| 词组 | marginal |
| 释义 | marginal Bernstein 1965, Gowers in Fowler 1965, Phythian 1979, and Bryson 1984 are all concerned in one way or other about figurative uses of marginal. The commentators have differing ideas of the proper scope of this adjective, and, in any event, they have reached the dike a little too late to stop the leak. The frequency of figurative use of this word does appear to have accelerated. It may be that the pressure of economics on the consciousness of the public is behind this development, although many of the figurative uses look fairly remote from technical economic uses. Most of what we find seems to stem from a figurative use dated back to 1887 in the OED; the general notion behind it is "barely acceptable" or "barely exceeding some minimum requirement." Here is a sample of recent use: • ... found themselves in marginal jobs stereotyped as feminine —Frederika Randall, N.Y. Times Book Rev., 12 Dec. 1982 • ... a man dulled by a marginal life —V. S. Naipaul, Among the Believers, 1981 • The "waiver" system, designed to facilitate the moving of marginal players —Robert W. Creamer, Sports Illustrated, 18 Sept. 1982 • ... total, functional or marginal nonreaders —Jonathan Kozol, N.Y. Times Book Rev., 3 Mar. 1985 Some of the economic citations seem very close to this general use, no matter how technically they might be defined: • ... marginal banks engage in frenzied borrowing and lending to look more liquid than they are —John W. Dizard, Fortune, 29 Nov. 1982 • ... U.S. economic interests in the region are currently marginal—less than 2 percent of U.S. investments abroad are in Central America and less than 2 percent of our trade is with the region —Robert A. Pastor, Atlantic, July 1982 Sometimes the minimum requirement is that of perception or probability: • ... the bulk of the program's efforts—and expense— would be focused on threats that were marginal if not imaginary —Gregg Easterbrook, Atlantic, October 1982 • ... coverage by the U.S. intelligence system is either marginal or nonexistent —report of U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, quoted in Wall Street Jour., 5 Mar. 1982 Some of the figurative uses derive from the original margin; they suggest the outside edges or the fringes: • Connolly could also write well about certain individual writers, especially figures who are minor or marginal —Hilton Kramer, N.Y. Times Book Rev., 19 Feb. 1984 • ... you probably can't put together a majority coalition unless you are willing to deal with those marginal interests that will give you the votes needed to win —David A. Stockman, quoted in Atlantic, December 1981 • Miss Woodby, however, is only a marginal figure ..., just one of the characters observed by a heroine —John Butt, English Literature in the Mid-Eighteenth Century, edited & completed by Geoffrey Car-nall, 1979 There may be senses developing here that are not fully covered in current dictionaries, and it could turn out that lexicographers have some catching up to do. |
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