| 词组 | panacea |
| 释义 | panacea A panacea literally is a magical medicine that cures all ailments and figuratively is a magical solution that solves all problems. Since no such medicine and no such solution actually exist, the word panacea almost always occurs in negative constructions ("There is no panacea for these problems") or in contexts in which the writer is criticizing a single proposed or attempted solution to a broad array of problems as inadequate or simplistic: • Oversight, the current panacea of liberal legislative mechanics, means very little if it is not part of a process that clearly involves large numbers of citizens —Marcus Raskin, N.Y. Times Book Rev., 11 Apr. 1976 Panacea is also sometimes used to speak—usually in a deprecating way—of a simple, easy solution to a single problem. Such use may seem inconsistent with the word's "cure-all" denotation, but the underlying logic of it is usually evident: it implies that the problem (or, in literal applications, the ailment) is a complex and difficult one having many aspects which no single solution can, by itself, put right: • Decentralization has been proposed as a panacea for this major problem —Albert Shanker, N. Y. Times, 9 Jan. 1969 • ... private involvement is not a panacea for the over-all problem of municipal recreation —Barry Tarshis, New York, 5 July 1971 • ... have concentrated on stimulation of demand as the panacea for economic stagnation —John Len-czowski, Saturday Rev., 6 Jan. 1979 • ... the official panacea for managing social conflict at home was economic growth —Richard J. Barnet, N.Y. Times Book Rev., 18 July 1982 Cases in which panacea has been used more broadly to mean "an easy and complete cure or solution," without the implication that the ailment or problem in question is especially complex, are rare, according to our evidence. Bernstein 1962, 1965 disapprovingly cites a passage from the New York Times in which the writer refers to a possible "panacea for mosquito bites." Other commentators who have criticized such usage include Evans 1957, Harper 1985, and Bryson 1984. |
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