| 释义 |
ratsbane|ˈrætsbeɪn|
[f. rat n.1 + bane.]
1. Rat-poison; † spec. arsenic. (Now only literary.)
1523Churchw. Acc. St. Mary Hill, London (Nichols 1797) 108 For milke and rattisbane for the rats in the church. 1597J. Payne Royal Exch. 41 Men cover ratts bane vnder suger or hony. 1679Dryden Troilus & Cr. Epil. 9 As we strew rat's-bane when we vermin fear. 1722De Foe Plague (1884) 161 Endeavours were us'd..to destroy the Mice and Rats,..by laying Rats-Bane. 1820Shelley Œd. Tyr. i. 354 Black ratsbane, which That very Rat, who..Nurtures himself on poison, dare not touch. 1877‘Mark Twain’ in Atlantic Monthly Dec. 723/1 What was that cat's name that eat a keg of ratsbane by mistake over at Hooper's?
fig.1593Harvey Pierce's Super. Wks. (Grosart) II. 293 That peece of Alchimy, that can turne the Rattes-bane of Villany into the Balme of honesty. 1633Prynne 1st Pt. Histrio-m. iv. i. 140 Playes are Rats-bane to government of Commonweales. 1809Malkin Gil Blas v. i. ⁋15 Running in debt is ratsbane to him.
2. Applied to certain plants (see quots.).
1846Lindley Veget. Kingd. 583 The fruit of Chailletia toxicaria is said to be poisonous, it is called Ratsbane in Sierra Leone. 1886W. Som. Word-bk., Rat's Bane, chervil. A common wild umbelliferous plant, in appearance something like hemlock—probably mistaken for it.
Hence ˈratsbaned ppl. a., poisoned with ratsbane; also ˈratsbany a.
1638R. Junius (Younge) Drunkards Character 269 Which makes them like ratsband Rats, drinke and vent. 1937Blunden Elegy 24 And sets pot to mouth And once again moistens his ratsbany drouth. |