| 释义 |
▪ I. wiggle, v. Now colloq. or dial.|ˈwɪg(ə)l|
Forms: 3–4 wigel(en, 4 wygle, -el, 7 wigle, 9 wiggle, (Sc. weegle).
[Cognate with or a. (M)LG. wiggelen, MDu. wighelen (Du. wiggelen), frequentative f. wig- (cf. LG. wiggen, Norw. dial. vigge, wig v.1). Cf. the parallel wag v., waggle v.
Some compare OE. wiccliende (Haupt's Zeitschrift IX. 459/6) glossing nutabundum, but this is prob. an error for cwiccliende (Napier O.E. Glosses i. 2234).]
1. intr. To move to and fro or from side to side irregularly and lightly, to waggle; to walk with such a movement, to stagger, reel, also to waddle (now dial.); to go or move sinuously, to wriggle. Also fig.
a1225Ancr. R. 214 Þe ȝiure glutun..wigeleð [Corpus MS. wigleð] ase uordrunken mon. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xviii. ix. (Add. MS. 27944) Centris is a serpente þat bendiþ noughte nouþer wigeleþ but holdeþ alway forþ right. 1611[see wiggling ppl. adj. below]. 1839in F. W. Maitland Leslie Stephen (1906) 25 He wished I would not read that kind of book that went wiggling from one subject to another. 1839Longfellow Hyperion iv. ii, To pass the morning, to use his own quaint language, ‘in making dodging calls, and wiggling round among the ladies!’ 1864W. D. Latto Tam. Bodkin xiv. 133, I warselled an' weegled, an' kickit, an' flang. 1901Munsey's Mag. XXV. 340/1 He wiggled over the grass towards the concealed marksman. 1913G. S. Porter Laddie vii. (1917) 122 Father..pulled his lower lip until his ears almost wiggled. 1927H. A. Vachell Dew of Sea 260, I must wiggle out of the mess.
2. trans. To move (something) in this way; refl. = 1. Also fig.
1685in Buccleuch MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) I. 343 A bare shift or pretence to wigle myself out of danger. c1850‘Dow jr.’ in Jerdan Yankee Hum. (1853) 86 Wiggle yourselves..among the three, and make headway the best way you can. 1897V. Hunt Unkist, Unkind! xii, He unhooked a Malay kris..and wiggled it about in the crack of the door.
Hence ˈwiggling vbl. n. and ppl. a.; also ˈwiggletail, name for the larva of a gnat or mosquito.
1855Chicago Times 9 Aug. 4/6 The mosquito proceeds from the animalcule commonly termed the *wiggle-tail. 1884J. C. Harris Nts. Uncle Remus 172 Water too full of wiggletails.
1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xviii. ix. (Bodl. MS.), Serpentes swymmeþ in water bi *wiglinge and foldinge of þe bodie [orig. per corporis inflexionem]. 1894Educator (Philad.) Mar., The ceaseless motion—the wiggling of the child.
1611Cotgr., Serpentant.., wrigling, *wigling, crooking, winding. 1849Alb. Smith Pottleton Legacy (repr.) 51 One of those little wiggling dogs. 1895Century Mag. Aug. 541/2 A small, wiggling fish.
▪ II. wiggle, n. and a.|ˈwɪg(ə)l|
[f. the vb.]
A. n.
1. An act of ‘wiggling’, a light wagging or wriggling movement. to get a wiggle on (U.S. slang), to hurry, bustle.
1816J. K. Paulding Lett. from South I. 235 They suffered their hair to grow into a mighty bunch behind, and walked with the genuine Rutland wiggle; that is to say, on tiptoe, and with a most portentous extension of the hinder-parts. 1869L. M. Alcott Little Women II. xxiv. 355 Rob's footstool had a wiggle in its uneven legs. 1896Inlander Jan. 147 Get a wiggle on you, hurry up; bestir yourself. 1894Educator (Philad.) Feb. 279 Every fleeting expression of their faces or wiggle of their bodies. 1903A. Adams Log Cowboy iv, Hasn't the boss got a wiggle on himself to-day! 1904E. Robins Magnetic North xvii. 298 You can bunk early and get a four a.m. wiggle on.
2. = wiggler 1.
1831T. Buttrick Voy., Trav., & Discoveries 78 The water was very bad... After straining it would still exhibit live insects, which they call wiggles.
3. A wavy line drawn by a pen, pencil, etc.
1942Punch 12 Aug. 127/1 An old envelope bearing the regimental Paymaster's stamp, partly obliterated by adhesive tape, and the word ‘Confidential’ crossed out with a wiggle in pencil. 1967R. D. Mattuck Guide to Feynman Diagrams in Many-Body Problem iv. 63 The majority of writers draw the above interaction with a dashed line... However, we shall always use the wiggle.
B. adj. ‘Wiggling’, wagging swiftly and lightly.
1888Doughty Trav. Arabia Deserta I. 324 Butting under the mothers' teats with their *wiggle tails.
▸ wiggle room n. orig. and chiefly U.S. space in which to move (in a restricted manner); (in extended use) capacity to manoeuvre or negotiate, esp. in order to modify a previous statement or decision; allowance made for the possibility of error or change.
1941Reno (Nevada) Evening Gaz. 2 Sept. 3 (advt.) Pumps look petite..give you lots of *wiggle room. 1965Gettysburg (Pa.) Times 7 Apr. 7/6 Clark said ‘We've gone about to the outer limit’ in military action against the Communist guerillas. He said he wants ‘wiggle room’ left for negotiations to avoid a major war. 1978Business Week 11 Sept. 92/3 Congress has drafted regulatory legislation in a way that gives agencies..as little ‘wiggle room’ as possible. 1997Chicago Tribune 16 Feb. xii. 13/1 Suburban's cabin is wide enough so you have some ‘wiggle room’ as Chevy calls it, space to move arms and legs without bumping into your ridemates. 2001National Post (Toronto) 18 June a14/2 Mr. Bush..expressed continuing support for NATO enlargement but emphasized that all potential members must first meet their obligations. Not an offer of a direct tradeoff, yet it leaves Mr. Bush with wiggle room. |