| 释义 |
racketn.1 Origin: Probably a borrowing from French. Etymon: French raquette. Etymology: Probably < Middle French raquette (French raquette ) implement formed like a paddle apparently used in scraping the bottom of a ship (1388), implement used for striking a ball (mid 15th cent. as raquecte ), snowshoe (1557; originally with reference to North American practice), apparently a variant of rachette palm of the hand, carpus (see rascette n.). Compare Catalan raqueta (1653), Spanish raqueta (a1586), Portuguese raqueta (1720; now usually raquete ), Italian racchetta (a1536 as racheta ; also as †lacchetta ), and also Dutch raket (1525), Middle Low German ragget (16th cent.; rare), German †raket , †rakete (1561 as raggeten ; German Racket tennis racket is < English), all < French in sense ‘implement used in sports, esp. ball games’. Compare rascette n.The early English attestations are remarkable both because they apparently denote the game (albeit in metaphorical or figurative contexts) rather than the implement and also because they are earlier even than the sense ‘implement used for striking a ball’ in French (the sense ‘ball game’ is not listed in dictionaries of French for the standard language, although it apparently occurs in isolated regional use; French rackets (1933 in this sense) is < English). The apparent misunderstanding of Chaucer's use of the word by Lydgate (see discussion at sense 1a) suggests that the game itself was perhaps not familiar in England in the first half of the 15th cent. Furthermore, it is uncertain whether in early use the word refers to the game as played with a racket or with the palm of the hand (either ungloved or gloved: compare discussion at tennis n.), and hence the early examples at sense 1a do not necessarily imply currency of the word (in any language) in sense 1b (although it is also notable that the sense ‘palm’ is apparently not recorded in Middle French for the form raquette as opposed to rachette ). It has alternatively been suggested that the English word is ultimately < Middle French rachas kind of ball game (1405 in an apparently isolated attestation) or its etymon rachacier to return (a ball), to hit (a ball) back (1316 in Old French), spec. sense of rachacier rechase v.2, via an unattested Middle Dutch (Flemish) form (see further H. Gillmeister ‘The Flemish Ancestry of Early English Ball Games’ in N. Müller and J. K. Rühl Sport History (Olympic Scientific Congress) (1985) 54–74). This would, however, imply that French raquette in sporting use was borrowed from English, although the English word is not attested in the relevant sense ‘implement used in a ball game’ until considerably later. For a different suggested etymology, again ultimately from classical Latin capt- but with a different extension of the stem, see C. Schmitt Die Araber und der Tennissport in J. Lüdtke Romania Arabica (1996) 47–55. With sense 5 compare earlier racket-tail n., racket-tailed adj. 1. a. A ball game for two players (or two pairs of players) occupying the same playing area in a four-walled court, in which the ball is directed with a racket (sense 1b) against the front wall, points (in the modern game) being won by the server if the opponent is unable to return the ball successfully within the laws of the game. Now plural with singular agreement. Cf. fives n.2 and squash-rackets at squash n.1 3a. Rackets is distinguished from the more recent squash in particular by the use of a solid, harder ball. The game is now played in covered indoor courts. It is known to have been played in open outdoor courts before the 19th cent., though the exact nature of the original game is uncertain. Lydgate follows Chaucer in treating the game as a symbol of inconstancy: his linking of rackets (not found in his French source) with dice may reflect unfamiliarity with the actual nature of the game, which led to the mistaken assumption that the medieval game of this name was quite distinct from that referred to in later sources.In North America now usually in form racquets.society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > racket games > [noun] > racket a1425 (c1385) G. Chaucer iv. 460 Kanstow playen raket [v.r. rakett], to and fro, Nettle in, dok out, now this, now that, Pandare Now foule falle hire for thi wo that care! ?a1439 J. Lydgate tr. (Bodl.) v. 2701 Kyng Fraactes, in tokne he was vnstable, Sent hym thre dees forgid squar of gold, To pleye raket as a child chaungable [Fr. pour soy iouer en maniere dung petite enfant]. 1529 D. Lindsay 175 Sum gart him raiffell at the rakcat: Sum harld hym to the hurly hakcat. ?1544 J. Heywood sig. D.iii All the soules were playnge at racket. 1610 J. Guillim iv. xii. 221 Such [games] are..Racket, Balloone. 1653 J. Taylor (1859) 26 The lawful and laudable games of trapp, catt, stool-ball, racket, etc. 1748 S. Richardson III. xxxiv. 179 All his address and conversation is one continual game at racket. 1868 ‘G. Eliot’ ?4 Apr. (1955) IV. 429 A friend of Mr. Lewes's urges him angrily to play at ‘racket’ for his health. society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > racket games > rackets > [noun] 1704 in A. Morgan (1937) 155 That the fabrick of the Colledge is greatly damnified by students playing att racketts and hand balls. 1777 J. Howard v. 206 The Prisoners play at rackets, missisippi &c. and in a little back court, the Park, at skittles. 1822 W. Hazlitt II. vii. 161 Rackets..is, like any other athletic game, very much a thing of skill and practice. 1837 C. Dickens xl. 438 He..wos alvays a bustlin' about for somebody, or playin' rackets and never vinnin'. 1890 E. O. Pleydell-Bouverie Rackets in J. M. Heathcote et al. (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) 392 The game of rackets is now exclusively played in a court enclosed in four walls. 1905 H. A. Vachell viii Racquets, the chief game in the Easter term. 1937 369/2 He..was a fine player of polo, racquets, golf, and football. 1977 9 Mar. (Weekend Mag.) 14/2 Squash has no inventor. It is a modified version of an older English game called racquets. 1997 J. Wake ii. viii. 269 Rex had been asked to play a trial match with Holland Hibbert to decide which of them would play racquets for Eton at Queen's Club. ?1544 J. Heywood sig. D.iii All the soules were playnge at racket None other rackettes they hadde in hande. 1568 (?a1513) W. Dunbar in W. T. Ritchie (1928) II. 150 Sa mony rakkettis, Sa mony ketchepillaris. 1574 T. Newton tr. G. Gratarolo 6 Striking and receaving the balle with a raquet. 1589 R. Greene sig. E4v Finding opportunitie to giue her both bal and racket. 1610 J. Healey tr. J. L. Vives in tr. St. Augustine xviii. i. 654 Friuolous pamphlets, the very rackets wherewith Greece bandieth ignorant heads about. 1624 J. Smith ii. 27 The Beaver..His taile somewhat like the forme of a Racket. 1668 J. Wallis Let. 5 Dec. in H. Oldenburg (1968) V. 220 My opinion is..that (beside Repercussion which I suppose was not intended to be excluded, being one manifest cause; as when a Racket returns ye Ball;) there is no other cause (that I know of) of Rebounding, but Springyness. 1690 J. Locke ii. xxi. 118 A Tennis-ball, whether in Motion by the stroke of a Racket, or lying still at rest. ?1706 E. Hickeringill iii. 38 Antichrist is the common Tennis-Ball that every malicious Racket bandies and tosses against each other. 1763 C. Johnstone (new ed.) II. 206 He was seated at table with a parcel of shuttle-cocks before him, and mending a racket. 1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage III. viii. ix. 323 You have a racket for every ball; nothing comes amiss to you. 1828 I. D'Israeli I. ii. 22 In the tennis~court he toiled with the racquet. 1861 J. G. Sheppard xiii. 744 The bishop calls for his raquette, and engages in a game at tennis. 1915 W. S. Maugham xxxv. 160 She threw down her racket, and, saying she had a headache, went away. 1953 P. Gallico xv. 83 The game up and his beautiful racket ruined. 1981 982/2 She got her rackets from Slazenger..the top price for a racket in those days being 30s. 2006 (National ed.) 10 June b13/4 Federer was shanking ground strokes off the frame of his racket and watching his second serves returned for winners. society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > lacrosse > [noun] > stick 1791 W. Bartram 508 Each person having a racquet or hurl, which is an implement..somewhat resembling a laddle or scoop-net. 1808 Z. M. Pike (1810) 100 [In Lacrosse] one catches the ball in his racket, and..endeavors to carry it to the goal. 1927 A. C. Parker ii. xxxv. 149 The racquets or net-sticks used in this game differed among various tribes. society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > [noun] > ballista 1535 1 Macc. vi. 51 He made all maner ordinaunce: handbowes, fyrie dartes, rackettes to cast stones. 3. North American. the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > footwear > shoe or boot > shoe > [noun] > types of > for specific purpose > snow shoe > types of 1609 P. Erondelle tr. M. Lescarbot ii. xvii. 229 They make with guttes bow-strings, and rackets, which they tie at their feet to goe vpon the snow a hunting. 1613 S. Purchas viii. iv. 630 Their Dogges..haue rackets tyed vnder their feet, the better to runne on the snow. 1677 W. Hubbard ii. 130 Unless they carried Rackets under their Feet, wherewith to walk upon the Top of the Snow. a1710 P.-E. Radisson (1885) 66 We found snowes in few places, saving where the trees made a shadow, wch hindred the snow to thaw, wch made us carry the raquetts. 1760 T. Jefferys I. 57 The texture of the raquette or snow-shoe, consists of straps of leather about two lines in breadth, bordered with some light wood hardened in the fire. 1790 R. Beilby & T. Bewick 96 The sportsman pursues in his broad-rackets or snow-shoes. 1849 J. E. Alexander II. 19 It was ludicrous to witness the mishaps of those who figured on the broad racquettes for the first time. 1875 J. H. Temple & G. Sheldon 84 Travel was next to impossible, except upon rackets. 1930 21 June 12/7 Despite snow racquettes, it was very hard work for laden coolies, but they struggled gallantly on. 1973 P. Such 29 The woman running last, without her racquets, had fallen through the weakened snowcrust. 1992 7 Mar. 10 It seemed the ideal spot to don my racquettes—the snow shoes I had hired a couple of days before and never had occasion to use. the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > shoeing of horses > [noun] > horseshoe > types of horseshoe the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > footwear > shoe or boot > shoe > [noun] > types of > made from specific material > wood 1846 P. J. de Smet (1847) xiv. 193 The savages travel over these marshy places in Rackets. 1866 R. M. Copeland (ed. 5) 740 If it is soft the horses should have meadow-shoes, called rackets, to keep them from sinking in. the world > movement > impact > striking > striking with specific degree of force > [noun] > hard or vigorous striking > a hard or vigorous blow 1710 T. Ruddiman in G. Douglas tr. Virgil (new ed.) Gloss. at Rak More frequently..we use Racket, as he gave him a racket on the lug, i.e. a box on the ear. ?1750 in A. Pennecuik i. 16 He gave me such a devilish Racket, that o'er flew I. 1810 J. Cock 135 The wabster lad bang'd to his feet, An' ga'e 'im a waefu' racket. 1892 Stewart 257 I fetches da collie a racket wi' da end o' da waand. a1899 D. Nicolson MS Coll. Caithness Words in (1904) V. 6/2 Jock fired twathry rackads at him. the world > animals > birds > feather > [noun] > other specific types 1887 VI. 6/2 Racket, a spatule. 1900 10 Aug. 224/2 The origin of ‘racket-feathers’ in groups of birds of very diverse affinities. 1948 2 242 (caption) Crested species [sc. drongos] are encircled; species with tail rackets are underlined. 1987 194 23 Avian racket plumes, characterized by a vaned paddle-shaped tip borne on a wirelike segment, are among the most spectacular pennaceous contour feathers. 2001 J. del Hoyo et al. VI. 265/1 (caption) The racquets are not evident when the feathers are very new, but are created as the weakly attached barbs rapidly wear off or fall away. Compounds C1. a. (In sense 1a.) society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > racket games > [noun] > racket 1828 B. R. Haydon 7 In the picture I have made him sit at ease, with a companion, while Champagne bottles, a dice box, dice, cards, a racket-bat and ball on the ground, announce his present habits. 1843 W. M. Thackeray Ravenswing vi, in Aug. 201/2 His friend..actually hit Lord George Tennison across the shoulders in play with a racket-bat. 1877 30 Aug. 2/3 (advt.) Lawn tennis in box, complete, containing four strong racquet bats, 24ft. net poles, balls, M.C. laws, &c. society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > racket games > rackets > [noun] > court 1604 T. Middleton sig. Fv I am no day from the lyne of the Racket-court. 1708 v. 93 Such a Man's mind is not advanced above a hunting Match, a Racket-Court; or a Cock-Pit. 1837 C. Dickens xliv. 489 The area formed by the wall in that part of the Fleet in which Mr. Pickwick stood, was just wide enough to make a good racket court, one side being formed, of course, by the wall itself. 1907 E. M. Forster iv. 55 He showed him the racquet-court, happily completed, and the chapel, unhappily still in need of funds. 1948 F. A. Iremonger ii. 17 Sir Frank Fletcher saw and heard a good deal of him—in the rackets-court, in the school debates, and at the meetings of the literary society. 1988 S. Paretsky (1990) xxxv. 251 A lot of that area is getting trendy, with racquet courts and chi-chi little restaurants springing up. society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > racket games > rackets > [noun] > court 1827 18 July 3/2 The person who appeared in the character of Clown..met with a simple fracture of the leg, from a fall, while dancing of the racket-ground. 1856 W. Collins Rogue's Life in 3 May 312/1 He then appealed to me personally and publicly, on the racket-ground. 1890 21 Sept. 18/7 In 1688 the society of French comedians bought the old racket ground of L'Etoile..and built a theatre there. 1861 21 Mar. 12/1 The Oxford and Cambridge racket matches will take place at Prince's Club..Sloane-street. 1898 F. S. Cockayne & H. D. G. Leveson Gower 252 A man in ordinary good condition need not go into training for a racket match. 1936 J. J. Thomson x. 279 His eldest son..played twice in the Oxford and Cambridge Cricket Match and twice represented Cambridge in the Racquets Match. 2005 (Nexis) 9 Dec. 22 That victory made her the first girl to win a schools rackets match. society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > racket games > rackets > [noun] > player 1819 W. C. Hazlitt in W. Hone (1825) 868 The four best racket-players of that day..Davies could give any one of these two hands a time, that is half the game. 1865 G. H. Lewes in 15 Sept. 263 The racket-player keeps his eye on the ball he is to strike, not on the racket with which he strikes. 1916 J. Joyce ii. 102 Another was a good oarsman or a good racket player, another could tell a good story. 1949 247/1 Dyke was the most famous rackets player of his day. 1992 Apr. 32/2 The best prospect in the losing side was Thorold Barker, a talented rackets player who only took up tennis after Christmas. b. (In sense 1b.) 1875 ‘Stonehenge’ (ed. 12) iii. v. 691/1 In volleying..sufficient strength is obtained by gently approaching the racket face to the ball. 1932 16 Sept. 14/2 The mere flick of his racquet face sent the ball diving into the smallest of openings. 2012 (Nexis) 26 June 30 You need to have enough space between the handle and the racket face so you don't grip too hard. 1916 20 July 35/3 The racket frame is of metal construction, with a metal rim and hollow throat. 1947 9 Dec. 5/1 (advt.) You may select a racket frame and have your choice of strings. 2004 Z. Major & R. W. Lang in v. xxiv. 146 Complex racket designs are used consisting of a wooden or glass or carbon fiber reinforced racket frame with multi-layer rubber/foam covers. 1875 2 June 4/4 A certain practice of the feel of a racket handle, of the twists of a ball, is necessary to the player. 1947 R. B. Yocom & H. B. Hunsaker iv. 51 Leather pieces on the butt of the racquet handles should be securely fastened. 2013 2 June 36/1 Connors..ruffled the tennis establishment's starched collars—gesturing obscenely at line judges, grabbing his crotch after a point, positioning his racket handle between his legs just so. 1885 ‘Cavendish’ (ed. 6) 23 The striker should stand..with the racket across his body, the racket head being supported. 1986 6 Jan. 2 b/2 [In this exercise] players only have to concentrate on the raquet head and not generate raquet-head speed. 2011 S. Hickey xv. 141 About every ten strokes, the shuttlecock got stuck in the racket head. 1561 in S. Adams (1995) 139 Paid to Isacke Burges racket maker in parte of payment of a dousen of rackets at iiijli. the dousen. 1611 R. Cotgrave Raquetier, a Racket-maker. 1789 J. P. Pettit 24 He immediately enquired for the racquet-maker. 1905 30 July c6/6 Tennis rackets to be re-strung by an expert racket maker. 2006 (Nexis) 3 Sept. 86 I don't like the way the racket-makers determine the way tennis is played. 1903 (at cited word) Racket-seller. 2006 (Nexis) 14 July 1 g Wilson, the world's largest racket seller, debuted its ‘W’ line for women last fall, touting a larger sweet spot, a softer grip and more shock absorption. 1937 7 Dec. 7/2 The group..indicated enthusiasm in the popular racket sport, badminton, by reporting for the first meeting. 1968 18 May 14 b/1 Australian Rod Laver says that what the racket sport needs is fewer administrators who work for the love of the sport and more hard-nosed businessmen. 1998 R.N. Singer in iv. xv. 111 Highlevel competitive racket sport contests are filled with continuous action. C2. 1981 (Nexis) 15 Oct. d22/6 McEnroe yelled at the umpire over a line call and smashed his racquet, and as a result drew a $350 fine for ‘racquet abuse’. 1996 (Nexis) 4 July 40 Goran also received a warning from the umpire for racket abuse. Not even the presence of his parish priest could make Goran behave. 1890 C. G. Heathcote Lawn Tennis in J. M. Heathcote et al. (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) 204 Among those [implements] which..are useful, may be mentioned the racket press to keep the racket from warping. 1930 8 Aug. 5/4 To the player winning the most love sets in proportion to the number of matches played, will be presented a racket press. 1977 21 Sept. (Common Cents section) 3/4 A gut racket should always be protected by both a cover and a racket press. 1999 26 Mar. 37/1 I've never seen a warped tennis racket but maybe that was because the racket presses were so effective. 1808 Z. M. Pike (1810) 75 The pressure of my racket strings brought the blood through my socks and mockinsons. 1878 J. Marshall iii. 131 The fewer the seams that are made [on the ball], the fewer the stitches exposed to the action of the racket-strings. 1909 15 Apr. 5 A remarkable feature of the game was the very great number of racket strings that were broken. 2003 O. Shine 109 His racket strings gave off that sweet pock! and the ball flew cleanly down the T at 119 mph. Derivatives 1893 A. Newton et al. 168 The outermost pair [of feathers] are enlarged at the end in a racquet-like form. 1949 3 Jan. 13/5 The racket-like basket is a costa, the ball a pelota. 1991 in D. J. Gless & B. H. Smith (1992) 13 SWM, 38, 5′ 10″, N/S, Stanford scientist, average-looking..likes jogging, bicycling, all things done with racquet-like instruments. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022). racketn.2 Origin: Of uncertain origin. Perhaps an imitative or expressive formation. Etymology: Origin uncertain; perhaps imitative.Scottish Gaelic racaid noise, disturbance, is apparently < English. With sense 2 compare earlier racket v.2 2. The origin of sense 3 is unclear. It perhaps arose from sense 2, with reference to the pleasure taken by the perpetrator in a successful scam, although alternatively perhaps compare the pejorative connotations of some of the uses at sense 2b. It has been suggested that it arose from a practice of selling tickets under pressure for bogus social events, but apart from the apparent absence of evidence to support this, it would not account at all well for the chronological order of the subsenses at sense 3. The precise reference originally intended by to stand the racket at Phrases is unclear; perhaps compare later to face the music at face v. Phrases 1g. The form wracket apparently shows hypercorrection. The β. forms forms are probably after the β. forms at racket n.1 1. the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > cry or shout (loudness) > [noun] > outcry or clamour society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > profligacy, dissoluteness, or debauchery > [noun] > action or conduct the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > loudness > confused sound > [noun] > uproar or tumult the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > loudness > confused sound > [noun] > rowdy noise 1565 Abp. M. Parker 8 Mar. (MS Lansdowne 8, no. 2) f. 4 I send you a letter sent to me of the racket styred vp bi (Withers). 1600 W. Shakespeare ii. ii. 20 But that the Tennis court keeper knows better than I, for it is a low eb of linnen with thee when thou keepest not racket there. View more context for this quotation a1641 R. Montagu (1642) 323 Antonius..hearing what racket the Parthians kept in Syria. 1760 L. Sterne II. vi. 45 Pray, what's all that racket over our heads..?—quoth my father;—my brother and I can scarce hear ourselves speak. 1784 H. Cowley Epil. 97 Momus is surely there, from all this racket, Yonder he sits. 1832 J. K. Paulding (1833) I. xv. 135 We often steal a few days from the racket of the noisy town to bury ourselves in the holy quiet of the mountains. 1863 ‘Old Elizabeth’ in H. L. Gates (1988) 11 Complaint has been made to me that the people round here cannot sleep for the racket. 1902 W. James vi. 135 One with a high threshold [of consciousness] will doze through an amount of racket by which one with a low threshold would be immediately waked. 1935 Z. N. Hurston i. iii. 78 Good Lawd, Zora! How kin you stand all dat racket? 1957 J. Osborne i. i. 25 Stamping their high heels, banging their irons and saucepans—the eternal flaming racket of the female. 2000 (Nexis) 9 Dec. 9 Such is the racket that the locals make in the hope of distracting the opposition. a1568 (1928) III. 83 God that he mort in to ane rakkett. 1605 G. Chapman et al. i. sig. A2 Sword, pumps, heers a Racket indeed. 1622 J. Mabbe tr. M. Alemán ii. 261 Then will shee keepe a racket, and cry out. 1683 (1860) I. 243 And made such a riot..That never before such a racket was known. 1702 B. Morrice 139 He made such a terrible racket and hurricane, that Lucifer himself could not quell him. 1740 S. Richardson (1824) I. 53 Your daughter has made a strange racket in my family. 1777 F. Burney Diary 7 Apr. in (1990) II. 247 The Drums and Trumpets again made a racket. 1835 R. M. Bird I. xiv. 193 We've laid in two hundred and fifty charges for the six-pounder, and we'll have such a roaring racket as has never been heard this ten years. 1856 J. H. Newman 68 There is such a racket and whirl of religions on all sides of me. 1895 S. Crane xxii. 210 Presently there was a most awe-inspiring racket in the wood. The noise was unspeakable. 1916 J. Joyce iii. 119 Shut up, will you. Don't make such a bally racket! 1933 N. West (1957) 113 A screech owl made a horrible racket somewhere in the woods. 1970 L. Ferlinghetti 4 An enormous racket of trumpets and trombones and drums. 1992 19 Dec. 32/3 You never know how much noise to make: whether to creep around, or make a racket so everyone will know you're there. 2005 Dec. 71/1 They make a bracing racket, that's for sure, with GMS on feedback guitar producing the lion's share of the noise. the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > [noun] > briskness or activeness > bustle or fuss 1644 D. Featley iii. 4 Thou makest a hideous noyse and great racket about a Letter written to his grace, but intercepted. 1649 N. Culpeper 54 Here the Colledge make another racket about the several sorts of Comfrys; which I passe by with silence, having spoke to them before. 1651 N. Culpeper ix. 203 What a Racket do Authors make about this! What wharting and contradicting, not of others, but of themselves! 1755 J. Shebbeare (1769) II. 270 She was astonished..at the racket which was made about a son of such a creature. 1760 L. Sterne II. ii. 17 What a pudder and racket in Councils..and in the Schools of the learned. 1793 C. Smith I. v. 114 Mr. Patterson would have made such a racket about it, that my aunt..let the story drop. 1874 T. Hardy II. xxii. 282 My eyes and limbs, there'll be a racket if you go back just now. 1882 6 Apr. 5/2 She was not going to raise a racket about such a small matter. 1910 E. M. Forster xliv. 339 Think of the racket and torture this time last year. But now I couldn't stop unhappy if I tried. 1926 J. Devanny xxiii. 278 Wild impatience seized her at the absurdity, to her, of all his soul racket over a perfectly natural thing. 1957 W. Dykeman & J. Stokely iv. 65 Up at their school here they had a big row a year or so ago: one of the teachers put a hex on the principal's wife. They found out about it, had to fire her from her job there was such a racket about it. 1994 R. N. Lebow & J. G. Stein i. vi. 126 How come you raise such a racket about missiles in Cuba? 2. society > leisure > social event > social gathering > [noun] > lively or rowdy 1745 E. Haywood II. ii. 328 She told me, that when the Number of Company for Play exceeded ten Tables, it was called a Racquet. 1751 S. Richardson No. 97. 576 Now they [sc. women] are too generally given up to Negligence of Business, to idle Amusements, and to wicked Rackets without any settled View at all but of squandering Time. 1876 T. Hardy II. xlix. 303 She'll have her routs and her rackets as well as the high-born ones. 1880 C. M. Greene & S. Thompson i. 21 ‘You be blowed! I know a racket worth two o' that. Catch on.’ And he takes her to a place..where theres music and dancing and whiskey strait. 1903 E. J. Jarrold 15 D'ye remember, Mame, de night we went t' de Soup Green's racket? De maskerade, I mean! 1928 Oct. 215/1 In this hotel a racket was considered exclusive when the guests did not swipe each other's booze. 1934 H. Roth 416 Throw a racket up at your joint, willye? Give him an invite. 1975 H. Acton iv. 57 After one of his nocturnal rackets he would peal the bell of their little house in Blomfield Road at 5 a.m. in a state of maudlin intoxication and undress. 2004 E. Conlon iii. 74 I didn't hang out much, aside from the occasional Christmas party or racket, as benefits are called, but in general I became less standoffish. society > leisure > social event > [noun] > social excitement 1771 T. Smollett I. 64 This place, which Nature and Providence seem to have intended as a resource from distemper and disquiet, is become the very center of racket and dissipation. 1822 W. Scott 4 Sept. (1934) VII. 231 I did not wish for you in the midst of all this racquet of mirth and war. 1850 W. M. Thackeray Let. in (1887) July 26/1 With all this racket and gaiety, do you understand that a gentleman feels very lonely? 1886 6 Feb. 175/1 Dr. Johnson..did not live in the racket of Society. a1976 A. Christie (1977) ix. v. 477 A London season..cured her of any mad wish to continue the social racket indefinitely. society > leisure > dancing > types of dance or dancing > ballroom dancing > [noun] > others 1880 16 Sept. The ‘Racquette’..is a new dance which is being introduced among fashionable dancers. 1881 7 Feb. All who have seen the so-called racquette, or more appropriately called rackett, danced call it a failure in more than one sense of the word. 1885 A. Dodworth vii. 52 Changes are made..by alternating the one-slide racket with the three-slide. 1918 B. Tarkington i. 12 They also danced the ‘racquette’, and schottisches and polkas, and such whims as the ‘Portland Fancy’. 1935 D. N. Cropper 54 Racket, popular 6/8 number of the ‘nineties’. 3. slang. the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > [noun] > instance of 1819 J. H. Vaux New Vocab. Flash Lang. in II. 200 Racket, some particular kinds of fraud and robbery are so termed. 1851 H. Mayhew I. 224/1 I did wear a shovel hat when the Bishop of London was our racket. 1872 J. D. McCabe xliii. 526 His peculiar ‘racket’ is to break open some first-class business house, a bonded warehouse, or the vaults of a bank. 1933 S. Walker 85 Adepts at kidnapping or the ‘snatch racket’. 1939 Nov. 70/1 Some of the commercial trade schools..are really rackets. 1974 J. Gardner 31 All our family is affected if we start to lose in any racket, any lay. 1991 5 Jan. 47/1 Ill-gotten gains that he made in a shares racket. 2000 4 Sept. a3 The extortion racket was costing downtown businesses some $400 million annually. the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > [noun] > a trick, deception 1869 Sept. 348 Their particular ‘racket’ is to obtain the means of entering dwellings and stores without noise or violence. 1885 9 Sept. 20 Well, now I'm here... We may as well work the old racket. Three wishes—what'll you have? 1927 F. M. Thrasher iv. xix. 392 The ‘racket’ was to call up a house and make sure no one was at home and then put a little boy through a window to open the door. 1939 W. Saroyan 107 If the young man was..trying to work some sort of a racket, it was just too bad because the red-cap wasn't born yesterday. 1955 J. Klaas 57 I'll lay odds it's just another racket to get out of marching. 1993 T. P. Doherty 185 (caption) Eddie Bracken and Bob Hope think the Army is just another racket in Caught in the Draft. the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > criminality > criminal deed > [noun] > of gangsters society > law > rule of law > lawlessness > [noun] > crime > a crime > organized crime 1925 3 May i. 20/4 Here's my idea on crime. Everything is organized nowadays. The racket guys who deal in the things..like pinochle and poker games, are somewhat organized. 1953 R. May ii. 47 The individual crook cannot make out very well on his own these days: he has to join a racket. 1977 29 Nov. 14/2 Ulster by the middle of 1974 was suffering from rackets and violent crime on a scale equal to some of Europe's most notorious cities. 1995 28 July 5/1 Odessa was the place where the Jews ran the rackets. 2004 F. Saggio & F. Rosen iii. 18 Philly Lucky could usually be found at..Kennedy Airport where he controlled the rackets for the Bonanno Family. 1939 C. R. Cooper 70 He was ‘in the racket’, in plain words, a pimp. 1941 B. Davis & S. G. Wolsey 79 Did it ever occur to you that a girl that's been in the racket can't get a decent job? 1971 J. Curtis 89 You're beautiful, and you're done with the racket. 2005 M. Clubb 212 As she began..to examine her life as a prostitute, she came to realize that life in the racket was a ‘pit of horrors’. 1835 A. B. Longstreet 224 I'll eat the paper; or be mighty apt to do it, if you'll b'lieve my racket. 1890 J. N. Reynolds xx. 323 I inquired as to his past history. He gave me the same old tramp ‘racket’. 1944 M. Mezzrow & B. Wolfe viii. 107 The kid laid his racket so smooth that I warmed up to him. the world > action or operation > adversity > [noun] > circumstance or occurrence 1877 W. Besant & J. Rice in 15 Dec. 566/3 I escaped and came out of the whole racket unwounded. 1887 B. Nye 307 Would I ‘kind of put him onto the racket’. 1930 Dec. 415/1 The farmers [have] all been burnt out by this here drought... It sounds like a tough racket and I hope the President can do 'em some good. 1947 N. Algren 149 I was that dead sick of the whole lousy racket I pushed back my chair 'n shoved the rookie off. 2005 J. Kuczmarski in 34 ‘What's the racket?’ ‘It's a delicate matter. Tommy's been roughed up before but he's never disappeared.’ the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > [noun] > business claiming attention > an occupation or affair 1880 G. H. Jessop & J. B. Polk iii. 10 Good or bad, I never was on a bust in my life which I enjoyed so much as this racket. Alice. I beg your pardon? Gall. Oh, nothing; I only meant to say I've spent a very intellectual and enjoyable morning. 1892 R. Kipling & W. Balestier vi. 56 What's your lay? What's your racket? 1907 R. Dunn xviii. 251 The Professor is working his faith-in-God-and-self, and line-of-least resistance racket, a mite too strong. 1916 J. Buchan i. 4 I thrive on the racket [sc. the business of war] and eat and sleep like a schoolboy. 1927 29 132/3 ‘What's your racket?’ meaning ‘What do you do for a living?’ 1941 R. Riskin Meet John Doe in (1997) 637 Baseball's my racket, and I'm sticking to it. 1978 J. Updike (1979) vi. 239 I am in the insurance racket. I am a claims adjuster. 2002 S. Hamilton 222 His racket is real estate. Phrasessociety > trade and finance > payment > pay [verb (intransitive)] > pay expenses the world > matter > constitution of matter > strength > not give way [verb (intransitive)] > be durable society > morality > duty or obligation > responsibility > be under responsibility [verb (intransitive)] > assume or accept responsibility society > morality > duty or obligation > recognition of duty > do one's duty [verb (intransitive)] > and accept the consequences 1789 G. Parker xiv. 127 Jack and..Sam, Have made me drunk with hot, and stood The racket for a dram. 1827 T. Wilson ii. 63 Sic tussels nobbit pluck could settle, For nowse less could the racket stand. 1837 N. Whittock et al. 404 Upon this..preparation depends his work standing the racket of adverse seasons. 1876 25 May There isn't enough life left in both of them to enable one man to face the racket at St Louis. 1884 21 Aug. 4/2 If they did so manage as to come out in debt they should face the racket like business men. 1904 G. K. Chesterton iii. iii. 168 ‘Can we do fifteen hundred pounds?’ ‘I'll stand the racket.’ 1905 Dec. 678/2 If there is trouble, it will be for Great Britain to stand the racket. 1916 W. S. Churchill Let. 16 Jan. in W. S. Churchill & C. S. Churchill (1999) vii. 150 It seemed impossible to me that the anti-compulsionists [sc. those against conscription] would face the racket. 1930 19 Feb. 204/3 If her..friend had been a sportsman he'd have stood the racket himself. 1945 Ld. Alanbrooke Diary 1 Mar. in (2001) 667 He alone was responsible for all the evils of Germany, and was prepared to stand the racket. 1960 G. W. Target (1962) 226 Having left a class unwatched for so long, and with money about—if an Inspector came in it wouldn't be you to stand the racket. 1978 J. Ramsden 139 We might get a majority large enough to stand the racket. Compounds C1. (In sense 3.) 1938 1 Aug. 8/1 ‘Racket buster’ Dewey was concerned mainly with ridding the city of extortionists. 1940 21 Nov. 1/2 Sol Gelb..had been assigned by the New York ‘racket-buster’ to watch the hearing. 2005 (Nexis) 7 Oct. Some 250 properties worth £30 million were targeted in raids by racket-busters. 1938 15 Oct. 11/4 The authorities to-day announced the organization of a special ‘racket-busting’ squad of police to deal with a serious outbreak of gangster warfare in the downtown district of the city. 1959 30 Jan. 55/4 Mr Danforth was senior investigator..from 1935–1951, when former Governor Thomas E. Dewey was the courageous D.A...and his famous racket-busting took place. 1972 ‘H. Howard’ iv. 58 Until the motive is established beyond doubt this case remains part of the DA's racket~busting programme. 2004 (Nexis) 19 Dec. Racket-busting cops have sensationally swooped on the Police Ombudsman's offices—in a hunt for counterfeit DVDs. 1931 F. D. Pasley v. 138 New York stood revealed as the most racket-ridden city in the country. 1959 29 Apr. 7/6 A ruthless story of the hopelessly racket-ridden business world from which there can be no escape. 2006 (Nexis) 26 Oct. 4 How I met Bobby was a fortuitous turn for me. He had published The Enemy Within, taking on Jimmy Hoffa and his racket-ridden Teamsters Union. 1935 19 Sept. The letter was signed ‘The Racket Ring’, after which were the words ‘You have five days in which to pay. The police are dangerous.’] 1973 5 May 2/2 It is widely known that Inman is himself a king pin in the city's organized crime and racket rings. 2003 (Nexis) 11 June 1 (headline) Feds break up rackets ring. C2. 1886 14 Oct. Messrs. Torrence & Bro., of the Racket Store, claim to be selling some goods at one-half what others charge for them. 1929 1 May I had in mind to establish a small racket store. 2004 H. Foote ii. 63 Around the court house square..were..two ‘racket’ stores (our term for today's dollar store). This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online June 2022). racketv.1 Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: racket n.1 Etymology: < racket n.1Compare (in a different sense) Middle French raqueter to clean the bottom of a boat with a blade or paddle-shaped tool (1388). Now rare. 1. the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > move to and fro or up and down [verb (transitive)] > move like a shuttlecock or tennis-ball the world > movement > impelling or driving > impel or drive [verb (transitive)] > by impact or force > by striking or beating > hither and thither 1599 T. M. sig. B6 Foule coloured puppets, balls of infamie: Whome zealous soules do racket too and fro, Sometimes aloft ye flye, otherwhiles below. 1609 B. Jonson iii. sig. G3 Then thinke, then speake,..And racket round about this bodies court. These two sweet words: tis safe . View more context for this quotation a1618 J. Sylvester tr. Battail of Yvry in tr. G. de S. Du Bartas (1621) 1096 North-west winde..his volleys racqueted, Of bounding Bals of Ice-pearl slippery shining. 1631 S. Jerome xiv. §2. 244 They are moveable as Shittlecockes, or Tennis Balls, now rackated here, now there. 1639 J. Saltmarsh 76 Be very acurate and punctuall, and the relations which are returned accordingly shall doe your Designe more service; Balles come backe as they are racketted from you. 1659 i. iv. sig. B2v The world I must confess, is a Ball racketed above the line and below into every hazard. 1705 G. Scrope (St. Michael's, Coventry) Here lyes an Old Toss'd Tennis ball Was Racketted from Spring to Fall. 1798 111 I have been racketted and tumbled about this busy town until I'm heartily sick of it. 1842 C. Mathews xxxviii. 302 The knocking to and fro of this mighty ball is a favorite sport of congressmen, editors and others, who find a great diversion in their sedentary and arduous labors in racketting it about. 1894 28 Jan. 7/3 The monarch himself, intending to racket the ball of the chief lady in waiting, hauls off to swat his own. 1965 15 Nov. 11/2 We found the recoil when I racketed the ball was actually sending me backwards a couple of steps. 1612 J. Webster ii. i I shall not shortly Racket away five hundred crowns at tennis But it shall rest upon record! 1605 G. Chapman et al. i. sig. A3 There's thy fellowe Prentise, as good a Gentleman borne as thou art..But dos he pumpe it, or Racket it? This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022). racketv.2 Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: racket n.2 Etymology: < racket n.2With sense 2 compare later racket n.2 2. 1. the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > loudness > confused sound > [verb (intransitive)] > uproar or tumult 1617 H. Fitzgeffrey sig. B2v Racket: yell And all the world with thundring vproare fill. 1787 S. Trimmer 27 At this instant came in two tall greyhounds, which..racketed about as if they had never been used to any command. 1820 W. Irving Legend Sleepy Hollow in vi. 85 The whole school turned loose an hour before the usual time; bursting forth like a legion of young imps, yelling and racketing about the green, in joy at their early emancipation. 1827 S. Hardman 16 A ball from their infantry went through my jacket, Took the skin off my side, and made me racket. 1845 S. Judd i. xvii. 162 The wind blazed and racketed through the narrow space between the house and the hill. 1868 L. M. Alcott I. v. 83 ‘I didn't know you'd come, sir,’ he began... ‘That's evident, by the way you racket downstairs.’ 1897 R. Kipling iv. 86 The pots and pans..jarred and racketed to each plunge. 1914 W. Owen 21 Dec. (1967) 309 I racketed about all Saturday making luggage out of lumber. 1930 27 Feb. 5/3 The flame tongue of his revolver cut through the semi-darkness and the roar of the report racketed up and down the street. 1947 P. Larkin Let. 11 Oct. in (1992) 141 In the next door house two families..scream and racket continually. 1972 G. M. Brown (1976) vi. 243 The pendulum of the old grandfather clock swung and racketed through more than a bronze minute. 1993 M. Atwood xxxii. 221 The hens fluster and racket and abuse one another, and chase the one with the grub. 1847 A. Smith (1848) lii. 445 They're..obliged to racket up too early in the morning to catch the train, to take anything. 2. society > leisure > social event > [verb (intransitive)] > participate in social events 1650 No. 49 sig. Cc1v And for honest Harry; hee hath Racketted so long with Mrs. Fells; That her deere husband hath left both her and the Tennis Court. 1658 R. Brathwait 26 This is brave indeed and princely too, Which Some may better far then others doe, Who racket it abroad and keep a table Free for all commers, when they are unable To feed themselves. 1760 T. Gray Let. 12 Aug. in (1971) II. 693 Company and cards at home, parties by land and water abroad, and..racketting about from morning to night. 1792 II. 132 Sir Edward will not allow Elvina to racket any more for some time. 1833 T. B. Macaulay in (1880) I. 346 I have been racketing lately, having dined twice with Rogers and once with Grant. 1843 4 308 Nine girls out of ten marry for the sake of being their own mistresses, and beginning to racket. 1879 H. James I. iii. 91 Some third-rate Italians, with whom she rackets about in a way that makes much talk. 1895 Oct. 119 How we rioted and racketed all summer! 1925 E. von Arnim ii. viii. 309 She was far too precious and tiny to go racketing off alone. What mightn't happen to her? 1955 O. Manning i. ii. 12 When she was married to her first husband, she had racketed around with anyone who came along. 1991 Z. Edgell ii. 8 You'll have to proceed with caution, you know. No racketing about like you did as a young girl. the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > destroy [verb (transitive)] > devour, engulf, or consume (of fire, water, etc.) > consume or destroy wastefully (time, money, etc.) the world > relative properties > order > disorder > confusion or disorder > commotion, disturbance, or disorder > throw into commotion or disorder [verb (transitive)] > by making a noise society > leisure > social event > a merrymaking or convivial occasion > merrymaking or conviviality > [verb (transitive)] > spend (time) in riotous merrymaking > squander or destroy in 1753 S. Richardson VI. xxvii. 166 Dearly do we love racketing; and, another whisper, some of us to be racketed. 1769 I. 95 Having racketted away all the bloom which nature had liberally diffused over her face by late hours and perpetual motion, she could not exhibit that face in public..without being pointed at for a ghost. 1777 S. Lennox (1901) I. 261 The racketting their health so entirely away. 1826 W. Hone (1827) II. 820 A racketty life had racketted his frame. 1861 F. W. Robinson I. iv. 95 An improvident young man, who..would racket away all the money he might be able to leave her. 1947 13 Mar. 6/3 This aid from our children from across the ocean was little more than half of the money racketed away by the post-war Army in Germany. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online June 2022). <  n.1a1425 n.21565 v.11599 v.21617 |
