| 释义 |
Muzak|ˈmjuːzæk|
Also erron. Musak.
[Cf. music n.]
The proprietary name of a system of piped music for factories, restaurants, supermarkets, etc.; also used loosely, with small initial, to designate recorded light background music generally. Also attrib. or as adj. Hence (nonce-wds.) ˈmuzakal a., ˈmuzakman. Hence as v. trans., to introduce Muzak to; to equip for the relaying of Muzak; to play in the style of Muzak; so ˈMuzaked ppl. a.
1938Trade Marks Jrnl. 11 May 572/1 Muzak... Instruments and apparatus and parts thereof..for use in the wireless transmission and reception of signals and pictures. Rediffusion Limited,..London,..engineers. 1946Ibid. 27 Mar. 152/1 Muzak... Records of sound, light or electric signals; and instruments and apparatus and parts thereof..for the production of and reproduction from such records. Rediffusion Limited,..London,..manufacturers. 1954Official Gaz. (U.S. Patent Office) 21 Sept. 497/2 Muzak Corporation..Muzak. For transmitting from central locations specially programmed background music to stores, restaurants, homes, hotels, banks, [etc.]. 1959Observer 21 June 10/5 Several firms have already arranged to receive Muzak in the factories. Ibid., Executives in the brave new muzakal world will have a new and special privilege: they alone will be able to switch it off. 1960Guardian 9 May 5/7 Canned music, or Muzak..will to-day ooze into yet another corner of the world. 1961Times Lit. Suppl. 30 June 396/2 The comfortable times before Musak (relayed music) and large-scale cultural enterprise took over. 1965Listener 17 June 898/2 We shall have muzak wherever we go. 1966Auden About House 62 The radio in students' cars, Musak at breakfast. 1968Times 29 Nov. p. xi/1 If muzak be the food of love, no wonder it is commonly to be found..among the frozen mint-flavoured peas and the crinkle-cut chips. Ibid. p. xi/2 In my sort of terms this is what makes it all sound the same, though that is heresy to a professional muzak⁓man. 1969Listener 8 May 661/1 Mifune..walks along a beach to the sound of a Bach chorale, muzak-ed. 1970M. Moorcock Chinese Agent xiii. 87 He made the cab stop outside Hennekeys' recently repainted and muzaked pub. 1971Daily Tel. (Colour Suppl.) 11 June 20/3 When subjects were doing a simple manual assembly task, the ‘Muzaked’ group's output was 17 per cent. up on a ‘silent’ group. 1971New Scientist 17 June 707/2 The volume has to be kept down to Muzak level so as not to interfere with..conversation. 1974N.Y. Times 17 Aug. 17/2 ‘We needed a catchy name and the best known trade name at that time was Kodak,’ explained U. V. (Bing) Muscio, current president. ‘So we just combined Kodak and music and got Muzak.’ |