| 释义 |
▪ I. el
obs. form of awl.
▪ II. el quasi-article. colloq. (orig. U.S.).|ɛl|
[c gray]a. Sp., masc. def. art. The Spanish art. has been recorded in English as a non-naturalized prefix of Spanish words since the 16th cent., esp. forming personal and place-names (cf. El Dorado n., El Cid, El Paso, etc.). In the 20th cent., Spanish formations have also been used in English more informally, as in El Supremo, El Capitán, etc. Cf. La quasi-article.[/c]
The initial element of jocular, pseudo-Sp. noun and adj. phrases representing colloq. (and often nonce) alternatives to their Eng. bases (nouns or adjs. freq. in turn suffixed by the Sp. masc. ending -o), which convey disparagement, emphasis, or amusement: as *el cheapo a. (and n.), el creepo, el foldo, el smoggo, etc.
1951Amer. Speech XXVI. 167 For some reason, after the Cuban War, Spanish -o appeared frequently in trade names. My favorite examples are El Boilo, El Eggo,..and others of the same type. 1959Ibid. XXXIV. 155 Everyone knows what a crumb is... However, the particular kind of crumb who is easily frightened may be tagged for emphasis el crumbo or el scaro, pseudo-Spanish. 1961A. Berkman Singers' Gloss. Show Business 20 El foldo,..fainting spell; close of a show. 1962Washington Daily News 21 July 21/2 The Angels were presented with a gorgeous opportunity to do an ‘el foldo’ last night when Cleveland took an early 3–0 lead over them. 1970Current Slang (Univ. S. Dakota) IV. 17 El smoggo, El Paso (Texas). 1977C. McFadden Serial (1978) xxxii. 70/2 At least he was getting even with Kate and her lover, whom Harvey thought of as El Creepo. 1986Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 15 Dec. 20/2 It has taken the TV types in Buenos Aires five years to come to grips with this and they have made an executive decision to scrap their long-winded el sudso, Rosa de Lejos. 1989Sunday Mail (Brisbane) 25 June 45/2 Then, with half the show almost over, and the strategy pattern set, the first el-grabbo dance routine explodes. |