| 词组 | leeway |
| 释义 | leeway As a nautical term, leeway denotes the drift or off-course lateral movement of a vessel caused by wind or currents. Most nonsailors are familiar with the word only in its figurative sense, "an allowable margin of freedom or variation." This sense seems to have originated in the early 20th century. The first of our dictionaries to enter it was Webster 1909, in which it was labeled "colloquial" and was explained by the following note: "This use of the word, now very common, arises from a confused idea of leeway as meaning room to leeward." The "confused" sense of leeway took some time to become established in written use. Weseen 1928 cited it as a colloquialism, and it was still labeled as one in Webster's Second (1934). It wasn't until the 1940s that we began to find it commonly in writing. • ... give the hostess a much greater leeway in her menu planning —June Piatt's Plain and Fancy Cookbook, 1941 • ... the Union government allows them a considerable amount of leeway —Frederic A. Ogg & Harold Zink, Modern Foreign Governments, 1949 • You've got to make up your mind now, darling, there's no leeway any more —Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman, 1949 Its written use in the decades since has become increasingly widespread. It is now the most common sense of the word. • ... they do not allow much leeway —Walter Goodman, Harper's, August 1971 • ... perhaps with greater leeway —Randall Collins, Change, Winter 1972-73 • ... with plenty of leeway for defensible shortfalls — N.Y. Times, 1 Oct. 1977 • ... gives himself plenty of leeway —Paul Zweig, TV. Y. Times Book Rev., 25 July 1982 • ... give too much leeway to children in the choice of books —Edwin McDowell, TV. Y. Times Book Rev., 15 Apr. 1984 The extended sense of leeway originated in American English, where its use has never been seriously controversial (no American commentator since Weseen 1928 has even mentioned it). Its relatively recent adoption by the British has, however, drawn criticism from two British commentators, Howard 1977 and Phythian 1979, both of whom fault it as illogical. But they are fighting a lost battle. The extended sense of leeway is now unquestionably standard, and it is recognized as such by current dictionaries, both British and American. |
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