| 释义 |
ˈlife-line
[f. life n. + line n.2]
1. a. A line or rope which is intended to be instrumental in saving life, such as the rope attached to a life-buoy, or used by firemen. b. A diver's signalling line.
1700in N. & Q. (1941) 12 July 22/2 Lyfline. 1790Gentl. Mag. LX. in N. & Q. (1962) Jan. 17/1 A line..which was called his Life-line, as it was found..to have been serviceable in preserving ships and men. 1794Rigging & Seamanship I. 169 Life-lines, for the preservation of the seamen. 1840R. H. Dana Bef. Mast Gloss., Life-lines, ropes carried along yards, etc., for men to hold on by. 1877Encycl. Brit. VII. 297/2, e is the ‘life’ or ‘signal’ line, which is attached to the diver's waist, and by which he makes signals and is hauled to the surface. 1895Daily News 2 Jan. 3/3 He observed a rocket, and informed the coastguard, who arrived with the lifelines. 1896Strand Mag. XII. 351/1 As the strain of the air-pipe was downward, and that of the life⁓line upward, I concluded that the pipe must be fast below. 1904Daily Chron. 26 Oct. 6/7 Fireman Herbert White lashed a branch hose to his body with a life-line. 1968Globe & Mail (Toronto) 3 Feb. 11/4 Firemen..used a life⁓line gun to reach the boat and Mr. MacAdam. 1975Times 6 Jan. 4/4 Lifelines used on Mr Heath's ill-fated yacht..were yesterday called sub-standard by the British Safety Council.
2. In Palmistry: a mark on the palm of the hand supposed to indicate one's length of life.
1890L. Cotton Palmistry ii. 36 If the head line is separated, at its departure, from the life line, it indicates great self-confidence. 1894[see head-line 5]. 1919Beerbohm Seven Men 154, I had seen in my own hand.. a clean break in the life-line. 1971M. McCarthy Birds of America 312 He felt a sharp pain in..his palm, the part bounded by his life line.
3. a. fig. The line of life: see line n.2 1 g. b. An essential supply route, a line of communication, etc.
1860Hawthorne Transformation II. xiii. 209 If there were one of those friends whose life-line was twisted with your own, I am enough of a fatalist to feel assured that [etc.]. 1891E. S. Ufford in I. D. Sankey Gospel Hymns No. 6 30 Throw out the Life-Line a-cross the dark wave, There is a brother whom some one should save. 1905Daily Chron. 13 Feb. 3/1 Every man who has lived so long..and kept the life-line so straight and true as Mr. Holyoake. 1936Lit. Digest 17 Oct. 13c Cut what Britain calls her ‘life line’. 1941Times (Weekly ed.) 15 Oct. 8 The King spent Wednesday at Liverpool seeing what is being done to hold this end of the Atlantic lifeline. 1963Times Lit. Suppl. 1 Mar. 149/1 Liberals who keep a life⁓line open between the actual world..and the one they would like to see exist. 1970Daily Tel. 7 Oct. 1/1 A {pstlg}54-million ‘lifeline’ was thrown by the Government yesterday to the farming industry, which has been faced with having to cut back production because of rising costs. 1975D. Ramsay Descent into Dark ii. 60 Who the hell thinks about honour when her lifeline's being cut? |