| 单词 | line of least resistance |
| 释义 | > as lemmasline of least resistance line of least resistance n. [after French ligne de moindre résistance (1743 in military use, in the passage translated in quot. 1746; the extended use is apparently unparalleled until later (1932 or earlier))] (a) Military and Mining a straight line extending from the centre of an explosive charge at right angles to the surface of the ground, this being the direction in which the force of the blast will encounter least resistance; (b) (in extended use) the easiest route, method, course of action, etc. (also path, etc., of least resistance). ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > easiness > [noun] > that which is easy > easy way or method primrose path1604 primrose waya1616 line of least resistance1746 plain sailing1756 royal road1793 plane sailing1850 pipe course1923 1746 tr. G. Le Blond Treat. Artillery xii. 75 This perpendicular line, erected from the top of the chamber, which shows the height or thickness of the ground to be raised, is called the line of least resistance. 1789 E. Hewgill tr. J. G. Tielke Field Engineer II. ii. xvi. 41 When you have squared the depth of the fougass or the line of least resistance, lay aside the last figure. 1839 Q. Rev. Jan. 15 It is true that it is possible for the boiler to explode, yet, as the safety-valve is the line of least resistance, that accident..can be so easily provided against, that it is not now apprehended. 1865 J. S. Mill Auguste Comte 101 In the play of antagonistic forces, the path it [sc. our intelligence] points out is (in scientific phraseology) the direction of least resistance. 1871 G. E. Voyle Dict. Artillery Terms (ed. 2) 213/1 By taking 1/10 of the cube of the line of least resistance in feet, the proper charge of powder..is given in pounds. 1896 Appletons' Pop. Sci. Monthly Feb. 498 Submission of opinion..is clearly a path of least resistance—a way in which men avoid the difficulties of differing from the community in which they live. 1908 W. McDougall Introd. Social Psychol. vii. 179 He often seems to act, not in the line of least resistance, but in the line of greatest resistance. 1923 W. G. Boulton Blasting with High Explosives xv. 45 L = Line of least resistance in feet... The line of resistance is the shortest distance from the chamber to the surface. 1988 E. Segal Doctors xxvii. 407 After graduation he had chosen the path of least resistance and lived at home. 2002 A. H. Cordesman Peace & War xv. 619 Creeping proliferation will follow the line of least resistance. < as lemmas |
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