| 释义 |
Great Satan, n.
Brit. |ˌgreɪt ˈseɪtn|, U.S. |ˌgreɪt ˈseɪtn|
Forms: 18– Great Satan, 19– great Satan, 19– great satan
[‹ great adj. + Satan n.
In sense 2 and perhaps also in Blake's reference in quot. c 1820 1 after Persian Šayṭān-i buzurg (The same colloquial expression is translated as Great Devil in the following:
1856R. F. Burton Personal Narr. Pilgrimage to El-Medinah III. xxxi. 282 We found a swarming crowd in the narrow road opposite the ‘Jamrat el Akabah’, or, as it is vulgarly called, the Shaytan el Kabir—the ‘Great Devil’... The ‘Shaytan el Kabir’ is a dwarf buttress of rude masonry, about eight feet high by two and a half broad, placed against a rough wall of stones, at the Meccan entrance to Muna. ]
1. The ultimate source of evil; an extremely negative social or political phenomenon; an arch-enemy.
In later use influenced by sense 2.
c1820W. Blake Laocoön in Compl. Writings (1972) 776 Money, which is The Great Satan. 1948M. K. Gandhi in Council Bluffs (Iowa) Nonpareil 30 Jan. 11/1 Imperialism is the great Satan of our day. 1982Social Text No. 6. 74 A helpful postulate might thus be to read the Other's press and writings (even to the point of following texts of that true Other, our Great Satan, the USSR). 1998Independent on Sunday 30 Aug. (Review Suppl.) 30/3 The item concerned the precipitous decline in the market for alcopops, the Great Satan of the campaign against under-age drinking.
2. derogatory. The United States, viewed as an imperialistic and malevolent power, esp. in the context of U.S. policy in the Middle East.
In later use this term was popularized by Ayatollah Khomeini (born Ruhollah Al-Musavi Khomeini; 1902–89), Iranian cleric and revolutionary leader, during the Iranian revolution of 1979 (see quot. 1979).
1967Washington Post 11 Jan. a16/5 ‘I think the Pope can use his great authority..to support our small people,’ Ho [Chi Minh] said, adding that there is only one fact, namely that the great satan is oppressing a small, peace-loving people. 1979N.Y. Times 6 Nov. a18/1 In the zealous eyes of Ayatollah Khomeini, America is the ‘great satan’ and Great Britain its ‘evil’ ally. 1981H. Algar tr. R. Khomeini Islam & Revolution 305 Iran has tried to sever all its relations with this Great Satan and it is for this reason that it now finds wars imposed upon it. America has urged Iraq to spill the blood of our young men. 1987Guardian (Nexis) 10 Oct. The Iranian leadership..adjusts to the unpleasant novelty of having the Great Satan—complete with attack helicopters, warships and a truculent mood—prowling freely in its own backyard. 2003I. Manji Trouble with Islam vi. 148 That the Saudis have formed an alliance with the Great Satan only affirms to bin Laden the depth of defilement in the White House and the House of Saud. |