| 单词 | gruel |
| 释义 | gruel (once / 4284 pages) n Gruel is a truly unpleasant food — weak and runny, consisting of oatmeal or cornmeal boiled in milk or water. It's the kind of "slop" prisoners and other inmates of institutions were historically forced to eat. Gruel was made most famous by Dickens's Oliver Twist, the little orphan boy in the workhouse, who was so hungry he even asked for seconds of it: "Please sir, I want some more." Gruel's reputation, not great to begin with, never recovered. From this delightful substance comes the adjective grueling, describing an experience that's exhausting and punishing. "To get one's gruel" was 1700s slang meaning "to receive one's punishment." Even back then gruel had a bad rap. WORD FAMILYgruel: gruels USAGE EXAMPLESA classic Cantonese breakfast, congee is, well, rice gruel. Washington Post(Dec 08, 2016) But this is thin gruel for Castro’s victims, some of whom might have expected the president of the United States to acknowledge their suffering. Washington Post(Nov 28, 2016) I worry the great football that’s out there—and it is out there, like those virtuoso Patriots—is getting overwhelmed by the gruel. Wall Street Journal(Oct 16, 2016) n a thin porridge (usually oatmeal or cornmeal) Hypo|Hyper congee, jook a Chinese rice gruel eaten for breakfast skillya thin porridge or soup (usually oatmeal and water flavored with meat) loblollythick gruel porridge soft food made by boiling oatmeal or other meal or legumes in water or milk until thick |
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