| 释义 |
▪ I. racy, a.|ˈreɪsɪ|
Also 7 racie, razy, 8 razie.
[f. race n.2 10 + -y1.]
1. a. Of wine or other liquors, vegetable juices, fruits, etc.: Having a characteristically excellent taste, flavour, or quality. So of taste, flavour, etc.
1654Gayton Pleas. Notes iii. vi. 102 The generous oyle of Sack, nitty, roapy, and razy. 1676Worlidge Cyder (1691) 210 If ground early then is the cider more racy. 1756–7tr. Keysler's Trav. (1760) IV. 244 The racy flavour and strong body of this wine. a1774Goldsm. Surv. Exp. Philos. (1776) II. 243 The juices which are nourished in the vegetable world by the solar heat, are light, pungent, and racy. 1800Moore Anacreon i. 12 His lip exhaled..The fragrance of the racy tide. 1849Sir J. Stephen Eccl. Biog. II. 228 The grapes they yield are ponderous and racy, like the clusters of Eshcoll.
fig.c1650Denham Progr. Learn. 68 Might make old Homer's skull the Muses' hive; And from his brain that Helicon distil Whose racy liquor did his offspring fill. 1832De Quincey Rhetoric Wks. 1862 X. 50 English divinity ceased to be the racy vineyard that it had been in ages of ferment and struggle.
†b. Of plants: Full of sap, succulent. Obs.
1675Evelyn Terra (1729) 25 Some Plants, the most racy, and charg'd with Juice..thrive well amongst Rocks.
2. a. Of persons: Having a distinctive quality or vigour of character or intellect; lively, spirited, full of ‘go’. So of actions, qualities, etc.
1668Dryden Even. Love ii. i, A colony of Spaniards, or spiritual Italians, planted among us, would make us much more racy. 1849C. Brontë Shirley ix, Yorkshire has such families here and there..peculiar, racy, vigorous; of good blood and strong brain. 1852Miss Mitford Recoll. II. 147 My friend the rector, raciest of men, is an Oxford divine of the old school. 1864Blackmore Clara Vaughan lxi, That genial racy smile, which very few could resist.
b. Of animals or their parts: Showing high breeding or good blood.
1841‘Wildrake’ Cracks of the Day 190 The racy Mango won him the St. Leger. 1885Century Mag. XXXI. 118 The Gordon setter..should have..a narrow deep chest with racy front. 1889Pall Mall G. 21 Aug. 2/1 His [a horse's] head having a racy, determined look.
†c. Of a sense: Noble, superior. Obs. rare—1.
1675R. Burthogge Causa Dei 400 There are things Good, and things Evil to this High and Racy Sense, as well as to Inferiour Ones.
3. Of speech, writing, etc.: Having a characteristic sprightliness, liveliness, or piquancy.
a1667Cowley Answ. Verses fr. Jersey, Brisk racy Verses, in which we The Soil from whence they came, tast, smell, and see. c1817Gifford Let. in Smiles Mem. J. Murray (1891) II. xxi. 47 His style is racy and vivid. 1841D'Israeli Amen. Lit. (1867) 291 The conversations of Sir Thomas More were racy. 1895J. Hollingshead My Lifetime I. xxiv. 232 A rich imagination, and the power of racy narrative. 1901‘P. Bee’ Vagaries of Men 107 Women who tell racy stories..can rouse a great deal of enthusiasm in a room full of men. 1955Times 19 Aug. 8/2 Lieutenant-Colonel R. J. T. Hills..contributes to the summer number of the Household Brigade Magazine some racy memories of Combermere, the Household Cavalry barracks at Windsor. 1971D. Potter Brit. Eliz. Stamps xv. 179 Every new Great Britain stamp appears on the front cover in full colour, and there is hardly a week without a racy, but informative piece, on some aspect of Great Britain collecting. 1973Nature 27 July 241/2 The introductory passages are autobiographical in content and colourful, frank and uninhibited in style—racy is the only word.
4. Of pleasure, enjoyment, etc.: Peculiarly agreeable or rich.
1690Shadwell Am. Bigot 11, 'Tis difficulty makes the pleasure high and racy. 1847Lytton Lucretia (1853) 166 There was a racy, wholesome gusto in his enjoyment of novelty. 1862Burton Bk. Hunter (1863) 163 The active racy enjoyments of life—those enjoyments in which there is also exertion and achievement.
5. Of the air: Pure, exhilarating.
1838Lytton Alice viii. vii, Theresa's merry laugh sounded clear and musical in the racy air.
6. Phr. racy of the soil, characteristic of a certain country or people (chiefly used with ref. to Ireland).
1870Daily News 16 Feb., It is racy of the soil; and would not admit of transplantation to England or Scotland. 1889Spectator 26 Oct., This popular [Irish] superstition..is so racy of the soil, that it is really deserving of a much wider publicity.
▪ II. racy, a.2|ˈreɪsɪ|
[f. race v.1 or n.1 + -y1.]
Designed or suitable for racing.
1951[see floozie n.]. 1955Times 28 June 5/6 The Westminster, although a good looking car, is by no means racy in appearance. 1976Southern Even. Echo (Southampton) 3 Nov. (Advt.), Halogen headlights, sports wheels,..racy steering wheel, [etc.]. 1984Practical Boat Owner Feb. 60/2 Helming this racy vessel..was cruel work. 1987India Today 15 Jan. 98/2 (Advt.), The toughest, raciest, safest motorcycle of them all. |