pushmi-pullyun.

Brit.

/ˌpʊʃmɪˈpʊljuː/, U.S.

/ˈpʊʃmiˈpʊlˌju/

Forms: 1900s– pushme-pullya, 1900s– pushme-pullyou, 1900s– pushmi-pullyou, 1900s– pushmi-pullyu.

Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: push v., me pron.¹, pull v., you pron.

Etymology: < push v. + me pron.¹ + pull v. + you pron., with various arbitrary respellings of the pronoun forms. Coined by Hugh Lofting (1886–1947) in Doctor Dolittle (see quot. 1922 at main sense).

An imaginary creature resembling a llama or antelope, but with a head at either end of the body, pointing away from the torso, so that the creature always faces in two directions at once. Hence in extended and allusive use.Widely popularized by the film version of Doctor Dolittle (1967).

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > mythical creature or object > [noun] > miscellaneous types of

calesc1300

yalec1425

tiger1481

su1568

succarath1594

rhinocerot1613

bunyip1848

bandersnatch1871

Omophore1871

taotie1915

pushmi-pullyu1922

shmoo1948

kaiju1972

the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > equivocal quality, ambiguity > [noun] > equivocal things

equivoque1614

amphibia1615

pushmi-pullyu1922

society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > narrative or story > fiction > [noun] > specific fictional animal

splacknuck1726

tove1855

boojum1876

snark1879

pushmi-pullyu1922

warg1937

shmoo1948

Womble1968

1922 H. Lofting Doctor Dolittle x. 92 Pushmi-pullyus are now extinct... They had no tail, but a head at each end, and sharp horns on each head... Only one half of him slept at a time. The other head was always awake—and watching.

1945 Rev. Eng. Stud. 21 270 Surely he who wrote the world's greatest dramas, and wrote them so, is less like Dryden's Janus..than Mr. Hugh Lofting's Pushmipullyu, a creature with not only two heads but two pairs of forelegs as well, and a consequent disposition to move off in opposite directions simultaneously.

1959 Appleton (Wisconsin) Post-Crescent 19 Dec. a16/3 Today, children might well wish for the pushmi-pullyu's two heads, so that they could keep at least one of them above the torrent of books that threatens to inundate them.

1972 Times 28 Nov. 14/6 The [Labour] party's imitation of a Pushme-Pullyou over the European Parliament.

1975 W. Percy Message in Bottle i. 19 Man's theory about himself doesn't work any more..because its parts are incoherent and go off in different directions like Dr. Doolittle's pushmi-pullyu.

1995 New Yorker 7 Aug. 5/3 The constitutional division of war powers is not intended to produce a pushmipullyu, with two minds to make up.

Compounds

attributive. Designating a situation, policy, scheme, etc., characterized by contradiction or vacillation.

ΚΠ

1964 Daily Tel. 5 May 16/2 With one hand it [sc. the Government] may give them incentives to get out of London. With the other, it already gives them incentives to stay where they are... The total effect of these push-me-pull-you policies must be conjectural.

1972 Film Q. Spring 36/2 What remains remarkable about Ray is how skillfully he conveys ideas of alienation without any of the pushmi-pullyu straining of, say, Antonioni.

1974 Economist 21 Dec. 52/2 Wilsonologists are now trying to work out..whether his pushme-pullyou performance was due to..agnosticism on the common market..or..a shrewd eye on the polls.

2002 Daily Tel. 20 Feb. 29/1 Ever since the election, the Prime Minister and the Chancellor have been engaged in a sort of pushmi-pullyu struggle over the euro.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	pushmi-pullyu
释义	pushmi-pullyun. Brit. /ˌpʊʃmɪˈpʊljuː/, U.S. /ˈpʊʃmiˈpʊlˌju/ Forms: 1900s– pushme-pullya, 1900s– pushme-pullyou, 1900s– pushmi-pullyou, 1900s– pushmi-pullyu. Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: push v., me pron.¹, pull v., you pron. Etymology: < push v. + me pron.¹ + pull v. + you pron., with various arbitrary respellings of the pronoun forms. Coined by Hugh Lofting (1886–1947) in Doctor Dolittle (see quot. 1922 at main sense). An imaginary creature resembling a llama or antelope, but with a head at either end of the body, pointing away from the torso, so that the creature always faces in two directions at once. Hence in extended and allusive use.Widely popularized by the film version of Doctor Dolittle (1967). ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > mythical creature or object > [noun] > miscellaneous types of calesc1300 yalec1425 tiger1481 su1568 succarath1594 rhinocerot1613 bunyip1848 bandersnatch1871 Omophore1871 taotie1915 pushmi-pullyu1922 shmoo1948 kaiju1972 the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > equivocal quality, ambiguity > [noun] > equivocal things equivoque1614 amphibia1615 pushmi-pullyu1922 society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > narrative or story > fiction > [noun] > specific fictional animal splacknuck1726 tove1855 boojum1876 snark1879 pushmi-pullyu1922 warg1937 shmoo1948 Womble1968 1922 H. Lofting Doctor Dolittle x. 92 Pushmi-pullyus are now extinct... They had no tail, but a head at each end, and sharp horns on each head... Only one half of him slept at a time. The other head was always awake—and watching. 1945 Rev. Eng. Stud. 21 270 Surely he who wrote the world's greatest dramas, and wrote them so, is less like Dryden's Janus..than Mr. Hugh Lofting's Pushmipullyu, a creature with not only two heads but two pairs of forelegs as well, and a consequent disposition to move off in opposite directions simultaneously. 1959 Appleton (Wisconsin) Post-Crescent 19 Dec. a16/3 Today, children might well wish for the pushmi-pullyu's two heads, so that they could keep at least one of them above the torrent of books that threatens to inundate them. 1972 Times 28 Nov. 14/6 The [Labour] party's imitation of a Pushme-Pullyou over the European Parliament. 1975 W. Percy Message in Bottle i. 19 Man's theory about himself doesn't work any more..because its parts are incoherent and go off in different directions like Dr. Doolittle's pushmi-pullyu. 1995 New Yorker 7 Aug. 5/3 The constitutional division of war powers is not intended to produce a pushmipullyu, with two minds to make up. Compounds attributive. Designating a situation, policy, scheme, etc., characterized by contradiction or vacillation. ΚΠ 1964 Daily Tel. 5 May 16/2 With one hand it [sc. the Government] may give them incentives to get out of London. With the other, it already gives them incentives to stay where they are... The total effect of these push-me-pull-you policies must be conjectural. 1972 Film Q. Spring 36/2 What remains remarkable about Ray is how skillfully he conveys ideas of alienation without any of the pushmi-pullyu straining of, say, Antonioni. 1974 Economist 21 Dec. 52/2 Wilsonologists are now trying to work out..whether his pushme-pullyou performance was due to..agnosticism on the common market..or..a shrewd eye on the polls. 2002 Daily Tel. 20 Feb. 29/1 Ever since the election, the Prime Minister and the Chancellor have been engaged in a sort of pushmi-pullyu struggle over the euro. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.1922
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