单词 | leave little to be to wish (for) |
释义 | > as lemmasto leave nothing (also little, much, something, etc.) to be desired (also to wish (for)) Phrases P1. to leave alone. a. to leave (a person) alone: to go away from (a person) so that he or she is without company or support, to abandon or desert; to let alone (see let v.1 18a).Sometimes with suggestion of the next sense ( Phrases 1b). ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > social relations > lack of social communication or relations > solitude or solitariness > [verb (transitive)] > leave alone to leave (a person) alonec1330 desolate1530 c1330 Seven Sages (Auch.) (1933) l. 2473 Þai..fond hire þat niȝt stouer, And left here alone. c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 2154 (MED) & leuez þe knyȝt þere al one. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Isa. i. A Ye doughter of Syon is left alone like a cotage in a vynyearde. 1578 M. Tyler tr. D. Ortúñez de Calahorra Mirrour Princely Deedes f. 121 Leaue mee alone I praye thee and my griefe shall not grieue me without thy companye. 1606 S. Daniel Queenes Arcadia iii. i. sig. Fv Leaue me alone, for I must now resume My surly, graue, and Doctorall aspect. 1668 F. Kirkman Eng. Rogue II. xvi. 149 I being left alone in this Room was not idle, but rummaged about. 1750 M. Clancy Memoirs I. 123 The old Negress went off, and we were left alone. 1768 H. Brooke Fool of Quality III. xvi. 267 I did not dare to leave my child alone and unsheltered. 1870 M. Bridgman Robert Lynne I. xiii. 220 I shouldn't care to leave any of them alone with my plate-basket. 1915 V. Woolf Voy. Out xv. 235 All I ask is to be left alone to moulder away in solitude. 1964 J. Stewart tr. G. Simenon Maigret Mystified iv. 45 Couchet was always leaving me alone and gadding about to try his luck. 2006 K. Richardson Greywalker xvi. 146 Mara whisked out of the kitchen, leaving me alone with her husband. b. to leave (a person or thing) alone (also †one): to stop or abstain from interfering with or paying attention to; to let alone (see let v.1 18b).to leave severely alone: see severely adv. 1d. to leave well alone: see well adj. and n.3 Phrases 3, well adv. and n.4 Phrases 7. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > inaction > not doing > abstaining or refraining from action > abstain or refrain from (action) [verb (transitive)] > pursue (a matter) no further to leave (a person or thing) alone (also one)a1475 forbear1570 to let fall1594 fall1630 waive1681 withdraw1781 to leave it at that1861 a1475 in J. O. Halliwell Early Eng. Misc. (1855) 3 Thou woldus gladly with me fare, And leve one my talkynge. a1500 (?a1425) tr. Secreta Secret. (Lamb.) 88 If þou leue þe water aloon, it shal make whit. 1649 ‘E. Philodemus’ Armies Vindic. 7 Mr. Sedgwicks councell is if a man see his house a fire, not to move or seek to quench it, but leave it alone till it be burnt down to the ground. 1732 G. Berkeley Alciphron I. ii. xxiii. 137 We have stubbed and weeded and cleared Humane Nature to that degree, that in a little time, leaving it alone without any labouring or teaching, you shall see natural and just Ideas sprout forth of themselves. 1798 F. Burney Jrnls. & Lett. (1973) IV. 181 O, leave him alone! cried Mr. Pepys,—take care only of his health & strength. 1849 G. C. Greenwell Gloss. Terms Coal Trade Northumberland & Durham 24 Fly doors, or swing doors,..constructed as always to fall close when left alone, but to open either towards or from the current of air. 1885 Manch. Examiner 5 June 5/1 We cannot but wish that Mr. Gladstone had left the matter alone. 1933 J. C. Powys Glastonbury Romance xxii. 713 If you haven't the guts to act like a man in the matter, you ought to leave this girl alone. 2013 Guardian 29 Oct. (G2 section) 8/3 He can't leave any situation alone or any scab unpicked. c. leave alone: used to express that something is far less likely or suitable than something else already mentioned; ‘not to mention’ (see mention v. Phrases 1a); = let alone at let v.1 18e. Now chiefly regional. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > improbability, unlikeliness > expressing improbability [phrase] I'll (you'll, etc.) be lucky1762 no such luck1775 leave alone1838 I (you, etc.) should be so lucky1989 1838 J. Pring 2nd Ser. Kingdom Serm. v. 100 There are not five, perhaps, who would have the grace to honour an angel, leave alone ten. 1891 ‘Rita’ Countess Pharamond ii. i. 81 I should hate to write two books alike—leave alone twenty. 1937 G. Greene in Spectator 5 Mar. 403/2 No headmistress, leave alone Elizabeth Tudor, would have allowed quite so much cuddling and kissing in her presence. 1974 W. Foley Child in Forest 19 The wages our dads brought home from the pit were not enough to keep us out of debt, leave alone fill our bellies properly. 2010 S. Foster Polit. Communication Introd. 2 I can make no claim that this study provides an original, leave alone a definitive account, of a complex and fascinating area of contemporary politics. P2. to leave to oneself (also itself): to leave (a person or thing) alone or undisturbed; to allow to proceed without help or interference. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > inaction > not doing > abstaining or refraining from action > abstain or refrain from (action) [verb (transitive)] > abstain from interfering with to let alonec897 leaveOE to let bec1000 to let bec1175 to let (a person or thing) yworth?c1225 to let (something) standa1400 to let dwella1500 to leave to oneself (also itself)?1531 let1818 to let a thing bide1866 the world > action or operation > inaction > not doing > abstaining or refraining from action > abstain or refrain from (action) [verb (transitive)] > abstain from interfering with > leave (persons) to their own course to let (persons) shifta1400 to leave to oneself (also itself)?1531 ?1531 R. Whitford tr. Folowing of Christe iii. v. f. lxv I am tourned agaynste them: and leue them to them selfe withoute helpe or counseyle of me. [No corresponding sentence in the Latin original.] 1548 N. Lesse tr. F. Lambert Minde & Iudgem. To Rdr. f. iiij The Lord toke the spirit of stedfastnes and knowledgyng of God from hym: leauyng hym to hymselfe, to fraylenes, to the verye counsel and motion of the flesh. 1602 S. Rowlands Greenes Ghost sig. F3v Hee desired him to leaue him to himselfe, and to take order that no man came to trouble him for some two houres space. 1658 T. Manton Pract. Comm. Jude 491 Man being left to himself to meer Soul-light or Soul-inclinations, can bring forth no other fruits then such as are carnal. 1674 N. Fairfax Treat. Bulk & Selvedge 73 Which will not allow an heavy body left to itself within a flowsom one that is lighter, to buoy up. 1707 tr. M. Alemán Life Guzman d'Alfarache II. viii. 76 I left him to himself, for I saw well enough he was not in a Humour to argue the Case with me. 1731 E. Aspinwall Apology iv. 150 Can any thing..more feelingly demonstrate the miserable weakness of reason, when left to itself? 1777 D. Garrick Let. 21 Apr. in D. Garrick & G. Spencer Lett. (1960) 95 The Physician hath partly left me to myself & therefore I may mend. 1833 Chambers' Edinb. Jrnl. 8 June 145/1 The individual who writes the present paper was once ‘so far left to himself’ as to spend several months amidst the heartless frivolities which characterise a winter of fashionable life in the Scottish..capitals. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. ii. 257 The rage of the hostile factions would have been sufficiently violent, if it had been left to itself. 1877 Encycl. Brit. VII. 802/1 A wire which had been kept vibrating for several hours or days through a certain range came to rest much quicker when left to itself than when set in vibration after it had been at rest for several days and then immediately left to itself. 1910 ‘Saki’ Reginald in Russia 8 Left to themselves, Egbert and Lady Anne would unfailingly have called him Fluff. 1967 R. Singha & R. Massey Indian Dances i. 34 South India had been more or less left to itself. 1997 Sci. Amer. Apr. 10/2 The child may be left to itself and will find its own amusement. P3. With complementary words forming verbal phrases with the sense ‘to let go’. [Earliest in to leave hold , in which the verb was originally transitive, with hold n.1 as direct object and an optional indirect object added with of . This syntax was subsequently extended to to leave go , to leave loose , which in turn were probably originally alterations of to let go at let v.1 24 and to let loose at let v.1 19, respectively (which originally showed a different syntax). a. colloquial. to leave hold: to stop holding a thing or person, to let go.Cf. later to leave go at Phrases 3b, to leave loose at Phrases 3c. (a) With of indicating the notional object, or without construction. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > relinquishing > relinquish or give up [verb (transitive)] > part with or let go twinc1330 forbeara1400 twina1400 to depart withc1485 omit1531 to depart from1548 to leave hold1556 sunderc1600 impart1606 ungrasp1621 disfingera1652 shed1667 to leave go1776 unclutch1816 part1818 dispart with1820 the world > movement > absence of movement > hold or holding > releasing hold > let go (something held or grasped) [verb (transitive)] beleavea1250 leta1325 to let goc1384 to leave hold1556 to turn loose?1566 quita1586 unhand1603 relinquish1651 unseize1663 unfist1692 to leave go1776 unclasp1868 to loose hold1875 1556 J. Heywood Spider & Flie l. sig. Aav4v Such flies: as sat fast before,Must leaue hold: to take hold, on contrarie shore. a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) ii. vii. sig. S5v They willingly left holde of the boord, committing themselues to the seas rage. 1634 R. Sibbes Saints Safetie in Evill Times 100 I will not leave hold of thee, untill I get a blessing. 1781 J. Barbut Les Genres des Insectes de Linné 363/1 Nothing can make him leave hold of the female. 1795 J. J. C. Timaeus tr. F. Schiller Cabal & Love ii. vii. 45 (stage direct.) Leaving hold of Louisa, and putting up his sword. 1841 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 2 i. 99 The operator then leaves hold of the spoke. 1851 H. Mayhew London Labour II. 56/1 They'll fight on till they go down together, and then if one [dog] leave hold, he's sponged. 1894 A. B. Gomme Trad. Games I. 285 Each boy leaves hold of his partner's arm and catches the arm of the girl in front. 1932 Labour Monthly Mar. 140 Let us leave hold of Asia, and seize hold of Africa. 2013 C. Priestley Dead Men Stood Together 4 He asks again, his voice more pleading now, for the old man to leave hold. ΚΠ 1660 R. May Accomplisht Cook iv. 127 Leave hold enough of the flesh on both sides, that you may put in your hand between the ribs and the skin. b. colloquial. to leave go: = to leave hold at Phrases 3a.Cf. also slightly later to leave loose at Phrases 3c. (a) With object and go forming an infinitive clause.Cf. earlier Phrases 3a(b). ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > relinquishing > relinquish or give up [verb (transitive)] > part with or let go twinc1330 forbeara1400 twina1400 to depart withc1485 omit1531 to depart from1548 to leave hold1556 sunderc1600 impart1606 ungrasp1621 disfingera1652 shed1667 to leave go1776 unclutch1816 part1818 dispart with1820 the world > movement > absence of movement > hold or holding > releasing hold > let go (something held or grasped) [verb (transitive)] beleavea1250 leta1325 to let goc1384 to leave hold1556 to turn loose?1566 quita1586 unhand1603 relinquish1651 unseize1663 unfist1692 to leave go1776 unclasp1868 to loose hold1875 1776 in Essex Inst. Hist. Coll. (1907) XLIII. 118 Tis said we left go pieces of heavy cannon owing to the cowardice of a body of Connecticut troops. 1798 T. Streatfield Ton & Antiq. ii. i. 22 Eadburga. Leave me go, sir, leave me go.—(Releases herself, and strikes him.) 1803 W. Mudford tr. S. M. X. Golberry Trav. in Afr. I. ii. 86 By this noise they frighten away the dragon or the serpent, make him leave go his hold. 1873 Good Things Sept. 504/2 You shall have it, my lady. Leave it go, Jennet, leave it go! 1900 ‘M. O'Neill’ Songs Glens of Antrim 26 The hook it made me hand sore, I had to leave it go. 1980 P. O'Brian Surgeon's Mate ix. 269 Stephen, leave go that rope, clap on to the yard and come in towards the tye. 1998 M. Carr Portia Coughlan (rev. ed.) i. vii. 37 I have heard the bond between twins is ever strange and inexplicable, but surely now it's time to leave it go and try to make your life without him. (b) With of indicating the notional object, or without construction. ΚΠ 1805 Parl. Reg. III. 215 Nor..will he leave go of the treasurership of the navy, but holds it fast, as the safest means of private emolument. 1815 J. Waller tr. D. J. Larrey Mem. Mil. Surg. I. iii. 71 They [sc. leeches] fell down into the stomach, where they remained..until they were forced to leave go. 1868 F. E. Paget Lucretia 205 Leave go of me..you young monkey. 1881 R. Jefferies Wood Magic I. v. 133 The bridge is now dry, and therefore you can pass it easily if you do not leave-go of the hand-rail. 1951 G. Heyer Quiet Gentleman xi. 164 Part company he might; leave go of his rein he would not! 1994 Chapman No. 77. 44 Ank, ankyou, he said, and did not want to leave go but they took his hands and straightened him up again. c. nonstandard. to leave loose: = to leave hold at Phrases 3a.Cf. also slightly earlier to leave go at Phrases 3b. ΚΠ 1786 Scots Mag. Sept. 457/2 I had..twice untwisted the fatal rope from his hand, begging him to leave it loose, and give free expansion to the balloon. (b) With of indicating the notional object. ΚΠ 1813 D. W. Paynter Godfrey Ranger III. vi. 102 She had left loose of the bridle, and was now clinging to the horse's mane. 1880 G. Gissing Workers in Dawn I. i. 8 She turns to look after a child which is being dragged through the mud by her skirts,..and, bidding it with a cuff and a curse not to leave loose of her, pushes on stoutly through the crowd. 1905 G. M. Cooke Grapple xxiv. 354 ‘Leave loose of me!’ he cried to those who were restraining him. 1971 T. Satchell tr. J. Ikku in L. Feinberg Asian Laughter 342 I really must go if you'd just leave loose of me. 2013 J. Lennington Twin Mirrors 54 Carrie Stallworth you leave loose of that woman. We don't know nothin about her. P4. to leave (a person) to it: to leave (a person) alone to proceed with a task in hand; to allow to get on with something without interference. ΚΠ 1580 R. Bristow Reply to Fulke x. 289 Because his purpose was no more but to shew the new Hierusalem of the Christians, and so to leaue them to it, to know what are the particulars that the Apostles taught. 1614 J. Cooke Greenes Tu Quoque sig. K3v Wid.The lodging Sir, might serue better Guestes.Lyo. Not better, Widdow, nor yet welcommer: But wee will leaue you to it. a1671 S. Mather Figures or Types Old Test. (1683) 317 If they do amiss, you should consider why God leaves them to it. 1728 H. Fielding Love in Several Masques iv. ii. 50 Yes, she has abandon'd me, and I will abandon my self to Despair; so, pray leave me to it, for such as you can have no Business with the Unhappy. 1814 Rep. Sel. Comm. Gauging in Port of London 127 in Parl. Papers 1813–14 IV. 1 Mr. John did it till he was satisfied of his son's ability to gauge, and then he left him to it. 1838 Sporting Mag. Jan. 245 Back we came to Hilly Wood,..and there I left them to it, having tired my horse and myself. 1879 Truth 16 Oct. 477/1 I have well-nigh decided Just to claim my dukedom straightway, And retire and leave you to it! 1932 A. Bell Cherry Tree viii. 109 He wanted to do it in his own way, before Barrow's hurly-burly had frightened the colts. So we left him to it. 1974 W. J. Burley Death in Stanley St. vii. 127 Wycliffe stood up. ‘Good. I'll leave you to it.’ 2015 J. Niven All Bright Places 17 I take a heaping pile of pamphlets and leave him to it. P5. to leave nothing (also little, much, something, etc.) to be desired (also to wish (for)). [Probably after French laisser à désirer (1718; more fully ne laisser rien à désirer to be highly satisfactory, lit. ‘to leave nothing to be desired’, laisser quelque chose à désirer to be unsatisfactory, lit. ‘to leave something to be desired’, etc.). As in English, similar French phrases in the 16th and 17th centuries are to be interpreted more literally (compare e.g. quot. 1603 at Phrases 5a).] a. to leave nothing (also little) to be desired (also to wish (for)): to be (more or less) perfect or highly satisfactory.16th- and 17th-century occurrences of leave nothing to be desired such as those below refer literally to the making, or making unnecessary, of actual requests rather than idiomatically to the state of being highly satisfactory. ΚΠ 1575 R. B. Apius & Virginia sig. A.ijv Naught can leaue of thee to be desired. 1603 J. Florio tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. iii. ix. 588 I leave nothing to be desired or diuined of me [Fr. je ne laisse rien à desirer et deviner de moy]. 1673 R. Honywood tr. B. Nani Hist. Republick of Venice ii. 66 Spain should leave nothing to be desired from its just Greatness.] 1771 C. Burney Present State Music France & Italy 249 Signor Nardini played both a solo and a concerto, of his own composition, in such a manner as to leave nothing to wish. 1810 Edinb. Med. & Surg. Jrnl. 6 62 This sequel to the ‘Apology for the Cutting-gorget’..will..leave little to wish for in conducting the operation of lithotomy by that instrument with precision, certainty, and safety. 1818 Northern Star Apr. 324 If they were real hills, the prospect would leave nothing to wish for. 1835 Athenæum 16 May 371/1 Her style, too, leaves little to be desired. 1836 Mus. Libr. May Suppl. 83/1 The young artistes play with a fire and a delicacy that leave little to wish. 1889 Harper's Mag. Aug. 439/1 Relations between the empire and the Holy See leave nothing to be desired at the present moment. 1923 N. Munro in Evening News (Glasgow) 9 July 4/3 As a classy dresser, James Swan..leaves nothing to be desired. 1951 H. T. Lowe-Porter tr. T. Mann Holy Sinner 27 My legs are high and slim, leaving nothing to wish in this respect. 2013 E. L. Shoeman Isabel xxiv. 167 Her long, in-depth talk left little to be desired. b. to leave much, something, etc. to be desired (also to wish (for)): to be (more or less) imperfect or unsatisfactory. ΚΠ 1795 tr. J.-M. Roland de La Platière Appeal to Impartial Posterity iv. 41 Larive, the only actor perhaps worth quoting, still left something to be desired [Fr. laissoit..quelque chose à désirer]. 1812 Christian Observer 11 App. 838/1 That work of benevolence toward his fellow-sinners, in which the most diligent pursuit and the utmost exertion of ability, will still leave much to be desired, and much to be done by all. 1818 Asiatic Jrnl. & Monthly Reg. Sept. 259/2 Mr. Morrison's dictionary leaves much to wish for in copiousness of explanation. 1827 Harmonicon 5 170/2 The prima donna, Melas, leaves much to wish. 1876 F. Pollock Let. 2 May (1942) I. 6 Kent is a considerable advance, but leaves much to be desired. 1899 Louisiana Planter & Sugar Manufacturer 11 Feb. 121/3 The weather leaves a little to be desired as the layer of snow spread on the fields is much too thin to furnish a protecting cover for the cereals sown in the fall. 1917 Crisis Aug. 163/1 It..leaves something to wish, but it is the finest and fairest yet. 1923 Come to Java 193 The food given in the resthouse and the hotel varies, sometimes it is prepared very well, other times it leaves something to wish for. 1938 J. D. Wade in Southern Rev. Winter 485 Now, truly, it might be conceded, many of God's creatures, as you looked at them, might leave much to wish for. 1939 M. Allingham Mr. Campion & Others i. iii. 65 The staff still left much to be desired and the food..was certainly not cooked by a master. 1967 A. Bailey in L. Deighton London Dossier 52 The vegetables leave much to be desired, but the Stilton is worth having. 1974 Times 22 Jan. 2 Now that we know how they [sc. licences] operate, we feel they leave a lot to be desired. 2014 New Scientist 11 Oct. 38/4 Its mouldability still leaves something to be desired. P6. colloquial. to leave (a person or thing) be: to stop interfering with or paying attention to, to leave alone (see Phrases 1a).Cf. to leave a-be at a-be v. 1. [Perhaps an alteration of to let be at let v.1 20.] ΚΠ 1825 J. Neal Brother Jonathan I. 37 Leave me be, squeaked Miss Edith, whose foot he had caught..under the table. 1840 Southern Literary Messenger 6 508/1 If you ha'nt a mind to go, you can leave it be, it's all one to me. 1909 G. Stein Three Lives 55 When Anna once began to make it nice, she could not leave it be until it was as good as for the purpose it should be. 1946 E. O'Neill Iceman Cometh ii. 115 Leave Hugo be!.. He's earned his dream! 1971 M. West Summer of Red Wolf 9 Leave me be for a moment, please. 2013 C. Tsiolkas Barracuda (2014) 321 Irene, leave our kid be. He said he's fine. P7. colloquial (originally U.S.). to get left: to find oneself remaining after the departure of a person or thing, especially against one's wishes; to be left behind or out; to be abandoned or left in the lurch; also figurative. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > difficulty > present difficulties [verb (intransitive)] > be in difficulties or straits > be left in the lurch to be left in the laps1558 to lie in the lash1573 to get left1827 the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > deception by illusion, delusion > delude [verb (intransitive)] > be deluded to lie in the lash1573 to have found (also spied) a mare's nest1576 overtake1581 hallucinate1652 mare's-nest1859 to get left1884 1827 N.-Y. Spectator 4 Sept. He (Seymour) got left and had to run after the stage. 1868 Galaxy Sept. 373 A man hastening to the train, will say that he is afraid of getting left, and tell you afterward that he did or did not get left. 1884 B. Nye Baled Hay 56 That is where we get left, if I may be allowed an Americanism, or whatever it is. 1894 G. Moore Esther Waters xii. 84 While our quarrel was going on Miss Peggy went after him, and that's how I got left. 1908 Daily Chron. 16 Nov. 5/2 ‘Oh, never mind those,’ says the admiral; ‘what has the Navy got?’ ‘Got left, as usual,’ replies the lieutenant. 1909 G. Stratton-Porter Girl of Limberlost xi. 208 I will watch, and if I find Elnora is ‘getting left’ I'll buy her some more things myself. 1980 T. Murtha Short Stories 132 Later the girl was whispering to her companions, and laughing; possibly they laughed about the woman who was getting left. 2012 R. Kavanaugh Diary of Hijacker iv. 195 It was still five minutes until departure but he didn't want to risk getting left. P8. to leave it at that: to proceed no further with a matter; to refrain from pressing a point. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > inaction > not doing > abstaining or refraining from action > abstain or refrain from (action) [verb (transitive)] > pursue (a matter) no further to leave (a person or thing) alone (also one)a1475 forbear1570 to let fall1594 fall1630 waive1681 withdraw1781 to leave it at that1861 1861 Irish Times & Daily Advertiser 29 Oct. 4/6 Was it ten minutes? I won't say; no matter. A quarter of an hour? Well, we will leave it at that. 1898 Idler June 717 He does not care one used halfpenny stamp whether people talk about it or not. He merely wants to smoke, and he leaves it at that. 1909 H. Walpole Wooden Horse iv. 78 She had tried..but she had failed; and now, for many years, she had left it at that. 1916 A. Bennett Lion's Share xxxii. 245 ‘But if it had happened to be the ebb, sir—’. He left it at that. 1949 V. Grove Lang. Bar viii. 114 If understanding and sense were not sought after, the ignorant would merely corrupt the ‘meaningless’ word, and leave it at that. 1966 Oxf. Univ. Gaz. 23 Dec. 445/2 If the House is content to leave it at that for the present,..then I would ask if we might withdraw the resolution and leave it at that for today. 2013 Herald-Times (Bloomington, Indiana) 4 Apr. d3/4 As to the woman's daughters who are not blood related to you, because they call you ‘Granddad’, refer to them as your granddaughters and leave it at that. P9. to leave (a person or thing) standing (still): to forge ahead of (a competitor); to be better, faster, or more successful than (a rival); to surpass, outstrip, or outperform.Originally in sporting contexts; now often figurative. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > outdoing or surpassing > outdo or surpass [verb (transitive)] > put in the shade or put to shame shamec1400 to put down1494 extinguish1551 stain1557 overshadow1581 cloud1582 defacea1592 shend1596 to lay up1601 to shine down1623 dazzle1643 umbrage1647 foila1687 efface1717 eclipse1718 shade?1748 put into the shade1796 to take the shine out of (less frequently from, U.S. off)1819 to put to shame1854 to leave (a person) standing1864 to lay over1869 blanket1884 upstage1921 1864 Sporting Gaz. 20 Aug. 650/1 Being unencumbered with kit or rod, and withal fleet of foot, I took to my heels, and..fairly left him ‘standing still’. 1894 Yorks. Evening Post 12 Oct. 3/3 Blairfield in the Irish Derby gave Hebron three pounds and left him standing still. 1901 Sketch 12 June 297/2 [She wore] a bejewelled bolero worth £60,000. That, to use a sporting term, left them all standing still [sc. the other jewellery wearers]. 1980 Barron's National 24 Mar. 47/1 Purex Industries Inc. has lagged its three bigger rivals, but it has left them standing when it comes to earnings growth. 1997 Tampa (Florida) Tribune (Nexis) 31 Jan. The Montreal Canadiens left them standing still Thursday night: Les Habitants 4, Les Stiffs 1. 2001 Birmingham Evening Mail (Nexis) 17 Nov. 8 Our local bus and rail services are a disgrace... Europe and the USA have left us standing. P10. colloquial (chiefly U.S.). to leave (a person or thing) hanging: to leave (a person) in a state of suspense, doubt, or uncertainty; to leave (something) unfinished or unresolved. Frequently in passive.Originally apparently a shortened variant of to leave (a person) hanging in the air: cf. in the air at air n.1 Phrases 2. See also in mid-air at mid-air n. 2b. ΚΠ 1881 Messenger Sacred Heart Jesus July 70 The first occasion of these doubts arose whilst studying Hooker's Ecclesiastical Policy. To use her own words, ‘It had left her hanging in the air.’] 1909 M. M. Dodge Hans Brinker 100 You said, ‘All the’, and there you left me hanging. 1961 Observer 16 Oct. 8/3 The other big question—whether he is tough enough to control a bitterly divided U.N.—has inevitably been left hanging. 1987 Omaha (Nebraska) World-Herald 13 May 1 (headline) Legislators leave tax-increase issue hanging. 1992 B. Sloan Mafia Candidate xvii. 269 Don't just leave me hanging. At least tell me what happened. 2013 Washington Post (Nexis) 29 Nov. d1 Harraka offered a high-five, but Tart left him hanging. P11. Elvis has left the building and variants: used to express the finality of a situation when a person has died or made a dramatic or notable exit, or when a thing is definitively and permanently concluded. Similarly (in extended use) —— has left the building: used to indicate that the specified person or thing has departed, is finished, or has ceased to exist.The phrase was commonly used (originally by radio producer Horace Lee Logan in 1956) as a public announcement at the end of Elvis Presley's concerts, to inform the fans that there was no possibility of his performing another encore. In earliest figurative use (quot. 1977) with allusion to Presley's death on 16 August 1977. ΚΠ 1977 Childress (Texas) Index 27 Oct. 12/3 Sumner..has recorded a single ‘Elvis Has Left The Building’... He still can't believe Presley is dead. 1983 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 27 Mar. v. 7/3 There will be no Final Four for the team... As they used to say at the Elvis Presley concerts, ‘Elvis has left the building’. 1987 N.Y. Times 28 Oct. a26/1 The Mets are dead. Mookie has left the building. 1998 Village Voice (N.Y.) 6 Jan. 74/4 When the singer emerges from the strings.., you get the eerie feeling that Nat hasn't left the building. 2004 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 1 Oct. b1/4 Political correctness has left the building... Television executives have giddily reverted to..sexism and racism. 2005 N.Y. Mag. 7 Mar. 18/1 [He] was suffering from thyroid cancer..—the only question has been when, exactly, Elvis would leave the building. 2005 R. R. Simmons Long Hard Ride 238 Thank you for twenty years of support and friendship. Richard has left the building. P12. I must love you and leave you: see love v.1 Phrases 2b. to love them and leave them: see love v.1 Phrases 2c. to leave nothing (also little) to be desired (also to wish (for)) a. to leave nothing (also little) to be desired (also to wish (for)): to be (more or less) perfect or highly satisfactory.16th- and 17th-century occurrences of leave nothing to be desired such as those below refer literally to the making, or making unnecessary, of actual requests rather than idiomatically to the state of being highly satisfactory. ΚΠ 1575 R. B. Apius & Virginia sig. A.ijv Naught can leaue of thee to be desired. 1603 J. Florio tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. iii. ix. 588 I leave nothing to be desired or diuined of me [Fr. je ne laisse rien à desirer et deviner de moy]. 1673 R. Honywood tr. B. Nani Hist. Republick of Venice ii. 66 Spain should leave nothing to be desired from its just Greatness.] 1771 C. Burney Present State Music France & Italy 249 Signor Nardini played both a solo and a concerto, of his own composition, in such a manner as to leave nothing to wish. 1810 Edinb. Med. & Surg. Jrnl. 6 62 This sequel to the ‘Apology for the Cutting-gorget’..will..leave little to wish for in conducting the operation of lithotomy by that instrument with precision, certainty, and safety. 1818 Northern Star Apr. 324 If they were real hills, the prospect would leave nothing to wish for. 1835 Athenæum 16 May 371/1 Her style, too, leaves little to be desired. 1836 Mus. Libr. May Suppl. 83/1 The young artistes play with a fire and a delicacy that leave little to wish. 1889 Harper's Mag. Aug. 439/1 Relations between the empire and the Holy See leave nothing to be desired at the present moment. 1923 N. Munro in Evening News (Glasgow) 9 July 4/3 As a classy dresser, James Swan..leaves nothing to be desired. 1951 H. T. Lowe-Porter tr. T. Mann Holy Sinner 27 My legs are high and slim, leaving nothing to wish in this respect. 2013 E. L. Shoeman Isabel xxiv. 167 Her long, in-depth talk left little to be desired. < as lemmas |
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