| 释义 |
Brock's benefit colloq.
[f. the name of C. T. Brock, maker of fireworks + benefit n. 4 a.]
From the spectacular display of fireworks held annually at the Crystal Palace from 1865 to 1936: (a) fireworks; (b) a brilliant illumination at night, esp. in war, from searchlights, flares, artillery, etc.; (c) fig. any comparable outburst (of excitement, etc.).
1920P. Gibbs Realities of War iv. vii. 188 They..opened such a Brock's benefit that the enemy must have been shocked with surprise. 1921‘Ian Hay’ Willing Horse ix. 159 The Germans were furnished with bombs which exploded on impact; ours were of the Brock's Benefit type, and had to be lit with a match. 1929Melody Maker Jan. 19/1 The engines puff out.., a regular Brock's Benefit of sparks. 1930Blunden Poems 173 Thence Brock's Benefit commanded endless fireworks by two nations. 1942New Statesman 19 Sept. 186/2 The searchlights and anti-aircraft fire and bursting bombs are collectively referred to as..Brock's benefit. 1948Economist 26 June 1060 The third reading of the Representation of the People Bill produced a regular Brock's benefit of insults and expletives. 1957Sunday Times 20 Oct. 13/3 The whole of the southern flank..opened up and it looked like a real Brock's Benefit. |