| 释义 |
red-ˈlight, v.
Also red light, redlight.
[f. the n.]
1. trans. To force (a thief, tramp, etc.) out of a moving train (see quot. 1931). Hence fig., to discharge or expel; to dispose of, kill. U.S. slang (orig. Circus).
1919Billboard 20 Dec. 87/3 The roughnecks found out that I had some money, and that night I was redlighted off the show. 1927J. Tully Circus Parade xvi. 254 The light still gleamed in the open door of the car from which we had been red-lighted. 1931G. Irwin Amer. Tramp & Underworld Slang 156 Red light, to do away with. The term originated with the..custom of disposing of an undesirable member of a circus or carnival crew by taking him out on a train platform after dark and hurling him off the train... A red light is a danger signal in any case, and on a railroad indicates a full stop. 1932D. Hammett in Amer. Mag. Oct. 96/1 What's the circus and carnival slang term for kicking a guy off a train while it's going? Red-lighting. Sure, that's it—red lights. Who'd you red-light, Ferris? 1941J. Smiley Hash House Lingo 46 Redlight, to discharge from a position. 1960Wentworth & Flexner Dict. Amer. Slang 424/1 Red-light,..1. To push a person off or out of a moving railroad train... 2. To stop one's automobile and eject a passenger so that he has to walk home under inconvenient or embarrassing circumstances. 1984Verbatim X. iii. 22/1 The circus's jargon is rich and colourful... Redlight, to toss a cheat, thief, or other bad character off a moving train.
2. To signal, warn, or stop by means of a red light. Hence fig., to alarm, alert, or deter. colloq.
1969in P. Adam-Smith Folklore Austral. Railwaymen 187 Just before we got to the New Town siding, I red-lighted Mick the driver to pull up. 1975J. Gores Hammett (1976) xiii. 92 I really red-lighted Shuman, and this must have been his idea of a smart way to get back at me.
Hence red-ˈlighting vbl. n.
1927J. Tully Circus Parade xv. 229 Red-lighting was an ancient and dishonourable custom indulged in by many a circus twenty years ago. 1932[see sense 1 above]. |