| 释义 |
DictionarySeenearnearest and dearest
nearest and dearestThe people with whom one has the closest relationships; one's closest and move beloved family members and friends. People would much rather go home and spend time with their nearest and dearest, not hang around their co-workers at some dull office party.See also: and, dear, nearnearest and dearestOne's closest and fondest friends, companions, or relatives, as in It's a small gathering-we're inviting only a dozen or so of our nearest and dearest. This rhyming expression has been used ironically since the late 1500s, as well as by Shakespeare in 1 Henry IV (3:2): "Why, Harry, do I tell thee of my foes, which art my nearest and dearest enemy?" See also: and, dear, nearyour nearest and dearest Your nearest and dearest are your close friends and family. The English do not like to show their feelings, even to their nearest and dearest.See also: and, dear, nearyour nearest and dearest your close friends and relatives.See also: and, dear, nearyour ˌnearest and ˈdearest (informal, often humorous) your close family and friends: It must be difficult for him here, living so far away from his nearest and dearest.See also: and, dear, nearnearest and dearestOne’s closest and fondest companions, friends, and/ or relatives. This expression, which no doubt owes its longevity to its rhyme, is often used ironically, and has been ever since the sixteenth century. Shakespeare so used it in Henry IV, Part 1 (3.2), when King Henry tells his son, Prince Hal, “Why, Harry, do I tell thee of my foes, which art my near’st and dearest enemy? Thou that art like enough . . . to fight against me under Percy’s pay.” So did Thomas Middleton in his comedy, Anything for a Quiet Life (5.1), produced in 1615. A contemporary context might have it, “We’re having an intimate gathering—for only a hundred of our nearest and dearest.”See also: and, dear, nearEncyclopediaSeeNEAR |