| 释义 |
‖ patte|pat, pæt|
Also 8 pat.
[F. patte paw, familiarly hand, also as in sense 2.]
†1. A paw; humorously, a hand. Obs. rare.
1797Wolcott (P. Pindar) Ode to Livery of London 11 And on his honest earnings lay his pats [Wks. 1812, pattes].
2. A short band or strap of cloth or stuff, attached by one end, and buttoning at the other, used to ‘button’ a coat, etc., whose edges do not overlap; also a similar band or strap attached at both ends for holding a belt or sash in place; or sewn on as a decoration or trimming of a dress.
1835Court Mag. VI. p. xvii/2 There are some also closed, and these latter are trimmed with pattes of a very novel kind. 1869Latest News 5 Sept. 7 Two long pattes, rounded and trimmed with lace, fall on each side.
3. patte de velours |də vəlur|, the velvet paw (of a cat; i.e. a paw with the claws held in): used fig. indicative of resolution or inflexibility combined with apparent softness or gentleness. Cf. iron a. 3 c.
1853C. Brontë Villette III. xxxiii. 84 She played before me the amiable; offered me patte de velours; caressed, flattered, fawned on me. a1855― Professor (1857) I. xi. 185 The soft touch of a patte de velours. 1859Lytton What will he do with It? III. vii. xviii. 150, I always felt that she had the claws of a tigress under her patte de velours! 1881Atlantic Monthly Jan. 137/2 An innocent-looking creature, with feline manners, pattes de velours, and such claws! 1904P. Pennington Diary 1 Jan. in Woman Rice Planter (1913) ii. 59 One is so apt to forget that the ‘patte de velours’ which every one uses in polite society is even more of a help in dealing with the most ignorant. |