| 释义 |
umpty, n. and a.|ˈʌmptɪ|
[A fanciful verbal repr. of the dash (—) in Morse code. Cf. iddy-umpty.]
A. n. An indefinite number, usu. fairly large. (Often used on an analogy with twenty, etc.) Mil. slang.
1905Outing July 389/2 The undergraduates..whisper to their guests, who stroked the crew in umpty-seven, the year we won by twenty lengths. 1919W. Lang Sea Lawyer's Log 70 Umpteen or ‘umpty’, it should be explained, is to the Navy what x is to Euclid—the symbol of an unknown or unmentionable quantity. 1923Daily Mail 3 Sept. 1 (Advt.), Umpteen to umpty Fahrenheit, Wolsey keeps you comfy, quite. 1924Kipling in Hearst's Internat. July 16/2 The bettin' was even on my drawin' a V.C. or getting Number Umpty Rest-Camp.
B. adj.
1. An indefinite number of this kind, in adjectival use.
1917P. MacGill Gt. Push xii. 250 When I go back to blighty I'll go to bed and I'll not get up for umpty-eleven months. 1939J. D. Carr Black Spectacles xx. 289 Again, once more, and for the umpty-umph time, we had been hocussed by still another of Chesney's ingenious tricks. 1959W. Faulkner Mansion xv. 354 ‘I never got to Heidelberg,’ Charles said. ‘All I had was Harvard and Stalag umpty-nine.’ 1974R. L. Simon Peking Duck xi. 84 A drill press of umpty-ump kilotons' capacity.
2. fig. Of a person, place, or circumstance: unpleasant.
[1925Fraser & Gibbons Soldier & Sailor Words & Phrases 294 Umpty iddy, to feel, so so. Not very well. All upside down.] 1948M. Allingham More Work for Undertaker xiii. 158 Things a bit umpty at home, I rather suspect. 1970A. Draper Swansong for Rare Bird vii. 54, I was worried in case the guvnor was umpty about the night before. The last thing I wanted was a slanging match. 1974N. Marsh Black as he's Painted iii. 76 Very umpty little dump. 1980C. Fremlin With no Crying xix. 117 This rather umpty friend of his.
Hence ˈumptieth a.
1917‘Contact’ Airman's Outings 216 The umptieth squadron then had the only machines of this type in France. 1984Business Rev. Weekly 25 Feb.–2 Mar. 92/2 Two hours later, after being wiped out for the umptieth time, frustration rears its ugly head. |