| 释义 |
▪ I. never, adv.|ˈnɛvə(r)|
Forms: 1–3 næfre, (1 -ræ, -ra), 2–3 nefre, 3–4 nefere, (3 nafre, næfer, neofer); 3 næ u(e)re, nau(e)re, (-ære, -er), neaure, -uer, neou(u)ere, 4 nouer; 4 neure, 4–5 neuere, (5 -ire), 4–7 neuer, (4 neyuer), 5–6 neuir, (5 -yr); 3 newere, 3, 6–7 newir, 6–7 newer; 4 nev(e)re, 4–6 nevir, 7 Sc. neaver, 4– never. See also ne'er.
[OE. nǽfre, f. ne ne + ǽfre ever.]
I.
1. a. At no time, on no occasion.
In former use (down to 17th c.) frequently accompanied by other negatives, esp. ne, no, or none.
Beowulf 247 Næfre ic maran ᵹeseah eorla ofer eorþan. c888K. ælfred Boeth. v. §1 Of ðære næfre nan, buta he self wolde, ne wearð adrifen. c950Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. vii. 23 Næfra [Rushw. næfræ] ic cuðe iuih. 971Blickl. Hom. 39 Þonne ne hingreþ us næfre on ecnesse. a1100Gerefa in Anglia IX. 260 Ne læte he næfre his hyrmen hyne oferwealdan. 1154O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1137 Ne uuæren næure nan martyrs swa pined alse hi wæron. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 33 Ne wot no man hwat blisse is þe naure wowe ne bod. c1275Passion our Lord 56 in O.E. Misc. 39 Swich leche bi-vore hym ne com her neuer non. c1315Shoreham iii. 161 Þou ne myȝt hytte nefere do. 1390Gower Conf. I. 26 A newe [world] schal beginne, Fro which a man schal nevere twinne. c1450Lovelich Grail xxvii. 44 Ȝit wolde he neuere to his God Offensse. 1470–85Malory Arthur iv. i. 119 To swere that he shold neuer do none enchauntement vpon her. 1525Ld. Berners Froiss. II. 133 They wolde answere and saye, they trusted that sholde neuer be. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 442 b, Therfore thought they now, or els never, yt God was on theyr side. 1632Lithgow Trav. vii. 327 Serpent like,..That bowes the Grasse, but neuer makes no path. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 448 Time is lost, which never will renew. 1727Gay Begg. Op. i. viii, Then or never is the time to make her fortune. 1782F. Burney Cecilia v. vii, Is this lady-like tyranny then never to end? 1808Scott Marm. iii. xix, A braver never drew a sword; A wiser never. 1872Lever Ld. Kilgobbin xxi, I certainly shall never be rebuked for my becomingness.
Prov.1862Trollope Orley F. II. x. 77 Never is a long word. 1904Q. Rev. July 152 Never, it is rightly said, is a long day.
b. With addition of limiting word, as never after, never before († never afore, † never tofore), † never eft, † never ere, never since († never sithen), never yet. Also † never-te, never yet.
Beowulf 583 Breca næfre ᵹit..swa deorlice dæd ᵹefremede. c900O.E. Chron. (Parker MS.) an. 409 Næfre siþan Romane ne ricsodon on Bretone. c1200Ormin 750 Ȝet wass ȝho swa bifundenn, þatt ȝho..Ne mihhte næfrær tæmenn. c1250Kent. Serm. in O.E. Misc. 35 Hi ne hedden neuer-te i-heed prophete ne apostle. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 6836 Neuereft hii of denemarch hiderward ne come. 1340Ayenb. 99 Zuyche weneþ hit wel conne..þet neuerte ne couþe bote þe rynde wyþoute. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xvi. 216 Widwe with-oute wedloke was neure ȝete yseye. c1420Anturs of Arth. xxxi, Siche glee Seȝhe he neuyr are. c1500Melusine 360 Sayeng þat neuer tofore they herd of suche a thing. 1582N. Lichefield tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. i. ii. 4 Pedro..never after returned into Portingale. 1600J. Pory tr. Leo's Africa ix. 336 Neuer did any man as yet see where Nilus taketh his originall. 1667Milton P.L. ix. 504 Never since of Serpent kind Lovelier. 1766Goldsm. Vic. W. xv, I never yet found one instance of their existence. 1860Tyndall Glac. ii. xxiv. 354, I believe the fact was never before observed.
c. Repeated for the sake of emphasis.
1605Shakes. Lear v. iii. 308. 1681–6 J. Scott Chr. Life (1747) III. 546 They are safe arrived into each others Arms, never, never to be parted more. 1768Beattie Minstr. i. xxix, From the prayer of Want,..O never, never turn away thine ear! 1777Pitt in Almon Anecd. (1792) III. xliv. 167 If I were an American..I never would lay down my arms—never—never—never. 1809–10Coleridge Friend (1865) 127 To be found..in the realities of Heaven, but never, never, in creatures of flesh and blood.
d. In emphatic denial, or as an expression of surprise.
1836–7Dickens Sk. Boz, Parish vi, Could such things be tolerated in a Christian land? Never! 1848Thackeray Van. Fair i, This almost caused Jemima to faint with terror. ‘Well, I never’,—said she. 1896A. Morrison Child of Jago xii. 120 ‘I never,’ protested Dicky stoutly. 1926A. Bennett Lord Raingo ii. lxxi. 322 She faintly annoyed him by her ingenuous exclamations: Oh my! Well, I never! Well I never did! a1930D. H. Lawrence Phoenix II (1968) 21 ‘I never, I never!!’ he declared, more emphatically. 1939L. M. Montgomery Anne of Ingleside xxv. 171 ‘I've an idea Bruno has gone back there.’ ‘Six miles? He'd never!’ said Jem. 1950[see Injun b]. 1972N. Marsh Tied up in Tinsel ii. 49 ‘A booby-trap.’ ‘I never!’ Mervyn burst out. ‘My God..I swear I never.’ 1974N. Bentley Inside Information xv. 151 ‘There's a fellow..got a gun—a pistol.’ ‘Never!’
e. With suppression of the personal pronoun as subject.
1874Hardy Far from Madding Crowd I. vi. 76 Never heard the man's name in my life. 1968Listener 7 Nov. 610/2 He said: ‘Never heard of it.’
2. a. Not at all, in no way. In later use chiefly with imperatives, esp. never (you) fear or mind; to make (or pay) no nevermind (U.S.), to make no difference; to pay no attention.
In some cases the temporal sense is not completely effaced.
1362Langl. P. Pl. A. Prol. 12 A Meruelous sweuene, Þat I was in a Wildernesse wuste I neuer where. a1450Knt. de la Tour (1868) 79 He..asked what that was. And his wiff saide she wost neuer. c1500Melusine 297 He was ryght dolaunt..and coude neuer hold hys tonge, but he said [etc.]. c1590Marlowe Faustus Wks. (Rtldg.) 124/2 'Sblood, I am never able to endure these torments. 1605Shakes. Macb. iii. iv. 56 Neuer shake Thy goary lockes at me. 1774Foote Cozeners iii. Wks. 1799 II. 182, I take care, Missy, never you fear. 1795tr. C. P. Moritz's Trav. 261, I do not recollect to have heard any expression repeated oftener than this never mind it! A porter.. fell down, and cut his head..‘O, never mind it!’ said an Englishman who happened to be passing by. 1825Bentham Offic. Apt. Maximized, Indications (1839) 42 Never you mind that; your business is to make sure of the fees. 1849G. E. Jewsbury Sel. Lett. to Jane Welsh Carlyle (1892) 344 Dear child, the solution will come to you, never fear. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 25 Give your opinion.., never minding whether Critias or Socrates is the person refuted. 1935H. Davis Honey in Horn xvi. 264 That ain't no neverminds to me, though. 1946Mezzrow & Wolfe Really the Blues (1957) xii. 225 He pays it no nevermind. 1968Guardian 27 Dec. 8/1 We still have to adapt to Prime Ministers and Presidents, never mind astronauts, who have the essential quality of ordinariness. 1971B. Malamud Tenants 177 Those are old books of his he wrote long ago, says Willie. Both been published. Then it makes no nevermind if we burn them.
b. never any or never one, no one, none at all.
c1205Lay. 2593 Nefde he næfer enne of alle his monnen. a1225Leg. Kath. 1261 Cwich ne cweð þer neuer an. 13..E.E. Allit. P. A. 864 Vchonez blysse is breme & beste, & neuer onez honour ȝet neuer-þe-les. c1400Gamelyn 582 We have foomen atte gate and frendes neuer oon. c1430Pilgr. Lyf Manhode ii. cxxii. (1869) 121 And j were wel disclosed..j shulde of neueroon be preysed. 1500–20Dunbar Poems lii. 6 In malice spaik I newir ane woord. 1555in Strype Eccl. Mem. (1721) III. App. xliv. 125 Another thing much do I mervail at, that never one priest..did venture his life. 1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. a, Never any man living, in his writing, could please the phansie of all men.
†c. never kins, no kind of. never where, nowhere. never neither, neither. Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 18856 Thris he wep.., bot we find neuer quar he logh. c1300Havelok 2690 Godrich..also leun fares Þat neuere kines best ne spares. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) vii. 26 It growes newer whare bot þare. 1449Pecock Repressor i. x. 53 Neuer neither of the ij textis. Ibid. ii. xx. 273 Neuer neither of hem is contrarie to other of hem.
3. a. never a, not a, no{ddd}at all. Cf. ne'er a.
† never a deal, not a bit, not in the least: see adeal and deal n.1 5 b. So never a whit: see whit.
c1250Gen. & Ex. 230 It ne wrocte him neuere a del. c1300Havelok 2685 On þe feld was neuere a polk Þat it ne stod of blod so ful. 13..Guy Warw. (A.) 737 Now artow þe better neuer a del. c1386Chaucer Nun's Pr. T. 336, I hem defye, I love hem never a del. c1440Generydes 3703 Of your waye ye shall fayle neuer a dele. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon iii. 102 There was never a myle but that they iusted togyder. 1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. 99 He had never a drye threde about hym. 1581Rich Farew. (1846) 220 She had never a gowne to putte on her backe but of a stale cutte. 1632Lithgow Trav. iii. 101 There were seuenteen boats cast away.., and neuer a man saued. 1666Evelyn Mem. (1857) III. 178, I must beg a copy of those papers.., having never a duplicate by me. 1722De Foe Col. Jack (1840) 39 You have never a shirt on. 1756Nugent Gr. Tour, Italy III 141 They have never an university, but an academy of wits. 1861A. Leighton Trad. Sc. Life Ser. ii. 153 Though the never a M'Pherson was connected with her. 1864G. W. Dasent Jest & Earnest (1873) II. 263 He still said never a word about the treasure.
b. never a one, not (a single) one.
1523[Coverdale] Old God & New (1534) A, Neuer a one of the pyllers of the chyrche..nede to be a shamed of it. 1579Fulke Heskins' Parl. 132 Fiue hundreth propositions, that are false, and yet neuer a one expressely denied. 1645T. Hill Olive Branch (1648) 16 There is never a one of you but hath a Publique Place. 1692S. Patrick Answ. Touchstone 33 Near a dozen places; in never a one of which there is any mention..of Tradition. 1733Tull Horse-hoeing Husb. 128 They have seen it produce six Crops in six Years.., and never a one of them fail.
c. never say die (see quot. a 1865); also attrib.
a1865Smyth Sailor's Word-Bk. (1867) 497 Never say die, an expressive phrase, meaning do not despair, there is hope yet. 1971Scope (S. Afr.) 19 Mar. 10/2 Israel is a land that lives by the maxim: ‘Never say die.’ 1974Country Life 5 Dec. 1717/2 The mental stamina, and the never-say-die spirit.
4. never so, in conditional clauses, denoting an unlimited degree or amount. (Cf. ever 9 b.)
a1122O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1086 Nan man ne dorste slean oðerne man, næfde he næfre swa mycel yfel ᵹedon. c1175Lamb. Hom. 35 Ne beo he nefre swa riche, forð he scal þenne is dei cumeð. a1250Owl & Night. 345 Ne beo þe song neuer so murie [etc.]. c1300Havelok 80 Were he neure knicth so strong [etc.]. c1380Wyclif Wks. (1880) 321 Betere..þen preyere of any ordre.., blabere þei neuere so meche wiþ lippis. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) xxxiii. 151 A man may noȝt here anoþer, crie he neuer so hie. 1486Bk. St. Albans a iv b, Though thow pike the flesh neuer so clene, yet thow shalte fynde thredes ther in. 1535Coverdale Ps. xcix. 1 He sytteth upon the Cherubins, be the earth neuer so vnquiete. 1589Puttenham Eng. Poesie iii. xxiv. (Arb.) 296 He neuer once changed his countenance.., though the sight were neuer so full of ruth. 1611Bible Transl. Pref. ⁋4 Sufficient for a whole host, be it neuer so great. 1691Ray Creation i. (1714) 18 Tho the Trees grow never so irregularly. 1711Addison Spect. No. 120 ⁋15 When the Birth appears of never so different a Bird, [the hen] will cherish it for her own. a1774Goldsm. Hist. Greece I. 342 Some vigorous effort, though it carried never so much danger, ought to be made. a1806C. J. Fox Reign Jas. II (1808) 204 Let him be weighed never so scrupulously,..he will not be found..wanting. 1885Swinburne Misc. (1886) 298 Were the critic never so much in the wrong, the author will have contrived to put him..in the right.
5. a. never the, followed by a comparative: None the, not at all the (better, etc.). never the near: see near adv.1 5.
13..Cursor M. 23162 (Gött.), Bot for ȝou was i neuer þe bett. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. ix. 78 More bilongeth..Þan nempnyng of a name and he neuere þe wiser. 1508Fisher 7 Penit. Ps. li. Wks. (1876) 132 But Achab was neuer the better. c1550Bale K. Johan (Camden) 58 The Lord..call them to grace, and faver them never the worsse. 1628Hobbes Thucyd. (1822) 105 In the end never the nearer to the victory. 1705Stanhope Paraphr. II. 312 The Condition of the Receiver is..never the better. 1768Gray in Corr. w. Nicholls (1843) 73, I am never the wiser, nor the more able to account for Temple's letter. 1802–12Bentham Ration. Judic. Evid. (1827) I. 602 note, The conviction of the criminal..would be never the nearer. 1886Pollock Oxford Lect. iv. (1890) 108 He who is in these ways..a better man will be never the worse lawyer.
b. never the less, nevertheless, no less, not in any way less, by no means less. Now rare or Obs. exc. as in nevertheless adv.
13..E.E. Allitt. P. A. 864 Neuer onez honour [is] ȝet neuer-þe-les. c1374Chaucer Anel. & Arc. 236 For to love him Alweye never the lesse. a1400–50Alexander 4228 And ȝour lare of a leke suld neuire þe les worth. 1526Tindale 2 Cor. viii. 15 He that gaddered lytell had neverthelesse. 1549Edw. VI in Strype Eccl. Mem. (1721) II. i. xxv. 213 He [the king] thought good to require him [the bishop] and nevertheless to charge him [etc.]. 1601Dent Pathw. Heaven 390 When she ariseth she loueth it neuerthelesse, but dandles it. 1609Bible (Douay) Num. xi. comm., That they might have so much helpe of grace as pleased God, and Moyses have neverthelesse. 1642Rogers Naaman 173 Let us make never the lesse of it, nor be discouraged.
c. So never the more, neverthemore.
a1400–50Alexander 322 If he be þus diȝt drede þe neuer þe more. 1483Caxton Gold. Leg. 248/2 Whan ony was made Cezar neuerthemore he was Augustus ne emperour. 1526Tindale 2 Cor. viii. 15 He that gaddered moche had never the more aboundance. 1571Golding Calvin on Ps. xl. 6 David sinking under the burthen, ceased neverthemore to mount up. 1606L. Bryskett Civ. Life 37 His law, though it be milder then the other, was neuerthemore allowable.
II.
6. In attributive phrases: a. With enough (or too much), followed by a pa. pple.
1604Hieron Wks. I. 530 The neuer-enough reuerenced exercise of preaching. 1623Rowlandson God's Bless. 21 O the never too much admired goodnesse of the Lord. 1710Berkeley Princ. Hum. Knowl. i. §146 The never-enough-admired laws of pain and pleasure.
b. With enough (or too much) and to be, followed by a pa. pple.
1624Quarles Sion's Elegies Pref., This ancient, most true, and never enough to be lamented Desolation. 1657W. Rand tr. Gassendi's Life Peiresc i. 67 That never to be enough praised Arch-bishop. 1670Eachard Cont. Clergy 50 The never-to-be-commended-enough Licosthenes. 1752A. Murphy Gray's Inn. Jrnl. No. 11 The never enough to be admired Art of Humbugging. 1802Noble Wanderers I. 205 That never to be sufficiently regretted step of leaving my house. a1834Coleridge Notes & Lect. (1849) I. 49 The never to be too much valued advantage of the theatre. 1873Ruskin Fors Clav. xxxvi. 6 The never to be enough damned guilt of men.
c. With to be, esp. never to be forgotten.
1607Collins Serm. (1618) 85 A long desired, and neuer to be disannulled conformitie. 1657W. Rand tr. Gassendi's Life Peiresc i. 46 That never to be forgotten man is gone away. 1688Lond. Gaz. No. 2381/1 A never-to-be-shaken Loyalty to Your Majesty. 1709Sacheverell Serm. 5 Nov. 5 This Never-to-be-forgotten Festival. 1747Mem. Nutrebian Crt. I. 166 By your often-vowed, never-to-be-changed love. 1807Southey Ess. (1832) II. 284 That never-to-be-forgotten massacre of the Protestants. a1849H. Coleridge Ess. (1851) I. 94 The product of his never-to-be-seen acres. 1887Frith Autobiog. I. xi. 137 We had..on one never-to-be-forgotten occasion, a speech from Turner. 1917E. Wallace Just Men of Cordova ii. 32 One never-to-be-forgotten occasion. 1925R. Graves Welchman's Hose 59 In the compilation Of their Grand Dictionnaire de la Langue Française, The full, the final, never-to-be-gainsaid. 1935L. MacNeice Poems 56 That never-to-be-touched Vision is your mistress.
d. In various phrases.
1806Simple Narrative II. 48 You are such a puritanical never-do-amiss lady. 1837S. R. Maitland Six Lett. on Fox's A. & M. 42 This ‘never mind’ school of history. 1841S. C. Hall Ireland I. 186 That's a never-my-care sort..as ever I met with.
7. Comb.
a. With pa. pples., as never-adone, never-broken, never-come, never-conquered, never-contented, never-contracted, never-daunted, never-dreamt, never-dried, never-ended, never-erased, never-glutted, never-lost, never-quelled, never-rebuked, never-satisfied, never-tarnished, never-tracked, etc.
1716M. Davies Athen. Brit. II. To Rdr. 11 The *never-adone Physicking and Taking of Fees.
1817Coleridge Biog. Lit. II. xv. 16 A series and *never broken chain of imagery. 1873J. R. Lowell Cathedral in Poetical Wks. 452/1 Never-broken secrecies of sky.
1892W. B. Yeats Let. Nov. (1954) 218 The ever-coming *never-come light of that ideal peace and freedom.
1631Weever Anc. Funeral Mon. 104 That *neuer-conquered Nation of Scotland. 1951L. MacNeice tr. Goethe's Faust 235 Now even my army, I fear, must needs Obey the conquering, never-conquered woman.
1845Poe Fairy-land in Raven & Other Poems 86 Those butterflies, Of Earth, who seek the skies, And so come down again (*Never-contented things!).
a1656Bp. Hall Rev. Unrevealed §11 That old and *never-contracted distinction of the Church Militant and Triumphant.
1590Greene Orl. Fur. Wks. (Rtldg.) 109 Hadst thou..[the] *never-daunted thoughts of Hercules.
1951L. MacNeice tr. Goethe's Faust 302 Make to this good soul concession—Only once misled by pleasure To a *never⁓dreamt transgression.
1607Hieron Wks. I. 198 It shall be in their bowels as a *neuer-dryed fountaine.
1855D. G. Rossetti Let. 25 Nov. (1965) I. 282 One of his *neverended stories was about an anonymous letter. 1859Tennyson Last Tourn. 581 Here in the never-ended afternoon.
1855W. Whitman Leaves of Grass 83, I see your rounded *never-erased flow, I see neath the rims of your haggard and mean disguises.
1613Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 828 His *neuer-filled mouth.
1594? Greene Selimus 2493 Beating the *never-foiled Tonombey.
1843J. R. Lowell Prometheus in U.S. Mag. & Democratic Rev. Aug. 149 The bitter peak, This *never-glutted vulture, and these chains.
16001st Pt. Sir J. Oldcastle iv. ii, Oh *never-heard-of, base ingratitude! 1641Milton Animadv. Wks. 1851 III. 198 O new and never-heard of Supererogative.
1850Tennyson In Mem. lxxxiv, I see their unborn faces shine Beside the *never-lighted fire.
1957A. Miller Coll. Plays (1958) iv. 27 His terror springs from his *never-lost awareness of time and place.
1607Shakes. Cor. v. i. 35 If you refuse your ayde In this so *neuer-needed helpe.
1802–12Bentham Ration. Judic. Evid. (1827) IV. 581 One *never-omitted portion of scandal. 1859Cornwallis New World I. 130 The never-omitted tin pot for making their tea.
1860W. Whitman Leaves of Grass 368 Those with a *never-quell'd audacity.
1950D. Gascoyne Vagrant 12 The serene, robust air as of *never-rebuked gaiety.
1873Howells Chance Acquaint. i. (1883) 12 A *never-relinquished, never-fulfilled purpose.
1562Pilkington Expos. Abdyas 65 The..harde-hearted *never satisfied horsleches, the lawers. 1625K. Long tr. Barclay's Argenis iv. vii. 159 He, whose never-satisfied maw Devoures poore people. 1940C. Day Lewis tr. Virgil's Georgics i. 16 That crop..Will answer at last the prayers of the *never-satisfied Farmer.
1642H. More Song of Soul ii. iii. ii. xii, On *never-shaken pillars of æternitie.
1860Pusey Min. Proph. 175 The long *never-shorn hair.
1631Weever Anc. Funeral Mon. 460 The terrible *neuer-tamed Scot.
1944Auden For Time Being iii. 29 Present to the speculative eye an ever-shining, *never-tarnished proof of her amazing unheard-of power to combine and happily contrast.
1848J. R. Lowell Growth of Legend in Poems 2nd Ser. 71 The lake's frore Sahara of *never-tracked white.
1818Byron Ch. Har. iv. lxxiii, I have seen the soaring Jungfrau rear Her *never-trodden snow.
1742Shenstone Song viii. Wks. 1777 I. 156 Let their very changes prove The *never-vary'd force of love.
1812Byron Ch. Har. ii. xxxvii, Her *never-wean'd, though not her favour'd child.
1603Knolles Hist. Turks (1638) 304 Vsing therin such expedition and *neuer-wearied patience. 1622Drayton Poly-olb. xxiv. 116 This justly named Saint, this never-wearied man.
b. With pres. pples., as never-agreeing, never-blushing, never-changing, never-diminishing, never-ebbing, never-eldering, never-erring, never-hastening, never-intermitting, never-lifting, never-moving, never-pardoning, never-rejecting, never-sinking, never-stopping, etc. Also never-ceasing, -dying, -ending, -fading, -failing.
1613Drummond of Hawthornden Cypress Grove Wks. (1711) 118 The *never agreeing bodies of the elemental brethren.
1728Pope Dunc. iii. 231 His *never-blushing head he turn'd aside.
c1615Sir W. Mure Sonn. iii. Wks. (S.T.S.) I. 49 Can any crosse..Mak me to chaunge my *neuer chaunging mynd? 1685Dryden Lucretius iii. Misc. II. 77 That never changing state which all must keep. 1811W. R. Spencer Poems 44 Where never-changing Spring Rules all the halcyon year.
1898‘Mark Twain’ Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg (1900) 326 The war of epithets crashes along with *never⁓diminishing energy for a couple of hours.
1866J. G. Whittier Our Master in Tent on Beach (1867) 143 Immortal Love, forever full, Forever flowing free, Forever shared, forever whole, A *never-ebbing sea!
1876G. M. Hopkins Wreck of Deutschland xviii, in Poems (1967) 57 Tears; such a melting, a madrigal start! *Never-eldering revel and river of youth, What can it be, this glee?
1679Marg. Mason Tickler Tickled 4 By the Affirmative of *never-erring Scripture it self. 1697Congreve Wks. (1730) III. 262 Our never-erring Pilot. 1821–2Shelley Chas. I, ii. 479 Stamped on the heart by never-erring love.
1867A. Barry Sir C. Barry x. 323 Its *never-flagging interest to him.
1950W. de la Mare Inward Companion 13 With *never-hastening feet Time pursues the Infinite.
1864Munro Lucretius I. 2 Vanquished by the *never-healing wound of love.
1594Drayton Idea xxvi, Yet hope draws on my *never-hoping care.
1849J. S. Mill in Westm. Rev. LI. 34 The immense majority are condemned..to a life of never-ending, *never-intermitting toil.
1589Marprel. Epit. F ij b, Thus M.D. to his *neverlasting fame, hath..translated the greeke word presbyteros.
1885W. B. Yeats Island of Statues i. iii, in Dublin Univ. Rev. May 84/1 Where their sinewy might is strung In the *never⁓lifting dark.
1613Drummond of Hawthornden Cypress Grove Wks. (1711) 117 Two so loving friends and *never-loathing lovers.
1860Gosse Rom. Nat. Hist. 51 Covered with deep, *never-melting snow.
1913J. Masefield Daffodil Fields 24 The stars did house Their lights like lamps upon those *never⁓moving boughs.
1863I. Williams Baptistery i. xiv. (1874) 178 Upon them clos'd the *never-opening grave!
1923R. Graves Whipperginny 54 This *never-pardoning life we live May earn God's blackest punishment.
1593Shakes. Rich. II, v. v. 109 That hand shall burne in *neuer-quenching fire.
1849J. R. Lowell Day in June in National Anti-Slavery Standard 8 Mar. 162/1 O *never-rejecting roof of blue.
1727–46Thomson Summer 726 The *never-resting race of men. 1851G. Bird Urin. Deposits (ed. 3) 98 The heart, a never-resting muscle.
1742Young Nt. Th. ix. 2285 Sun of the soul! her *never-setting sun! 1825Praed Portrait ii, Like never-setting stars.
1849Thoreau Week Concord Riv. 244 The unwearied, *never sinking shore.
1697Congreve Mourn. Bride iii. vi, Drink bitter draughts with *never-slaking thirst.
1661Don Juan Lamberto F 4, This wall was to be guarded by *never-sleeping Dragons. 1680Otway Caius Marius i. i, Never-sleeping Care.
1848Dickens Dombey xxiii, A frown upon its *never-smiling face.
1590T. Watson Poems (Arb.) 173 Whose *neuerstooping quill can best set forth such things of state.
1931R. Graves To Whom Else? 9 What drew the legs along Was the *never-stopping, And the senseless frightening Fate of being legs.
1871Palgrave Lyr. Poems 78 Who treads The road with *never-swerving strength.
1835Browning Paracelsus iv. 145 Their pet nest and their *never-tiring home. 1885J. K. Jerome On the Stage 84 A quiet, never-tiring persistence.
a1649Drummond of Hawthornden Poems Wks. (1711) 31/1 The *never twinkling, ever wandring lights.
1814Wordsw. Excursion v. 747 Of *never-varying motion.
1863I. Williams Baptistery i. i. (1874) 7 Sabbath of Sabbaths, *never-waning rest.
c1600M. Cosowarth in Farr S.P. Eliz. (1845) II. 407 Thou hast clothed my soule with *never-weering gladnes.
1609Holland Amm. Marcell. 361 The *never-winking eye of Iustice.
1656Cowley Pindar. Odes, Nemeæan ix, Through the thick Groves of *never-withering Light. 1707Watts Hymn, ‘There is a land of pure delight’ ii, There ever⁓lasting spring abides And never-with'ring flowers.
c. With adjs., as never-anxious, never-certain, never-constant, never-quiet, etc.
1889W. B. Yeats Wanderings of Oisin i. 5 And always *never-anxious sleep.
1594Drayton Idea xxvi, My *never-certain joy breeds ever-certain fears.
a1627Sir J. Beaumont Bosworth F., etc. (1629) 85 The *neuer-constant Moone.
1596Spenser Hymn Heav. Love 126 In bonds..Of *never-dead yet ever⁓dying paine.
1694F. Bragge Disc. Parables viii. 296 The *never-deficient grace of that good God.
1561J. Daus tr. Bullinger on Apoc. (1573) 209 b, A ioyfull, and *neuerloth⁓some fulnes.
1913J. Masefield Daffodil Fields 2 The *never-quiet joy of dancing daffodils.
1637Milton Lycidas 2 Ye Myrtles brown, with Ivy *never-sear.
1701Congreve Wks. (1730) III. 252 A never ceasing, *never silent Choir.
1714Mandeville Fab. Bees (1723) 283 The fickle Breath of *never Stable Fortune.
1812Byron Ch. Har. i. l, The stationed bands, the *never-vacant watch.
8. Misc. combs., as † never-being, non-existence; never-do-well, a ne'er-do-well; never-fail, (a) a person who never fails (one); (b) an Australian grass, Eragrostis setifolia, used as pasture in areas of low rainfall; † never-mass, a date which never comes; never-mention-ems, unmentionables, trousers; never-ready, one who is never ready; never-strike, one who will not yield; never-sweat, an idle or lazy person; † never-thrift, a ne'er-do-well, a waster; † never-thriving, a thriftless pack; never-was, a person who has never been great, distinguished, useful, or the like; also never-waser, -wozzer.
1633(title) The Progeny of Catholicks and Protestants, whereby..is proved the lineal Descent of Catholicks..and the *never-being of Protestants.
1856B. W. Procter Barber's Shop xiv. (1883) 118 He was one of those *never-do-wells who lean persistently upon others.
1850H. C. Watson Camp-Fires of Revolution 188 Morgan's one of the *never-fails. 1936F. Clune Roaming round Darling xiii. 114 He has a marvellous collection of native grasses, nardoo, Mitchell, neverfail, and a dozen others. 1964Austral. Encycl. IV. 367/1 E[ragrostis] setifolia (‘never-fail’) is a drought resistant species of the inland. 1967Coast to Coast 1965–66 191, I had been riding through..the high grained heads of the grasses, the spinifex and the neverfail.
c1550Thersites in Hazl. Dodsley I. 429 That shall be at *Nevermass, Which never shall be, nor never was. 1631R. H. Arraignm. Whole Creature xiv. §2. 244 As our Country Phrase is, when Hens make Holy-water, at new-Nevermasse.
1856T. Taylor in Kingsley's Lett. & Life (1877) I. 496 Socks, boots, and *never-mention-ems, Mrs. Owen still has dried for us.
1862Trollope Orley F. xlii, They are not the least happy of mankind, these *never-readies.
1855Kingsley Westw. Ho! xvi, Yeo..returned with Drew and a score of old *never-strikes.
1851Mayhew Lond. Labour I. 419 Flare up, my *never-sweats.
c1440Promp. Parv. 355/1 Neve, *neuerthryfte, or wastour. 1520Whitinton Vulg. (1527) 39 b, It is more pleasure for a mayster to se foure suche neuer thryftes go out of his schole, than se one to come into it.
1486Bk. St. Albans f vij, A *Neuer-thriuyng of Iogoleris.
1911J. C. Lincoln Cap'n Warren's Wards xv. 238 One of 'em's a used-to-be, and the other's a *never-was. 1923‘B. M. Bower’ Parowan Bonanza i. 14 ‘Nope, I'm a never-was,’ Bill retorted shamelessly. 1938L. MacNeice I crossed Minch i. iii. 36 You ninny you, you automaton, You Never-Was, you As-Good-As-Gone!
1891Sportsman 1 Apr. 2/6 He is one of the ‘has beens’ or else one of the ‘*never wasers’, as Dan Rice, the circus man, always called ambitious counterfeits. 1915A. S. Neill Dominie's Log xiv. 155 The average married woman is a ‘has been’ in thought, while not a few are ‘never wasers’. 1931Wodehouse Big Money viii. 176 It's always been half-way between a may-be and a never⁓waser. 1974Economist 9 Nov. 6/1 With respect, it is silly, on the strength of a typical remark of some anonymous Brussels diplomat, no doubt a strong advocate of the absurd procedure rules of the council of ministers, to describe them as ‘has beens’ or ‘never wasers’.
1929*Neverwozzer [see has-been n.].
9. a. Never Never (Land or Country), in Australia, the unpopulated northern part of Queensland; the desert country of the interior.
Variously taken as implying that one may never return from it, or will never wish to go back to it. According to F. Cooper Wild Adventures (1857) 68 the phrase is really a corruption of the Comderoi nievah vahs signifying ‘unoccupied land’, but the explanation is not regarded as certain. (Morris.)
1882A. J. Boyd Old Colonials 202 My soliloquy ends with the inquiry, ‘What on earth is to be done in this wretched Never-never country?’ 1884A. W. Stirling (title) The Never Never Land: a Ride in North Queensland. 1887Cassell's Picturesque Austral. I. 279 In very sparsely-populated country such as the district of Queensland, known as the ‘Never Never Country’. 1890‘R. Boldrewood’ Colonial Reformer 174 But here it seems to be the Never-Never country, and no mistake. 1900H. Lawson On Track 81, I rode back that way five years later, from the Never Never. 1916J. B. Cooper Coo-oo-ee iii. 39 He had not forgotten the palship that is often made between men tramping along the bush distances that cover the sunburnt tracks to the Never-Never. 1942C. Barrett On Wallaby iii. 43 Tim..owned a copper show in the Never Never country near the West Australian border. 1963V. B. Cranley 27,000 Miles through Australia v. 34 It was far beyond Yuendumu along the great desert traverse..back in the Never-Never, as they call those wastes. 1969‘A. Garve’ Boomerang ii. 71 His intention was to enjoy this trip..not to ‘do a perish’ in the Never-Never.
b. Never(-Never) Land, an imaginary, illusory, or Utopian place; freq, with allusion to the ideal country in J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan (see quots. 1904 and 1908).
1900N.Y. Dramatic Mirror 3 Nov. 16/1 At Wallack's on Tuesday evening Sarah Cowell Le Moyne supplemented The Greatest Thing in the World with the initial performance of The Moment of Death; or, The Never, Never Land, a drama in one act and three scenes, by Israel Zangwill. 1904J. M. Barrie Peter Pan (1928) i. 34 Wendy. Where do you live now? Peter. With the lost boys... They are the children who fall out of their prams when the nurse is looking the other way. If they are not claimed in seven days they are sent far away to the Never Land. 1907Canadian Mag. XXIX. 135/1 But instead of the unreal never-never-land..the scene is dear old England. 1908J. M. Barrie When Wendy grew Up (1957) 17 Do they ever wish they were back in the Never Never Land? Ibid. 28 The dear Never Never Land. 1938Auden & Isherwood On Frontier i. i. 24 Dream of your never-never land, where the parks are covered with naked cow⁓like women, quite free. 1938L. MacNeice Mod. Poetry v. 80 William Morris..looking wanly..back to a medieval Never-Never Land. 1958Spectator 8 Aug. 203/1 It was no longer the real India they wanted to escape to; it was the Never-Never Land of the East. 1961Times 1 Nov. 13/1 This commercial never-never land. 1968Mrs. L. B. Johnson White House Diary 4 Apr. (1970) 647, I was back at the White House by 3 o'clock from my brief visit to that beautiful never-never land—Mrs. Merriweather Post's home. 1971Nature 30 July 287/1 The result is that the report of the committee under Sir Frederick Dainton on the reorganization of civil research,..has disappeared into never-never land. 1975Times 16 Oct. 13/8 Sending the hero and heroine at the end into an azure never-land that is clearly some distance from both Dorset and London.
c. never-never adj., colloq. (or joc.), denoting a system of paying for articles by periodic instalments over an extended period; = hire-purchase; also ellipt. as n., and as never.
1926E. Wallace More Educated Evans ii. 39 Her uncle..drove a taxi which he..had purchased on the ‘never never’ system. You pay {pstlg}80 down and more than you can afford for the rest of your life. 1939‘N. Shute’ What Happened to Corbetts viii. 261 We could have the radiogram... Even if we had to put it on the Never-Never. 1957F. King Man on Rock i. 7, I can't even afford to pay the never-never on a wireless. 1960News Chron. 29 Apr. 6 Twenty per cent is a small deposit for hire purchase, and the most reputable ‘never-never’ firms have been asking that. 1967M. Procter Exercise Hoodwink iii. 21 ‘I'm getting it on the never. Anybody can do that.’ ‘Not a new Rover.’ 1973J. Wilson Truth or Dare ii. 24 They've still not paid off their mortgage, you know, and I wouldn't mind betting that Rover of theirs is on the never-never.
d. never-never adj., unrealistic, unrealizable, imaginary. Also applied to a person who says ‘never, never’.
1928D. H. Lawrence Lady Chatterley xiv. 243 ‘So when you did get a woman who wanted you..you got a bit too much of a good thing.’ ‘Ay! Seems so! Yet even then I'd rather have her than the never-never ones.’ 1950[see cloud-cuckoo-land]. 1952Dylan Thomas Let. 21 Nov. (1966) 384 A day's life in a small town in a never-never Wales. 1955Bull. Atomic Sci. Jan. 36/2 Norman Thomas, who had the courage to deplore our never-never attitude to the recognition of Red China, did so with an acute sense of his own isolation. 1956H. Gold Man who was not with It (1965) xiii. 113 She predicted the never-never happiness of others. 1958Sunday Times 16 Nov. 21/7 The atmosphere of some never-never hotel is certainly caught.
10. Colloq. phrases: never a dull moment!: see moment n. 1 c; never again!, a phrase expressing emphatic refusal to repeat an experience, etc.
1873Hardy Pair of Blue Eyes II. iv. 51 Thank you. But never again. 1901Ade Forty Modern Fables 161 And everybody said, ‘Never Again.’ 1915T. F. A. Smith Soul of Germany 298 The oft-quoted phrase is applicable to the case: Never again!
▪ II. never, n. Naut. slang.|ˈnɛvə(r)|
[f. the adv.]
In phr. to do a never: to shirk; to loaf.
1946J. Irving Royal Navalese 121 Never, to do a, to dodge work. 1948Partridge Dict. Forces' Slang 124 Doing a never means—in the Navy—shirking work. 1961F. H. Burgess Dict. Sailing 74 Doing a Never, loafing on a job. |