| 单词 | by the numbers |
| 释义 | > as lemmasby the numbers a. North American (originally and chiefly Military). by the numbers [in humorous reference to the practice of military training (see quot. 1946)] : with military precision, mechanically, in a routine manner. ΚΠ c1918 J. F. Trounstine Give me Kiss by Numbers (song) 3 Give me a kiss by the numbers, I want to do things in a military way. 1921 Pirate Piece Nov. 3/1 By the numbers, men, refill the glass on 4. 1946 Amer. Speech 21 251 In training certain fundamental operations, such as putting on a gas mask, are taught by the numbers—at the count of one, the carrier is unfastened, at the count of two the mask is removed... To do anything ‘by the numbers’ is to do it in a practiced, routine, semi-automatic manner. 1994 S. Matheson Flying Frontiers ix. 173 I'm not a ‘by the numbers’ pilot—I'm a ‘by the seat of the pants’ pilot. < as lemmas |
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