| 释义 |
stale1 /stāl/ adjective- No longer fresh
- Past the best
- Out of condition by over-training or overstudy
- Impaired by lapse of time
- Tainted
- Vapid or tasteless from age
- (of liquor) old, clear, and strong (obsolete)
transitive verb and intransitive verb To make or become stale, over-familiar, or insipid ORIGIN: Perh from the root sta-, as in stand staleˈly adverb staleˈness noun stale2 /stāl/ noun Urine, now esp of horses intransitive verb To urinate ORIGIN: Cf Du stalle, Ger Stall, OFr verb estaler stale3 /stāl/ noun- A decoy bird (dialect)
- A thief's accomplice, acting as a decoy (obsolete)
- A lure
- A prostitute employed as a decoy by thieves, or generally (Shakespeare)
- A stalking-horse, cover to a real purpose (Shakespeare)
- A pretext
- A lover made a butt of by or for one preferred
ORIGIN: Cf Anglo-Fr estal, -e pigeon used to entice a hawk, OE stælhrān decoy-reindeer, Ger Stellvogel decoy bird; prob from root of OE stellan to place stale4 /stāl/ (dialect) noun- A handle, shaft
- A stalk
ORIGIN: OE stalu, appar part of a harp stale5 /stāl/ noun and transitive verb (now rare or obsolete)Stalemate ORIGIN: Cf Anglo-Fr estale, perh from stall2 staleˈmate noun - In chess, a situation where a player not actually in check has no possible legal move, resulting in a draw
- An inglorious deadlock
transitive verb To subject to a stalemate steal1 /stēl/ transitive verb (pat stole (obsolete stale; Scot staw, stealed or stealt); pap stōˈlen (obsolete stōle; Milton stōln; Scot stown, stealed or stealt))- To take without right or permission, esp secretly
- To take, gain or win, by beguiling talk, by contrivance, unexpectedly, insidiously, gradually, or furtively
- To snatch
- To hole (a long putt) by a delicate stroke (golf)
- To gain (a base) without the help of a hit or error, by running to it without being tagged out (baseball)
- To put surreptitiously, smuggle
intransitive verb- To be a thief
- To pass quietly, unobtrusively, gradually, or surreptitiously
noun (informal)- An act of stealing, a theft
- Something acquired without right or permission
- A bargain
- The stealing of a base (baseball)
ORIGIN: OE stelan; related to Ger stehlen, Du stelen, Swed stjäla, Dan stjæle stealˈer noun stealˈing noun and adjective stealˈingly adverb steal a march on see under march1 steal a marriage To marry secretly steal someone's thunder - To make use of another's invention against him or her (as when John Dennis's stage thunder was used in a rival's play)
- To rob someone of the opportunity of achieving a sensational effect by forestalling him or her
steal the show see under show |