| 释义 |
linsey-woolsey|ˈlɪnzɪ ˈwʊlzɪ|
Forms: 5 lynsy-, 6 lylse-, lince-, lynse-, 6–8 linsi(e-, -y(e-, 7 lin(t)sie-, lincy-, linzy-, lynsey-, 7–9 lindsey-, 6– linsey-; 5 -wolsye, 6 -wolse, -woolsy(e, -wulse(y, 6–8 -wo(o)lsie, -y, 6–9 -wolsey, 6– woolsey.
[f. prec. + wool, with jingling ending.]
1. Orig. a textile material, woven from a mixture of wool and flax; now, a dress material of coarse inferior wool, woven upon a cotton warp. Also pl. Pieces or kinds of this material.
1483Cath. Angl. 217/2 Lynsy wolsye, linistema vel linostema. 1522Skelton Why not to Court 128 We shall haue a tot quot From the Pope of Rome, To weue all in one lome A webbe of lylse wulse. 1591H. Smith Prep. Marriage 157 God forbad the people to weare linsey wolsey, because it was a signe of inconstancie. 1599Nashe Lenten Stuffe To Rdr., I had as lieue haue..no cloathes rather then wear linsey wolsey. 1670D. Denton Descr. New York (1845) 18 They make every one Cloth of for their own wearing, as also woollen Cloth, and Linsey-woolsey. c1710C. Fiennes Diary (1888) 159 Kendall Cotton..is much made here and also Linsi-woolseys. 1784R. Bage Barham Downs I. 169 Martha..delighted to be cloathed in good Linsy Woolsy, the work of her own hands. 1826Miss Mitford Village Ser. ii. 73 Then ensues another set of changes..till gray hairs, wrinkles, and lindsey-woolsey wind up the picture. 1855W. Sargent Braddock's Exped. 85 Dresses of linsey-woolsey (a cloth, home-woven, of wool and flax).
b. A garment of this material.
1894Mrs. H. Ward Marcella I. 18 Marcella..had usually figured..in a linsey-woolsey.
2. fig. or in figurative contexts, esp. a strange medley in talk or action; confusion, nonsense.
1592Greene Vision Wks. 1881–6 XII. 235 Thou hast write no booke well, but thy Nunquam sera est, and that is indifferent Linsey Wolsey. 1594Nashe Terrors Nt. Wks. 1883 III. 229 A man must not..haue his affections linsey wolsey, intermingled with lust, and things worthy of liking. 1601Shakes. All's Well iv. i. 13 What linsie wolsy hast thou to speake to vs againe. 1628Ford Lover's Mel. v. i, This unfashionable mongrel, this linsey-wolsey of mortality. 1694S. Johnson Notes Past. Let. Bp. Burnet i. 52 Far be it from all Mankind to impute such All-to-mall and Linsey-wolsey to the Providence of God.
3. attrib. passing into adj.
1618Donne Serm. cxxxiii. V. 394 Out of his word I can preach against Linsey-woolsey garments [Deut. xxii. 11]. 1749Fielding Tom Jones xi. v, [I] have never seen any of your cash, unless for one lindsey woolsey coat. 1777W. Dalrymple Trav. Sp. & Port. xxix, The women wore jackets and aprons..with a kind of linsey woolsey petticoat. 1839Stonehouse Axholme 47 Forty or fifty years ago..a servant of the best class..was clad chiefly in linsey woolsey garments. 1855Singleton Virgil I. Pref. 5 To dress the sovereign in a linsey-woolsey garb would be seen at once to be a very unsuitable investiture.
b. fig. Chiefly with sense, ‘giving the appearance of a strange medley’, ‘being neither one thing nor the other’.
1565T. Stapleton Fortr. Faith 102 b, An asse in a rochet, a lince wolse bishop. 1619Bp. Sanderson Serm. I. 18 The linsey-woolsey Laodicean church, neither hot nor cold. 1663Butler Hud. i. iii. 1227 A Lawless Linsy-woolsy Brother, Half of one Order, half another. 1758J. Rutty Spirit. Diary (ed. 2) 125 Lord take away this linsey-woolsey virtue! 1823Examiner 532/1 A perking, prurient, linsey-wolsey species of composition.
4. Comb., as linsey-woolsey-wise adv.
1606Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iv. ii. Magnif. 32 And also mingle (Linsie-woolsie-wise) This gold-ground Tissue with too-mean supplies. |