| 释义 |
▪ I. wriggle, n.|ˈrɪg(ə)l|
Also 8–9 riggle, 9 wreckle.
[f. next. Cf. LG. wriggel wilfulness.]
†1. A piece of sophistry; a shift. Obs.—1
1675Tullie Let. Baxter 14 To think such little wriggles and Evasions will pass for rational Discourse.
2. A quick writhing movement or flexion of the body, etc. Also fig.
1709Steele Tatler No. 85 ⁋5 They have always a peculiar Spring in their Arms, a Riggle in their Bodies. 1768–74Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) I. 481 Such length as they [sc. animalcules] can throw themselves forward by one wriggle of the tail. 1829Loudon's Mag. Nat. Hist. II. 220 [The water-shrew] swims very rapidly;..his very nimble wriggle is clearly discernible. 1862Trollope N. Amer. I. 37 Fishes..assist..their motion with no dorsal riggle. 1899J. Vincent 1st Bp. Bath & Wells 11 To kill a story that has..got into print, and to leave it dead, and without a wriggle.
transf.1899A. Lang in Contemp. Rev. March 403 There the line gives a wriggle, suggesting that the circle was evolved out of a spiral.
b. A sinuous or tortuous formation, marking, etc.; a wriggling or meandering course.
1825Jennings Obs. Dial. W. Eng. 84 Wriggle, any narrow sinuous hole. 1833T. Hook Parson's Dau. i. i, The serpentine walks were mere wriggles. 1881Ruskin Bible Amiens ii. §24 A few careful pen-strokes, or wriggles, of your own off-hand writing. 1899[see wriggled ppl. a.].
c. A turn or sinuosity. rare—1.
1853Hawthorne Tanglewood T., Minotaur, At every new zigzag and wriggle of the path.
3. local. The sand-eel or sand-launce.
1816[see wreckle]. 1876T. Hardy Ethelberta xxxiii, We dug wriggles out of the sand. 1885Field 26 Dec. 895/3 Sand-eels are known..along the Sussex coast as ‘riggles or wriggles’, from their action of burrowing into the sand.
▪ II. wriggle, v.|ˈrɪg(ə)l|
Also 5 wryggle, 6–7 wrigle, 7–9 riggle.
[a. (M)LG. wriggeln (LG. dial. also friggeln, vriggeln, = Du. wriggelen, WFris. wriggelje, Norw. vrigla, rigla), frequentative of wriggen: see wrig v., and cf. wiggle v.]
1. intr. To twist or turn the body about with short writhing movements; to move sinuously; to writhe, squirm, wiggle:
a. Of reptiles, etc.
1495Trevisa's Barth. De P.R. xviii. ix. 758 The adder Alphibena..glydeth and wryggleth [MSS. wigleth, -eþ] wyth wrynkles. 1558T. Phaer æneid v. M iv b, As whan some serpent..wrigling wreathes his limmes about. 1591[see wrench v. 1]. 1606Marston Parasit. ii. i. C j b, How the poore snake wriggles with this suddain warmth. 1665Phil. Trans. I. 43 The Snake..by turning and wriggling laboured..to avoid it. 1821Q. Rev. XXIV. 490 As clearly as you may see..a serpent wriggle in the grass. 1882Besant All Sorts xx, Eels..are used to being skinned. Yet they wriggle a bit.
b. Of things.
1567Golding Ovid's Met. vi. 77 The tip of Philomelaas tongue did wriggle to and fro. 1583B. Melbancke Philotimus Bb j b, Philomelaes tongue, which being cutte of, wrigled vp and downe a longe season. 1639Fuller Holy War iv. xxxiii. 227 The severall parts of Insecta being cut asunder, may wriggle and stirre for a while. 1768–74Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) I. 471 The pieces of an eel cut asunder continue to wriggle. 1831James Phil. Augustus III. v, His nose at the same time wriggling with most portentous agitation. 1867F. Francis Angling iii. 65 The float will often bob and wriggle about..before the bite is confirmed.
fig.1611Tourneur Ath. Trag. iv. i, [It] makes the spirit of the flesh begin to wriggle in my bloud.
c. Of persons (or animals): To twist, turn, or move uneasily. Also with quasi-obj. to wriggle it, to move with a wriggling motion.
1573Tusser Husb. (1878) 111 If sheepe or thy lambe fall a wrigling with taile. 1602[see wraggle v.1 2]. 1610B. Jonson Alchemist v. iv, Here shee is come. Downe o' your knees, and wriggle. 1657Thornley tr. Longus' Daphnis & Chloe 125 The Lambs came under the damms, to riggle and nussle at their dugs. 1732Swift To a Lady 90 Then apply Alecto's whip Till they [sc. villains] wriggle, howl, and skip. 1735Somerville Chase iv. 460 On pointed Spears they lift him [sc. an otter] high in Air; Wriggling he hangs. 1856C. M. Yonge Daisy Chain i. i, Ethel..wriggling fearfully on the wide window-seat. 1895S. Crane Red Badge vi, He wriggled in his jacket to make a more comfortable fit. 1922Joyce Ulysses 477 Come on, boys! Wriggle it, girls!
transf. and fig.1577[see wrest v. 8]. 1787Best Angling (ed. 2) 10 Observe that..when put together they may not wriggle in the least. 1825Carlyle Love-Lett. (1909) II. 159 Self is a foundation of sand... Fools writhe and wriggle and rebel at this.
2. a. To move, proceed, or go with a writhing or worming movement. Const. with advs., as along, away, in, out, or preps., as from, into, through, up.
1602Marston Antonio's Rev. iv. ii, These vinegar tart spirits are too pearcing... Finde they a chinke, they'l wriggle in and in. 1630J. Taylor (Water P.) Jack a Lent Wks. 117/2 The Eele..would wriggle vp and downe in his muddy habitation. 1647Trapp Comm. Mark ix. 25 Devils run and wriggle into their holes, as worms use to do in time of thunder. 1709T. Robinson Vind. Mosaick Syst. 67 Talons fit to hold fast the Live Prey that it wriggle not from them. 1830W. Taylor Hist. Surv. Germ. Poetry II. 375 No lizard wriggles through the brake. 1857Mrs. Gatty Parab. fr. Nat. Ser. ii. (1868) 129 The eels wriggled away in the mud. 1891C. L. Morgan Anim. Sk. 235 Wriggling and squirming up a dark geen vertical wall.
fig. and in fig. context.1734Swift Let. to Faulkner Wks. 1841 II. 726/1 Is it not sufficient to see with what pain and shame he wriggles along. 1762Warburton Doctr. Grace Pref., Truth..forbids us to riggle into her sacred presence through by-paths. 1840Hare Mission Comf. (1846) 47 That the Understanding is over-ready to..riggle along the crooked paths of evil. 1859Habits Gd. Society vii. 246 His words come cautiously and suspiciously wriggling up to you.
b. To flow or run sinuously; to meander.
1640[see wriggling ppl. a. 3]. 1682W. Richards Wallogr. 34 A Rivulet which wrigled along with a crooked current. 1760H. Walpole Let. to G. Montagu 1 Sept., The Trent wriggles through a lovely meadow. 1861Reade Cloister & H. lxxiv, Little paths wriggling among the antiquities. 1894Evans Freeman's Hist. Sicily IV. 388 The southern Himeras, whose salt waters wriggle to and fro in the broad dale.
3. a. To insinuate oneself into favour, place, etc.; to advance, ‘creep’ or get in by wheedling or ingratiation.
(a)1598B. Jonson Ev. Man in Hum. i. iv, Now dos he creepe, and wriggle into acquaintance with all the braue gallants. 1633Shirley Gamester i. (1637) B 3 b, The Courtiers make Us cuckolds; marke, we wriggle into their Estates. a1680Butler Rem. (1759) I. 235 By low ignoble Offices..To wriggle into Trust and Grace. 1745Young Nt. Th. viii. 457 Earth's subtile serpents..Which wriggle into wealth, or climb renown. c1853Kingsley Misc. (1859) I. 39 A scheme by which to wriggle into Court favour. 1871Dixon Tower III. iv. 29 Lake had crept and wriggled into place and pay.
(b)1636Massinger Gt. Dk. Flor. ii. ii, This courtier..perhaps, by his place, Expects to wriggle further: if he does, I shall deceive his hopes. a1652Brome Queenes Exch. i. i, He's the King's Favourite;..we may fear he'l wrigle in Twixt him and us. 1691Satyr agst. French 9 If they but wriggle in his Lordship's Ear,..they learn to domineer. 1789Wolcot (P. Pindar) Imit. Horace i. xii, He..Who, wriggling to the Hanoverian Guards, Kept the poor Prince of Brunswick out.
b. To make use of shuffling or sinuous means; to get out of, escape from, a condition or position by evasion, mean artifice or contrivance.
a1646J. Burroughes Exp. Hosea v. (1652) 240 This affliction that thou doest so riggle to get out of. 1690T. Burnet Theory Earth iii. 29 Men will wriggle any way to get from under the force of a text. 1848W. K. Kelly tr. L. Blanc's Hist. Ten Y. II. 223 Certain to..wriggle out of its inevitable results by..dangerous artifices. 1858Doran Court Fools 315 He wriggled out of his bargain. 1871Blackie Four Phases i. 114 You are wriggling cunningly out of the position.
4. a. trans. To cause to writhe, twist, or bend tortuously; to move or turn writhingly or with quick jerks. Also with advs., as aloft, away, down, out, up, or preps., as from, into.
1573Tusser Husb. l. (1878) 109 Sheepe wrigling taile hath mads without faile. 1582Stanyhurst æneis ii. (Arb.) 50 Their tayls..they [sc. two serpents] wrigled. 1648Gage West Ind. 97 Wrigling his elbowes and shoulders scornfully from me. 1684tr. Bonet's Merc. Compit. x. 365 The wretched Patient cannot lie down,..wrigling his body all manner of ways. 1729Swift Direct. Serv. ii, Make room for the sauce⁓pan by wriggling it on the coals. 1806Southey Lett. (1856) I. 381 If you can conceive a blue-bottle fly wriggling his tail. 1862C. M. Yonge C'tess Kate ii, She wriggled her legs away from that of the chair. 1887Eggleston Graysons xv, He tried to pull and wriggle his trousers-legs down to their normal place.
refl.1665Phil. Trans. I. 35 These [insects] would..wrigle themselves up to the top of the water again. 1739Mrs. Delany Life & Corr. (1861) I. 45 With violent squeezing..we riggled ourselves into seats. 1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. i. v. iv, Besenval is painfully wriggling himself out, to the Champ-de-Mars.
fig.1712Odes of Horace ii. 12/2 Et might easily riggle it self into the place of ut.
b. To bring into a specified state, form, etc., by writhing or twisting. Const. with advs., as asunder, off, or preps., as into, to. Occas. refl. Also fig.
1677Moxon Mech. Exerc. ii. 18 With your Fingers and Thumb..wriggle it quite asunder. 1857W. C. Stewart Pract. Angler vii. (ed. 3) 138 The worm..being free to wriggle itself into any shape. 1858[see wrench v. 10]. 1878O. W. Holmes Motley xvii. 115 Slavery is wriggling itself to death.
5. a. To introduce, insert, or bring in (something) by wriggling; to insinuate (into something).
1599Nashe Lenten Stuffe E 4 b, A snaile coulde not wriggle in her hornes betwixt them. 1692R. L'Estrange Fables i. lv. 55 A Slam, Thin-Gutted Fox made a Hard Shift to Wriggle his Body into a Hen-Roost. 1766Museum Rust. VI. 374 As to the width of the gates,..the men..could..easily incline the roller on one side, and..wriggle it in. 1828Lytton Pelham II. 313 Power..is a snake that when it once finds a hole into which it can introduce its head, soon manages to wriggle in the rest of its body.
fig.1702Vanbrugh False Friend i. i, I'm afraid..they'll riggle you into some ill-favour'd affair. 1767A. Campbell Lexiph. (1774) 71 When you have wriggled in..a new-fashioned long-tailed word.
b. To insinuate or introduce (a person) gradually (into favour, office, etc.), esp. by subtle or shifty means. Also with in. Chiefly refl.
1670Cotton Espernon i. iv. 180 He by the means of the Mistriss..wriggles himself into the company of the Duke's Baker. 1677Gilpin Demonol. (1867) 355 By these arts doth Satan, like a cunning serpent, wriggle himself into the affections of men. 1710Swift Jrnl. to Stella 5 Dec., While he was wriggling himself into my favour. 1754H. Walpole Let. to Mann 28 March, She would have wriggled herself into the best clause in the will. 1766― Let. to Mann 18 July, He might have wriggled his brother in [= into office] afterwards. 1847Alb. Smith Chr. Tadpole xvi, He wriggled himself into the good opinion of the coachman. 1874L. Stephen Hours in Library (1892) I. x. 359 [He] wriggled himself into a peerage.
c. To make (one's way) by sinuous motion. Also in fig. context.
1863W. Phillips Speeches viii. 214 Cunning statesmen who have wriggled their slimy way to wealth. 1891Century Mag. March 649/1 The Pi-Utes..wriggled their way out through the passages in the rocks. 1899E. Callow Old Lond. Tav. i. 119 Whitebait seem to have wriggled their way higher up the river.
6.
†a. To cut or carve (something) with a wriggly or sinuous pattern; to slash. Obs.
1610B. Jonson Alch. iv. iii. 274 A collar of brawne, cut downe Beneath the souse, and wriggled with a knife. 1654Gayton Pleas. Notes i. i. 4 Many more..by prowesse of the Captaine Joneses of our times..have been hackt, hew'd, wriggled and utterly confounded.
b. To form in a tortuous or sinuous manner.
1760H. Walpole Let. to Mann 20 June, Stanhope..has..wriggled a winding-gravel walk through [the groves]. 1896Voice (N.Y.) 8 Oct. 2 Be content to wriggle pretty patterns on the mud of spoils!
†7. To twist, pervert. Cf. wrest v. 5. Obs.
1593Harvey Pierce's Super. Wks. (Grosart) II. 52 Sinister construction, that wreasteth and wrigleth euery sillable to the worst. 1637J. Williams Holy Table 2 Which when it is in writing,..is no more by a disputant indeed to be wrigled and wrested.
Hence wriggled |ˈrɪg(ə)ld| ppl. a.; wriggled work = wriggle-work s.v. wriggle-.
1572J. Bossewell Armorie ii. 100 They haue..a wrigled tayle, and croked tethe like to a Bore. 1611Cotgr., Fringotteries, frets; cranklings, wrigled flourishings, in caruings, &c. a1643Cartwright Ordinary ii. iii, Your hollow thumb join'd with your wriggled [dice] box. 1899A. Lang Contemp. Rev. March 403 At each side are two-circled and one-circled specimens with the wriggled line, and two cups and circles with no wriggle. 1906N. H. Moore Old Pewter i. 22 The tool which makes the wriggled work is of the nature of a chisel. 1955R. F. Michaelis Antique Pewter ix. 86 English pewter from the best period, i.e. the 17th century,..displays remarkably fine applied decoration..in the form of ‘wriggled-work’ engraving. |