| 释义 |
▪ I. grafter1|ˈgrɑːftə(r), -æ-|
[f. graft v.1 + -er1.]
1. One who grafts trees.
1616Surfl. & Markh. Country Farme 347 The furniture and tooles wherewith a grafter should be furnished..are [etc.]. 1668Boyle Cert. Physiol. Ess. (1669) 91, I am inform'd by the trails of more than one of the most skilful and experienc'd Grafters of these parts, that [etc.].
†2. The original tree from which a scion has been taken for grafting upon another tree. Obs.
1599Shakes. Hen. V, iii. v. 9 Shall..Our Syens, put in wilde and sauage stock, Spirt vp so suddenly into the Clouds, And ouer looke their Grafters? a1770Chatterton Consuliad 48 Monarchs! Of mole-hills, oyster-beds, a rock; These are the grafters of your royal stock.
3. A tool used in grafting (see quot.).
1884Knight Dict. Mech. Suppl., Grafter, a fine-toothed, pointed, narrow-bladed, hand-saw, used in sawing off limbs and stocks for the insertion of grafts.
▪ II. grafter2|ˈgrɑːftə(r), -æ-|
[f. graft v.2 + -er1.]
= graft n.3 2.
1877N.W. Linc. Gloss., Grafter, a long iron spade used for digging hard ground, especially by workmen engaged in making drains and banks.
▪ III. grafter3 colloq. (orig. U.S.).|ˈgrɑːftə(r), -æ-|
[f. graft n.5 or v.4 + -er1.]
1. One who makes money by shady or dishonest means; a thief; a swindler.
1899‘J. Flynt’ Tramping with Tramps 394 Grafter, a pickpocket. 1900Daily Express 22 June 5/3 American thieves, hotel robbers, ‘bunco steerers’, ‘grafters’, ‘con’ men, and ‘crooks’ of every degree. 1901‘H. McHugh’ John Henry 49 No more swell Sandwich Salons for me, where the grafters want to butt in all the while. 1903Westm. Gaz. 16 July 10/1 Camp followers, adventurers, and a weird aggregation of grafters. 1916S. Leacock Ess. & Lit. Stud. 205 All the world loves a grafter—at least a genial and ingenious grafter—a Robin Hood who plunders an abbot to feed a beggar, an Alfred Jingle, a Scapin, a Raffles. 1926E. Wallace Yellow Snake ix. 76 You're not exactly wrapping up your words now... You've called me a grafter and a crook. 1967J. Morgan Involved 82 She's a straight bird..not a grafter.
2. One who practises ‘graft’, esp. in public life; a politician, official, etc., who misuses his position in order to reap dishonest gain or advantage.
1896Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch 20 Apr. 3/8 Most of the ‘grafters’ have left the town, and not many of them will remain here. 1904F. Lynde Grafters xxiv. 298 You were to crush the grafters in this railroad struggle—show them up. 1904Daily Chron. 28 Mar. 3/5 Kuropatkin shares with Prince Khilkoff, the Minister of Railways, the distinction of being one of the few high officials who are not called grafters. 1908Ibid. 16 Nov. 1/7 Many of his ‘grafter’ friends will be tried for attempted murder. 1914G. Atherton Perch of Devil i. 58 And although she has her pestilential politicians, her grafters.., yet ability and talent make good as always. 1935A. J. Cronin Stars look Down iii. vi. 526 They've always been a set of grafters down there; local government has been one long sweet laugh. 1958S. Ellin Eighth Circle (1959) ii. viii. 95 And what happens to somebody who..isn't a born grafter? They make him one, that's what!
▪ IV. grafter4 colloq.|ˈgrɑːftə(r), -æ-|
[f. graft v.3 + -er1.]
One who works; a (hard) worker.
1900H. Lawson On Track 41 ‘What are we to do now?’ enquired Andy, who was the hardest grafter, but altogether helpless, hopeless, and useless in a crisis like this. 1906E. Dyson Fact'ry 'Ands vi. 62 Several of the piece-workers, confirmed grafters, toiled with swift fingers. 1913W. K. Harris Outback in Austral. 24 Shared and shared alike, the loafer with the grafter. 1927Glasgow Herald 19 Mar. 9 The visiting eight are heavy and expert in the tight, and to meet them we have a pack which contains at least three players who are by no means ‘grafters’. 1959Times 24 Jan. 3/7 He is a grafter rather than a fluent striker, with little back-lift, plenty of concentration, and a willingness to use his feet. |