P16. (I'll) catch you later (also tomorrow, again, etc.) and variants: (as an expression at parting) ‘I'll see you later, tomorrow, etc.’; goodbye for the moment, until tomorrow, etc.See also catch you later alligator in quot. 1978 at alligator n.² 5b, and see you later at later adv., adj., and int. Phrases 1. ΚΠ 1938 Valley Sunday Star-Monitor-Herald (Brownsville, Texas) 4 Dec. 8/3 Gotta game today, but I'll catch you tomorrow. 1949 Collier's 12 Nov. 55/1 Britten lost a little of his affability. ‘We're around,’ he said. ‘We'll catch you later.’ 1972 G. Trudeau Doonesbury (comic strip) in Sarasota (Florida) Herald-Tribune 3 Oct. 6 c/7 ‘Please! Go away!!’ ‘O.K... Catch you tomorrow.’ 1997 I. Sinclair Lights out for Territory (1998) 192 Lovely to meet you. Catch you again sometime. 2003 S. Brooke 2cool2btrue xvii. 156 ‘Catch you later,’ she purrs, squeezing his arm. P17. Caribbean. to catch (one's) arse (also ass): to suffer or undergo misfortune, hardship, or difficulty.Cf. catch-arse n. and adj. ΚΠ 1956 S. Selvon Lonely Londoners 8 I catching my arse as it is, how I could help them out? 1970 M. Hodge Crick Crack, Monkey (1981) iv. 15 Them that walketh in the paths of corruption will live to ketch dey arse. 2019 @trinimarn 25 Nov. in twitter.com (accessed 30 May 2020) Many folks don't know how he started, but he real ketch arse in the early days. P18. colloquial (chiefly U.S.) to catch feelings: to develop or experience romantic feelings.Originally in the language of hip-hop. ΚΠ 1991 ‘Naughty by Nature’ O.P.P. (transcribed from song) in Naughty by Nature She kept on coming back and catchin' feelings. 2001 M. Major 4 Guys & Trouble ii. 31 Hey, hos can be some of the best people on this planet, as long as you don't catch feelings for them. 2011 N. Flowers & C. Parker He was my Man First v. 36 Boning was one thing, but catching feelings for a chick was an entirely different story. P19. In various idiomatic phrases. to catch (a person) bending: see bend v. 9d. to catch a crab: see crab n.¹ 10. to catch the eye (of): see eye n.¹ Phrases 2c(a). to catch (a person) napping: see nap v.¹ 2. to be caught red-handed: see red-handed adj. 1c. to catch a Tartar: see Tartar n.² 4. to catch (a person) with his or her trousers down: see trousers n. Phrases 4. to catch unawares: see unawares adv. 2b. extracted from catchv. to catch as catch can (b) In the verb phrase to catch as catch can (and variants). ΚΠ a1529 J. Skelton Why come ye nat to Courte (?1545) sig. A.ii^v So That rage must make pyllage To catche that catche may. 1673 J. Arrowsmith Reformation iii. ii. 30 Here Gallants take these keys. Now you may enter and catch who catch can a la mode d' Angleterre. 1752 S. Johnson Rambler No. 197. ⁋3 In a world where all must catch that catch can. 1833 Age 15 Sept. 293/2 The young gemmen's plan was to catch as catch can. 1907 Medico-pharmaceutical Critic & Guide Dec. 167 There are many things taught in the colleges, so that the young physician is bewildered and catches as catch can. 1985 Listener 7 Mar. 14/2 The concept of broadcasting based on cities..leaves large areas in between to catch-as-catch-can, by cable television or home earth terminal. 2010 C. Read Rise & Fall Econ. Empire xxx. 262 Financial and industrial capitalists alike tried to expand what was theirs... Everyone was catching as catch can. extracted from catchv. < as lemmas
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