单词 | more's the pity |
释义 | > as lemmas(the) more's the pity f. Modifying nouns of quality, condition, action, etc.: greater in degree or extent; more full. Now chiefly in (the) more's the pity.In modern use, the sense of more when qualifying an abstract noun is usually ‘a greater amount of, a greater level of’ (see sense A. 2a). It is unlikely, for example, that instances in which the adjective is adverbially modified by quantifiers, as a bit, a lot, some (see quot. 1993 at sense A. 2a), could be understood in other than this sense. In cases where there is a clear implication of scale, however, the sense ‘greater in degree’, is still current (see quot. 1883). Formations where degree is more clearly understood now occur only with greater, usually with the modified noun followed by of and a noun phrase, as ‘the greater seriousness of the situation’. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > greater in quantity, amount, or degree moOE moreOE the more partOE lessa1616 mo'1858 no mo'1858 the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adjective] > greater in degree or extent moreOE supreme1567 OE Blickling Homilies 35 Swa magon we þe maran blisse habban þa Easterdagas. ?a1160 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1140 He..dide mare yuel þanne god. c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (1973) 2104 (MED) Eauer se þu mare wa & mare weane dest me..se þu wurchest..mi weole mare. a1300 (c1275) Physiologus (1991) 169 Get is wunder of ðis wirm more ðanne man weneð. c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 156 Vpe þe plein of salesbury þat oþer wonder is, Þat ston heng is icluped, non more wonder nis. c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. v. 228 For nis no gult her so gret his Merci nis wel more. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) v. 5889 His moder wiste wel sche mihte Do Tereüs no more grief Than sle this child. a1425 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (1987) i. 643 Eke whit by blak..Ech set by other, more for other semeth. 1477 J. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 500 Ye dyd it off kyndenesse and in eschywyng off a moore yll þat myght befall. a1500 (a1400) Sir Eglamour (Cambr.) (1844) 36 Above alle erthely thynges sche lovyd him mare,..So dud he hur..That was the more pete. 1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes iii. ii, in Wks. (1557) 208 So is it a much more faute to be therin rechelesse & negligent. 1562 J. Mountgomery in Archaeologia (1883) 47 233 I..dailie doe heare, of the greate decaie of parrishes in Ingland; the more ys the pittie. 1563 2nd Tome Homelyes Rogation Week i. 234 Borne among the number of Christian people, and thereby in a muche more nyghnes to saluation. 1632 T. Heywood 2nd Pt. Iron Age sig. H4 Lets flye to some strong Cittadell, For our more safety. 1685 J. Evelyn Diary (1955) IV. 412 That the Lords &c: should proceede in their Coaches through the Citty for the more solemnity of it. 1752 J. Louthian Form of Process (ed. 2) 102 And, for the more Verification, I and the said Witnesses have subscribed the same. 1797 R. M. Roche Children of Abbey (ed. 2) III. iii. 126 Poor thing, she is going fast indeed, and the more's the pity, for she is a sweet creature. 1818 T. Jefferson Anas in Writings (1903) I. 278 He did this the oftener and with the more earnestness. 1829 R. Southey Pilgrim to Compostella iv, in All for Love 181 To make the miracle the more, Of these feathers there is always store. 1859 ‘G. Eliot’ Adam Bede III. v. xxxviii. 68 There's no amends I can make ye, lad—the more's the pity. 1883 G. Saintsbury in Academy 5 May 307/2 Forgetting that its chief function is to finish off and vignette isolated sketches of manner, character, and thought with more precision..than is possible or suitable in prose. 1972 N. Marsh Tied up in Tinsel i. 31 ‘Well, anyway, Aunt Bed, considering I met her in your house.’ ‘More's the pity.’ 1995 Guardian 4 Apr. ii. 9/5 You never hear of teenagers exploding, more's the pity. < as lemmas |
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