| 释义 |
▪ I. tango, n.1|ˈtæŋgəʊ|
Pl. tangoes, tangos (preferred).
[a. Sp., orig. a Negro or gypsy dance festival.]
1. a. A Spanish flamenco dance.
1896H. C. C. Taylor Land of Castanet 103 The girls..dance again, not the vulgar flamenco or tango, but the charming dance of the province. 1931[see farruca]. 1967‘La Meri’ Spanish Dancing (ed. 2) vi. 83 The Tango (Tango Gitano, Tango Flamenco) is of Arabic origin... It might be well to observe here that the Tango Gitano has nothing whatever in common with the Argentine tango save the name.
b. A syncopated ballroom dance in 2/4 or 4/4 time introduced into Europe and N. America from Argentina, related to the Cuban Habanera but probably of African origin, characterized by a slow gliding movement broken up by pointing positions; a piece of music for this dance.
1913G. Grossmith in Daily Graphic 12 May 9/1 ‘A Peeress’ talks about the Tango. This is a most graceful and beautiful dance. 1915T. Burke London Nights 254 Music, gaiety, sparkle, fine dresses, costume songs, tangos, smart conversation and faces, and all the rest of it. 1921Spectator 19 Feb. 236/3 Instead of a stately waltz at an even pace, Myers had no sooner taken the magnificent lady round the waist, than they were covering the floor with a glorified tango. 1925C. Connolly Let. 8 Apr. in Romantic Friendship (1975) 67 Someone is playing tangoes on a guitar. 1947[see guajira]. 1962Melody Maker 7 July 7/5 Kid Thomas..leads his septet through standards, pops and tangoes. 1976Botham & Donnelly Valentino iv. 34 This arrogant and deliciously handsome Continental who danced the tango as though it had been invented for him. 1981E. North Dames viii. 138 The music..played..a tango... He regarded better dancers tangoing.
2. attrib. and Comb., as (sense 1 b) tango band, tango-dancer, tango-dancing, tango foxtrot, tango music, tango rhythm, tango step; tango tea, a thé dansant, usu. at a hotel or other gathering place, arranged for the purpose of dancing the tango (disused).
1927C. Connolly Let. 13 Feb. in Romantic Friendship (1975) 255 This is a very grand hotel, all lights and carpets and a melodious tango band. 1932Tango band [see rumba n. 1 a]. 1974M. Butterworth Man in Sopwith Camel i. 11 Norman the demon tango-dancer of the Palais.
1918G. Frankau One of Them xxxi. 243 She..knew how wise she'd been to countermand Breastplate and shield which, though they looked entrancing, Would both have been a bore for tango-dancing. c1925‘H. Nicholls’ (music title) Sunny Havana: tango foxtrot.
1913Sheffield Daily Tel. 5 Sept. 6/4 Tango music is also expected to rival the popularity of ragtime. 1966A. Cavanagh Children are Gone ii. v. 45 The Muzak was dispensing tango rhythms, loud and sinuous. 1977‘F. Clifford’ Ten Minutes on June Morning 90 The music came again, tango rhythm. 1981E. Ward Baltic Emerald ix. 64 A new tango step.
1913Punch 6 Aug. 125 No tango-teas shall be given in this drawing-room. 1918G. Frankau One of Them i. 14 What time we sang of guns and gore and trenches, Instead of oysters, tango-teas and wenches.
▪ II. tango, n.2 (a.)|ˈtæŋgəʊ|
[f. Tangerine n. 2 + -o2, perh. influenced by prec. n. or by tan n.1 3.]
A colour shade of deep orange.
1913Vanity Fair Sept. 59/3 The one shown is of sand color and tango. 1933Archit. Rev. LXXIII. 70 The colour scheme of the shopfront is tango-red throughout. 1958B. Nichols Sweet & Twenties x. 126 Jade green, cerise, tango. 1976Burnham-on-Sea Gaz. 20 Apr. 18/3 (Advt.), 1974 Hillman Hunter GLS 4-door saloon, tango.
▪ III. ˈtango, v.
[f. tango n.1]
intr. a. To dance the tango.
1913Punch 10 Dec. 486/1 ‘Do you tango?’ she asked me as soon as we were comfortably seated. 1925C. Dodd Farthing Spinster iii. iii. 299 Young Jellis tangoed up to the two ladies. 1941B. Schulberg What makes Sammy Run? xi. 206 Sammy didn't know how to tango. 1952M. Laski Village ii. 42 She..watched her father tangoing..with Daisy Bruce. 1975Times 4 Sept. 14/6 You have to count anxiously like one learning to tango. 1981[see tango n.1 1 b].
b. fig. Freq. in proverbial phr. it takes two to tango.
1952Hoffman & Manning Takes Two to Tango (song) 2 There are lots of things you can do alone! But, takes two to tango. 1965Listener 24 June 923/2 The President would like to know whom to negotiate with... On this score, the President has a firm, and melancholy, conviction: it takes two to tango. 1970B. Conacher Hockey in Canada (1972) x. 116 Despite all the problems I had had with Imlach, and believe it or not I realize it takes two to tango, I wouldn't have missed playing in the best league in the world. 1973Houston (Texas) Chron. (Texas Mag.) 14 Oct. 2/1 An upcoming film of such explicit sexuality it'll have to tango with the new pornography rulings. 1977Time 31 Oct. 48/1 Ellis Rabb can tango with words and he is a sly devil at milking an audience dry of laughter. 1979Guardian 4 Apr. 12/3 It takes two to tango... Mrs Thatcher has turned Mr Callaghan down.
Hence ˈtangoing vbl. n.; ˈtangoist, an exponent of the tango.
1913G. B. Crozier Tango & How to dance It i. 8 The Parisian version of the Tango..has so much to recommend it that one may..predict for it a permanent place in our affections long after the present craze for ‘Tangoing’ is over. Ibid. ii. 28 Embryonic ‘Tangoists’ cannot do better than bear that graceful animal [sc. the tiger] in mind while attempting to follow their advice. 1928Daily Express 6 July 3/3 This tango is so slow, so smooth, so syrupy. Caterpillars skating over egg-shells could not move more gracefully, more softly, than the contemporary tangoists. 1976U. Holden String Horses vii. 81 They'd show the Camp what real tangoing was.
▪ IV. tango
var. tanga1, East Indian coin. |