| 释义 |
▪ I. stiletto, n.|stɪˈlɛtəʊ|
Pl. -oes. Also 7 stilletta, stelletto, steeletto, 7–8 steletto, stilleto, stilletto.
[a. It. stiletto, dim. of stilo dagger, stylus: see -et1. Cf. stylet.]
1. A short dagger with a blade thick in proportion to its breadth.
1611Coryat Crudities 275 They [the Venetian ‘Braves’] wander abroad very late in the night..armed with a privy coat of maile,..and a little sharpe dagger called a stiletto. 1627H. Burton Bait. Pope's Bull 44 What is it but pistols, stellettoes, poysons, your vsuall weapons? 1629Quarles Argalus & Parthenia i. 12 A keene Steeletto in his trembling hand He rudely grip'd. 1674Cotton Fair One of Tunis 136 He..would a thousand times have plunged his Steeletto into his own bosom, had not he had a design to have stab'd it into that of his Rival. 1711Puckle Club (1817) 7 Some use their wits as Bravoes wear stelettoes, not for defence but mischief. 1736B. Higgons Rem. on Burnet i. 59 As Dark⁓lanthorns and Stilettoes are unlawful Weapons to attack his Person. 1783Justamond tr. Raynal's Hist. Indies V. 163 Besides these, the Turks have a dagger, and the Moors a stiletto. 1841James Brigand v, Employing the stiletto or the drug when it suited his purpose to get rid of trouble⁓some friends. 1864Reader 18 June 771/1 She discovers a stiletto hidden in a pond.
transf. and fig.1673Marvell Reh. Transp. ii. 315 Your whole Book of Ecclesiastical Politie having been Writ not with a Pen but a Stilletto. 1749Bolingbroke Lett. Patriotism 145 Simulation is a stiletto, not only an offensive, but an unlawful weapon. 1843Macaulay Ess., Addison (1897) 738 [Pope's] own life was one long series of tricks... He was all stiletto and mask. 1844Kinglake Eothen xi, The fleas of all nations were there:—the wary, watchful ‘pulce’ with his poisoned stiletto [etc.]. 1872Lowell Milton Pr. Wks. 1890 IV. 85 But the thin stiletto of Macchiavelli is a more effective weapon than these fantastic arms of his [Milton's].
2.
†a. Short for stiletto beard (see sense 5). Obs. rare—1.
1638Ford Fancies iii. i, The very he that Wears a stiletto on his chin.
b. Short for stiletto heel (see sense 5).
1959New Statesman 10 Oct. 464/3 She came..smooching forward, her walk made lopsided by the absence of one heel of the stilettos. 1960Guardian 18 Mar. 10/6 Wearing stilettos, you are, of course, tiptoeing. 1967O. Wynd Walk Softly, Men Praying ii. 13 She wobbled slightly on worn-over stilettos.
†3. A surgical instrument: ? = stylet. Obs.
1698Lister Journ. Paris (1699) 233 He boldly thrusts in a broad Lancet or Stilleto into the middle of the Muscle of the Thigh near the Anus.
4. Needlework, etc. A small pointed instrument for making eyelet-holes.
1828Webster, Stiletto, a pointed instrument for making eyelet holes in working muslin. 1862Catal. Internat. Exhib., Brit. II. No. 6513, Button-hooks, nail files, corkscrews, stilettoes, tweezers, nut picks, &c. 1879E. A. Davidson Pretty Arts 148 This material..may with ease be penetrated by the stiletto or a strong needle.
5. attrib. and Comb., as stiletto blade, stiletto wound; stiletto-like adj.; † stiletto beard, a pointed beard; so † stiletto cut, † stiletto fashion; stiletto-fly (see quot. 1895); stiletto heel, a very narrow, high heel on women's shoes, fashionable esp. in the 1950s; a shoe with such a heel; hence stiletto-heeled a.
1621J. Taylor (Water P.) Superbiæ Flagellum C 8, Some [beards] sharpe Steletto fashion, dagger like. 1635Davenant Tri. Prince d'Amour 4 Two..swaggering Souldiers,..their Beards mishapen, with long whiskers of the Stilletto cut. a1660Prince d' Amour etc. 127 The Steeletto beard, O it makes me afraid It is so sharp beneath. 1821Scott Kenilw. xxxvi, By using the three-cornered stiletto-blade as a wedge, he forced open the slender silver hinges of the casket. 1851H. Melville Whale xlix, With a stiletto-like cry..the negro yelled out. 1865Daily Tel. 26 Oct. 2/1 There was a mean shrinking from a condemnation of Lord Palmerston's life and policy, and a stiletto-like smiting in the back. 1895Comstock Man. Insects 464 Family Therevidæ... The abdomen is long and tapering, suggesting the name stiletto-flies. 1911Daily News 12 Jan. 2 The same day her husband's body was found on the seashore [of Naples] bearing the marks of many stiletto wounds. 1953Daily Tel. 10 Sept. 8/4 One of the models..in the..winter collection..has the new stiletto heel, 3½ in high and just large enough at the base to cover a sixpence. 1959Times 13 May 10/7 The iniquitous effect of stiletto-heeled shoes on the modern woman's feet. 1973M. Amis Rachel Papers 124 At this kind of speed it was advisable to place the stiletto-heeled shoe, kept in a side-pocket for this purpose, over the gear-stick to prevent it jiggering like a pump-drill. 1981M. Hardwick Chinese Detective ix. 73 She was in black slip and stockings and four-inch stiletto heels.
▪ II. stiletto, v.|stɪˈlɛtəʊ|
Inflected stilettoes, stilettoed († stiletted).
[f. stiletto n.]
1. trans. To stab, esp. mortally, with a stiletto.
1613–4Bacon Charge agst. W. Talbot Resusc. (1657) 55 This King [Hen. IV of France] likewise, stilletted, by a Rascal votary. 1751Chesterfield Let. to Son 30 June, An excellent and short book; for which, and some other treatises against the court of Rome, he [Fra Paolo] was stilletto'd. 1835Lytton Rienzi iv. ii, How many peaceful men have been stilettoed in the day-light.
2. nonce-use. To mark with a ‘dagger’ or obelus.
1841–57De Quincey Homer Wks. VI. 357 Aristarchus..cancels and stilettoes the whole passage. Ibid. foot-n., ‘Stilettoes’:—i.e., obelises, or places his autocratic obelus before the passage. |