释义 |
to and fro /ˌtuː ən ˈfrəʊ/adverbIn a constant movement backwards and forwards or from side to side: she cradled him, rocking him to and fro...- What is dramatised is not only the margin, but also the movement to and fro, the passage, or transition between reality and representation.
- All I Wanna Do Is Rock edges its way out of the speakers, the wind blowing the sound to and fro, Fran Healy's voice the only constant as the guitars shift in and out of auditory focus.
- Travelling to and fro at high speeds in a vehicle that weighs close to a ton is, after all, a risky venture.
verb [no object] ( be toing and froing) 1Move constantly backwards and forwards: the ducks were toing and froing (as noun toing and froing) it does cost a lot, all this toing and froing up to London...- Hence the constant toing and froing between kitchen and the garden where the treasured bottle was laid on the ground as gently as a new born babe in its first crib.
- Phil, what have you been able to gather about what's going on in terms of the diplomatic toing and froing here?
- It was all the toing and froing, the whole situation with Phil going to get shot.
1.1Repeatedly discuss or think about something without making any progress: all the toing and froing in Christian periodicals regarding women in leadership roles...- It seems there is no good reason, except that we have had backwards-and-forwards toing and froing between parties.
- In the course of this toing and froing, McLean infamously declared that he would not sell to Thompson ‘until hell froze over’.
- When the US authorities have got down to some serious war planning, the toing and froing about which military option might be best betrays the same indecision and lack of clarity of purpose.
noun [in singular]Constant movement backwards and forwards: Wilkie watched the to and fro of their dancing...- The most basic thing about play is the to and fro of constantly repeated movement.
- In other words, human cultural creations need to arise from absorption in the play of nature so that we and our creativity are in harmony with the to and fro of nature's play.
- Soon he became bored, watching the to and fro of this tireless woman.
OriginMiddle English: fro from Old Norse frá (see from). |