| 释义 |
▪ I. ˈside-winder1 U.S. and dial.
[f. side n.1 + winder a blow.]
A heavy blow with the fist delivered from or on the side. Also fig.
1840Daily Pennant (St. Louis) 14 May (Th. s.v. Sockdologer), Tim gives him a sockdologer and two side-winders, and leaves him for dead on the spot. 1846J. Codman Sailor's Life & Sailor's Yarns 31 ‘Take that then, for want of a shillaleh!’ said the lumper, giving him a side-winder with his fist. a1859in Bartlett Dict. Amer. s.v., To seize..the opportunity of dealing Recorder Smith what the boys call a side-winder. 1860O. W. Holmes Professor ii, The boys of my time used to call a hit like this a ‘side-winder’.
▪ II. ˈside-winder2 U.S.
[f. side n.1 + wind v.]
1. Any of several small rattlesnakes, esp. Crotalus cerastes.
1875H. C. Yarrow in Rep. U.S. Geogr. Surveys West of 100th Meridian V. 535 They were also seen in Arizona, and are called ‘side-winders’ by the settlers, owing to their peculiar lateral progressive motion. 1888Riverside Nat. Hist. III. 402 The New Mexicans have named this animal the ‘side-winder’, because of the slightly lateral motion which they have in passing forwards. 1906Out West Feb. 136 It is..a land of the side-winder, the Gila monster, the scorpion and the centipede. 1949Nat. Hist. May 212/2 Among other interesting tracks are the slanting ‘ladder-rung’ trails of the sidewinder rattlesnakes. 1971‘D. Shannon’ Ringer ix. 149 Royce shied back at the sight of him as if he'd been a sidewinder.
2. transf. and fig.
1906McClure's Mag. XXVI. 414 You never could tell where Texas Pete was goin' to jump next. He was a sidewinder and a diamond-back and a little black rattlesnake all rolled into one. 1936G. Rounds Ol' Paul 21 It was known as the orneriest river... It was an old ‘side winder’ for fair. 1940W. Faulkner Hamlet iv. i. 244 Hup, you broom-tailed hay-burning sidewinders. 1964R. Murphy Pond ix. 129 ‘They grew up with her and knew what a sidewinder she was.’ ‘What's a sidewinder?’ Joey asked. ‘It's a rattlesnake, but I meant it as a sort of troublemaker.’
Hence as a back-formation, ˈside-winding ppl. a., moving like a side-winder (also fig.); also as vbl. n.; ˈside-wind v. intr.
1902H. Day Pine Tree Ballads 150 That was a side⁓windin' answer for him. 1954J. A. Pringle Common Snakes p. vi, Some of the adders have a peculiar side⁓winding movement for crawling over loose sand. 1969A. Bellairs Life of Reptiles i. iii. 105 It is generally believed that sidewinding is the most efficient type of locomotion which a snake can use over a smooth sandy surface... Crotalus cerastes can sidewind at about 2 mph. 1972World of Wild Wheels (Custom Car) 65/1. His side⁓winding Anglia symbolises everything that Hot Rod racing is all about. 1977‘J. le Carré’ Hon. Schoolboy xvii. 403 Occasionally a yellow bus came sidewinding down the hill toward them. |