Wobblyn.¹

Brit.

/ˈwɒbl̩i/,

/ˈwɒbli/, U.S.

/ˈwɑb(ə)li/

Forms: 1900s– Wobbily, 1900s– Wobbley, 1900s– Wobblie, 1900s– Wobbly, 1900s– Wobley.

Origin: Of uncertain origin. Etymon: English Wobbily.

Etymology: Origin uncertain. Apparently < Wobbily in I. Wobbily Wobbily (compare quot. 1913¹), representing a non-native (Chinese) pronunciation of I.W.W. n. at I n.¹ Initialisms. (Perhaps significantly, the International Workers of the World was the first labour union in North America not to discriminate against people of Chinese ethnic origin.)Compare:1923 M. Downing in Nation 5 Sept. 242/2 In Vancouver, in 1911, we had a number of Chinese members and one restaurant keeper would trust any member for meals. He could not pronounce the letter w, but called it wobble, and would ask: ‘You I. Wobble Wobble?’ and when the card was shown, credit was unlimited. Thereafter the laughing term among us was I. Wobbly Wobbly. For alternative (and less likely) derivations see the article ‘What is the origin of the term Wobbly?’ on the official IWW website, and also A. Green Wobblies, Pile Butts, & Other Heroes (1993) 97–138.

colloquial (originally North American).

A member of the Industrial Workers of the World (see Industrial Workers of the World n. at industrial adj. and n. Compounds 2).With quot. 1913¹ compare etymology.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > worker > those involved in labour relations > [noun] > members of other specific associations

commissionaire1869

Bundist1907

Wobbly1913

Lightmonger1954

1913 Miners Mag. 24 Apr. 5 Joe Elton, Sabotist, Syndicalist and fearless I.W.W. with a red, flowing tie.., the I Wobbily-Wobbily organizer..is traveling the country delivering his message.]

1913 Voice of People 4 Sept. 4/4 Miss Carpenter arrived in an auto and cast anchor at Main and Stevens streets, a vicinity infested by bands of Volunteers, Starvationists, Single Taxers, Wobblies and other pests.

1914 Harper's Weekly 4 Apr. 20/1 The most important evidence against him was that he sent telegrams to the I. W. W. organization, asking for organizers, literature, due-stamps and ‘wobblies’.

1923 Daily Herald (Biloxi, Mississippi) 1 May 1/6 (heading) ‘Wobbilies’ Under Fire... The I.W.W.'s were trying to get every man who was ready to sign to drinking white whisky.

1957 Encounter Apr. 65/1 That strange and unique contribution of America to anarcho-syndicalism, the ‘Wobblies’ (officially the Industrial Workers of the World, or IWW..) organised great masses of unskilled workers and led strikes..that were as much social rebellions as economic conflicts.

a1982 P. K. Dick Voices from Street (2007) 33 Gold's father had been a Wobbly, had been beaten up and jailed. Had served on picket lines, distributed Marxist leaflets.

2005 P. Buhle & N. Schulman Wobblies! vi. 244 A successful employees' May 2004 vote and precarious victory..at a Starbucks in mid-Manhattan..proved once again that Wobblies had a role where the mainstream labor movement had given up trying.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2016; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

wobblyn.²

Brit.

/ˈwɒbl̩i/,

/ˈwɒbli/, U.S.

/ˈwɑb(ə)li/

Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: wobbly adj.

Etymology: < wobbly adj.

colloquial (chiefly British).

1. A fit of panic or fear. Chiefly in plural with the.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > fear > physical symptoms of fear > [noun] > fit of sickening fear

qualm?1531

alarm bella1629

wobbly1930

1930 Collier's 4 Oct. 21/3 A guy on a job..might..get the wobblies, blow up and go to pieces.

1968 Ogden (Utah) Standard-Examiner 8 Aug. 7 b/7 The macabre story still gives me the wobblies.

1987 Financial Times 5 June 26/5 Electrocomponents' shares fell 22p to 483p with pre-election wobblies much in evidence.

1997 Times 10 Oct. 29/4 Computers..may have the cybernetic equivalent of a nervous breakdown..having only just recovered from their attack of the wobblies two months previously.

2010 Guardian (Nexis) 2 Sept. (G2 section) 2 OK, I will admit I did have a bit of a wobbly..when it turned out Saddam didn't have WMD.

2. to throw a wobbly: to lose one's self-control in a fit of nerves, temper, panic, etc.; (also) to act in an unexpected or capricious way, causing surprise or consternation.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > expectation > surprise, unexpectedness > happen or move unexpectedly [verb (intransitive)] > act surprisingly

to throw a wobbly1964

the mind > emotion > excitement > nervous excitement > unhealthy excitement > go into hysterics [verb (intransitive)]

hystericize1819

throw1896

to throw a wobbler1942

to flip out1964

to throw a wobbly1964

1964 M. Davis Watersiders 29 What's the matter with you? You look queer. Ain't going to throw a wobbly, are you?

1979 Guardian 3 Aug. 3/5 We are talking about a responsible, mature group,..and there is no reason to expect them to be throwing wobblies.

1981 Radio Times 22 Aug. 6/4 The debriefing..seemed to take an inordinately long time... ‘By lunch,’ he says, ‘I was getting a bit fed up, so I threw a wobbly.’

1987 Daily Tel. 28 Jan. 13/4 When Susannah was 15 Leslie threw the biggest wobbly of all. She uprooted the family from Kent..and went to farthest Pembrokeshire.

2008 B. Evaristo Blonde Roots (2009) 98 When I broke the unspoken rules in those first few weeks she'd throw a wobbly and threaten to have me sent to the fields.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2016; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

wobblyadj.

Brit.

/ˈwɒbl̩i/,

/ˈwɒbli/, U.S.

/ˈwɑb(ə)li/

Forms: see wobble v. and -y suffix¹.

Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: wobble v., -y suffix¹.

Etymology: < wobble v. + -y suffix¹.

1. That wobbles; tending to wobble (in various senses of wobble v. 1).

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > motion in specific manner > irregular movement or agitation > unsteady movement > [adjective] > tottering > unstable

unstable1390

unsteadfasta1400

tickle1515

unstayed1594

unsteady1598

shittle1601

firmless1605

flitty1642

totty1652

shuttlec1682

unfirm1697

wankly1795

wankya1825

cockery1825

wobbly1833

tottlish1835

earthquaky1837

tottling1849

shaky1850

cockly1859

unsteadied1865

shoggy1866

wankle1869

wibblety-wobblety1877

cockerty1895

tipsy1895

rocky1900

wibbly-wobbly1901

tottly1905

topply1913

wibbly1914

1833 C. R. Pemberton in Monthly Repository Oct. 702 Sea-sickness was completely suspended during the gale; it is in the short, wabbly sea, and the dull swell, only, that I have ever experienced that prostrator of existence.

1851 Illustr. London News 22 Mar. 232/2 All their limbs is so wobbly, I was afeard to handle 'em.

1920 Pop. Sci. Monthly July 122/2 A ladder placed against the gable edge of a slanting roof is always wabbly and dangerous.

1974 E. Bowen Henry & Other Heroes iv. 74 The horses at camp..moved in that funny, wobbly way horses do, clopping their hooves, tossing their heads.

2009 B. J. Isbell Finding Cholita i. 11 She gave the whorl a vigorous spin. It bounced up and down like a wobbly top.

2. Of handwriting or a written line: shaky; not straight or regular.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > handwriting or style of > [adjective] > tremulous

staggering1838

shaky1847

wobbly1867

1867 Dublin Univ. Mag. Jan. 40/2 We signed our names—Hugh de Vere Lancaster, very bold and firm; Eleanor Lestrange, very wobbly and illegible.

1871 Daily News 11 Apr. 6 A brigade can fight as well if its line be slightly ‘wobbly’ as if it were dressed to death.

1936 Washington Post 18 Aug. 1/2 One of them tried to cash some Traveler's checks... But his handwriting was so wobbly that the people at the station wouldn't cash more than a couple.

1952 Rattle of Theta Chi Jan. 3/1 Even the tiny tots who haven't mastered the writing technique brief Santa by sending..a series of wobbly lines drawn across the page.

1983 Cotswold Life Nov. 19/1 The infants practised wobbly letters, began to chant the Times Tables, and spilt paint water all over the floor.

2004 L. Scottoline Killer Smile (2005) xxvii. 310 Toni grabbed a pen and a piece of paper from her desk..and began drawing a wobbly line. ‘Go this way. It'll save you half an hour, easy.’

3. Of a person's voice: tending to vary in pitch; trembling, quavering.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > quality of voice > [adjective] > tremulous

trillinga1700

quavering1726

quaverous1852

wobbly1873

quavery1890

1873 R. Broughton Nancy I. 279 ‘Nancy!’ cries Bobby,..speaking in a wobbly, quivering voice.

1917 Boys' Life Dec. 9/2 ‘Mr. McQuade—’ he exclaimed, his voice wobbly.

1948 Billboard 18 Dec. 116/4 Warbler's wobbly vibrato obscures any tune value on this bolero.

2015 P. O'Reilly Peripheral Vision 189 ‘Oh shit, shit. This could be it.’ Shannon's voice was wobbly.

4. Wavering, uncertain, or insecure; unreliable, unstable.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > unreliability > [adjective]

unsicker?c1225

uncertaina1382

unsadc1384

untristya1387

untrustya1387

unsurec1412

falliblec1425

slipperc1430

ficklea1450

frivol1488

slidder?a1500

casuala1535

slippery1548

slippy1548

failable1561

doubtful1562

lubricious1584

slope1587

queasy1589

unconfirmedc1592

nice1598

catching1603

loose1603

precary1606

ambiguous1612

treacherous1612

unsafe1615

unsureda1616

precarious1626

lubric1631

dubious1635

lubricous1646

unestablished1646

unfixed1654

unsecure?a1685

unreliable1810

unproven1836

untrustworthy1846

shady1848

wobbly1877

Kaffir1899

independable1921

dodgy1961

temperamental1962

1877 Galveston (Texas) Daily News 23 June The President and the Secretary of the Treasury have evidently had their minds in a wobbly condition between a desire for honest national financiering and a fear that the Ohio election will result in an administration defeat.

1878 Athenæum 13 July 42/1 His English..is decidedly ‘wobbly’.

1963 Amer. Bar Assoc. Jrnl. July 666/1 If..the Ph.D's are sometimes wobbly in their control of the written word, what is to be expected of ordinary college graduates?

1982 I. Hamilton R. Lowell iv. 47 A wobbly truce had been achieved, and the parents were not going to be the first to wreck it.

2004 N. Farrell Place in France 15 We got off to a wobbly start with Monsieur Golette.

5. Of a person.

a. Unsettled or discomposed by strong emotion, as fear, anxiety, tearfulness, etc.

ΚΠ

1918 A. S. Pier Son Decides i. 19 ‘That is hard—when you feel wobbly, to get hold of yourself and be stronger than ever.’.. ‘I was feeling that I was yellow through and through.’

1939 D. Frederics Diana i. v. 29 I could not face the disappointment myself without feeling wobbly inside.

1993 Jrnl. Lit. & Art 18 245 I saw my mom's dead face... I felt wobbly and before I could get hold of myself, some guy..asked me if I identified the body.

2014 Daily Mail 26 Aug. 28/1 I started to cry proper tears. ‘Oi, Balding,’ said a voice. ‘Are you getting a bit wobbly?’

b. Physically weak and unsteady from illness, tiredness, or other debility; infirm.

ΚΠ

1922 Jrnl. Mammol. May 80 Several of the mice became extremely senile and ‘wobbly’ long before death occurred.

1927 Daily Silver Belt (Miami) 22 Jan. 1/5 I've just got out of bed and I'm still pretty weak and wobbly.

1960 N. Coward Diary 27 Mar. (2000) 431 I flew here on Tuesday, feeling all right but a little wobbly.

2012 S. Garrett tr. H. Koch Dinner xxxiv. 197 In the morning, she said, she had felt a little ‘wobbly’, but she had gone out anyway.

Derivatives

ˈwobbliness n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > motion in specific manner > irregular movement or agitation > unsteady movement > [noun] > tottering > quality of being tottering or unstable

unstaidnessa1586

unsteadiness1611

labascencya1656

wobbliness1861

shauchliness1887

1861 H. Mayhew Young B. Franklin ii. xxi. 380 The obvious staylessness and wabbliness of her whole figure.

1881 J. Morley Let. 19 Oct. in Recoll. (1917) I. ii. ii. 174 A ‘wobbliness’ which nobody is more conscious of, or more disgusted by, than I am.

1936 Altoona (Pa.) Mirror 5 May 5/2 The long-sustained upswing in stocks, recently halted, has latterly given way to pronounced wobbliness.

2004 B. Pester Through Land of Fire iv. 74 We both felt quite washed up and I had a decided wobbliness in my legs.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2016; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

n.¹1913

n.²1930

adj.1833

单词	wobbly
释义	Wobblyn.¹ Brit. /ˈwɒbl̩i/, /ˈwɒbli/, U.S. /ˈwɑb(ə)li/ Forms: 1900s– Wobbily, 1900s– Wobbley, 1900s– Wobblie, 1900s– Wobbly, 1900s– Wobley. Origin: Of uncertain origin. Etymon: English Wobbily. Etymology: Origin uncertain. Apparently < Wobbily in I. Wobbily Wobbily (compare quot. 1913¹), representing a non-native (Chinese) pronunciation of I.W.W. n. at I n.¹ Initialisms. (Perhaps significantly, the International Workers of the World was the first labour union in North America not to discriminate against people of Chinese ethnic origin.)Compare:1923 M. Downing in Nation 5 Sept. 242/2 In Vancouver, in 1911, we had a number of Chinese members and one restaurant keeper would trust any member for meals. He could not pronounce the letter w, but called it wobble, and would ask: ‘You I. Wobble Wobble?’ and when the card was shown, credit was unlimited. Thereafter the laughing term among us was I. Wobbly Wobbly. For alternative (and less likely) derivations see the article ‘What is the origin of the term Wobbly?’ on the official IWW website, and also A. Green Wobblies, Pile Butts, & Other Heroes (1993) 97–138. colloquial (originally North American). A member of the Industrial Workers of the World (see Industrial Workers of the World n. at industrial adj. and n. Compounds 2).With quot. 1913¹ compare etymology. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > worker > those involved in labour relations > [noun] > members of other specific associations commissionaire1869 Bundist1907 Wobbly1913 Lightmonger1954 1913 Miners Mag. 24 Apr. 5 Joe Elton, Sabotist, Syndicalist and fearless I.W.W. with a red, flowing tie.., the I Wobbily-Wobbily organizer..is traveling the country delivering his message.] 1913 Voice of People 4 Sept. 4/4 Miss Carpenter arrived in an auto and cast anchor at Main and Stevens streets, a vicinity infested by bands of Volunteers, Starvationists, Single Taxers, Wobblies and other pests. 1914 Harper's Weekly 4 Apr. 20/1 The most important evidence against him was that he sent telegrams to the I. W. W. organization, asking for organizers, literature, due-stamps and ‘wobblies’. 1923 Daily Herald (Biloxi, Mississippi) 1 May 1/6 (heading) ‘Wobbilies’ Under Fire... The I.W.W.'s were trying to get every man who was ready to sign to drinking white whisky. 1957 Encounter Apr. 65/1 That strange and unique contribution of America to anarcho-syndicalism, the ‘Wobblies’ (officially the Industrial Workers of the World, or IWW..) organised great masses of unskilled workers and led strikes..that were as much social rebellions as economic conflicts. a1982 P. K. Dick Voices from Street (2007) 33 Gold's father had been a Wobbly, had been beaten up and jailed. Had served on picket lines, distributed Marxist leaflets. 2005 P. Buhle & N. Schulman Wobblies! vi. 244 A successful employees' May 2004 vote and precarious victory..at a Starbucks in mid-Manhattan..proved once again that Wobblies had a role where the mainstream labor movement had given up trying. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2016; most recently modified version published online December 2021). wobblyn.² Brit. /ˈwɒbl̩i/, /ˈwɒbli/, U.S. /ˈwɑb(ə)li/ Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: wobbly adj. Etymology: < wobbly adj. colloquial (chiefly British). 1. A fit of panic or fear. Chiefly in plural with the. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > fear > physical symptoms of fear > [noun] > fit of sickening fear qualm?1531 alarm bella1629 wobbly1930 1930 Collier's 4 Oct. 21/3 A guy on a job..might..get the wobblies, blow up and go to pieces. 1968 Ogden (Utah) Standard-Examiner 8 Aug. 7 b/7 The macabre story still gives me the wobblies. 1987 Financial Times 5 June 26/5 Electrocomponents' shares fell 22p to 483p with pre-election wobblies much in evidence. 1997 Times 10 Oct. 29/4 Computers..may have the cybernetic equivalent of a nervous breakdown..having only just recovered from their attack of the wobblies two months previously. 2010 Guardian (Nexis) 2 Sept. (G2 section) 2 OK, I will admit I did have a bit of a wobbly..when it turned out Saddam didn't have WMD. 2. to throw a wobbly: to lose one's self-control in a fit of nerves, temper, panic, etc.; (also) to act in an unexpected or capricious way, causing surprise or consternation. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > expectation > surprise, unexpectedness > happen or move unexpectedly [verb (intransitive)] > act surprisingly to throw a wobbly1964 the mind > emotion > excitement > nervous excitement > unhealthy excitement > go into hysterics [verb (intransitive)] hystericize1819 throw1896 to throw a wobbler1942 to flip out1964 to throw a wobbly1964 1964 M. Davis Watersiders 29 What's the matter with you? You look queer. Ain't going to throw a wobbly, are you? 1979 Guardian 3 Aug. 3/5 We are talking about a responsible, mature group,..and there is no reason to expect them to be throwing wobblies. 1981 Radio Times 22 Aug. 6/4 The debriefing..seemed to take an inordinately long time... ‘By lunch,’ he says, ‘I was getting a bit fed up, so I threw a wobbly.’ 1987 Daily Tel. 28 Jan. 13/4 When Susannah was 15 Leslie threw the biggest wobbly of all. She uprooted the family from Kent..and went to farthest Pembrokeshire. 2008 B. Evaristo Blonde Roots (2009) 98 When I broke the unspoken rules in those first few weeks she'd throw a wobbly and threaten to have me sent to the fields. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2016; most recently modified version published online December 2021). wobblyadj. Brit. /ˈwɒbl̩i/, /ˈwɒbli/, U.S. /ˈwɑb(ə)li/ Forms: see wobble v. and -y suffix¹. Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: wobble v., -y suffix¹. Etymology: < wobble v. + -y suffix¹. 1. That wobbles; tending to wobble (in various senses of wobble v. 1). ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in specific manner > irregular movement or agitation > unsteady movement > [adjective] > tottering > unstable unstable1390 unsteadfasta1400 tickle1515 unstayed1594 unsteady1598 shittle1601 firmless1605 flitty1642 totty1652 shuttlec1682 unfirm1697 wankly1795 wankya1825 cockery1825 wobbly1833 tottlish1835 earthquaky1837 tottling1849 shaky1850 cockly1859 unsteadied1865 shoggy1866 wankle1869 wibblety-wobblety1877 cockerty1895 tipsy1895 rocky1900 wibbly-wobbly1901 tottly1905 topply1913 wibbly1914 1833 C. R. Pemberton in Monthly Repository Oct. 702 Sea-sickness was completely suspended during the gale; it is in the short, wabbly sea, and the dull swell, only, that I have ever experienced that prostrator of existence. 1851 Illustr. London News 22 Mar. 232/2 All their limbs is so wobbly, I was afeard to handle 'em. 1920 Pop. Sci. Monthly July 122/2 A ladder placed against the gable edge of a slanting roof is always wabbly and dangerous. 1974 E. Bowen Henry & Other Heroes iv. 74 The horses at camp..moved in that funny, wobbly way horses do, clopping their hooves, tossing their heads. 2009 B. J. Isbell Finding Cholita i. 11 She gave the whorl a vigorous spin. It bounced up and down like a wobbly top. 2. Of handwriting or a written line: shaky; not straight or regular. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > handwriting or style of > [adjective] > tremulous staggering1838 shaky1847 wobbly1867 1867 Dublin Univ. Mag. Jan. 40/2 We signed our names—Hugh de Vere Lancaster, very bold and firm; Eleanor Lestrange, very wobbly and illegible. 1871 Daily News 11 Apr. 6 A brigade can fight as well if its line be slightly ‘wobbly’ as if it were dressed to death. 1936 Washington Post 18 Aug. 1/2 One of them tried to cash some Traveler's checks... But his handwriting was so wobbly that the people at the station wouldn't cash more than a couple. 1952 Rattle of Theta Chi Jan. 3/1 Even the tiny tots who haven't mastered the writing technique brief Santa by sending..a series of wobbly lines drawn across the page. 1983 Cotswold Life Nov. 19/1 The infants practised wobbly letters, began to chant the Times Tables, and spilt paint water all over the floor. 2004 L. Scottoline Killer Smile (2005) xxvii. 310 Toni grabbed a pen and a piece of paper from her desk..and began drawing a wobbly line. ‘Go this way. It'll save you half an hour, easy.’ 3. Of a person's voice: tending to vary in pitch; trembling, quavering. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > quality of voice > [adjective] > tremulous trillinga1700 quavering1726 quaverous1852 wobbly1873 quavery1890 1873 R. Broughton Nancy I. 279 ‘Nancy!’ cries Bobby,..speaking in a wobbly, quivering voice. 1917 Boys' Life Dec. 9/2 ‘Mr. McQuade—’ he exclaimed, his voice wobbly. 1948 Billboard 18 Dec. 116/4 Warbler's wobbly vibrato obscures any tune value on this bolero. 2015 P. O'Reilly Peripheral Vision 189 ‘Oh shit, shit. This could be it.’ Shannon's voice was wobbly. 4. Wavering, uncertain, or insecure; unreliable, unstable. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > unreliability > [adjective] unsicker?c1225 uncertaina1382 unsadc1384 untristya1387 untrustya1387 unsurec1412 falliblec1425 slipperc1430 ficklea1450 frivol1488 slidder?a1500 casuala1535 slippery1548 slippy1548 failable1561 doubtful1562 lubricious1584 slope1587 queasy1589 unconfirmedc1592 nice1598 catching1603 loose1603 precary1606 ambiguous1612 treacherous1612 unsafe1615 unsureda1616 precarious1626 lubric1631 dubious1635 lubricous1646 unestablished1646 unfixed1654 unsecure?a1685 unreliable1810 unproven1836 untrustworthy1846 shady1848 wobbly1877 Kaffir1899 independable1921 dodgy1961 temperamental1962 1877 Galveston (Texas) Daily News 23 June The President and the Secretary of the Treasury have evidently had their minds in a wobbly condition between a desire for honest national financiering and a fear that the Ohio election will result in an administration defeat. 1878 Athenæum 13 July 42/1 His English..is decidedly ‘wobbly’. 1963 Amer. Bar Assoc. Jrnl. July 666/1 If..the Ph.D's are sometimes wobbly in their control of the written word, what is to be expected of ordinary college graduates? 1982 I. Hamilton R. Lowell iv. 47 A wobbly truce had been achieved, and the parents were not going to be the first to wreck it. 2004 N. Farrell Place in France 15 We got off to a wobbly start with Monsieur Golette. 5. Of a person. a. Unsettled or discomposed by strong emotion, as fear, anxiety, tearfulness, etc. ΚΠ 1918 A. S. Pier Son Decides i. 19 ‘That is hard—when you feel wobbly, to get hold of yourself and be stronger than ever.’.. ‘I was feeling that I was yellow through and through.’ 1939 D. Frederics Diana i. v. 29 I could not face the disappointment myself without feeling wobbly inside. 1993 Jrnl. Lit. & Art 18 245 I saw my mom's dead face... I felt wobbly and before I could get hold of myself, some guy..asked me if I identified the body. 2014 Daily Mail 26 Aug. 28/1 I started to cry proper tears. ‘Oi, Balding,’ said a voice. ‘Are you getting a bit wobbly?’ b. Physically weak and unsteady from illness, tiredness, or other debility; infirm. ΚΠ 1922 Jrnl. Mammol. May 80 Several of the mice became extremely senile and ‘wobbly’ long before death occurred. 1927 Daily Silver Belt (Miami) 22 Jan. 1/5 I've just got out of bed and I'm still pretty weak and wobbly. 1960 N. Coward Diary 27 Mar. (2000) 431 I flew here on Tuesday, feeling all right but a little wobbly. 2012 S. Garrett tr. H. Koch Dinner xxxiv. 197 In the morning, she said, she had felt a little ‘wobbly’, but she had gone out anyway. Derivatives ˈwobbliness n. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in specific manner > irregular movement or agitation > unsteady movement > [noun] > tottering > quality of being tottering or unstable unstaidnessa1586 unsteadiness1611 labascencya1656 wobbliness1861 shauchliness1887 1861 H. Mayhew Young B. Franklin ii. xxi. 380 The obvious staylessness and wabbliness of her whole figure. 1881 J. Morley Let. 19 Oct. in Recoll. (1917) I. ii. ii. 174 A ‘wobbliness’ which nobody is more conscious of, or more disgusted by, than I am. 1936 Altoona (Pa.) Mirror 5 May 5/2 The long-sustained upswing in stocks, recently halted, has latterly given way to pronounced wobbliness. 2004 B. Pester Through Land of Fire iv. 74 We both felt quite washed up and I had a decided wobbliness in my legs. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2016; most recently modified version published online December 2021). < n.¹1913n.²1930adj.1833
随便看	leave much, something, etc to be to wish (for) leave no effects leave no stone unturned leave no straw unturned leave nothing to be desired ) leave nothing to be to wish (for) leave of absence leave off leave on ice leave one leave one to stew, to let one stew leave one'a card leave one's bed leave one's card leave one's fingerprints all over something leave one's life leave one's mark leave one's marks leave one's visiting card leave oneself wide open leave oneself wide open to something leave open leave or let severely alone leave or put a person to the long sands leave or put to the long sands

Wobblyn.1

wobblyn.2

wobblyadj.

Derivatives

Wobblyn.¹

wobblyn.²