| 释义 |
ˈfancy work
a. Ornamental, as opposed to plain, work, esp. in needlework, crochet, knitting, or the like; rarely, a piece of such work. Also fig.
1810F. Cuming Sk. Tour Western Country xxvi. 163 Boarders instructed in..embroidery..and any other fashionable fancy-work. 1816Jane Austen Emma I. iii. 39 His..claim on her to leave her neat parlour hung round with fancy-work whenever she could. 1842F. D. Bennett Whaling Voy. II. 91 Their domestic manufactures are chiefly..fancy works, executed with the split leaves of the fan-palm. 1864C. M. Yonge Trial II. xvi. 308, I admired the pattern, and Blanche inspected it..hoping to convert me to a fancy-work⁓woman. 1866Mrs. Gaskell Wives & Dau. xiv. (1867) 142 You don't do fancy-work! 1896E. Turner Little Larrikin xviii. 206 A pair of slippers bought at a fancy-work shop. 1907Times Lit. Suppl. 12 July 217/3 The importance and the novelty of their matter seem to prevent any excessive rhetoric; they cannot afford the time for fancy work. 1929Daily Express 7 Nov. 19/1 They cut out all fancy work and went straight ahead for goal. 1954F. C. Avis Boxing Ref. Dict. 38 Fancy work, ‘clever’ movements of the hands and body intended to impress the onlookers, but often merely a waste of energy.
b. slang. In phrase ‘to take in fancy work: to be addicted to secret prostitution’ (Farmer). |