| 释义 |
▪ I. ˈfall-back, n.
[f. vbl. phrase fall back: see fall v. 81.]
For the stress on this and similar words, cf. break-down.
a. Something upon which one may fall back; a reserve.
b. A falling back, depression.
1851Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XII. ii. 402 It is..advisable..to provide a ‘fall-back’, or adjacent stubble field into which the flock may retire at pleasure. 1853Kane Grinnell Exp. xxi. (1856) 162 He would leave the Mary..to serve as a fall⁓back in case we should lose our vessels. 1892Pall Mall. G. 26 Feb. 2/1 You will have occasional months of fall-back, but that will in time be made up, and every quarter will show a steady increase.
c. concr. Fall-back pay.
1961Observer 7 May 40/6 Men who failed to find a day's work should get a guaranteed minimum payment (the ‘fall-back’). 1969Daily Tel. 11 Apr. 29/3 The men are paid on the basis of the {pstlg}17 ‘fall-back’ plus piece⁓work, which gives them average earnings of about {pstlg}30 a week.
▪ II. fall-back, a.
1. Of a chaise, etc.: having a back which can be let down. U.S.
1767Boston Gaz. 12 Oct. (Th.), A Fall-back Chaise for sale. 1768Essex Inst. Hist. Coll. XI. 38 He also has five fall-back chaises, one fall-back curricle. 1832Coll. New H. Hist. Soc. III. 37 He was the proprietor of a fall back chaise.
2. That may be used in an emergency; esp. of a minimum wage paid when work is not available.
1930Economist 6 Dec. 1057/2 The operatives..laid stress on the absence of any provision for a fall-back wage, and a minimum wage to provide for the contingency of under-employment. 1942W. Rose Good Neighbours iii. 23 The work lasted through the summer, and provided a fall-back job when weather conditions were unsuitable for hay work. 1959Times 8 Dec. 13/6 By the time the tug strike was a few days old 5,000 dockers were without work and receiving ‘fall-back’ pay. |