| 释义 |
spiv, n. slang.|spɪv|
[Origin obscure: perh. from spiff v.2, spiffy a.]
A man who lives by his wits and has no regular employment; one engaging in petty blackmarket dealings and freq. characterized by flashy dress.
1934A. Bracey School for Scoundrels 336 Spiv, petty crook who will turn his hand to anything so long as it does not involve honest work. 1937Even. News 12 Mar. 15/6 (Advt.), With the Lincoln and the Grand National in the offing, the twisters, the welshers, the ‘spivs’ and the ‘boys’ are getting ready for a profitable session of the gentle sport of rooking the racegoer. 1939[see barrow n.3 4]. 1945[see lairy a.2 1]. 1947Times 13 Aug. 6/1 If spivs meant men living by their wits, the nets could be thrown very wide indeed. 1948I. Brown No Idle Words 107 It is queer that its opposite [of deep], wide, should have replaced it in Spiv-English. 1952‘J. Henry’ Who lie in Gaol viii. 123 In appearance, he resembled the typical spiv; with coat-hanger shoulders, and pointed shoes, and a smile that would have been an asset to any confidence man. 1958People 4 May 1/4 Who was responsible for letting the spivs hi-jack the crowds at Wembley? 1965New Statesman 26 Nov. 851/1 The emergence of Robert Stephens, once a type-cast West End performer of small, seedy spiv-roles, as a major heroic actor in the making. 1978Cornish Guardian 27 Apr. 3 Metrication will be an open invitation for every spiv and racketeer to cheat the British public.
Hence as v., (a) intr., to make one's living as a spiv; (b) trans., to spiff, to spruce (oneself) up;spivved |spɪvd|, ppl. a.; ˈspiv(v)ery, behaviour characteristic of a spiv or the state of being a spiv; ˈspivvish, ˈspiv(v)y adjs., characteristic of a spiv; ˈspivishly adv.
1945B. Naughton in C. Madge Pilot Papers 99 See his Spivy coat—the width of the lapels, the padded-out shoulders? 1947Times 18 Nov. 2/4 Instead of that brave new Britain all they had left was a land fit for bookies to spiv in. 1948Chambers's Jrnl. Oct. 547/1 That is their focus, their touchstone—recognition of a unique quality in him, not to be obliterated by the sordid elements in his story, his obvious shiftiness of character, his spivery attributes or his too frequent lapses. 1948C. Day Lewis Otterbury Incident ii. 18 Tilting his hat at an even more spivvish angle. 1951Koestler Age of Longing i. i. 7 Surrounded by relatives and friends, a spivvy son and an insipid daughter,..he would have to meet the ultimate ordeal. 1952A. Wilson Hemlock & After i. v. 96 I've spivved along on my own steam as far as I can go. 1956D. M. Davin Sullen Bell 87 There were few people in the restaurant, spivvish-looking and absorbed. 1957R. Hoggart Uses of Literacy ix. 225 Where domestic or personal roots are weak or have been forcibly broken, these attitudes can quickly lead to an extensive moral ‘spivvery’. 1959I. Jefferies Thirteen Days iii. 37 Scruffy lot. They'll get spivved up quick enough for a Naafi girl. 1965New Statesman 19 Mar. 463/1 The spivvish businessman. 1966J. Gloag Sentence of Life ii. 30 The inspector's jacket was sharply, spivishly waisted. 1971B. W. Aldiss Soldier Erect 177 We spivved ourselves up, put on clean shirts, and strolled out of camp. 1976Times 5 Feb. 21/5 Willott..has no time for spivvery within or without the law. 1976Listener 26 Feb. 245/4 The pelvic lead singer, spivved, moustached, sharp. 1978Time Out 18 Aug. 55/5 Hoffman, spivvy and moustached for maximum seediness, is an ex-con on parole who can't go straight. |