| 释义 |
ankle-biter, n. colloq.
Brit. |ˈaŋklˌbʌɪtə|, U.S. |ˈæŋk(ə)lˌbaɪdər|
[‹ ankle n. + biter n.]
1.
a. A small child.
1850Harper's Mag. Sept. 486/1 And how are you, John?—and how's Molly, and all the little ankle-biters? 1959I. Opie & P. Opie Lore & Lang. Schoolchildren ix. 169 A chap who has got duck's disease is most often labelled ‘Tich’ in a friendly manner, or ‘squirt’ or ‘little squirt’ in a less friendly manner. Alternatively: ankle biter, dolly mixture [etc.]. 1981Sun-Herald (Sydney) 2 Aug. 167/4 The middle-aged Petula Clark does the Julie Andrews bit, skipping and trilling over the edelweiss with the Von Trapp ankle-biters. 1993I. Welsh Trainspotting 266 Dinnae really ken the boy. Only likesay run intae the gadge a couple ay times since we wir ankle-biters, ken?
b. orig. U.S. A small dog, esp. an aggressive one.
1967News Jrnl. (Mansfield, Ohio) 2 Oct. 24/1 A pair of ankle-biters about the house—dogs or children. 1995Houston Chron. (Nexis) 25 Sept. 1 He joins a pair of ankle biters to race for the Chihuahua World Cup. 2004Independent on Sunday (Nexis) 24 Oct. 24 Small dogs can also be very dangerous..they're not called ankle-biters for nothing.
2. Chiefly U.S. A person regarded as relatively unimportant but nevertheless irritating or annoying.
1968N.Y. Times 31 July 3/1 We've had contact, small stuff, ankle biters I call them... We've lost some men, too, to antipersonnel and antitank mines. 1985Time (Nexis) 23 Dec. 59 Ever the ankle biter at conventions. 1991J. Garreau Edge City x. 353 It is the fault of those petty, selfish, and parochial minds, from the bureaucrats to the bleeding-heart ankle-biters. |