单词 | hand-me-down |
释义 | hand-me-downadj.n. colloquial. A. adj. 1. a. Originally and chiefly of clothing: that has been handed down or passed on. Occasionally also: ready made, as opposed to tailored; off-the-peg. Cf. reach-me-down adj. 1a. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [adjective] > cast-off casten1493 cast1597 cast-off1746 hand-me-down1826 reach-me-down1861 the mind > possession > relinquishing > [adjective] > handing over or giving up to another > handed on or down hand-me-down1826 1826 Casket Sept. 278 The hand-me-down attire of her sainted mother, which did not at all fit her. 1897 Life 23 Sept. 276/2 When the last wrapper was removed..an ancient pair of hand-me-down trousers tumbled to the floor. 1907 Men's Wear 20 Nov. 24/2 If certain clothing is the best that can be had, what need of reminding those who still cling to ‘my tailor’ that it is ready-made—as tailors call it ‘hand-me-down’, or ‘guess-fit’? 1925 S. Lewis Martin Arrowsmith viii. §2 A dirty old office, with hand-me-down chairs and a lot of second-hand magazines. 1960 Economist 31 Dec. 1382/1 Many large corporations are still flying converted bombers and hand-me-down transports. 2006 Countryman Dec. 25/1 I'd got my cousin's hand-me-down grey suit (I knew it was his because he always chewed the tips of the lapels). b. Relating to, resembling, or suggestive of hand-me-down articles, esp. clothing; old, tired, worn. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [adjective] > shabby or worn-out threadbare1362 rusty1602 dowdy1774 dowdyish1818 pokyc1854 hand-me-down1895 daverdy1906 schlumpy1956 schleppy1966 1895 Hawaiian Gaz. 19 Mar. 2/4 He was attired in a suit of clothes, a little worse for wear; a modish hat and an overcoat that had a ‘hand-me down’ appearance. 1907 Canad. Mag. June 145/2 She was garbed in rusty and ancient black, her hair and eyes were faded, and she had an altogether hand-me-down air. 1911 I. H. Gillmore Janey viii. 257 A certain airy smartness that triumphed over all the hand-me-down shabbiness of her middy-blouse costume. 1982 R. Heikell Greek Waters Pilot 43 [The main town of Levkas] has its own charm despite the chaotic housing and hand-me-down appearance. 2007 Sunday Times (Nexis) 28 Jan. (Style section) 25 The folksy trend..has a grungy, homespun, hand-me-down vibe. 2. In extended use: that is not original; imitative, hackneyed; second hand. Also: ready-made; (hence) of inferior quality. Cf. reach-me-down adj. 2. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > relationship > imitation > [adjective] > not original or derivative secondary1398 borrowed1571 third hand1598 denominative1624 second hand1654 second-handed1682 of second hand1708 unoriginal1749 uninventive1776 unoriginative1845 uncreative1855 hand-me-down1881 reach-me-down1907 cookie cutter1922 1881 E. W. Nye Bill Nye & Boomerang 196 I will..not call to my aid a cheap Jim Crow, hand-me-down-liar [sc. a lying machine], costing $1.50 only. 1914 Assoc. Monthly Oct. 317/2 There is only one thing more pitiful..than a hand-me-down faith, and that is a hand-me-down scepticism. 1919 Amer. Stationer & Office Outfitter 27 Sept. 34/1 There is no such thing as a ready-made, hand-me-down filing system. 1966 New Yorker 5 Nov. 197 To dramatize this hand-me-down truth. 2005 Hotdog June 58/4 So why the hand-me-down story, weak dialogue and characters so stock you could use them as Oxo cubes? B. n. 1. A second-hand garment; (also) a ready-made garment (now rare). Cf. reach-me-down n. 1a. Usually in plural. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [noun] > second hand > article of hand-me-down1835 reach-me-down1861 the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [noun] > manufactured in specific way > ready-to-wear hand-me-down1835 reach-me-down1861 ready-made1882 confection1885 ready-to-wear1894 prêt-à-porter1959 1835 J. D. Carrick Laird of Logan 293 The Laird of B—— , appearing in a buttonless hand-me-down, with sleeves scarcely reaching to his elbows. 1845 R. Goadby Dict. Cant Lang. in Surprising Adventures Bampfylde Moore Carew (new ed.) 250 Hand-me-downs, second-hand clothes. 1847 Satirist 28 Feb. 69 If any of the member for Shrewsbury's progenitors did deal in hand-me-downs in Monmouth and Holywell-streets, he himself never pattered. 1848 Sharpe's London Mag. 7 141/1 A mart for ready-made clothing—‘hand-me-downs’, as the Dublin boys call them. 1896 G. Ade Artie xviii. 70 They'll be workin' for some Reub that come into town wearin' hand-me-downs. 1904 Printers' Ink 22 June 51/1 Two hand-me-downs may be bought with the amount asked for one built to order suit. 1955 T. Williams Cat on Hot Tin Roof i. 38 One [dress] Mother made me from a pattern in Vogue, the other a hand-me-down from a snotty rich cousin I hated! 2006 Grow your Own July 7/1 Recycling clothes doesn't have to mean ill-fitting hand-me-downs. 2. Any thing which is handed down or passed on; a second-hand item; (occasionally also) something that has been ready made or prepared.In quot. 1909: something to be handed down; an heirloom. ΘΚΠ society > law > legal right > right of possession or ownership > right to succeed to title, position, or estate > succession > [noun] > descent by inheritance > that which is inherited etheleOE heritagea1225 ereward-richea1325 reversiona1325 patrimony1357 succession1382 inheriteson1470 heredity?c1550 inheritage1557 long acre1608 relict1726 post-obit1812 hand-me-down1909 1848 London Pioneer 13 Apr. 826/1 Devil an Evening Post to be got, barrin' an old hand-me-down, bekase tomorrow is the day it will be published, sir. 1896 Proc. 15th Ann. Meeting Indiana Pharmaceut. Assoc. 16 Your committee would earnestly advise every member..to prepare a line of ready-made medicines for himself, which he should sell in place of the ‘hand me-downs’ of doubtful value. 1909 Daily Chron. 2 July 7/4 He got it from a lady admirer..and he wanted me to 'ave it as a hand-me-down. 1957 Changing Times Nov. 11/2 Every apartment and rented house they lived in was furnished with hand-me-downs. 1978 Texas Monthly Sept. 168/2 His agency is..working with a motley assortment of confiscated planes and Defense Department hand-me-downs. 1992 National Trust Mag. Summer 16/1 Toys accumulated... These hand-me-downs (now antiques) were stowed at the back of the cupboard. 3. In extended use: a concept, belief, etc., which has been passed on or passed down; esp. an idea, etc., regarded as unoriginal or hackneyed. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > relationship > imitation > [noun] > want of originality > something derivative hand-me-down1889 reach-me-down1916 1889 St. Paul (Minnesota) Daily News 15 May 1/1 The affair..shows that the great speeches of great men may be hand-me-downs, after all. 1896 Land of Sunshine Aug. 123 The reviewer's opinions are worth what they are worth—but at all events they are his, and not lazy hand-me-downs from the publisher. 1942 Life 26 Oct. 85 You're going to get some of the most precious hand-me-downs in history—things like liberty and democracy. 1996 Y. Martel Self 127 Every other idea I had had was a hand-me-down from someone or somewhere. Compounds attributive. Frequently Irish English. Designating a place where second-hand goods, esp. garments, are sold or repaired, as hand-me-down factory, hand-me-down shop, etc. ΚΠ 1860 ‘P. Paradox’ Land of Kelt II. vii. 250 The keeper of what is called a ‘Hand me down’ shop. 1886 Log 16th Ann. Cruise 2nd Presbyterian Fishing Club Philadelphia 61 The great variety of..trousers, overalls, undershirts, stockings, etc., gave the deck the appearance of a hand-me-down store. 1914 J. Joyce Dubliners 150 His little old father kept the hand-me-down shop in Mary's Lane. 1935 A. J. Cronin Stars look Down ii. xiii. 375 A little hand-me-down factory in East Town. 1985 M. Binchy Echoes i. 15 ‘This isn't a hand-me-down shop,’ she said. ‘Take that coat and put it where it's meant to be.’ 2006 A. R. Koch Help Mom with Dishes 131 Jackets, sweaters, hats, and mittens were recycled through Mom's hand-me-down factory. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2013; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < |
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