释义 |
▪ I. † ramp, n.1 Obs. Also 5–6 rampe. [? f. ramp v.1 4.] A bold, vulgar, ill-behaved woman or girl.
a1450Knt. de la Tour (1868) 25 A woman that dede ansuere her husbonde afore straungeres like a rampe, with gret uelonis wordes. a1548Hall Chron. (1809) 148 [She] was a rampe of suche boldnesse, that she would course horsses and ride theim to water. 1573G. Harvey Letter-bk. (1884) 113 An insatiable rampe, Of Messalines stampe. 1611Middleton & Dekker Roaring Girl iii. iii, The bouncing ramp, that roaring girl my mistress. 1728Dennis Pope's Rape Lock 16 The Author..represents her likewise a fine, modest, well-bred Lady:..And yet in the very next Canto she appears an arrant Ramp and a Tomrigg. [1896A. Lang Monk Fife 62 All men..mocked the Pucelle for a bold ramp, with a bee in her bonnet.] ▪ II. ramp, n.2|ræmp| [Of obscure origin in sense 1; in sense 2 abbrev. of rampion; in sense 3 a back-formation from ramps.] †1. The plant Wake Robin (Arum maculatum).
1548Turner Names Herbes 16 Arum is called..in english Cuckopintell, Wake Robin, or Rampe. 1578Lyte Dodoens iii. vii. 323. 1611 Cotgr., Iarrus, Wake-robin,..Rampe. 2. The garden rampion. Also attrib.
1598Florio, Ramponzoli, a kind of roote vsed in sallads called rampes [1611 Rampe-rootes vsed much in salades]. 1846McCulloch Acc. Brit. Empire (1854) I. 105 The ramps of the garden are the roots of Campanula rapunculus. 1854S. Thomson Wild Fl. iii. 305 The root of the Campanula rapunculoides was formerly cultivated under the name of ramps. 3. a. The wild garlic, ramsons. (See ramps.)
1826Southey Vind. Eccl. Angl. 18 The ramp and the stinkard will continue to be as offensive and as rank, although we should dignify them by their Linnaean appellations. 1869in Lonsdale Gloss. b. U.S. A small, wild onion, Allium tricoccum. Cf. ramps 2.
1923A. Price Dreams 102 A gorge of trout and hot corn pone, Mountain dew that would float a stone, All topped off by a mess of ramps. 1939Sun (Baltimore) 11 Feb. 5/6 Ramps are tiny, green, onion-like bulbs that dot West Virginia's slopes each spring, taste like the food of the gods and smell..a dozen times worse than limburger cheese and burning rubber. 1952R. P. Bissell Monongahela iii. 40 We boys would go out on what we called the Hogback near the fort to hunt ramps. 1967National Observer (U.S.) 10 Apr. 6/3 Back in the hills of West Virginia it's ramp season again. 1976Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 9 Mar. 3/7 The ramps are sprouting and requests are coming in from ramp lovers in many states. ▪ III. ramp, n.3|ræmp| [f. ramp v.1] The act of ramping, in senses of the vb.
1671Milton Samson 139 The bold Ascalonite Fled from his Lion ramp. 1798Coleridge France iii, Her arm made mockery of the warrior's ramp. 1872Browning Fifine lxxvii, No pompous stag..with toss of horn, and brag Of bray, and ramp of hoof. †b. pl. Romps. Obs. rare—1.
1747Carte Hist. Eng. I. 325 Dunstan..breaking abruptly into the room, found him playing at ramps with his wife and her mother. ▪ IV. ramp, n.4|ræmp| [a. F. rampe, f. ramper ramp v.1] I. 1. a. A slope; an inclined plane connecting two different levels, esp. in fortifications. Also, spec. a movable slope or passageway which may be positioned to admit access to another level, as on to a boat or aeroplane.
1779Forrest Voy. N. Guinea 233 A ramp of masonry was the ascent, but only to one door of this vast apartment. 1832Southey Hist. Penins. War III. 419 They were employed in..destroying the ramps of the covered way. 1881Palgrave Visions Eng. 238 Like hornets they swarm up the ramp, Lancing a breach through the long palisade. 1893Kipling Day's Work (1898) 2 At either end rose towers of red brick, loopholed for musketry and pierced for big guns, and the ramp of the road was being pushed forward to their haunches. 1901‘Linesman’ Words by Eyewitness xii. 230 They [sc. animals] are then led out..down the slippery ramp, stepping gingerly, much afraid of man's extra⁓ordinary devices. 1908Animal Managem. 267 The only difficulty which occurs is from the nervousness of some horses to step across or up the ramp. 1909Cent. Dict. Suppl., Ramp, an inclined traveling platform or carrier for transferring freight from a boat to a dock or warehouse. 1938New Yorker 24 Sept. 29/2 Meek-eyed parents hasten down the ramps To greet their offspring, terrible from camps. 1961Webster, Ramp,..the stairway by which passengers enter the main door of an airplane. 1976Lancs. Evening Post 7 Dec. 1/7 They..were driving off the ramp of the landing craft type vessel when the accident happened. b. Railways. (a) The tapering end of a conductor rail, provided to guide the collector shoe on to or off the rail. (b) An apparatus used to replace derailed rolling stock on the track.
1922F. W. Carter Railway Electr. Traction v. 218 Ramps are provided at the ends of each length of conductor rail, in order that the shoes may be brought to the contact surface without shock. 1926Chambers's Jrnl. Aug. 539/1 The turned up edge of the ramp guides the wheels of the vehicle back to the rail... Four ramps are used, one for each wheel. 1927R. E. Dickinson Electr. Trains vii. 161 Sudden re-application of motor current occurring at ramps caused pressure surges. 1956R. A. Hamnett Brit. Rail Track iv. 191 At the ends of sections of conductor rail, ramps are provided to pick up the shoe. 1960Chemins de Fer (Bureau Internat. de Documentation des Chemins de Fer) 212/3 Rerailing ramp. c. An inclined slip road leading on to or off a main highway. Cf. off-ramp. N. Amer.
1952[see expressway]. 1965Tamarack Rev. Winter 10 The town must be five or six miles off the highway and one of the county roads connects. One of these days I'll take the ramp, turn off north. 1979Upper Valley Progress (Mission, Texas) 9 Aug. 1/4 Frontage road traffic shall yield the right of way to traffic..leaving an off-ramp on controlled access highways. d. (See quots.)
1940Highway Engin. Terms (B.S.I.) 12 Ramp, a short slope formed to overcome differences in level or for some other special purpose. 1961Webster, Ramp,..a contrivance (as of blocks or wedges of wood) laid parallel in a roadway for passing traffic over lines of hose. e. A low platform from which competitors leave successively at timed intervals at the start of a motor rally.
1963P. Drackett Motor Rallying iv. 57 The start was in Blackpool, from a Mille Miglia type ramp. 1971E. Afr. Standard (Nairobi) 13 Apr. 1/3 There were 107 starters from the ramp outside City Hall, Nairobi, on Thursday. 2. The difference in level between the abutments of a rampant arch.
1725W. Halfpenny Sound Building 4 Raise a Perpendicular..equal to the Ramp of the Arch. 1842Gwilt Archit. §1943 To describe a rampant pointed arch, whose span..and the height of the ramp are given. 3. a. Part of the handrail of a stair, having a concave or upward bend (freq. continued in a knee or convex bend), as at a landing.
1778Encycl. Brit. (ed. 2) I. 618/1 The manner of drawing the ramp, which is to rise equal to the height of the first step of the next flight. 1842Gwilt Archit. §2182 In the upper ramp..produce the top of the rail..to P. 1862Catal. Internat. Exhib. II. xxxi. 24 Model of Stable Fittings..showing the..division railing and ramps. Comb.1859Carriage Builders' Jrnl. I. 184/2 The iron ramp-rail,..with the stable-stall-post,..is a most neat and desirable division. b. A slanting (straight or curved) shoulder connecting two levels of the coping of a wall. Also, the sloping part of a stair parapet.
1842Gwilt Archit. 1023. 1882 Standard 15 Apr. 2/6 Falling over the coping or ramp of the steps. 4. orig. U.S. The point or area at an airport where unloading and loading of aircraft takes place; the ‘apron’. Freq. attrib.
1947M. B. Baker Airline Traffic & Operations viii. 205 We're not too bothered with other aircraft parked on the ramp. 1961New Scientist 13 Apr. 15/2 On stages up to 1,000 miles in length the turboprop is equal to the jet in ramp to ramp speeds. 1971Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 24 Aug. 7/1 We are flying at 33,000 feet, the outside temperature is 24 degrees and our expected ramp time in Los Angeles is..oh..about 3.30. 1974P. S. Smith Air Freight x. 399 Ramp handling is the operation of loading and unloading freight on and off an aircraft and moving it across the apron. II. 5. Electronics. An electrical waveform in which the voltage increases linearly with time. Freq. attrib., as ramp function, a mathematical expression of the shape of a ramp.
1957J. D. Ryder Engin. Electronics xviii. 618 The response of the first-order system to a so-called ramp input θi..is also of interest. 1959J. Markus Handbk. Electronic Control Circuits 281/1 An output pulse begins when the ramp voltage starts increasing and terminates when the ramp and signal voltages are equal. Ibid. 281/2 The flip-flop opens a transistor switch, allowing the ramp generator to begin generating a linearly rising voltage. 1962Huskey & Korn Computer Handbk. xviii. 31 The stability is a function of..the stability of the ramp function itself. 1965Wireless World Aug. 399 By the introduction of an integral of the ramp voltage as a feedback term it should be possible to generate an ultra-linear ramp. 1976Austral. Jrnl. Physics XXIX. 187 A second phase-sensitive detector yielding a ramp-function output is used to indicate, by the positive or negative gradient of the ramp, the sense of the Doppler frequency shift, i.e. decreasing or increasing. 1980Sci. Amer. Mar. 73/1 To compensate for echo decay over longer distances, receiver sensitivity is enhanced by ramp gain and a Q filter. III. 6. Comb., as rampway N. Amer., a sloping passageway formed by a ramp between different levels.
1970I. Petite Meander to Alaska ii. xi. 105 Then we walked up the long, cleated rampway to the sidewalk above. 1976B. Bova Multiple Man (1977) vi. 68 We stepped through one of these rampways into a different building. ▪ V. ramp, n.5 slang. [f. ramp v.2 2.] a. A swindle † (see also quot. 1812); spec. the act or practice of obtaining profit or benefit fraudulently, as by the unwarranted increase of the price of a commodity.
1812J. H. Vaux Vocab. Flash Lang. in Mem. (1964) 261 Ramp, to rob any person or place by open violence or suddenly snatching at something and running off with it... A man convicted of this offence, is said to have been done for a ramp. This audacious game, is called by prigs, the ramp. 1888Standard 27 June 6/1 How often do we hear people say that such-and-such a race was a fearful ramp. 1895J. Caminada Twenty-Five Years of Detective Life 161 Watching them perform the ‘ramp’—a sudden rush and bustle in which robberies are committed. 1902Standard 29 Apr. 4/5 Being president of a swindle—‘a ramp’ they called it. 1915Truth 2 June 890/2 The ramp in connection with the shares of the East Rand Amalgamated Gold Estates. 1922Daily Mail 20 Nov. 8 (Advt.), Is there a coal ‘ramp’? Miners, middlemen and merchants in the coal trade all blame one another for the high price of coal. 1934R. Macaulay Going Abroad xxiii. 195 If I had my way, you would sign a paper..confessing that your whole business is a ramp and a fraud. 1956People 13 May 8/3 From Manchester, Glasgow and Bristol, examples of this growing ramp have reached ‘The People’. a1966‘M. na Gopaleen’ Best of Myles (1968) 228 You know the limited edition ramp. 1976W. G. Kerr Scottish Capital on Amer. Credit Frontier iii. 77 On their arrival in Dallas, Wellesley and Renshaw discovered that some serious ‘ramps’, or swindles, had been going on there. b. bankers' ramp (see quot. 1932). Also transf.
1931J. R. MacDonald in Times 26 Aug. 12/3 We are told that this is a bankers' ‘ramp’, or a conspiracy, or something of the kind, against a Labour Government. 1932Ann. Reg. 1931 68 Mr. Hayday..elaborated the theory of what was known in Labour circles as ‘the bankers' ramp’—a financial crisis deliberately engineered for the purpose of forcing Britain to curtail its expenditure on social services, and so remove one of the chief barriers to a reduction of the wage level. 1958Times 10 July 13/2 The orthodox Labour version is that the second Labour Government was broken by a ‘bankers' ramp’. 1976Ld. Robbins Against Inflation (1979) xx. 98 What I hope your Lordships will agree is a pure fallacy; namely, the suggestion that what has happened recently is all a pure conspiracy, a banker's ramp and so on. ▪ VI. ramp, a. Sc.|ræmp| [Of obscure origin; perh. a corrupt form of rank a., after ramp v.] 1. Wanton, riotous. ramp rider = rank rider.
1715A. Pennecuik Tweeddale 27 When frank Miss John came first into the camp With his fierce flaming sword, none was so ramp. 1759Fountainhall Decis. I. 2 (Jam.) The other a gentleman, and young, and known to be ramp. a1800in Child Ballads IV. 198/2 Ride out, ride out, ye ramp rider! 1819W. Tennant Papistry Storm'd (1827) 62 The mob were ramp already. 2. Strong, rank.
1824Mactaggart Gallovid. Encycl. s.v., A ramp smell, a strong smell, the smell of a he-goat. 1887Suppl. Jamieson's Dict. s.v. Let, A barbarous, cruel method of reducing the ramp flavour of the flesh of animals. ▪ VII. ramp, v.1|ræmp| Forms: 4–5 raunp-, 4–6 raump-, (9 dial. rawmp), 6–7 rampe, 4– ramp. [a. OF. ramper (12th c.) to creep, crawl, climb, of uncertain origin: cf. It. rampare.] I. †1. intr. To creep or crawl on the ground. rare.
1390Gower Conf. III. 76 A litel Serpent on the ground, Which rampeth al aboute round. c1430Pilgr. Lyf Manhode i. xli. (1869) 25, I make briddes flee, bestes go, fisshes swymme, dragowns raunpen. 1594T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. ii. 409 Beastes ramping on the earth, or marching vpon all foure. 2. a. To climb, scramble. Now only dial.
1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cxci. 227 First there entred, raumpynge vppe lyke a catte, Bernard de la Salle. 1601Holland Pliny x. xviii, These birds will rampe up with their bellies to the tree, bending backward. 1653Urquhart Rabelais i. xxiii. 106 He would..ramp and grapple after this fashion up against a window of the full height of a lance. 1886H. Cunliffe Rochdale Gloss., Rawmp, to climb or reach over things in a careless manner. transf. and fig.1578T. Procter Gorg. Gallery P iii, One ryme too low, another rampes too hye. 1641Milton Animadv. v. Wks. (1851) 224 Surely the Prelates would have Saint Pauls words rampe one over another, as they use to clime into their Livings and Bishopricks. b. Of plants: To climb (up, or upon some support). Now chiefly dial.
1597Gerarde Herbal ii. l. §2. 266 It rampeth vpon whatsoeuer is neere vnto it. Ibid. lvii. §1. 277 The great With⁓winde that rampeth in hedges. 1657W. Coles Adam in Eden clxiv, The Vine, ramping and taking hold of any thing it meeteth with. 1691Ray Wisd. God i. (1692) 102 Ramping upon Trees, Shrubs, Hedges or Poles, they [plants] mount up to a great height. 1766Museum Rust. VI. 198 Black Bindweed..frequently ramps up in hedges. Ibid. 443 The great Bindweed which ramps in the hedges. 1877N.W. Lincs. Gloss., Ramp up, to climb as a plant. c. Of non-climbing plants: To grow rankly or luxuriantly, to shoot up rapidly.
1607[see ramping ppl. a. 4 b]. 1610W. Folkingham Art of Survey i. xi. 38 Jesamines rampe vp in a rotten earth. 1733–[see ramping ppl. a. 4 b]. 1820Clare Rural Life (ed. 3) 70 The cow-boy seeks the sedge, Ramping in the woodland hedge. 1895E. Anglian Gloss., Ramp,..to grow rapidly and luxuriantly. It is applied to the rank growth of plants supporting themselves. 1921[see Fletcherian a.]. 1959Listener 29 Oct. 754/3 The schizanthus..is ramping away and will need potting. 3. a. Of beasts (real or depicted, as in Her.): To rear or stand on the hind legs, as if in the act of climbing; to raise the fore-paws in the air; hence, to assume, or be in, a threatening posture. (Chiefly said of lions.) Also of persons: To raise, or gesticulate with, the arms; † to clutch wildly at.
a1300Cursor M. 7104 A lion quilpe..Rampand to sampson he stert. c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 305 Þei sauh kynge's banere, raumpand þre lebardes. 14..Tundale's Vis. 134 Fowle fendys ay grennyng And as wyld wolfis thei cam rampyng. c1450Holland Howlat 416 A lyoun crovnit with gold, Of siluir ȝe se shold To ramp in array. 1549–62Sternhold & H. Ps. xxii. 13 Like a Lyon roaring out, and ramping for his pray. 1590Spenser F.Q. i. v. 28 Their bridles they would champ, And trampling the fine element would fiercely ramp. 1641Hinde J. Bruen xlvii. 151 The Bish. was glad to lay hold on the boy, ramping at the windows to have gotten out that way. 1774J. Bryant Mythol. II. 363 The lion ramped: the pard sported. 1822W. Irving Braceb. Hall xxvii. 245 My Lady Lillycraft's little dogs ramped and barked. 1883Ld. R. Gower Reminisc. I. iv. 48 Above the fireplace ramps the Royal Lion of Scotland. 1922E. R. Eddison Worm xiv. 203 It stamped with its silver hoofs, flapping its wings, ramping like a lioness. 1924R. Campbell Flaming Terrapin v. 79 Panthers..And tigers..And lions..They ramped in the morning light. 1974R. Adams Shardik xv. 100 Kelderek..remained constantly near the bear, observing all that it did, attentive to its moods and ways—its frightening habit of ramping from side to side in excitement or anger; [etc.]. †b. To trample in triumph. Obs. rare—1.
1579–80North Plutarch (1595) 906 To exceede the bonds of modestie so farre, as to rampe in manner with both their feete vpon the dead, and to sing songs of victorie. 4. a. Of persons: To storm or rage with violent gestures; to act in a furious or threatening manner.
c1386Chaucer Monk's Prol. 16 Whan she comth home she rampeth in my face, And crieth false coward, wrek thy wyf. c1470Henry Wallace vii. 458 The peple beryt lyk wyld bestis..Within the wallis, rampand on athir sid. a1605Montgomerie Devot. Poems ii. 1 Quhy doth the Heathin rage and rampe? 1642Fuller Holy & Prof. St. v. xiv. 414 By this time the long dormant Usurer ramps for the payment of his money. 1648Regall Apol. 39 He saw the House of Commons begin to ramp upon him. 1809W. Irving Knickerb. (1861) 168 The lion-hearted Peter roared and ramped. 1860Gen. P. Thompson Audi Alt. III. cxli. 120 They had ramped and sworn that drawing by the tail was an ‘institution’. b. transf. of things. Also with it.
a1605Montgomerie Misc. Poems xxviii. 41 Watring wauis and huge, Quhilk ramping ouer his rigging ryds. a1734North Exam. (1740) II. Pref. 1 ‘Impartial’ ramps it on the Title Page. 1864H. C. Coote Neglected Fact Eng. Hist. 108 Though Christianity flourished..heathenism ramped by its side. 1874Holland Mistr. Manse xiv. 197 Ramping from his hiding place Roared the wild Thunder. 5. †a. To go about in a loose, immodest way. Obs.
1530Palsgr. 678/2, I rampe, I playe the callet. Je ramponne. a1553Udall Royster D. ii. iv. (Arb.) 37 Is all your..ioy In whiskyng and ramping abroade like a Tom boy. 1611Cotgr., Gadriller, (a wench) to raump, or play the rig. b. = romp v. Now dial.
1657[see ramping vbl. n.1]. a1700B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, To Ramp, to Play rude Horse-Play. 1720Swift Irish Feast, They dance in a round, Cutting capers and ramping. 1741[see ramping vbl. n.1]. a1825in Forby. 1951Dylan Thomas Poems (1971) 206 Wherever I ramped in the clover quilts. 6. a. To bound, rush, or range about in a wild or excited manner.
1627Feltham Resolves ii. lxxxii. (1677) 333 Such wild Cattel as ramp up and down on the earth. a1800Kempy Kay vii. in Child Ballads I. 302/2 She rampit out, and she rampit in, She rampit but and ben. 1853Hawthorne Tanglewood T., Minotaur 18 The great sow had been an awful beast while ramping about the woods and fields. 1890L. D'Oyle Notches 88 The bronchos, by ‘ramping’ across the storm, had found good shelter for themselves. refl.a1857Jovial Hunter Bromsgrove in Child Ballads I. 212/2 The wild boar..Thrashed down the trees as he ramped him along. b. To sail swiftly, to scud. Also with along and transf.
1872Blackie Lays Highl. 61 The rocks..Saw thy daring Norsemen, Haco, Ramping o'er the Scottish tide! 1889Blackw. Mag. CXLVI. 187/2 We were ramping along under a brilliant sun. 1933P. A. Eaddy Hull Down 283 Ramp along, sailing with all sails drawing to the wind. 1941J. Cary House of Children xxxv. 153 It won't waste your time because you'll learn more too—it's a place for teaching stupid young men how to pass into the army, so you'll simply ramp along. II. 7. Arch. Of a wall: To ascend or descend from one level to another. (Cf. ramp n.4 3 b.)
1855Ecclesiologist XVI. 342 Sections of wall ‘ramping’ from its cornice line to the north and south extremities of the half screen. 1858Spurden Suppl. Forby 40 A wall so formed is said to ramp. 1876in Surrey Gloss. 8. a. trans. Mil. and Arch. To furnish with a ramp, to build with ramps.
1848A. B. Evans Leicestersh. Words s.v., On slopes the wall is generally so ‘ramped’ or ‘ramped off’ at intervals. 1897Ld. Roberts 41 Yrs. India xlvi. (1898) 354 The banks of the numerous nullas..had to be ramped before the guns and baggage could pass over them. b. (See quot.)
1847Halliwell, Ramp,..(5) Bending a piece of iron upwards to adapt it to wood-work, of a gate, &c. is called ramping it. ▪ VIII. ramp, v.2|ræmp| [Of obscure origin. In sense 1 perh. a misuse of prec., as Wyclif and Trevisa render L. rapiens and rapax by ‘rampant’. Sense 2 may be a different word.] †1. trans. To snatch, tear, pluck. Obs.
1567Golding Ovid's Met. viii. (1593) 206 She the gag⁓toothd elfe did spie,..ramping up the grasse With uglie nailes and chanking it. 1570Levins Manip. 18/39 To rampe, rapere. 1626Sandys Ovid's Met. xii. 243 Amycus..down ramps A brazen cresset. 1633J. Done Hist. Septuagint 99 It is not lawfull to vexe and trouble any person..nor rampe away his Goods by force. 2. slang. a. To rob or swindle; spec. to force (one) to pay a pretended bet. (Cf. ramper2.)
1812J. H. Vaux Flash Dict., Ramp, to rob any person or place by open violence or suddenly snatching at something and running off with it. 1887Daily News 12 Oct. 7/1 If you have seen me ticket-snatching and ‘ramping’ why did you not take me in charge? 1892Chamb. Jrnl. 13 Aug. 517/2 The neighbour who's ramped the man that trusted him. 1897Daily News 3 Sept. 3/5 Charge of ‘ramping’ a book-maker. b. To search (a prisoner) in gaol. Also of a prison cell. Austral.
1950Austral. Police Jrnl. Apr. 117 Ramp, search a prisoner in gaol, as distinct from a search anywhere else. 1979Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 2 Aug. 9/3 He heard noises from Gage's cell, but presumed the cell was being ‘ramped’ (searched).
Add:3. Comm. [Prob. after ramp n.5 a.] To drive up the price of (a company's shares) in order to gain a financial advantage; hence, to increase rapidly the level, value, etc., of. Freq. with up.
1977Economist 12 Feb. 77/1 Without section 54, companies might, for example, ramp up their shares before making a paper bid in order to acquire a company on the cheap. 1979Reese & Flint Trick 13 73 You know that one of Mosey's sidelines is ramping shares?.. Ramping—you know, boosting. You buy shares in a company, then plug it for all you're worth, pretending you have inside knowledge. 1984Daily Tel. 23 Oct. 17/1 Almost for amusement the price was ramped up to 438p at one point before support was withdrawn. 1985Investors Chron. 8 Nov. 48/2 A move into profits..depends on how quickly Jaguar (and other motor manufacturers) ramp up pre-launch production of the new cars. 1989Sunday Times 19 Feb. d7/1 The Fed is under pressure from Wall Street to ramp up interest rates and thus slow down the American economy. ▪ IX. ramp, v.3 Obs. exc. dial. Also 6 raumpe. [Imitative.] trans. To eat greedily or noisily.
1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. 73 Ye maye take some parte, with me, were my woordes, and not to raumpe them vp on that facion. 1894Northumbld. Gloss., Ramp, to eat with a gnashing sound. |