| 释义 |
pizzazz orig. U.S. slang.|pɪˈzæz|
Also bezaz, bezazz, bizzazz, pazazz, pazzazz, pezazz, pizazz, pizzaz.
[Origin unknown.]
1. a. Zest, vim, vitality, liveliness. b. Flashiness, showiness.
1937Harper's Bazaar Mar. 116/2 Pizazz, to quote the editor of the Harvard Lampoon, is an indefinable dynamic quality, the je ne sais quoi of function; as for instance, adding Scotch puts pizazz into a drink. Certain clothes have it, too... There's pizazz in this rust evening coat. 1951Time 28 May 91/2 Rentschler thinks the J-57 has more pizzazz than any other engine. Says he flatly: ‘It is more powerful than any jet engine ever flown.’ 1952S. Kauffmann Philanderer (1953) v. 86 Now here's a few places where I think it could use a little pezazz. 1962U.S.A.-1 I. iv. 30/2 He displayed almost none of the oratorical pizzazz that had set them [sc. Canadian voters] screaming in 1958. 1964New Statesman 28 Aug. 291/1 A Shakespeare one [sc. exhibition]..with most of its bezazz—pop art, wire sculpture, giant beefeaters— left by the Avon. 1965Sunday Times (Colour Suppl.) 16 May 12/1 She..still wears trousers frequently. ‘I don't really feel happy in bezazz.’ 1966Saturday Night (Toronto) May 34/3 His campaign manager..mounted a campaign that has had few equals anywhere for sheer pazazz. 1967R. Stein Great Cars 202/2 Began doing for the dull little mass-produced British cars what it had done for the homely sidecar. It gave them what Detroit now calls ‘pizzaz’. 1968Daily Tel. 24 Dec. 8/4 Miss [Ginger] Rogers has ‘bezazz’, as was obvious from the number of reporters and photographers clustering round her. But Mr. Marshall..claimed it should be ‘pezazz’, derived from American TV commercials and meaning something like effervescence. 1970New Yorker 14 Mar. 66, I knew that we absolutely had to have something with more bizzazz going for the young people. 1973Observer (Colour Suppl.) 4 Nov. 10/2 What the ice-rink audience really likes is pizzazz, rather than lyricism: they like a cheesy grin, powerful thighs, plenty of intricate footwork with the blades, and above all a crunching four-four rhythm they can clap along with. 1974Language Sciences Aug. 25/3 If they confined themselves to the level of common sense they would lose much of their academic pizzazz, their mystique as scientists. 1975G. V. Higgins City on Hill ii. 44 Maybe some guy that could recruit more troops and out-fund us gets himself involved in a bloodletting with another guy who has some pizzazz, and..they knock each other off. 1976New Musical Express 31 July 27/3 Ferguson's album has style and pizzazz. 1976National Observer (U.S.) 2 Oct. 18/4 This confluence of ecology and art,..of business chutzpah and show-biz pizzaz. 1976Listener 23 Dec. 841/3 Behind the pazazz there are some fundamental issues being toyed with. 1978People Weekly 9 Jan. 57/1 ‘But it must have commercial appeal,’ Flynt cautions. ‘I think I give projects like this pizzazz.’ 1979Arizona Highways Apr. 19/1 (caption) Jimmy King, Jr. adds pizazz to his golden pendant..wrapping the design with his dazzling inlay.
2. attrib. or as adj. Flashy, ostentatious, ‘zippy’.
1970Canad. Antiques Collector Oct. 5/1 There are various displays of a great range of collectibles that create a lively ‘bezaz’ atmosphere. 1977Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 6 Mar. 6/7 Sammy Davis Jnr...flashed $100,000 worth of sparkling rings... He confessed yesterday, at a crowded press conference..‘It's theatrical and it's pizzazz.’ |