| 释义 |
by hook or by crook
hook H0269900 (ho͝ok)n.1. a. A curved or sharply bent device, usually of metal, used to catch, drag, suspend, or fasten something else.b. A fishhook.2. Something shaped like a hook, especially:a. A curved or barbed plant or animal part.b. A short angled or curved line on a letter.c. A sickle.3. a. A sharp bend or curve, as in a river.b. A point or spit of land with a sharply curved end.4. A means of catching or ensnaring; a trap.5. Slang a. A means of attracting interest or attention; an enticement: a sales hook.b. Music A catchy motif or refrain: "sugary hard rock melodies [and] ear candy hooks" (Boston Globe).6. Sports a. A short swinging blow in boxing delivered with a crooked arm.b. The course of a ball that curves in a direction away from the dominant hand of the player propelling it, as to the left of a right-handed player.c. A stroke that sends a ball on such a course.d. A ball propelled on such a course.e. In surfing, the lip of a breaking wave.7. Baseball A curve ball.8. Basketball A hook shot.v. hooked, hook·ing, hooks v.tr.1. a. To catch, suspend, or connect with a hook.b. Informal To snare.c. Slang To steal; snatch.2. To fasten by a hook.3. To pierce or gore with a hook.4. Slang a. To take strong hold of; captivate: a novel that hooked me on the very first page.b. To cause to become addicted.5. To make (a rug) by looping yarn through canvas with a type of hook.6. Sports a. To hit with a hook in boxing.b. To hit (a golf ball) in a hook.7. Baseball To pitch (a ball) with a curve.8. Basketball To shoot (a ball) in a hook shot.9. Sports To impede the progress of (an opponent in ice hockey) by holding or restraining the player with one's stick, in violation of the rules.v.intr.1. To bend like a hook.2. To fasten by means of a hook or a hook and eye.3. Slang To work as a prostitute.Phrasal Verb: hook up1. To assemble or wire (a mechanism).2. To connect a mechanism and a source of power.3. Slang a. To meet or associate: We agreed to hook up after class. He hooked up with the wrong crowd.b. To become sexually involved with someone, especially casually.c. To marry or get married.Idioms: by hook or by crook By whatever means possible, fair or unfair. get the hook Slang To be unceremoniously dismissed or terminated. hook, line, and sinker Informal Without reservation; completely: swallowed the excuse hook, line, and sinker. off the hook Informal Freed, as from blame or a vexatious obligation: let me off the hook with a mild reprimand. on (one's) own hook By one's own efforts.
[Middle English hok, from Old English hōc; see keg- in Indo-European roots.]by hook or by crookBy any means necessary; from the idea of using any tool that comes to hand.Thesaurus| Adv. | 1. | by hook or by crook - in any way necessary; "I'll pass this course by hook or by crook"by any means |
Translationshook (huk) noun1. a small piece of metal shaped like a J fixed at the end of a fishing-line used for catching fish etc. a fish-hook. 鉤 钩2. a bent piece of metal etc used for hanging coats, cups etc on, or a smaller one sewn on to a garment, for fastening it. Hang your jacket on that hook behind the door; hooks and eyes. 掛鉤 挂钩3. in boxing, a kind of punch with the elbow bent. a left hook. (拳擊)鉤拳 肘弯击，勾拳 verb1. to catch (a fish etc) with a hook. He hooked a large salmon. 釣(魚) 用钓钩钓（鱼） 2. to fasten or to be fastened by a hook or hooks. He hooked the ladder on (to the branch); This bit hooks on to that bit; Could you hook my dress up down the back? 鉤上 钩紧3. in golf, to hit (the ball) far to the left of where it should be (or to the right if one is left-handed). (高爾夫球)擊偏 使（球）向左弯 hooked adjective1. curved like a hook. a hooked nose. 鉤狀的 钩状的2. (with on) slang for very interested in, or showing a great liking for; addicted to. He's hooked on modern art; He's hooked on marijuana. (俚語)入迷的，上癮的 入了迷的by hook or by crook by some means or another; in any way possible. I'll get her to marry me, by hook or by crook. 不擇手段地 不择手段地off the hook free from some difficulty or problem. If he couldn't keep the terms of the contract, he shouldn't have signed it – I don't see how we can get him off the hook now. 擺脫麻煩或問題 摆脱困境by hook or by crook
by hook or (by) crookIn any way possible. A: "But we're not allowed to submit more than one entry per person." B: "Oh, forget that—we are winning this contest by hook or by crook!" We need to court that big investor by hook or by crook, so shameless flattery is a fine place to start!See also: by, crook, hookby hook or by crook If you say you will do something by hook or by crook, you mean that you will find a way to do it, even if it is difficult or involves dishonest methods. He would have to see her again by hook or by crook. He is determined to hang on to power by hook or by crook. Note: The hook in this expression is a billhook, which is a cutting tool with a hooked blade. A shepherd's crook is a long stick with a curve at the top. This expression may refer to a medieval law which allowed ordinary people to collect firewood from forests belonging to the King or a lord, so long as they took only dead wood which they could reach with crooks and billhooks. See also: by, crook, hookby hook or by crook by one means or another; by fair means or foul. The hook referred to here is probably a billhook or heavy curved pruning knife; one of the earliest recorded instances of this phrase is in Gower's Confessio Amantis ( 1390 ), which uses the rare word hepe (meaning ‘a pruning knife’) in place of hook . Various etymologies for the expression have been put forward, none of them entirely convincing. In 1822 William Cobbett wrote of people who lived near woodland being allowed, under the ancient forest law of England, to gather dead branches for fuel, which they may have brought down from the trees literally by hook or by crook . 1998 Adèle Geras Silent Snow, Secret Snow Till then, she would hang on. By hook or by crook. Come what may. See also: by, crook, hookby ˌhook or by ˈcrook (of something difficult) by any method, whether it is honest or not: Don’t worry — we’ll have the money ready by 4 o’clock, by hook or by crook.This may come from the practice in the past of allowing workers to use the tools of their trade (billhooks for farm workers, crooks for shepherds) to pull down loose wood from their employer’s trees to use as firewood.See also: by, crook, hook by hook or by crook By whatever means possible, fair or unfair.See also: by, crook, hookby hook or by crookBy any possible means. There is some disagreement as to the origin of this expression, which used to mean specifically by fair means or foul—that is, legal or illegal (crooked). One writer suggests it may come from the medieval custom authorizing one to help oneself to as much firewood as could be reached by a shepherd’s crook and cut down with a billhook. Others believe it simply uses rhyming words for “direct” (reachable with a long hook) and “indirect” (roundabout). In any event, it dates back to the time of the English theologian John Wycliffe, who used it in his Controversial Tracts (ca. 1380).See also: by, crook, hookby hook or by crookBy any means necessary to accomplish the purpose; one way or another. Several explanations for this phrase have come down over the years. One is that it refers to two Irish towns, Hook Head and Crook, through which Oliver Cromwell tried to capture the nearby city of Waterford. Another is a medieval custom of allowing villagers to collect for firewood any loose branches that they could pull down with a long-handled curved implement. A third explanation is the most plausible: shepherds rounded up their flocks by means of a crook, a long staff with a curved end. A shepherd would chase after a reluctant ram, ewe, or lamb and hook it with his staff by any means . . . by hook or by crook.See also: by, crook, hookEncyclopediaSeehookFinancialSeeHookby hook or by crook
Synonyms for by hook or by crookadv in any way necessarySynonyms |