| 释义 |
thempron.adj.n. Origin: A borrowing from early Scandinavian. Etymology: < early Scandinavian (compare Old Icelandic þeim , Old Norwegian þeim , þæim , Old Swedish þēm , Old Danish them , thæm , Old Gutnish þaim ), reflecting the dative form corresponding to the (originally demonstrative) forms cited at they pron., adj., adv., and n. It is likely that all of the forms illustrated at this entry ultimately result from borrowing from early Scandinavian; however, different explanations have been suggested for most form types other than the α. forms, including the usual modern form them : see further discussion below. Although the early Scandinavian forms are dative, they seem to have been generalized to historically accusative and dative functions in English before the date of the earliest surviving examples. On the likely motivation for borrowing of early Scandinavian forms for the third person plural personal pronoun see discussion at they pron., adj., adv., and n. See also discussion at that entry on the general spread of the nominative forms in advance of the objective or genitive forms.Form history. The β. forms (including the usual modern English form them ) and the γ. forms both probably developed from the α. forms (as hence ultimately did the δ. , ε. , and ζ. forms). These spelling types probably reflect reduced forms or (in some instances) monophthongized forms. In the case of the β. forms, formal influence from the equivalent native form hem (see 'em pron.) is also possible. It has alternatively been suggested that the β. and γ. forms may wholly or partly show developments from Old English þǣm , dative plural of the demonstrative pronoun se (see the adj., pron.2, and n.1). However, evidence for use of the demonstrative pronoun in Old English in functions overlapping with those of the third person plural personal pronoun is very limited. In this context, attention has been drawn to the following uses þǣm glossing Latin (accusative plural) eos (more normally glossed in this source by forms of hi pron.2); these examples also show the extension of the use of the dative for direct object that is seen elsewhere in this later Mercian source (compare quot. OE1 at 'em pron. 2):OE (Mercian) Rushw. Gospels: Matt. xviii. 17 Quod si non audierit eos, dic aeclessiæ : gif he ne geherað þæm [OE West Saxon Gospels: Corpus Cambr. hig] sæcge circan.OE (Mercian) Rushw. Gospels: Matt. xx. 25 Iesus autem uocauit eos ad se : hælend þa ceigde þæm [OE Lindisf. hia, OE West Saxon Gospels: Corpus Cambr. hig, c1200 Hatton hyo] to him. The ζ. forms reflect loss of initial th- in low-stress positions (e.g. in pronouns, the definite article, etc.), which is a characteristic feature of northern and north-eastern varieties of Scots (compare ζ. forms at they pron., adj., adv., and n., δ. forms at their adj. and pron., etc.). Such forms are formally indistinguishable from identical forms of 'em pron. A. pron. The objective case of the third person plural pronoun, corresponding to the subjective they pron.; the plural of him, her, or it. I. As personal pronoun. 1. As pronoun of the third person plural, objective (direct and indirect): the people, animals, or things previously mentioned or implied or easily identified. c1175 (Burchfield transcript) l. 1768 & hellpe þeȝȝm..To winnenn eche blisse. c1300 Evangelie (Dulwich Coll.) 489 in (1915) 30 578 He þeim schal fra sinne schilde. J. Gaytryge (York Min.) (1901) l. 65 Teche tham thair childir..What tyme so thai er of eld to lere tham. 1388 in J. H. Ramsay (1915) 22 Jon Joffrason..Jhon Ywng [etc.]..layd the lande wyth lyne and departit tham ewynly in tua, bath in tofft and foldeland. a1400 (a1325) (Vesp.) l. 1228 He þam for-soke in all þer nedis. ?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng (Petyt) (1996) i. l. 14686 Our kynd..salle do þam bouwe, maugre þeirs. c1410 tr. R. Higden (St. John's Cambr.) (1879) VII. 103 Let þaym fiȝte allone. a1525 (?1474) (1908) II. 389 To bye theym in þe Croschepyng. 1554 D. Lindsay Dialog Experience & Courteour l. 4822 in (1931) I Unoccupyit thay hald thame in thare neif. 1586 T. Bowes tr. P. de la Primaudaye I. 406 Haue them in great estimation and admiration. 1623 King James VI & I Let. in H. Ellis (1824) 1st Ser. III. 139 Hamilton, quho..wold needs peere over my showlder quhen I was reading thaime. 1667 J. Milton ix. 421 By Fountain or by shadie Rivulet He sought them both. View more context for this quotation 1700 26 To preserve them from the corroding of the Morter. 1794 A. Radcliffe III. iii. 61 Montoni and the rest of the party interfered and separated them. 1865 J. H. Newman iv. 201 Charges..which..I fully believed at the time when I made them. 1881 E. C. G. Murray I. 242 He had a habit of carelessly tearing up his waste papers and tossing them into a basket. 1930 A. Ransome x. 105 We could have burnt them easily or razed them to the ground. 2005 N. Hornby 215 I hugged them for a long time so that they couldn't see me being a wuss. c1175 (Burchfield transcript) l. 1142 Þatt he þeȝȝm..Forrȝæfe þeȝȝre gilltess. c1300 Evangelie (Dulwich Coll.) 153 in (1915) 30 554 God þeim bad ‘waxe ant þriue.’ ?c1350 Ballad Sc. Wars 218 in A. Brandl & O. Zippel (1917) 139 Wel galli [read glalli] wald ii understande To telle þeem, hou so moxist be, Welke of þeem sald weld þe lande. a1400 (a1325) (Vesp.) l. 667 (MED) Witte and wisdam he þam gaue. 1489 (a1380) J. Barbour (Adv.) i. 79 Þis ordynance þaim thocht þe best. 1535 Jer. xxxv. 2 Geue them wyne to drynke. 1562 N. Winȝet (1888) I. 17 He send His Apostolis and seuinty-twa Discipulis..geuand thaim also power to wyrk wounderis. a1605 R. Bannatyne (1836) 261 God grant thaim repenting hartes. 1656 Earl of Monmouth tr. T. Boccalini i. i. 2 If their Lord..do but cast an artificial smile upon them, they take it as..a reward. 1700 T. Brown x. 119 A Mountebank on the Stage..gave them a History of his Cures. 1779 No. 23. ⁋2 To show them what they are to understand. 1812 G. Crabbe xviii. 329 Men..whose pains, Credit, and prudence, brought them constant gains. 1870 6 Aug. He took down the names of seven of these little imps, with the nicknames given them by their comrades. 1915 J. Buchan vi. 156 I wished them joy of their quest. 1997 J. K. Rowling ix. 108 He..showed them a glass ball the size of a large marble. c1175 (Burchfield transcript) l. 1406 Þu mihht werenn þe fra þeȝȝm, Þurrh rihhte læfe o criste. a1300 in C. Brown (1932) 125 So strange er þai þat we ne may agaynis þaim stond, so way la way! ?1312 in (1870) II. no. xix Homines vero husbandi..facient..tam ipsi quam tenentes sui ad..sustentacionem dicti molendini omnibus Sicut alii Husbandi faciunt in circuitu [glossed:] abute þaime. c1330 (a1250) (Auch.) (1907) 29 (MED) Crist loked þaim vnto, as man auȝt to prisouns do. 1402 in H. Maule (1874) II. 184 To..the langast lefand of thaim twa and to the ayris betwene thaim lachfully gotyn. c1440 W. Hilton Mixed Life (Thornton) in G. G. Perry (1921) 29 Þou will noghte tente to thaym. 1474 W. Caxton tr. (1883) i. iii. 15 Take not from them that..is theyres. a1500 (Trin. Cambr.) (1967) 158 Gode looue betwix þeme two wex all-waye more & more. 1568 V. Skinner tr. R. González de Montes f. 70v After this confession thus by them made. 1604 E. Grimeston tr. 87 The enemie shott continually at them. 1664 B. Gerbier (new ed.) i. sig. f5 Letters which the Ægyptians did attribute unto them. 1780 No. 96. ⁋2 They are neither of them niggardly. 1850 Ld. Tennyson (ed. 3) Concl. 174 Too solemn for the comic touches in them. 1889 ‘M. Twain’ xv. 175 I shan't know what to do with them; unless I raffle them off. 1934 L. R. Farnell xi. 132 Things..which seemed to ‘put the fear of God’ into them. 1998 N. Lawson (1999) 361 Pour 100g caster sugar and the juice of an orange over them. 2. reflexive. Themselves. c1300 Evangelie (Dulwich Coll.) 43 in (1915) 30 547 Wise men..Bokis made of gode lawis Hu men þem scholde wit rihte [MS ritte, altered to rihtte] lede. a1400 (a1325) (Vesp.) l. 15757 Þai fell þaim don vn-to þe grund. a1470 T. Malory (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) I. 24 They wente home and vnharmed [read unarmed] them, and so to evynsonge and souper. a1500 (?c1400) (Cambr.) (1937) l. 770 (MED) The knyghtys gysed them full gay And proued them full preste. 1535 Exod. xxxii. 8 They haue made them a molten calfe. 1565 T. Cooper Rubriceta,..roset colour that women vse to paynte them. 1568 Christis Kirk on Grene in W. T. Ritchie (1928) II. 262 To dans thir damysellis thame dicht. 1611 2 Kings xvii. 9 They built them high places..from the tower of the watchmen, to the fenced city. View more context for this quotation 1670 J. Milton iii. 104 They betook them to the Woods, and liv'd by hunting, which was thir only sustainment. 1721 R. Samber tr. A. de La Motte 279 They laid them down for some small Time to rest. 1775 Apr. 167/2 Some divines affirm, that, for a temporal slavery, they procure them a spiritual freedom. 1855 T. B. Macaulay IV. xxii. 697 They then bethought them of a new expedient. 1870 W. C. Bryant tr. Homer I. vii. 235 They laid them down to rest, And so received the balm of sleep. 1932 ‘L. G. Gibbon’ 16 Kinraddie and other noble folk of that time they got them into Dunnottar Castle. a1382 (Bodl. 959) (1963) 1 Kings v. 9 Gethei wentyn in to cownseil & maadyn to þem lederene seetys. 1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine 61/3 They haue made to them a Calf blowen and haue worshyped it. 1489 (a1380) J. Barbour (Adv.) i. 205 Gyff þat ony man þaim by Had ony thing þat wes worthy. a1513 R. Fabyan (1516) II. f. xxxv They drewe to them great power, and warred vpon the Landes & Castelles of sir Roger Mortymer. 1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny I. xi. xlii. 349 As for the cheeses made in France, they taste like a medicine, and haue an aromatical relish with them. 1699 L. Wafer 94 They have a Plant also which is of good use to them, call'd by us Silk-Grass. 1722 T. Yarborough Let. 19 Nov. in (1965) 56 And as to the tides..I'm tould they bring no sludge with them there. 1794 A. Radcliffe IV. xix. 425 Superior attainments of every sort bring with them duties of superior exertion. 1848 J. H. Newman ii. xx. 293 What a way those fellows have with them! 1891 12 Dec. 663/1 Two Irishmen came by with axes who..cut some bushes, which they threw over them for a covering. 1958 N. Levine i. 50 They pushed the shawl away from them with their hidden hands and began to sway and turn around lifting their feet. 1997 24 May (Weekend Suppl.) 45/2 The coriander and chilli bring with them tang and bite. 3. Used for the subjective case; = they pron.a1400 (a1325) (Coll. Phys.) l. 21632 (MED) Bot mani of trouþe es sa unselie Þame [a1400 Vesp., a1400 Fairf. þai, a1400 Gött. þei] trou noȝte bot þai se wiþ eie. 1825 S. Rising & D. Rising Let. 4 Oct. in T. Sokoll (2001) 218 Send me A little money to help me to pay my Rent or Eals them will Take my ould Lumber. 1842 S. Lover iii And what weeshee little balls thim is, sir. 1963 26 Jan. 3 Dem ha so much fat chat and dem can't do widout de help. 1968 H. Orton & M. F. Wakelin IV. iii. 1124 [Surrey] But ain't them married? 1976 S. Naipaul 67 Them is not fowl and dog. 1987 15 Nov. 6 Well, all I can tell you is them [sc. yams] cooking white. 1996 V. Walters xiii. 268 A' what dem supposed to come over on, the banana boat? Them too poor, man. ?1504 W. Atkinson tr. Thomas à Kempis (Pynson) i. ii. sig. Aiiiv Thou shuldest nat iuge thy sylfe better than them. 1577 xii. 24 For a man..may not thinke the yellow graynes within the Rose flower (being of a golden colour) to be them. 1647 H. More Ded. sig. A 2v What a piece of Unmannerlinesse and Incivility it would be held to seem wiser then them. 1656 Ld. Orrery V. iii. iv. 300 [It was] an impossibilitie that these could be them. 1777 W. J. Mickle xix How far less blest am I than them! 1845 ‘E. Warburton’ I. 331 It was not them we wanted. 1888 ‘J. S. Winter’ xiv. 105 It was them told me about her. 1888 ‘R. Boldrewood’ xxxiv It was them or us..now. 1901 T. W. Wilson xi. 89 Such as them enjoys thersells. 1977 M. Frayn Alphabet. Order ii, in (1985) 75 We could certainly do better than them, John! 1998 G. Legge in K. Williamson 69 Not only had they clyped on Sinclair, but it was them who'd grassed off Lindy to the BBC. 4. In anaphoric reference to a singular noun or pronoun. Cf. they pron. 2, their adj. 2. Use of them with a singular antecedent has sometimes been considered erroneous.1422 in A. T. Bannister (1919) 81 We ordeyn and charge yow that..nowther the prioresse nor noon othir sustre absent thayme fro the said oures and tymes bot in infyrmyte. 1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus I. Luke iii. f. 15–18 He shall..there winnowe euery creature, triyng them with the wynde of the crosse and of afflictions. 1658 J. Durham 113 As to fit everyone sufficiently, and to place them in their right room. 1775 F. Burney Jrnl. 3 Apr. in (1990) II. 101 He is so near sighted, that he peers in every body's Face a minute or two before he knows them. 1853 C. M. Yonge II. xxii. 364 Nobody else..has so little to plague them. 1921 Nov. 434/2 Make one by collecting only a few cents from each member and allowing them to take the wave-meter home for personal experiments when needed by them. 1980 M. Thelwell (1996) viii. 201 Everyone knew a boy, just like them, who had won sweepstakes.., or pulled off a ‘big job.’. 2018 M. Al Samawi vii. 83 No one answered. And who could blame them? 1429 in R. T. Storey (1959) 166 (MED) If any poer laborer or other person claym any parcell of dette by me owyng, he to dispoyn and thaim pay of that somme. ?1530 tr. sig. oivv If any persone do her any seruyse she wyll recompense them well. 1685 J. Bunyan (ed. 2) 28 The Sentence of the Condemnation must be read to the Prisoner, though it makes them [1659 him] fall down dead to hear it. 1741 S. Richardson III. xxii. 127 Little did I think..to make a..Complaint against a Person very dear to you,..but don't let them be so proud..as to make them not care how they affront every body else. 1841 C. Dickens ii. lx. 134 Ask anybody..whether I have ever wronged them of a farthing. 1874 G. W. Dasent II. 198 Whenever any one was ill, she brewed them a drink. 1922 Aug. 346/1 It is unfair to the patient not to give them the benefit of x-ray treatment before operating. 1984 E. Candy xiii. 114 Drat! There's someone at the door. Tell them to go away. 2009 @anhthaitea 10 Nov. in twitter.com (accessed 18 September 2019) [Referring to a Facebook alert] ‘Christina Gee: Reconnect with them. Send them a message’. 2017 24 Nov. 32 Confide in a friend and ask them to accompany you if you are nervous. 2009 @thebutchcaucus 11 July in twitter.com (accessed 9 Oct. 2019) RT @pieskiis: @FireboltX What about they/them/theirs? #genderqueer #pronouns. 2016 (Bradley Univ., Peoria, Illinois) 9 Sept. a1/1 Tobia starts off their story with an incident from their childhood in which their mother forbade them from dressing up as Pocahontas for Halloween. 2019 9 June 38/1 They'd chosen the name Salem to fit with their identity, but they'd almost never asked anyone to call them by it. 5. As indefinite pronoun (corresponding to they pron. 3). 1609 W. Shakespeare iii. ii. 191 Yea let them say to sticke the heart of falsehood, As false as Cressid. View more context for this quotation 1711 J. Swift 28 Apr. (1948) I. 255 I have heard them say, Much talkers, Little walkers. 1739 J. Wesley 30 Apr. (1931) I. 303 One, and another, and another sunk to the earth; you might see them dropping on all sides as thunder-struck. 1818 E. C. Everard 58 The managers..could plainly often hear them say in the boxes when they were about to rise, ‘Oh, stop a bit; let us have Everard's drunken scene.’ 1850 May 352 We have known them to say in Italy [etc.]. 1918 303 I often hear them say that a vessel built in the winter time is not as good as one built in the summer time. 1997 R. Ebert 54 Don't believe them when they say the ‘original colors’ were used. 2004 L. Desoto v. 40 Then Märit's father said to her, ‘Come, we can go and see them milking a snake.’ society > society and the community > social relations > association, fellowship, or companionship > a company or body of persons > [adjective] > relating to division or opposition of group(s) 1895 R. Kipling in Dec. 271/1 He was sure that there was less danger from the sea than from ‘Them’, whoever ‘They’ were. 1924 W. Holtby iii. 27 The magic circle of ‘Them’, the great ones. ‘They’ were the élite, the prefects and the games captains. 1945 H. Nicolson 27 May (1967) 465 People feel, in a vague and muddled way, that all the sacrifices to which they have been exposed..are all the fault of ‘them’—namely the authority or the Government. 1991 S. Allcorn 172 Was a fatal accident an act of God, the fault of ‘them’ or some scapegoat, or everyone's fault for not being safe. II. As antecedent pronoun with postmodifying clause or phrase, equivalent to those but less emphatic. 6. Followed by a relative clause. Those or any people or things ( as, that, † which, who). c1250 in C. Brown (1932) 127 Vre mis-dedis þu forgyue hus, als we forgyue þaim þat misdon hus. c1300 Evangelie (Dulwich Coll.) 443 in (1915) 30 575 He þat scholde penance preche Þeim þat him herde swo scholde teche. c1350 (Harl. 874) (1961) 68 By þem þat ne mowen nouȝth fleiȝen heiȝe ben bitokned Antecristes deciples. J. Gaytryge (York Min.) (1901) l. 560 Tham that ledis thair lifs als thaire flesch yhernes. a1425 (Lansd.) (1902) 20 And by-kenne it taim þat best can serue god & te cuuent. 1526 Rom. ii. 20 An informer off them which lacke discrecion. 1560 1 Sam. ii. 30 Them that honour me, I wil honour. 1607 E. Topsell 83 They gaue it medicinally to them which were sicke of the Ptisicke. 1688 B. Willy in J. Barker ii. 58 Who pities them that purchase their own Ruin. 1704 in (1828) 631 They have allowed a foott race, a horse race, and Eftir shot, as use is, to be run by them who pleases to list themselves, conforme to the custom of this burgh. 1789 J. Wesley 20 May (1931) VIII. 136 An artfull busy man, who has thrown wildfire among them that were quiet in the land. 1866 E. Lynn Linton xii. 54/1 Let yersel be guided by them as knaws best. 1896 A. Austin iv. i Ask them that read the staves. 1967 S. Marshall i. 4 It war'n't very difficult to pick out them as had false teeth. 2004 P. Ackroyd (2005) xi. 178 Don't pay attention to them that laughed. a1533 Ld. Berners tr. (?1560) lxxxiiii. sig. Yii Blessyd be them that hath brought that about. 1581 J. Marbeck 150 Such are them to whom ye Lord doth giue his holy spirit. 1779 C. Dibdin i. 15 Why, to be sure, nobody knows where the shoe pinches so well as them that wears it. 1816 W. Scott II. x*. 281 Them that guide the purse rule the house. 1873 J. A. H. Murray 184 Thaim at dyd it. 1891 J. M. Barrie I. iii. 52 Them as says there's no has me to fecht. 1958 J. Kesson iv. 56 Folk that know you don't need to ask your name. And them that don't know you have no right to ask it. 1994 J. Kelman 345 Then there's them that hate ye. They hate ye. Naw reason. 2001 M. Steel i. 4 ‘La-di-da types’. Them who didn't appreciate money because they'd always had it. 7. Followed by a prepositional phrase. a1470 T. Malory (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) II. 734 The grene knyght hathe..beatyn all them of Orkeney. 1528 T. Cromwell in R. B. Merriman (1902) I. 320 His grace then wille that thellection of a new Dean shalbe emonges them of the colledge. 1577 M. Hanmer tr. Bp. Eusebius in ix. ii. 175 Ye author of all which mischief, was Theotecnus, who solicited the cause, and egged them of Antioch forewards. 1607 J. Norden 85 I see the Conducts are made of earthen pipes, which I like farre better then them of Leade. 1663 R. Manley tr. J. Schouten in tr. F. Caron & J. Schouten 136 Continuing still his wars with them of Pegu, and the Rebel Cambodian. 1490 W. Caxton tr. (1885) iii. 78 All the foure brethern, and all theym of theyr companye arayed them selfe. 1632 W. Lithgow vii. 333 In a moment, them of the Villages came downe on horse and foote. 1986 Mar. 54/2 Them at headquarters get it wrong again. III. In demonstrative use. 1818 Lady Morgan I. v. 288 Them's my first class..Sorrow one of them gassoons, but would throw you off a page of Homer into irish. 1830 R. Forby & G. Turner Ess. III, in R. Forby I. 141 Them are the women I meant. 1877 L. J. Jennings iii. 47 Them be my two children. 1901 N. Lloyd i. 11 Them wasn't our only troubles. 1924 Nov. 367/2 Yuh see them chillun a-runnin aroun' th' yahd? Them's yahd chillun. 1939 M. McLaverty Game Cock in Nov. 8/2 What kind of coals is them? 2003 V. O. Carter 462 ‘Them's the facts of life, men!’ Turner was saying. B. adj. 1. As demonstrative adjective (determiner): = those adj. Also with emphatic there (see there adv. 2c(a)). Now regional and nonstandard. a1382 (Bodl. 959) (1965) Esther ix. 30 Þei senten to þem [L. omnes] Jewis þat in an hundrid & seuene & twenti prouyncis of king assuer dwelleden, þat þei shulden han pes. 1554 Crail Burgh Court 3 Dec. in at Thaim It sall be in the chois of the burges quhydder ye wyll hayff..restorance of skayth of tham bestis mayd. 1596 H. Clapham ii. 92 To Samaria, and them partes. 1598 R. Barret i. 4 The warres and weapons are now altered from them dayes. 1621 H. Ainsworth Gen. xviii. 6 Foure of them Logs make a Kab. 1676 T. Mace 95 But then we strike, Them Two Notes, after another manner. 1726 tr. J. Cavalier iii. 231 If I had but one of them Hangmen. 1794 W. Godwin II. xiv. 275 And do they take off them there things of nights? 1811 A. de Beauclerc IV. 93 As for staying with them there French rascals, it was never the near. 1812 M. Edgeworth Absentee xii, in VI. 214 I hope then the agent will give you encouragement about them mines. 1840 W. M. Thackeray vii It was a rare rise we got out of them chaps. 1878 H. B. Stowe i. 11 He don't believe in keeping none of them air prayer-book days. 1915 W. S. Maugham lviii. 298 Of course it isn't very nice for me having to mix with them girls in the shop, it's not the class of person I've been used to. 1956 F. O'Connor Let. 7 Apr. in (1980) 150 I aim to read Cicero, Caesar, Tacitus and any other of them boys that I can think of. 1974 P. Kenyon iv. 41 Glad I don't have to wear them there plastic tits. 2006 G. Malkani iii. 32 They were scum like suicide bombers, killin all them people an that. 1607 E. Topsell 160 Them fewe [dogs] which bee kept must bee tyed vppe in the day time. 1610 J. Healey tr. J. L. Vives in tr. St. Augustine xii. xvi. 457 Augustine..saith that them times were called eternall. 1765 S. Foote ii. 36 Them holiday terms wou'd not pass in my shop. 1778 J. Crane in F. Chase (1891) I. 389 The major part tories, or them sort of creatures called neuters. 1842 S. Lover xxviii Them ribbons of yours cost a trifle, Kitty. 1865 7 31 Them there beast hev been..breaking down the pipricks. 1889 Ld. Tennyson 26 ‘Faäithful an' True’ them words be i' Scriptur. 1901 ‘M. E. Francis’ ii. v. 255 ‘Them there legs o' yourn should be pretty well stretched by now.’ 1949 R. Haig-Brown 187 Take these winter camps them kids was talking about the other day. 1995 H. Roth 123 Them rats have a right good-sized bed in there. 1868 T. Russell 8 Plurality is..indicated... By the pronoun dem, immediately following the noun and joined to it by the Copulative Conjunction, an, in most cases... Sometimes an is omitted: as, De boy dem cleber; De crab dem bery sweet. 1907 W. Jekyll 114 So the Cow them hear what the master said. 1918 E. C. Parsons 88 Some of the rat them would not come inside. 1952 in F. G. Cassidy & R. B. Le Page (1967) 147/2 /di wás-dem/ The wasps. 1989 O. Senior 3 The man them is a wicked set of beast, man... But the woman them! Whai! 2002 C. Newland iii. 32 Now me ave a lickle drink up one night, OK? Invite a whole 'eap ah people dem. 1989 Spring 26/2 All executive dressing services agree there is no point in pressurising clients into clothes they feel are not really ‘them’. 2008 W. H. Calhoun vii. 105 Trying to please their parents by playing a role that was not really them. 2012 J. Roper iv. 54 The girls' behaviors and mannerisms, even at just days and weeks old, were so completely them. C. n.1957 R. Hoggart iii. 62 ‘Them’ is a composite dramatic figure, the chief character in modern urban forms of the rural peasant-big-house relationships. 1962 14 June 1044/2 With their use of Christian names in accusing one another of wilful misrepresentation they impressed me most with being collectively Them trying to get power from Us. 1966 P. J. Kavanagh vii. 77 Were the prisoners ‘us’ or had they comfortably become ‘them’? 1970 19 Nov. 1/4 In..the Talk of the Town restaurant, ‘them’ and ‘us’ dined last night to earn money for the world's wildlife. 1995 19 June 66/3 Like many of his fellow-citizens, he has his reasons for thinking that the élite Them of America are conspiring against him. 2002 F. Spufford (2003) ii. 59 If evil appeared at all, the only place left for it was as an inexplicable quality of a cruel Them. Phrases1948 17 Oct. 5/2 The ‘whistle stops’..break down the difference between ‘them’ and ‘us’. 1957 R. Hoggart iii. 62 To the very poor, especially, they compose a shadowy but numerous and powerful group affecting their lives at almost every point: the world is divided into ‘Them’ and ‘Us’. 1962 8 Mar. 439/1 It is this feeling of being in a world that belongs to ‘them’ and not to ‘us’ that puts a strain on working-class children. 1966 11 Oct. 3/1 The ‘ordinary people’ who looked on, who made..the Them and Us division [between cripples and other people]. 1973 1 Oct. (Nigeria Suppl.) p. viii/7 These real or imagined anti-Ibo factors translate themselves inside the state into a kind of laager mentality, ‘them’ against ‘us’. 1980 A. Cornelisen x. 230 The vicious estrangements of a two-class, a Them-and-us society. 1998 Apr. 5/1 The relationship between manager and player has always been a ‘them and us’ situation. 2011 M. Pannett vii It had all the makings of a classic them-against-us situation. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2013; most recently modified version published online June 2022). <  pron.adj.n.c1175 |
