| 释义 |
horn-mad, a. arch.
a. App. orig. of horned beasts: Enraged so as to be ready to horn any one. Hence of persons: Stark mad; mad with rage; furious. Cf. the earlier horn-wood.
1579Tomson Calvin's Serm. Tim. 57/2 With it must we fight against these hornemad beastes. 1596Nashe Saffron Walden 32 A Bulls..bellowing and running horne mad at euery one in his way. 1607T. Walkington Opt. Glass 47 We must not..drinke our selues horne madde. 1608Topsell Serpents (1658) 660 The perillous and transpiercing stinging of these horn-mad Hornets. 1695Congreve Love for L. v. viii, She's mad for a Husband, and he's horn mad, I think, or they'd ne'er make a Match together. a1773in Hone Every-day Bk. (1825) I. 157 They run horn mad to go to law. 1893Stevenson Catriona 265 Miss Grant..would be driven fair horn-mad if she could hear of it.
†b. Sometimes by word-play: Mad with rage at having been made a cuckold. Obs.
1590Shakes. Com. Err. ii. i. 57 E. Dro. Why Mistresse, sure my Master is horne mad. Adri. Horne mad, thou villaine? E. Dro. I meane not Cuckold mad, But sure he is starke mad. 1658J. Jones Ovid's Ibis 51 A loose wife makes her husband horn-mad and heart-sad. a1700B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Horn-mad, stark staring Mad because Cuckolded. 1822Scott Nigel xxvi, The man is mad, horn mad, to boot.
c. Lecherous. Cf. horn n. 5 c. slang.
1893Farmer & Henley Dict. Slang III. 356 Horn-mad,..sexually excited; lecherous. 1937in Partridge Dict. Slang. 1951R. Campbell Light on Dark Horse xvii. 251 The evil-minded and horn-mad levantine.
Hence † ˌhorn-ˈmadded ppl. a., driven horn-mad; horn-ˈmadness, horn-mad condition.
1661Needham Hist. Eng. Reb. in Harl. Misc. (Park) II. 523 The Houses know not what to think; The Cits horn⁓madded be. 1868Browning Ring & Bk. ii. 832 Somebody courts your wife, Count? Where and when? How and why? Mere horn-madness: have a care! |