| 释义 |
unˈclew, unˈclue, v.
[un-2 3.]
1. trans. To unwind, undo; fig. to ruin.
1607Shakes. Timon i. i. 167 If I should pay you for't as 'tis extold, It would vnclew me quite. c1645Howell Lett. IV. Ded., They [sc. letters] can the Cabinets of Kings unscrue, And hardest intricacies of State unclue. 1654E. Johnson Wonder-wrkg. Provid. 221 With watry tears unclued we will be, From creature-comforts. 1855Singleton Virgil II. 72 Dædalus himself The cheats and windings of the dome unclewed.
refl.1622Mabbe tr. Aleman's Guzman d'Alf. i. (To Vulgar), Who is he, that can be so happy, as to vnclue him⁓selfe from this Labyrinth?
2. To let down the clews or lower ends of (a sail).
1855Singleton Virgil I. 384 Take your seats upon the banks; Unclew the sails with speed. 1899Atlantic Monthly Aug. 197 The sailboat..lay alongside the wooden pier, with ballast stowed amidships and her mutton-ham unclewed. |