| 释义 |
ˈwar-horse
a. A powerful horse ridden in war by a knight or trooper; a charger.
1653Ramesey Astrol. Restored 184 In buying of Arms, War-horses, or Instruments of War. 1688Holme Armoury ii. 150/2 Warr Horses, such as are trained and brought up not..to run back at the rattling of Drums, [etc.]. 1709Steele Tatler No. 61 ⁋6 A War-Horse belonging to one of the Colonels of the Artillery, to be Let or Sold. 1814Scott Ld. of Isles i. xv, So chafes the war-horse in his might, That fieldward bears some valiant knight. 1845D. Jerrold St. Giles xx, The old war-horse pricks his ears at the murderous music of the trumpet. 1883J. Parker Apost. Life II. 174 The war-horse will paw when he can no longer stand.
b. fig. A veteran soldier or politician; a person full of warlike memories. Also used of veterans of other activities, esp. acting.
1837R. M. Bird Nick of Woods I. 68 Ar'nt thee the Pennsylvanny war-horse, the screamer of the meeting-house? 1867A. D. Richardson Beyond Mississippi 151 That old war horse..threw off the black shaggy bearskin overcoat which he invariably wore. 1884American VIII. 291 Which reminds us of the well⁓known admission of the party ‘war-horse’ that he would vote for the enemy of mankind if he got the ‘regular’ nomination. 1902Daily Chron. 26 Apr. 5/1 That old political war-horse..Sir George Dibbs. 1910National Police Gaz. (U.S.) 16 July 3/1 She mixed with a lot of old war-horses and really thought she was an actress. 1933S. Lewis Ann Vickers xi. 128 If she had been nervous behind the scenes, this old war-horse, this professional who had played her Lady Macbeth to much worse houses, did not seem nervous now. 1958Spectator 13 June 778/1 Dr. Inge, as an old Evening Standard war-horse, has even posthumously some truculent things to say.
c. A tough or determined woman.
1921R. Fry Let. 13 Oct. (1972) II. 514 An old campaigning English lady artist..this excessively repulsive and brick-red old war horse. 1959A. Christie Cat among Pigeons v. 67 A sharp old war-horse, called Miss Chadwick, keeps a wary eye on me.
d. fig. Something which is frequently used or very familiar; spec. a work of art, esp. music, which is frequently performed.
1947A. Einstein Music in Romantic Era xv. 209 There is a whole series of operatic transcriptions..all pieces that are great technical war-horses. 1952Mind LXI. 495 These verbs..are important because they include such philosophical war-horses as know, believe and deduce. 1958J. Flanner in New Yorker 27 Sept. 96/2 ‘Ben Hur’—the old theatrical war horse that has had Ben running..since..1899. 1969Listener 1 May 594/1 Deliberately constructed secondary films fall into various types. There are the old-style ‘visual aids’, such as the famous war-horse on medieval castles which has for long been cantering round the primary and secondary schools. 1977New Yorker 10 Oct. 37/2, I turned on the radio, and there was Artur Rubinstein, playing my old war-horse, the Saint-Saëns, G-Minor Concerto, live from Festival Hall. |