| 单词 | spade-work |
| 释义 | > as lemmasspade-work spade-work n. (a) work done with a spade for the preparation of ground; (b) figurative preliminary work, difficult or laborious preparation, pioneering research; hence (rarely) spade-worker n. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > [noun] > digging delfeOE pastining?1440 breaking1514 digging1552 repastination1569 potting1592 pastination1623 spade-work1778 delve1869 dig1887 the world > action or operation > manner of action > effort or exertion > [noun] > labour or toil > basic spade-work1901 the world > action or operation > undertaking > preparation > [noun] > a) preparation(s) > preliminary work rough work1563 spade-work1912 1778 Encycl. Brit. I. 145/1 An iron plough..drawn by a horse..will save much spade-work. 1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. II. i. xi. 76 He that has four limbs, and a French heart, can do spadework. 1901 Ld. Rosebery Nat. Policy (1902) (note) (cover) Political energy must work and entrench. I want some of this spadework on behalf of this policy. 1912 H. G. Aldis in Cambr. Hist. Eng. Lit. IX. xiii. 346 Brian Twyne, a diligent Oxford antiquary who had done much pioneer spade-work in the same field. 1927 Daily Tel. 12 July 9/1 The discovery of a helpful blood-test for cancer may be placed among the important advances the near future may give us as a result of spade-work already carried out. 1929 Times Lit. Suppl. 27 June 511 Many modern novelists of folk life, in their desire to be strong and ‘primitive’, ignore all spade work and romantically stake Man against Nature. 1931 E. F. Benson Mapp & Lucia iv. 93 Lucia..had insisted that all the credit was due to Drake's wife, who had planned everything (or nearly) and had done all the spade-work. 1951 Sport 27 Apr. 8/3 Ernie's crafty spadework has been responsible for many of the goals netted by Jack Milburn and George Robledo. 1977 A. Clarke Let. from Dead ix. 105 I did a bit of spadework on him yesterday..and he seemed to be thawing a little. < as lemmas |
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