释义 |
well(-)ˈchosen, ppl. a. a. Carefully or happily selected.
a1586Sidney Arcadia iii. (1922) 12 The girle thy well chosen mistresse, perchaunce shall defend thee. 1593Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, iv. i. 7 Heere comes the King. Rich. And his well-chosen Bride. 1635–56Cowley Davideis iv. last line, But, Lo! they 'arriv'ed now at th' appointed place; Well⁓chosen and well furnisht for the Chase. 1697Walsh Dryden's Virgil Life *4 A well-chosen Library, which stood open to all comers of Learning and Merit. 1711Addison Spect. No. 93 ⁋10 The Mind never unbends itself so agreeably as in the Conversation of a well chosen Friend. 1755Young Centaur i. 5 Well-chosen Pleasure is a branch of happiness. 1784Cowper Task iii. 393 Then to his book, Well chosen, and not sullenly perus'd In selfish silence. b. esp. of words or language. Freq. in phr. a few well-chosen words, a short and telling speech or piece of writing; also ironically.
a1704Locke Cond. Underst. §31 Well-chosen Similies, Metaphors, and Allegories. 1733Trav. J. Massey 21 The Terms in which he express'd himself were strong, and well⁓chosen. 1828Whately Rhet. iii. ii. §9. 243 A well-chosen epithet may often suggest..an entire Argument. 1845Longfellow Poets & P. Europe (1871) 600 His language is simple, well-chosen, and beautiful. 1854Harper's Mag. Feb. 423/2 Thomas Carlyle..has excelled all his contemporaries in the graphic pictures which he has painted in a few well-chosen and expressive words. 1912Beerbohm Christmas Garland 46 You figure him at the gate, shaking hands all round, and speaking perhaps a few well-chosen words about the future. 1957D. Robins Noble One xix. 177, I can and shall go down and settle her with a few well-chosen words. |