| 词组 | spiral |
| 释义 | spiral The verb spiral can describe either upward or downward movement: • Costs are spiraling (at about double the rate of the rise in general cost of living ... ) —Carnegie Quarterly, Summer 1970 • A leaf spiraled to the ground —Michelle Willette, Cat Fancy, May-June 1973 The figurative use of spiral in the sense "to rise steadily" has attracted occasional criticism from those who feel that the word more properly connotes a downward path or that it at least requires an accompanying adverb, such as up or upward, to make its meaning clear. But such criticism is not widespread. Our evidence shows that the "upward" connotations of spiral are now well enough established, especially when the subject is money, that an accompanying adverb, while certainly possible, is not usually necessary: • ... in a year of spiralling commodity inflation —The Economist, 1 Feb. 1975 • ... to bring their spiraling costs in line — Wall Street Jour., 8 Nov. 1983 • ... was sensibly designed to check spiraling salaries —Jerry Kirshenbaum, Sports Illustrated, 21 Nov. 1983 |
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