释义 |
ˈpop-corn orig. U.S. [f. pop v.1 3 + corn n.1 5; in a orig. popped corn.] a. Maize or Indian corn parched till it bursts open and exposes the white inner part of the grain; ‘popped’ corn: see pop v.1 3. Also transf. and fig. b. A variety or sub-species of maize suitable for ‘popping’. Also attrib.
1823W. Faux Memorable Days Amer. 302, I crossed the Big Wabash..at La Valette's ferry, where is beautiful land, fine young orchards, and two lonely families of naked-legged French settlers, from whom I received two curious ears of poss [sic] corn. [1848Bartlett Dict. Amer., Popped corn, parched Indian corn, so called from the noise it makes on bursting open. The variety usually prepared in this way is of a dark color, with a small grain.] 1850Quincy (Illinois) Whig 12 Nov. 4/1 Pop corn is dependent for its peculiar powers..upon the quantity of oil which its whole contains. 1855‘Q. K. P. Doesticks’ Doesticks, what he Says xix. 257 [He] had just pawned his coat and a spare shirt to get money to set himself up in business again, as a pop-corn merchant. 1858N. York Tribune 14 Jan. 2/3, I got on the cars..after..flattening out an apple-boy and pop-corn vender. 1875Emerson Lett. & Soc. Aims iv. 119 The pop-corn and Christmas hemlock spurting in the fire. 1875Chicago Tribune 21 Nov. 2/6 Each one had grown tired of jaw-breakers and popcorn balls. 1893K. A. Sanborn Truthf. Wom. S. California 129 A farmer raised one thousand bushels of popcorn and stored it in a barn. 1903Book of Corn 327 Popcorn, known botanically as Zea everta, is a species group, characterized by the excessive proportion of the corneous endosperm and the small size of the kernels and ear... Twenty-five varieties were catalogued by Sturtevant. 1922‘R. Crompton’ Just—William xi. 220 He purchased a large bag of pop⁓corn. 1947Downtown Shopping News (Chicago) 2 Jan. 16/3 Pop corn balls are the delight of every child. 1949F. Peto Amer. Quilts & Coverlets ii. 23 The loom-made tufted type used candlewicking for the warp of the foundation and..the characteristic ‘popcorn’ decoration. 1953[see hustler 1]. 1965Mrs. L. B. Johnson White House Diary 20 Dec. (1970) 340 There were garlands of popcorn. 1968Guardian 15 Nov. 1/6 Miss Plummer won through on dazzling good looks. As far as a popcorn poll went, they appeared to be a popular choice. 1972Country Life 9 Mar. 591/1 Popcorn is an extremely hard form of maize whose corns expand and ‘pop’ on heating; it is used only in confectionery. 1973C. & R. Milner Black Players ii. 41 Popcorn is a humorous insult which may be translated as ‘light-weight’. |