| 释义 |
▪ I. squeal, n.|skwiːl|
Also 8–9 squeel; north. dial. 8–9 sweel, 9 sweeal.
[f. the vb.]
1. a. A more or less prolonged sharp cry; a shrill scream. Also fig.
1747Relph Misc. Poems 2 The shearers aw brast out In sweels of laughter. 1776Pennant Brit. Zool. (ed. 4) I. 85 It is observable that the male otters never make any noise when taken: but the pregnant females emit a most shrill squeal. 1786Burns Holy Fair xiii, His lengthen'd chin, his turn'd up snout, His eldritch squeel an' gestures. 1835Marryat J. Faithful xix, All of a sudden we heard a rustling in the furze, and then a loud squeal. 1853R. S. Surtees Sponge's Sp. Tour ix. 42 Some of the more lively of the horses..evinced their approbation of the move, by sundry squeals and capers. 1894Birrell Ess. viii. 82 There is nothing..[they] like better than to hear the squeal of some self-torturing atom of humanity.
b. A sharp shrill sound.
1867Macgregor Voy. Alone (1868) 16 The shrill squeal of a pulley thrills my ear with pleasure. 1897M. Kingsley W. Africa 583 The shrill squeal of the wind, the roar of the thunder, and the rush of the rain.
2. Sc. A quarrel or broil.
1788Picken Poems 65 Ye needna gang sae far afiel' To tell how Tea has bred a squeel.
3. U.S.
a. slang. An act of informing against another.
1872G. P. Burnham Memoirs of U.S. Secret Service 152 This ‘squeal’ among the ‘queersmen’ brings this foul business straight home to you. 1903N.Y. Sun 5 Nov. 3 Ever since his so-called ‘squeal’ at the Lexow investigation he has been a marked man. 1907‘O. Henry’ Trimmed Lamp 185, I always thought that Kike's squeal on his boss was about the lowest-down play that ever happened.
b. Police slang. A call for police assistance or investigation; a report of a case investigated by the police.
1949S. Kingsley Detective Story i. 14 ‘This is Jim's squeal, ain't it?’.. ‘Yeah, I'll take it... This is my partner's case.’ Ibid. ii. 86 Get me the old files on that Cottsworth squeal! 1960‘E. McBain’ See them Die vii. 79 Parker's on the prowl, Hernandez is answering a squeal. 1972B. Garfield Line of Succession (1974) i. 3 The first cop said, ‘Do it. Send in a squeal—we'll want the wagon.’ 1973‘E. McBain’ Hail to Chief i. 6 The appearance of Homicide cops at the scene of a murder was mandatory, even though the subsequent investigation was handled by the precinct detectives catching the squeal.
▪ II. squeal, v.|skwiːl|
Forms: 4–5, 7 squele (north. 4 suele, 5 swele), 6 Sc. squeil(l, 7–9 squeel, 7 squeale, 7– squeal.
[Imitative.]
1. intr. To utter (or give out) a more or less prolonged loud sharp cry, esp. by reason of pain or sudden alarm; to scream shrilly:
a. Of persons.
a1300Cursor M. 1344 A new born barn lay in þe croppe,..Þar him þoght it lay suelland [Gött. squeland]. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xxvii. (Machor) 145 He..squelyt gret & raryt ȝarne, as kynd gaf to sic a barne. 1508Kennedie Flyting w. Dunbar 39 Baith Iohne the Ross and thow sall squeill and skirle. 1535Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 525 He ran..Fra place to place,..With mony schout ay squeilland like a kid. 1601Shakes. Jul. C. ii. ii. 24 Ghosts did shrieke and squeale about the streets. 1671Skinner, To Squall or Squeal out. 1676Hobbes Iliad 339 Enrag'd she..threw it from her, tore her hair, and squeal'd. 1740Richardson Pamela I. 235 She..took hold of my Arm, so roughly, and gave me such a Pull, as made me squeal out. 1778F. Burney Evelina xlii, They hide themselves, and run away, and squeel and squall, like any thing mad. 1846Landor Imag. Conv. Wks. II. 92 He pinched my ear so bitterly, I was fain to squeel. 1851D. Jerrold St. Giles xxxv, But for appearances,..she'd have squealed no more than a rose-bud pulled from a bush.
b. Of animals or birds.
a1400–50[see squealing vbl. n.]. 1513Douglas æneid viii. vi. 112 The catell eik..Baith squeill and low in thai ilk plenteus gatis. 1535[see prec.]. 1684Lond. Gaz. No. 1903/4 A Blood bay Stone Horse, between 14 and 15 hands high, being much given to bite and strike and squeel. 1688R. Holme Armoury ii. 134/2 When he sendeth forth his Cry,..a Rat Squeleth, or Squaketh. 1798Edgeworth Pract. Educ. (1811) II. 450 He bit off the ear of a pig because it squealed when he was ringing it. 1856Kane Arct. Expl. I. xxiii. 290 Tern were very numerous, hundreds of them squealing and screeching in flocks. 1879Black Macleod of D. I. 167 You hear the rabbit squealing with fright long before the weasel is at him.
2. Of things: To emit or produce a shrill or strident sound.
1596[see squealing vbl. n.]. 1658tr. Porta's Nat. Magic xix. 386 The voice is changed in divers tunes, one note is sweet and pleasant, two, squele and jar. 1727Somerville Fables xiv. i, Here tortur'd cats-gut squeals amain, Guittars in softer notes complain. 1824Heber Jrnl. (1828) I. ix. 239 Different musical instruments were strumming, thumping, squeeling and rattling. 1859Jephson Brittany vii. 99 Then the biniou or bagpipe squeals and grunts.
3. slang. To turn informer; to inform or ‘peach’ on a person. (Cf. squeak v. 2.)
1846National Police Gaz. (U.S.) 413/2 Some dozen of the infamous rogues, well known to them, who infest that city, will be ‘pulled’ until they find one that will ‘squeal’. 1865Slang Dict. 244 Squeal, to inform, peach. A north country variation of squeak. 1892Montreal Gaz. 5 Nov. 8/2 This revelation led Gideon to ‘squeal’ and he to-day fortified his statement..by much documentary evidence. 1896Boston (Mass.) Jrnl. 29 Dec. 2/1 His pal,..who is now serving time for counterfeiting, and who squealed on him.
4. trans. To utter or produce with a shrill, grating, or squeaking sound. Also with out.
1675Covel in Early Voy. Levant (Hakluyt Soc.) 211 There are trumpets, which come in onely now and then to squeel out a loud note or two. 1833M. Scott Tom Cringle xii, ‘Here, sir,’ squealed Timothy. 1871L. Stephen Playgr. Eur. xii. (1894) 294 Pigs..squeal emphatic disapproval of their enforced journey. 1883Ld. R. Gower My Remin. I. vii. 130 The fiddle squealed the old dance music of the old-fashioned quadrille.
5. quasi-adv. With a squeal.
1849Mrs. Carlyle Lett. II. 56 Squeal went the engine; we were off.
Add:[4.] b. To cause (something, esp. the tyres of a motor vehicle) to make a squealing noise.
1965J. A. Michener Source 5 As the two friends talked a jeep squealed its brakes outside the customs area. 1970Current Slang (Univ. S. Dakota) IV. 19 Hot dog, one who shows off by squealing his tires and gunning his motor as he drives around among his friends. 1975M. Duffy Capital iii. 119 A lone car squealed its tyres through his gate. 1982J. D. MacDonald Cinnamon Skin xx. 218 The plane squealed its tires on the runway.
▪ III. squeal, a. s.w. dial. ? Obs.
[? Related to queal v.]
Feeble, frail.
1794Wolcot (P. Pindar) J. Ploughshare's Royal Visit Exeter Wks. 1816 III. 367 That he was weak, and ould, and squeal, And zeldom made a hearty meal. 1795― Pindariana Ibid. 336 Why should [he] be afraid of horns, Who married a poor squeal, starv'd cat, for money? |