| 释义 |
gangbuster, n. and a. colloq. (orig. U.S.).
Brit. |ˈgaŋˌbʌstə|, U.S. |ˈgæŋˌbəstər|
Forms: 19– gang buster, 19– gang-buster, 19– gangbuster [Also with capital initials.]
[‹ gang n.1 + -buster comb. form.
Popularized by the long-running U.S. radio serial Gang Busters (1936–57).]
A. n.
1. An officer of a law-enforcement agency who is known for successful (and often aggressive) detection of organized crime.
1930N.Y. Times Bk. Rev. 7 Dec. 18 Captain Willemse was known as ‘the gang buster’ because of the part he played in the breaking up of the Kid Dropper, Little Augie and Flanagan gangs. 1940Common Sense July 9/1 The boys with leather boots who liked to act as a combination of Army, vigilantes, Ku Kluxers, gangsters, gangbusters and defenders of the pure Italian or German way of life. 1941W. Johnston Visual ‘Education’? 27 The release of these gangbuster pictures..coincided with a trial in New York City which provided the national Republican press new material for publicizing Dewey. 1984Times 29 Oct. 5/1 The gangbusters are stamping hard on the manicured fingers of the Mafia. 2001D. Kessler Question of Intent vi. 44 The Washington Post called me ‘Eliot Knessler’, a play on the name of the Prohibition Era gangbuster.
2. like (the) gangbusters: with great speed, force, or urgency; (hence) vigorously, successfully. Freq. in to come on (also in) like gangbusters. Also occas. as adj.: forceful, vigorous.
1940Current Hist. & Forum 7 Nov. 21 [In a glossary of prison slang]Coming on like Gang Busters means doing all right. 1942Z. N. Hurston in Amer. Mercury July 89 Man, I come on like the Gang Busters, and go off like The March of Time! 1952G. Mandel Flee Angry Strangers 296 Nothing can hold me down. 'Cause I'm like Gangbusters. Watch me come on. 1976National Observer (U.S.) 6 Nov. 8/3 ‘Orders are pouring in like gangbusters,’ says Bob Koppang, a Hopkins, Minn., novelty dealer. 1986G. Keillor Lake Wobegon Days 133 Despite the heat and no rain, gardens came on like gangbusters. 2000N.Y. Press 5–11 Apr. i. 8/2 The two have hit it off like gangbusters in a number of informal screening meetings.
3. An outstandingly successful person or thing; a winner, a hit.
1946M. Mezzrow & B. Wolfe Really the Blues viii. 117 Josh Billings..came up with a tricky homemade muffler that was a gangbuster—one phonograph needle stuck halfway into the top of a pencil eraser, and another shoved into the bottom with its point out. 1980Washington Post 6 July h3/3 Queen's ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ and six other rock gangbusters. 1985Business Week 30 Dec. 112/2 If the company survives the trauma of falling oil prices, says Mackinney, it will be a ‘gangbuster of a stock, easily doubling in price should the low oil-price situation stabilize’. 2002N.Y. Times (Electronic ed.) 30 June This tree is a gangbuster.
B. adj. Highly successful or outstanding; freq. used in commercial contexts to describe a period of boom growth or yield. Also (of a person): eager, determined. In pl. when used predicatively; freq. in pl. in attrib. use.
1968N.Y. Times 4 Sept. 70 (advt.) I'm a gangbusters copywriter. 1977N.Y. Times Mag. 28 Aug. 62/1 Genge was real blasé about it... I couldn't believe it! Was this the Lothar who was gangbusters to start? 1979Washington Post 28 Sept. e1/2 This guy is gangbusters! Everybody loves him, whether they're Catholic or Protestant or what. I think it's going to be terrific. 1984Women's Wear Daily 8 June (Suppl.) 6/4 KL has been gangbusters, it is doing very well against last year's figures. 1986Adweek (National Marketing ed.) 30 Mar. 18/3 Despite its share loss, California Cooler rode the explosion in the category to ‘a gangbuster year’, with a 40% increase in volume over 1984. 1993Los Angeles Times (Electronic ed.) 4 Nov. The day's early... Don't be gangbusters to go. 2002Cornell Hotel & Restaurant Admin. Q. Oct. 12/1 We were on a roll and looked forward..to wrapping up with a gangbuster December chock full of holiday parties.
C. adv. In pl. Chiefly Business and Marketing. With great speed, vigour, or success. Esp. in to go (also do) gangbusters: to be highly effective or perform exceptionally well.
1969N.Y. Times 22 Jan. 41/1 Canadian motor buffs mix English phrases like ‘a bit of tweaking’ and ‘needs breathing on’ with American ones like ‘going Gangbusters’ and ‘it goes like stink’. 1975Business Week (Industr. ed.) 14 Apr. 56/2 Our prosperity to date is part of the problem. We were going gangbusters in every direction. We had more going for us than any recession could absorb. 1979Washington Post 11 Dec. c9/5 ‘He'll do gangbusters with ‘Best Little Whorehouse’,’ said Tefer, referring to the musical that opens at the Warner next month. 1984Today's Computers Sept. 8/3 Apple's Macintosh is going gangbusters in the US. 1995Minnesota Monthly Jan. 84/2 The person most likely to fail is the one who starts out gangbusters. 2001Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 12 Mar. 3/4 Mr Day said R-rated movies had also sold ‘gangbusters’ and many people joined mailing lists to buy X-rated movies from Canberra. |