| 释义 |
Charley, Charlie colloq.|ˈtʃɑːlɪ|
[a familiar variant of Charles.]
1. The name formerly given to a night-watchman.[The origin is unknown: some have conjectured ‘because Charles I in 1640 extended and improved the watch system in the metropolis’.] 1812J. H. Vaux Flash Dict., Charley, a watchman, Charley-ken, a watch-box. 1823in Hone Every-day Bk. I. 1628 No Charlies have they now. a1845Hood Tale of Trump. lv, That other old woman, the parish Charley! 1852Bentley's Misc. 1 June 620 Oh, those dear old ‘Charlies’ of the Dogberry school! 1856Strang Glasgow & Clubs 413 Boxing a Charley..was an affair of weekly occurrence.
2. A small triangular beard extending from the under lip, and ending in a point a little below the chin; well-known in the portraits of Charles I and his contemporaries.
1834Gentl. Mag. Mar. I. 295/2 With white pantaloons, watch chains and Wellingtons, and a charley at their under lip. a1841Hook Widow x. 145 He..wore..a Charley on his under lip. 1861Taylor Antiq. Falkland 43 That square, short man..wearing a moustache and Charlie is William Laud.
3. Applied as a proper name to the fox.
1857Hughes Tom Brown i. (D.) A nice little gorse..where abideth poor Charley. 1859H. Kingsley G. Hamlyn (D.) ‘You don't know Charley, I can see,’ said Halbert.
4. pl. A woman's breasts. slang.
1874in Hotten Slang. Dict. 1940‘H. Green’ Pack my Bag 231 Foxes are known as Charleys and so in some circles are women's breasts. I made some joke about how many people went after Charleys. 1947D. M. Davin Gorse blooms Pale 200 An Iti bint..with bonzer black eyes and nice charlies. 1957P. Wildeblood Main Chance 199 Carrying her famous bosom before her like the tray of an usherette, she was disconcerted to hear..a nasal cry of: ‘Coo, look at them charlies!’
5. Army slang. (See quot.)
1919War Terms in Athenæum 1 Aug. 695/1 ‘Old Charlie’, the pack—an Old Army phrase now dying out, I think. Ibid. 8 Aug. 727/2 The infantryman's pack was his ‘Charlie’, his haversack was a ‘Young’ or ‘Little Charlie’.
6. A fool, simpleton, esp. a proper Charley, right Charley. slang.
1946Amer. Speech XXI. 238/1 Charlie, one [a soldier] who cannot understand orders and so makes foolish mistakes. 1957Listener 15 Aug. 252/1 The plebeian engineer was a proper Charlie to let himself be roped in for it. 1961Simpson & Galton Four Hancock Scripts 15, I felt a right Charlie coming through the customs in this lot.
7. (Also Mr. Charlie.) A white man. U.S. Blacks' slang.
1960Wentworth & Flexner Dict. Amer. Slang 340/1 Mister Charlie, a white man. Some Negro use. 1965J. Baldwin in J. H. Clarke Harlem 175 He is assured.. his ancestors were happy, shiftless, watermelon-eating darkies who loved Mr. Charlie and Miss Ann. 1965L. Hairston Ibid. 292 They all was beamin' like they had Charley's number; and Charley was settin' there fussin'. 1967Guardian 11 Jan. 11/4 Stokely Carmichael was there promising ‘Mr. Charlie's’ doomsday.
8. U.S. Services' slang. The North Vietnamese and Vietcong; esp. a North Vietnamese or Vietcong soldier.
1965Newsweek 20 Sept. 26/2 A Ranger captain..shouted: ‘Don't you tell me Charlie [GI slang for Vietcong] isn't hiding here!’..The rubber planter..answered ‘Charlie? Who is Charlie?’ The plantation manager, of course, knew perfectly well who Charlie was. 1966New Statesman 14 Oct. 549/2 Friendly forces have made contact with Charlie and a fire fight followed. 1967M. McCarthy Vietnam 9 If he called them ‘Charlie’.., he was either an infatuated civilian, a low-grade primitive in uniform, or a fatuous military mouthpiece.
9. Used as adj.: Afraid, cowardly, esp. in phr. to turn Charlie. slang.
1954‘N. Blake’ Whisper in Gloom ii. xvi. 217 You turn Charlie and we'll do ya. 1958F. Norman Bang to Rights 61, I was dead charlie and little fairies were having a right game in my guts.
▸ slang (orig. U.S.). Cocaine.
1935A. J. Pollock Underworld Speaks 20/2 Charley, cocaine (arley-chay). 1951Life 11 June 119/1 Medina told his wife to sell the ‘Charlie’ (cocaine) for $210 an ounce. 1974O. Clark Diary 9 July (1998) 26, I did all Jenny's charlie and Keith turned up obviously Mandraxed out. 1992Face Apr. 46/2, I liked to think I was the king of Camden, making good money, taking loads of charlie and that. 2000Guardian 11 July ii. 5/3 A young girl's idea of paradise is a couple of wraps of charlie. |