| 释义 |
spotty, a. and n.|ˈspɒtɪ|
Also 5 spotti, 6–7 spottie.
[f. spot n.1 + -y.]
A. adj.
1. a. Full of, marked with, spots; spotted.
1340Ayenb. 192 Þou ne sselt naȝt maky none sacrefice to God of oxe ne of ssep þet by spotty. 1382Wyclif Gen. xxx. 35 He seuerde.. the wetheres, dyuerse and spotti. c1400Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton, 1483) iv. xxvi. 71 A clere myrroure wyll more playnly represente the fourmes..of thynges..than wylle another that is fowle and spotty. c1440Pallad. on Husb. viii. 74 Yf hit [sc. the ram's tongue] be spotty, that a man may wite Yf he bigete hym spotty lombis yonge. 1513Act 5 Hen. VIII, c. 4 §1 If the same Worsted..taketh any Wet, incontinent it will shew spotty and foul. 1587L. Mascall Govt. Cattle, Sheep (1627) 200 The spottie Rams will commonly be seene in the Lambes. 1620Venner Via Recta ii. 40 The colour of the face becommeth pale.., and the skin..polluted with a white spotty deformity. 1667Milton P.L. i. 291 To descry new Lands, Rivers or Mountains in her spotty Globe. 1816Singer Hist. Cards 95 note, All the impressions are similar to that of the frontispiece, being spotty or greyish. 1822–7Good Study Med. (1829) V. 567 The spotty and minutely tubercular lichens. 1874Ruskin Fors Clav. xlvi. 229 A dozen of the fattest, shiniest, spottiest trout I ever saw.
Comb.1598Sylvester Du Bartas ii. i. iii. Furies 391 He strangled His spightfull stepdam's Dragon spotty-spangled. 1884Coues N. Amer. Birds 625 Actodromas,..Spotty-throat Sandpipers.
b. fig. or in fig. context.
a1400Leg. Rood (1871) 213 A white lambe, with senn blak Spotty myȝt he neuere bene. 1561T. Norton Calvin's Inst. iv. viii. (1634) 569 The Church,..whereof all the members are spotty and very uncleane. 1631R. Byfield Doctr. Sabb. 112 You would prove of Christians, spotty feasters. 1675N. Lee Nero ii. ii, The Gods rain curses on me..If e're I harbour'd..a thought But what was Noble, of your spotty loves.
2. Patchy; lacking in uniformity or harmony:
a. Of painting.
1812Examiner 25 May 329/1 The lights..are sometimes spotty. 1884Bazaar 22 Dec. 664/1 Walters is showing a disposition for more lively colouring, but..this year's paintings..are hard and spotty.
b. Of literary work.
a1849Poe Lit. Crit., Mr. Ward Wks. 1865 III. 160 In no other supposition can we reconcile the spotty appearance of the whole with a belief in the sanity of the author. 1870Lowell Study Wind. 261 The true artist in language is never spotty, and needs no guide-boards of admiring italics.
c. gen. Unsteady, uneven; patchy; sporadic, intermittent. orig. and chiefly U.S.
1932Sun (Baltimore) 25 Feb. 19/6 The advance [of the curb market] was somewhat spotty, but on the whole, the list developed a firm tone. 1934Ibid. 17 Sept. 8/1 Business conditions..are..‘spotty’. One section may flourish,..while another suffers. 1937R. S. Morton Woman Surgeon i. 21 My grown brothers played whist with my father before dinner... His luck was spotty. 1937E. B. White Let. 31 May (1976) 155 My attendance at meals may be a little spotty—for a twelvemonth I shall not adjust my steps to a soufflé. 1957K. A. Wittfogel Oriental Despotism 55 The spotty distribution of his administrative centers. 1970A. Toffler Future Shock v. 72 Available statistics, unfortunately, are spotty. 1977H. Fast Immigrants i. 57 Clair's schooling was spotty, but she learned to read. 1979Dictionaries I. 97 Philosophers' general interest in dictionaries has been spotty.
3. Occurring in spots; characterized by such occurrence.
1821Examiner 284/2 Their spotty and crowded arrangement. 1892Stevenson Across the Plains 79 A rough, spotty undergrowth partially conceals the sand.
B. n. A small wrasse of New Zealand, Labrichthys bothryocosmus.
1872in Morris Austral Eng. s.v. Poddly. 1878 Trans. New Zeal. Instit. XI. 384 Wrasse, Parrot-fish, and Spotties were often in the market. |