释义 |
† canˈtanker Obs. nonce-wd. [A back formation from cantanker-ous, like canker, cankerous.] = cantankerousness. So cantankerate v., to provoke; canˈtankersome a. = cantankerous (both U.S. colloq.).
1825Canning Let. in Stapleton Canning & Times (1859) App. iv, F. is cantankerous. He is also tricky. No man has a right to be both..Straightforwardness is the only excuse for cantanker. 1837–40Haliburton Clockm. i. xxiv. (1862) 115 You may..cantankerate your opponents, and injure your own cause by it. Ibid. iii. xii, A terrible cross-grained cantankersome critter. |