| 释义 |
▪ I. jemmy, n.|ˈdʒɛmɪ|
Also 9 jimmy.
[A pet-form and familiar equivalent of the name James. But in sense 1 associated with, and in 2 and 3 prob. derived from, jemmy a.]
†1. A dandy or fop; a finical fellow. Obs.
1753Scots Mag. Oct. 490 The scale..consists of eight degrees; Greenhorn, Jemmy, Jessamy, Smart [etc.]. 1764Low Life 65 The Jemmies, Brights, Flashes, Puzzes, Pizzes and Smarts of the Town.
b. In phr. Jemmy Jessamy (jemmy Jessamine) attrib., dandified, foppish, effeminate. See jessamy 4.
1786Pogonologia 51 You pretty fellows of the present day, Jemmy Jessamy persons, jolly bucks. 1806–7J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life (1826) vi. i, A Jemmy Jessamy lover in a wood. 1823E. Nares Heraldic Anom. (1824) II. 356 Who is this Jemmy Jessamine Gentleman?—I am Charmoleus the Dandy, universally admired for my shape and figure and complexion.
†2. A kind of riding-boot; also jemmy boot.
1753Foote Eng. in Paris i. Wks. 1799 l. 39 When I hunt with the King..I'll on with my Jemmys; none of your black bags and jack boots for me. 1771Smollett Humph. Cl. 10 June Let. i, Who..made his appearance in a pair of new jemmy boots.
†3. A light cane, a switch. Obs. rare—1.
1753Scots Mag. Oct 490/2, I..carried in my hand a little switch, which, as it has been long appendant to the character that I had just assumed, has taken the same name, and is called a Jemmy.
4. pl. ‘A species of woollen cloth. Aberd.’ (Jam. 1808–18).
5. A great-coat.
1837Dickens Pickw. ii, But if I'd been your friend in the green jemmy—damn me—punch his head,—'cod I would.
6. A crowbar used by burglars, generally made in sections screwing together.
1811Lex. Bal., Jemmy, a crow..much used by house⁓breakers. Sometimes called Jemmy Rock. 1828P. Cunningham N.S. Wales (ed. 3) II. 223 As expert a burglar as ever handled a jemmy. 1851D. Jerrold St. Giles vii. 59 Fame, won by highway pistol, or burglar's jemmy. 1889D. C. Murray Danger. Catspaw 26 A complete set of jemmies, of all sizes.
7. A sheep's head as a dish.
1836Dickens Sk. Boz, 7 Dials, The man in the shop, perhaps, is in the baked ‘jemmy’ line. 1851–61Mayhew Lond. Labour II. 48 (Farmer) They..had a ‘prime hot jemmy’ apiece. 1884Henley & Stevenson Deacon Brodie iv. i, You're all jaw like a sheep's jimmy.
▪ II. jemmy, a. Obs. exc. dial.|ˈdʒɛmɪ|
Also 9 gemmy, gimmy, jimmy.
[deriv. of jim, gim a.]
Spruce, neat, smart; neatly-made; dexterous.
1750Coventry Pompey Litt. ii. iv. (1785) 58/1 His great ambition was to be deemed a ‘jemmy fellow’. 1756Connoisseur No. 112 ⁋7 The jemmy frock with plate buttons. 1771P. Parsons Newmarket II. 89 His jemmy turn'd-down boots. a1825Forby Voc. E. Anglia, Gim, gimmy, spruce, neat, smart. 1828Lamb in Life & Lett. (1876) II. 341 A smart cock'd beaver and a jemmy cane!
b. Comb., as jemmy-stitched, jemmy-worked.
1762T. Jefferson Corr. Wks. 1859 I. 181 They carried away my jemmy-worked silk garters. 1817Mrs. Ross Balance of Comfort (ed. 3) I. xxiii. 246 Only a piece of muslin rag, neatly jemmy-stitched.
Hence ˈjemmily adv.; ˈjemminess.
1756F. Greville Maxims, etc. 125 Its fort shall be either convenience or jemminess. 1818Todd, Jemminess, spruceness. A colloquial expression; not much used in serious writing. 1837New Monthly Mag. LI. 194 A stick to be carried jemmily under the arm, in Portsmouth fashion.
▪ III. jemmy, v. colloq.|ˈdʒɛmɪ|
Also 9– jimmy (see jimmy n.1).
[f. jemmy n. 6.]
trans. To force open (a lock, window, etc.) with a jemmy or similar implement. Also fig.
1893J. Hawthorne Confessions of Convict iii. 49 We took the safe..and carried it..to the basement... We jimmied it open in no time. Ibid. xi. 172, I have drilled holes in large safes so accurately that the bolts could be ‘jimmied’ without leaving a mark. 1905N.Y. Even. Post 22 Dec. 3 The thieves jimmied the front door. 1922R. Parrish Case & Girl xxxii. 247 Finally we jimmied open the back door of this garage. 1933J. V. Turner Homicide Haven xvii. 206 Ripple had demonstrated that even with a garden pick a window can be easily jemmied. 1973Islander (Victoria, B.C.) 8 Apr. 5/2 Not a footprint, not a gate left open or a lock jemmied. 1973Sat. Rev. Society (U.S.) May 42/2 Any attempt to jimmy the doors, hood, or trunk will cause the horn to begin sounding. 1973Times Lit. Suppl. 29 June 741/3 Her stable of talented students..would have had a harder row to hoe if Mary Quant had not jemmied open the door for young designers. 1980Amat. Gardening 4 Oct. 31/1 A garden spade is just about the best tool there is for jemmying a door or window. 1991D. Coupland Generation X ii. xv. 86 Give parents the tiniest of confidences and they'll use them as crowbars to jimmy you open and rearrange your life. |