| 释义 |
ivory tower
ivory towern. A place or attitude of retreat, especially preoccupation with lofty, remote, or intellectual considerations rather than practical everyday life.
[Translation of French tour d'ivoire : tour, tower + de, of + ivoire, ivory.]ivory tower n a. seclusion or remoteness of attitude regarding real problems, everyday life, etc b. (as modifier): ivory-tower aestheticism. ˌivory-ˈtowered adji′vory tow′er
n. 1. a place or situation remote from worldly or practical affairs: the university as an ivory tower. 2. an attitude of aloofness from or disdain or disregard for worldly or practical affairs. [translation of French tour d'ivoire, phrase used by C. A. Sainte-Beuve in reference to the isolated life of the poet A. de Vigny (1837)] i′vory-tow′ered, i′vory-tow′er•ish, adj. ivory tower - Suggests elegant detachment in a cool, white aerie, where a poet or philosopher might retreat to think and write.See also related terms for retreat.ivory towerA place or way of life that is cut off from the unpleasant realities.Thesaurus| Noun | 1. | ivory tower - a state of mind that is discussed as if it were a place; "he lived in the ivory tower of speculation"; "they viewed universities as ivory towers"cognitive state, state of mind - the state of a person's cognitive processes |
Translationsivory tower
an/(one's) ivory towerA place or a social circle that is characterized by effete academic intelligence and thus is out of touch with or aloof from the realities of life. I don't put much weight in the advice of a bunch of economists living in their ivory towers who've never worked a real job in their lives. It seemed easy to solve all the world's problems when I was living in an ivory tower. Now that I'm out of college, I realize things are so much more complex than I'd imagined.See also: ivory, towerivory towerA place or attitude of retreat, remoteness from everyday affairs, as in What does the professor know about student life, living as he does in an ivory tower? This term is a translation of the French tour d'ivoire, which the critic Saint-Beuve used to describe the attitude of poet Alfred de Vigny in 1837. It is used most often in reference to intellectuals and artists who remain complacently aloof. See also: ivory, towerivory tower n. an imaginary location where aloof academics are said to reside and work. Why don’t you come out of your ivory tower and see what the world is really like? See also: ivory, towerivory towerA situation or attitude remote from practical affairs. The term originated in the French critic Sainte-Beuve’s description of poet Alfred de Vigny as living in an ivory tower (1837), that is, isolated from life’s harsh realities. Subsequently, the term has been used to describe academics, artists, writers, or indeed anyone complacently aloof from everyday affairs. Cyril Connolly (Enemies of Promise, 1938) used it to disparage Walter Pater: “Pater, calling an art-for-art’s sake muezzin to the faithful from the top-most turret of the ivory tower.” The term is heard less often today but is by no means obsolete. See also: ivory, towerivory tower
Words related to ivory towernoun a state of mind that is discussed as if it were a placeRelated Words- cognitive state
- state of mind
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