| 释义 |
▪ I. worry, n.|ˈwʌrɪ|
[f. the vb.]
1. a. A troubled state of mind arising from the frets and cares of life; harassing anxiety or solicitude.
1804W. Wilberforce in Life (1838) III. 190 Broomfield..is a scene of almost as much bustle as Old Palace Yard. So much so, that the incessant worry (it is an expressive word) of this house makes me think of quitting it. 1835Marryat Jac. Faithf. xxv, It were better to know the worst at once, than to be kept on the worry all your days. 1838Buckstone Our Mary Anne 20 After all the worry of mind I have endured this day. 1844Dickens Mart. Chuz. xxii, Martin felt, from pure fatigue, and heat, and worry, as if he could have fallen on the ground. 1862Mrs. H. Wood Mrs. Hallib. ii. xxvi. (1888) 290 The fact is..I have a good deal of worry upon me. 1871Smiles Character viii. 219 Cheerfulness..enables nature to recruit its strength; whereas worry and discontent debilitate it. 1879Mrs. Craik Young Mrs. Jardine III. ix. 227 It is not work that kills, but ‘worry’.
transf.1866Longfellow Flower-de-luce ii, Thou laughest at the mill, the whir and worry Of spindle and of loom.
b. An instance or case of this; a cause of, or matter for, anxiety; pl. cares, solicitudes.
1813Sketches of Character (ed. 2) I. 178 You may suppose what a worry Mrs. Mac. was in. 1852Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. v. 27 Eliza came in here..in a great worry, crying and taking on. 1861F. Nightingale Nursing 66 There is scarcely a greater worry which invalids have to endure than the incurable hopes of their friends. 1859Lever Davenport Dunn ix. 76 ‘Delicious spot to come and repose in from the cares and worries of life’, said Lord Lackington. 1868L. M. Alcott Little Women iv, Rich people have about as many worries as poor ones, I think. 1899Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 25 To learn to write with the left hand is a labour and a worry. 1912Times 1 May 10/2 His chief worry was that he was unable to be of any further use.
2. The act of biting and shaking an animal so as to injure or kill it. (Properly of hounds when they seize their quarry.)
1847Surtees Hawbuck Grange xii. 250 The whole pack flew from their noses to the worry, and rolled one over another with their victim into the river. 1859G. A. Lawrence Sword & Gown iii. 28 They will..join in the ‘worry’ as eagerly as the youngest hound. 1882C. L. Morgan in Nature XXVI. 524/2 But no dog could tell his companion of the successful ‘worry’ [sc. of a cat] he had just enjoyed. 1886Fores's Sporting Notes III. 155 And then among the reeds is a rolling over, a confusion, and a worry.
transf.1901‘Linesman’ Words by Eyewitness (1902) 100 There is a brief and breathless ‘worry’ at the top, and the hill is ours. Few Boers have remained to face the bayonets.
3. Irritation or morbid stimulation (of bodily tissue).
1897Allbutt's Syst. Med. III. 750 This form of looseness appears to be due to direct worry of the mucous membrane.
4. Special Combs. worry beads, a string of beads manipulated by the fingers as a means of occupying one's hands and calming the nerves; worry lines, lines or wrinkles on the forehead supposedly formed by a habitual expression of worry.
1964in M. McLuhan Understanding Media viii. 78 You will notice that many Greek men..spend a lot of time counting the beads of what appear to be amber rosaries... They are komboloia or ‘worry beads’. 1978G. Greene Human Factor v. i. 233 The man had a rosary in his lap and seemed to be using it like a chain of worry beads. 1985Observer 3 Feb. 19/3 Sheikh Yamani, worry beads to hand, sums up the general feeling of unease as OPEC last week managed to preserve its fragile unity.
1972‘J. Quartermain’ Rock of Diamond xvi. 99 Worry lines creased his forehead. 1982L. Cody Bad Company xiv. 102 There was grey in her hair and worry lines between her brows.
▪ II. worry, v.|ˈwʌrɪ|
pa. tense and pple. worried. Forms: α. 1 wyrᵹan, 4 wyryȝ(e, 4–5 wirwe, wirie, wiry(e, wyrie, wyry(e, 5 wyrwyn, wyrhy, 5–7 wirrie, wyrry, 6 Sc. wirrey, virry, 5–6, 9 Sc. wirry. β. 4 werew, Sc. ver(r)y, 4–6 wery(e, (5 were, werou-), 5–7, 9 dial. werry, 6 wearry, 6–7 wearie, weary. γ. 4–6 worow(e, (4 pa. pple. yworewid, 5 pa. tense worod, 6 3rd sing. woroeth), 5 worwyn, 6–7 worrow, 7 wurrow; 4–7 wory(e, (5 vory), worie, 6 worrye, 6–7 woorry(e, 7 woorie, worrey, whorry, worr' (in verse), 6–8 wurry, 6– worry.
[OE. wyrᵹan = OFris. wergia to kill, MLG. worgen, MDu. worghen (Du. worgen, wurgen), to strangle, throttle, OHG. wurgan, wurkjan (MHG. wurgen, würgen, G. würgen), to strangle, worry, kill by violence:—OTeut. *wurgjan, related to *werg-, a strong vb. stem found in MHG. irwergen to throttle:—Indo-Eur. *wergh-.
The α- and β-forms (wirry and werry) are normal ME. developments of OE. wyrᵹan: cf. the forms of merry a. The γ-forms apparently represent a late WS. *wurᵹan, with later graphic substitution of wo- for wu-; see the note to worm n. The original u-sound of this form is indicated by the late spellings with woo-.]
†1.
a. trans. To kill (a person or animal) by compressing the throat; to strangle. Obs.
αc725Corpus Gloss. S 558 St[r]angulat, wyrᵹeð uel smorað. c1300Havelok 1921 On þe morwen, hwan it was day, Ilc on other wirwed lay, Als it were dogges þat weren henged. 1387Trevisa Higden VII. 534 (MS. β) Harald..threwe hym to the grounde and had wyried [MS. γ ywyryed] hym with his hondes, nadde he be the rather delyvered out of his clowes. c1440Promp. Parv. 530/1 Wyrwyn', strangulo, suffoco. 1513Douglas æneis viii. v. 26 Tua gret serpentis..The quhilk he wyrreit wyth his handis tuay. a1578Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) II. 191 Thay wirrit him to the deid. 1606Reg. Privy Counc. Scot. (1885) VII. 185 He tuike the said compleiner be the throat and thought to have wirryed her or she had awaked.
βc1300Havelok 1915 Weren he werewed. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xxvi. (Nycholas) 994 He..weryt hyme [eum strangulavit]. 1456Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 23 The fende weryit him in his bed. 14..Quatuor Serm. (Caxton 1483) d 4, I denounce..al tho that werye or slee theyr generacions. 1483Cath. Angl. 414/2 To Wery, strangulare, suffocare.
γ13..St. Greg. Trental 19 in Min. Poems fr. Vernon MS. 261 Anon as hire child I-boren was, Þe Nekke heo nom, þe child heo woriede [Cott. MS. wyryede]. 14..Promp. Parv. 532/2 (MS. K.) Worwyn, supra in wyrwyn. 1483Cath. Angl. 423/2 To Worowe, jugulare, suffocare. 1558Kennedy Compend. Tractive ii. in Wodrow Misc. (1844) I. 104 That thay abstayne..fra it that is worreit [Acts xv. 20]. 1600Hamilton in Cath. Tractates (S.T.S.) 240/5 East Laudiane knawis the loue and fidelitie of ane of thair Ministers towards his wyf, wha worriet hir before he passit to his preaching.
†b. fig. Obs.
1387Trevisa Higden VII. 465 Þese..wexe so riche þat it semede þat þe douȝter passede and weried [v.rr. wyryȝede, wyryed, wyryde] þe moder [ut filia ditata matrem supergredi videretur et suffocare].
†2.
a. To choke (a person or animal) with a mouthful of food. Used with the food as subj., or refl. and pass. Const. on (the food); hence to be worried, or worry oneself, on = to devour greedily. Also fig. Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 16929 Ai til iesus þe thrid dai had fughten gain sathan, And werid him on his aun bit, als hund es on a ban. 14..Wyntoun Chron. vii. 514 (Wemyss MS.) God lat neuer of it a crote, Till I be weryit [v.rr. wyrryd, wereyt], pass oure my throte. c1520Skelton Magnyf. 1568 On suche a female my flesshe wolde be wroken{ddd}weryed I wolde be on suche a bayte. a1529― P. Sparowe 29 Gib, I saye, our cat Worrowyd her on that Which I loued best. 1535Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 663 How Godowyn worreit himself to Deid in Presence of Edward King. Ibid., The breid..stak so fast.., it wirreit him to deid. 1536Bellenden Cron. Scot. (1821) II. 276 ‘God gif that breid wory me, gif evir I wes othir art or part of Alarudis slauchter.’ And incontinent, he fel doun weryit on the breid. 1674Ray N.C. Words 55 To be Worried, to be choak't. a1779D. Graham Collect. Writ. (1883) II. 39 She..squattles up a mutchkin at a waught, which was like to wirry her.
†b. intr. (for refl.) To be choked, to choke. Const. on (as above). Obs.
c1420Wyntoun Chron. vii. 504 Swa suddandly richt at þe burde He wereit. 1500–20Dunbar Poems xxxi. 24 Now quhill thair is gude wyne to sell, He that dois on dry breid virry [v.r. wirrie], I gif him to the Devill of hell. 1715in Maidment Old Ballads (1844) 33 He..like a fool, did eat the cow, And worried on the tail. 1756M. Calderwood Lett. & Jrnls. (1884) v. 123 A great fat carle..so short necked that you would think he would worry [at] every word he spoke. 1721Kelly Scot. Prov. 385 You fasted long, and worried on a Fly.
†c. Of smoke: To suffocate (a person). Obs.
1755Edom of Gordon xv. in Child Ballads III. 434 Dear mother, gie owre your house,..For the reek it worries me.
3. a. trans. To seize by the throat with the teeth and tear or lacerate; to kill or injure by biting and shaking. Said e.g. of dogs or wolves attacking sheep, or of hounds when they seize their quarry.
αc1380[see b]. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. x. 226 Wolues þat wyryeþ men, wommen and children. c1480Henryson Fox, Wolf & Cadger 25 Mak ane suddand schow vpon ane scheip, Syne with thy wappinnis wirrie him to deid. 1549Compl. Scotl. 156 There is ouer mony doggis in scotland that virreis there master as acteon vas virreit. 1606Wily beguiled 71 My dog wirried my neighbours sow, and the sow died. 1623Extr. Aberd. Reg. (1848) II. 383 Mastishe and cur doggis..quha..wyrries and devouris thair sheip.
βc1375Sc. Leg. Saints iii. (Andreas) 259 Sewine hundis com quhare he lay, and verrit hym sodanly. c1400Rom. Rose 6264 He wolde hem wery and drinke the bloode. c1400Love Bonavent. Mirr. xviii. 46 Þe prophete Abdo þat was weroude [v.r. wirwed] of þe lyoune. 1554W. Prat Aphrique K iv b, Manye other beastes whiche the dogges do werye & kyll. 1586Whetstone Engl. Mirror 44 If a Beare appeare,..they will all joyne to wearie him. 1599Peele David & Bethsabe B iv, The mastiues of our land shall werry ye. 1609Ev. Woman in Hum. v. i. in Bullen O. Pl. IV, Acteon..was..werried to death with his own dogs. a1653Gouge Comm. Hebr. xi. 37 When he observeth that the Wolf hath wearied some sheep.
absol.1638R. Brathwait Barnabees Jrnl. iii. (1818) 141 Farre from home old foxes werry.
γ1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 1229 Lyons, libardes and wolwes kene, Þat wald worow men bylyve, And rogg þam in sonder and ryve. 13..Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1905 Ryȝt bifore þe hors fete þay fel on hym alle, And woried me þis wyly wyth a wroth noyse. a1400Morte Arth. 958 Ȝone warlawe wyt, he worows vs alle! c1400Laud Troy Bk. 8777 To scle the Gregais wold he not ses, As hongre lyoun bestes vories. c1440Alphabet of Tales 421 And with þat he ran on þe selie lambe and worod itt. 1579Gosson Sch. Abuse (Arb.) 47 The men of Hyrcania, that keepe Mastiffes, to woorrye them selues. 1592Bacon Observ. Libel (end) Resuscit. (1657) 150 The persecutions of the Primitive Church... As that, of Worrowing Priests, under the Skins of Bears, by Doggs, and the like. 1620Quarles Feast for Wormes Med. iii. D 4, Alas! the rau'nous Wolues will worr' thy Sheepe. 1639J. Clarke Parœm. 56 Many dogs may easily woorie one. 1680P. Henry Diar. & Lett. (1882) 285 Ralph Nixon had three sheep worry'd to death in one night. 1795Life John Metcalf 3 One of the young hounds happening to worry a couple of lambs. 1844Stephens Bk. Farm II. 88 Many dogs..are in the habit of looking out for sheep to worry, at some distance from their homes. 1847C. Brontë J. Eyre xx, She bit me... She worried me like a tigress. 1866A. J. Wilson St. Elmo v, Did not he worry down and mangle one of my best Southdowns? 1867Times 8 May 13/2 Defendant's dog..seized Mrs. Miller by the leg, and bit her several times, throwing her down, and worrying her very much.
absol.1872Tennyson Gareth & Lynette 990 Such a dog am I, To worry, and not to flee. 1899H. D. Rawnsley Life & Nat. Eng. Lakes 173 A dog that shows signs of worrying is ‘put down’ at once.
b. fig. (or in figurative context).
c1380Wyclif Wks. (1880) 24 No warde to hem hou faste þe woluys of helle wirien cristen soulis. 1399Langl. Rich. Redeles iii. 72 His owen kynde briddis, Þat weren..well ny yworewid with a wronge leder. 1529More Dyaloge iv. xi. 114 b/2 To play y⊇ wyly foxes & wyrry simple soules & pore lambes. 1549[see 3 α]. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 318 That they..ouersee that other Ministers do theyr dutye, that the wolues do not worrye the flocke. 1563Foxe A. & M. 1442/2 My L. is it not enough for you to wery your own shepe, but ye must also meddle wt other mens shepe? 1603Holland Plutarch's Mor. 238 Even so those parts of our life which are diseased, naught and ill affected,..these they seize upon, and are ready to worry and plucke in peeces. 1641Milton Reform. ii. Wks. 1851 III. 67 To let them still hale us, and worrey us with their band-dogs, and Pursivants. 1690C. Nesse O. & N. Test. I. 317 Herod pretended to worship Christ when he intended to worry him. 1863R. F. Burton Wand. W. Africa I. 1 White sea-dogs coursed and worried one another over Father Mersey's breadth of mud.
c. transf. To bite at or upon (an object); to kiss or hug vehemently; to utter (one's words) with the teeth nearly closed, as if biting or champing them.
1567Golding Ovid's Met. xiii. 568 Queene Hecub ronning at a stone, with gnarring seazd theron, And wirryed it beetweene her teeth [morsibus insequitur]. 1611Shakes. Wint. T. v. ii. 58 Then againe worryes he his Daughter, with clipping her. 1678Dryden All for Love iv. 54 And then he grew familiar with her hand, Squeez'd it, and worry'd it with ravenous kisses. 1905L. J. Vance Ter. O'Rourke i. xiv, As the Irishman entered, Prince Felix said a word, or two, low-toned and tense—worried them between his teeth, like an ill-dispositioned cur. 1914A. M. N. Lyons Simple Simon i. i. 13 Their sons, late of the Great School, home from India on leave and unanimously worrying small moustaches of the tooth-brush pattern.
d. intr. To pull or tear at (an object) with the teeth.
1882Little Folks Jan. 24/2 There was Floss, worrying at the parcel, which had only thin paper wrapped round it.
4. trans. To swallow greedily, devour. Also with up. Latterly north. and Sc.
a1300Cursor M. 5902 Bot aaron wand it wex sa kene Þas oþer it wired [Gött. wirid, Trin. woryed] al bidene. 1619A. Gill Logon. Angl. Pref. B 3 To worrow, Voro. 1634Sir T. Herbert Trav. 125 They had seene him weare many [jewels] and twas them, hee had woorried in his Ostrich appetite. 1643Horn & Rob. Gate Lang. Unl. li. §568 Stout feeders..do nothing else but devour (never lin wurrowing). 1728Ramsay Monk & Miller's Wife 138 Think ye..his gentle stamock's master To worry up a pint of plaister. 1805G. McIndoe Poems 65 (E.D.D.) Great claggs o' meat they ne'er could worry. 1887Jamieson Suppl., Wirry, to worry, devour, eat ravenously.
5. a. To harass by rough or severe treatment, by repeated aggression or attack; to assail with hostile or menacing speech.
a1553Udall Royster D. iii. iii. (Arb.) 46 But in spite of Custance, which hath hym weried, Let vs see his mashyp solemnely buried. 1594Nashe Unfort. Trav. 34, I thought verilie they woulde haue worried one another with wordes, they were so earnest and vehement. 1610Rowlands Martin Mark-all 12 Hath your nightly watchings and continuall disorder of your braines so whorried your senses. 1652Peyton Catastr. Ho. Stuarts 74, I being a man can speak by experience, who hath been most justly worryed by the hand of the Almighty for sins. 1675–7Warwick Mem. Chas. I (1701) 321 Cromwell..marched forwards into Scotland, and left Lambert to worry Hamilton in England. a1680Glanvill Serm. iv. (1681) 212 No mans Life or property will be safe; mankind would worry and prey upon one another. 1725B. Higgons Rem. Burnet ii. (1736) 177 He cruelly worries the Memory of a Daughter of England. 1729Gay Polly i. xiv, In conniving at my escape, you save me from your husband's worrying me with threats and violence. 1852Rock Ch. of Fathers III. i. 302 They vowed they would give peace to the land they were then wasting and worrying by fire and sword. 1877Freeman in Brit. Q. Rev. Jan. 182 He perhaps hardly brings out how thoroughly Edward the Third was worried into war by the aggression of Philip. 1885Manch. Exam. 23 Feb. 5/3 Having found their range during daylight, they continued to worry our men all the night.
transf.a1699J. Beaumont Psyche xxii. x, Soil..if not duly worried, digg'd and plow'd, Harrow'd and torn. 1898Allbutt's Syst. Med. V. 304 A repeated application to some of these drugs..by worrying the cardiac ganglia..tends to dilatation of the heart.
b. with advb. extension expressing result, as away, in, to death.
1565Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Abigo, He chased or weried away his sonne to Rhodes. 1603Dekker Wonderful Year E 4 First to scratch out false Cressidaes eyes, and then (which was worse) to woorry her to death with scolding. 1659Milton Civ. Power 74 If departed of his own accord, like that lost sheep..the true church either with her own or any borrowd force worries him not in again. 1678Poor Robin's True Char. Scold 6 Thus she worries him out of his senses at home. 1711in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. V. 184 He is wurryed to death by those ungrateful nations.
c. transf. With adv. (e.g. out, down) or advb. phr.: To get or bring into a specified condition by harassing treatment, persistent aggression, or dogged effort. Similarly to worry one's way. Also without adv. (phr.), to worry about (a problem, etc.) (U.S. colloq.).
1727E. Laurence Duty of Steward 55 The Tenants..have been suffer'd to..worry out the strength of the Land by sowing Rape, &c. 1806–7J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life (1826) xx. xxx. 256 You at last worry out a solitary spark [from the flint]. 1811Jane Austen Sense & Sens. II. x. 186 She was sometimes worried down by officious condolence to rate good-breeding as more indispensable to comfort than good-nature. 1870E. E. Hale Ten Times One iii. 61 While she ‘worried down’ the tea, and ate a slice of toast. 1890Nature 4 Sept. 455/2 All such points he will delight to worry out for himself. 1894Crockett Play-actress iv. 52 Worrying out a knotty point in the ‘Original Hebrew’. 1898L. Stephen Stud. Biogr. II. ii. 48 Scott..worried his way into some understanding of the language by main force. 1920A. Hope Lucinda ii. 24 Waldo was not quick-witted, but he had a good brain. If he got hold of a problem, he would worry it to a solution. 1959N. Mailer Advts. for Myself (1961) 119 He had always asked too many questions, he had worried the task too severely. 1963N. & Q. Dec. 443/1, I shall not worry the distinction between alba and aube. 1978T. L. Smith Money War i. 17 He had worried the chance meeting on the flight home.
d. To irritate (an animal) by a repetition of feigned attacks, etc.
1807–8Syd. Smith Plymley's Lett. iii. Wks. 1859 II. 146/2, I admit there is a vast luxury in selecting a particular set of Christians, and in worrying them as a boy worries a puppy dog. 1840Dickens Old C. Shop xxi, Hissing and worrying the animal [a chained dog] till he was nearly mad.
e. U.S. To afflict with physical fatigue or distress.
1828Webster, Worry..2. To fatigue; to harass with labor; a popular sense of the word. 1876Holland Sevenoaks v. 66 For three steady hours he went on, the horse no more worried than if he had been standing in the stable.
f. Fencing. to worry the sword: ‘to fret one's opponent by small movements in rapid succession which seem about to result in thrusts or feints’ (Cent. Dict.).
6. a. In lighter sense: To vex, distress, or persecute by inconsiderate or importunate behaviour; to plague or pester with reiterated demands, requests, or the like.
1671Milton Samson 906 Witness when I was worried with thy peals. 1728Gay Begg. Op. ii. xiii, 'Tis barbarous in you to worry a Gentleman in his Circumstances. 1788Franklin Autobiog. Wks. 1840 I. 196 He had continually worried the Assembly with message after message. 1840Dickens Old C. Shop vii, You worry me to death with your chattering. 1846Landor Wks. II. 9 (Albani & Picture-dealers), I am infested and persecuted and worried to death by duns. They belabor and martellate my ears. 1882M. E. Braddon Mt. Royal II. v. 103 She will worry you till you give your consent. 1885Manch. Exam. 15 July 5/3 The supply of ignorant ciceroni to worry visitors with their foolish babblement. 1889Jessopp Coming of Friars vi. 281 The scholars were not to be worried with everlasting ritual observances. 1927J. B. Priestley Adam in Moonshine x. 203 They won't really do anything but worry you with questions.
b. with advb. extension as out, out of (something).
1729Swift Grand Question debated (1732) 8 But, Madam, I beg, you'll contrive and invent, And worry him out, till he gives his Consent. 1853G. J. Whyte-Melville Digby Grand I. x. 269 Addressing ‘dear Angelina’ in an affectionate whisper that would never have led one to suppose she worried the poor girl's life out at home. 1876Holland Sevenoaks xv. 209 She..had worried him out of his life, and he had gone and left her childless. 1898Times 18 Oct. 9/3 If by chance it [the French Government] imagines that this country is going to be worried out of the position taken up by Lord Salisbury, it is making a very grave mistake.
7. a. To cause distress of mind to; to afflict with mental trouble or agitation; to make anxious and ill at ease. Chiefly of a cause or circumstance, or refl. or pass.
1822Hazlitt Table-Talk xxiii. (On great and little Things), Small pains are..more within our reach; we can fret and worry ourselves about them. 1822W. Irving Bracebr. Hall, Bachelor's Conf., He had settled the point which had been worrying his mind. 1848Dickens Dombey v, I quite fret and worry myself about her. 1866Geo. Eliot F. Holt i. (1868) 21 Increasing anxieties about money had worried her. 1867Trollope Last Chron. Barset II. lvi. 121 Men when they are worried by fears..become suspicious. 1874L. Stephen Hours in Libr. (1892) II. iii. 95 This self-plagiarism sometimes worries us. 1875Mrs. Randolph Wild Hyacinth I. 74 Don't worry yourself about it, my love. 1889‘J. S. Winter’ Mrs. Bob xxi. (1891) 238 It puzzles me and worries me to guess why Miss Lavinia always wanted to drop the subject.
b. in pa. pple., denoting a state of mind.
1863Princess Alice Mem. (1884) 60, I am sure, dear Mama, you are worried to death about it. 1867Trollope Last Chron. Barset I. xxi. 179 The subject..was a sore one, and he was worried a little. 1871Geo. Eliot Middlem. xxiii. II. 25 He felt a little worried and wearied, perhaps with mental debate. 1899Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 602 Some patients are attacked [by lichen] when worried or in low condition.
c. intr. (for refl.) To give way to anxiety or mental disquietude. Also in colloq. phrases, as I should worry: see shall v. 18 d; not to worry: see not adv. 4.
1860Worcester, Worry v.n., to indulge in idle complaining; to fret; to be troubled. (Colloquial.) Roget. 1861Holland Lessons in Life xiii. 181 When she can find nothing to do, then she worries. 1874Ld. Coleridge in Life (1904) II. ix. 244 ‘Don't coddle and don't worry’ is his recipe for longevity. 1879H. George Progr. & Pov. ix. iv. (1881) 414 Men would no more worry about finding employment than they worry about finding air to breathe. 1901T. J. Alldridge Sherbro xx. 205 My head-man..begged me not to worry.
8. intr. with advb. extension (cf. the transf. uses 5 b, c, 6 b above):
a. To advance or progress by a harassing or dogged effort; to force or work one's way through. Of the wind: To go on blowing in a harassing way.
a1699J. Beaumont Psyche iv. xcvii, Yet worying among the waves they spy'd A wracked Mortal. Ibid. xiii. iv, Winter..worries forward at his due Determin'd season, spight of all the Ice Which clogs his heels. 1820W. Irving Sk. Bk., Spectre Bridegroom ⁋11 He was naturally a fuming, bustling little man, and could not remain passive... He worried from top to bottom of the castle with an air of infinite anxiety. 1883Symonds Ital. Byways i. 13 For the next three days the wind went worrying on. 1901Daily Express 21 Mar. 7/1 In the end we worried through and..anchored. 1903Kipling Five Nations 211 When the wind worries through the 'ills.
b. To get through (a business, piece of work) by persistent effort or struggle; so with through adv. to worry along: to contrive to live, ‘keep going’, in the teeth of trials or difficulties (U.S.).
1871‘Mark Twain’ Screamers xxix. 146 My friend, you seem to know pretty much all the tunes there are, and you worry along first rate. 1873Howells Chance Acquaint. (1882) 299 She must..try to worry along without him. 1876Besant & Rice Gold. Butterfly xx, I worried through that war without a scratch. 1878― Celia's Arb. xii, Often on Saturday night I wonder how I have managed to worry through the work of the week. 1885Howells Silas Lapham (1891) I. 269, I think I can manage to worry along. 1899Westm. Gaz. 7 Oct. 2/2 The British farmer has..much to contend with, but on the whole he worries through a great deal more successfully than could be expected.
9. Comb.: worryguts dial. and colloq. = worry wart; freq. as a term of address; † worry pear (tree) = choke-pear; worry wart colloq. (chiefly U.S.), an inveterate worrier, one who frets unnecessarily.
1932Somerset Year Bk. 83 The missis, who be a prapper worryguts. 1966O. Norton School of Liars iv. 72 He laughed. ‘Worryguts!’ ‘I wasn't worried. I was just trying to be efficient.’ 1982D. Phillips Coconut Kiss ix. 94 It's all right..isn't it?’ I asked. ‘'Course it is, Worryguts,’ said Vera.
1562Turner Herbal ii. 108 The wyld Pere tre or chouke Pere tre or worry Pear tre.
1956I. Belknap Human Problems of State Mental Hospitals x. 177 The persevering, nagging delusional group—who were termed ‘worry warts’, ‘nuisances’, ‘bird dogs’, in the attendants' slang. 1974J. Heller Something Happened 445 ‘Don't be such a worry wart.’ ‘Don't use that phrase. It makes my skin prickle.’ |