| 释义 |
back bench
[back- A. 4.]
Any one of the benches in the House of Commons or similar assembly occupied by members who are not entitled to a seat on the front benches on either side. Usu. attrib. (with hyphen). Hence ˌback-ˈbencher, a member who occupies a seat on the back benches on either side of the house.
1874Gentl. Mag. XII. 334 During the debate on the Education Act Amendment Bill Mr. Osborne found himself sitting on a back bench below the gangway, and rose thence to address the House. 1885Eng. Illustr. Mag. Dec. 195/1 He affects the Liberal side, sometimes presenting himself from a back bench in the rear of the bishops. 1905Daily Chron. 13 July 6/1 Back-bench Members on the Ministerial side of the House. 1910Busy Man's Mag. Dec. 60 Some of the best men in Parliament are back-benchers. 1923Daily Mail 23 May 6 Mr. Baldwin filled the modest rôle of a back-bencher in the House for many years. 1928Daily Tel. 13 Mar. 9/3 The situation was obviously developing into general back-bench communal bickering. 1940Ann. Reg. 1939 9 A man comparatively unknown to Parliament—..a ‘back-bencher’. 1959Economist 3 July 19/2 The foolish notion that a back-bencher's life need be a useless one. |