| 释义 |
what ho, int. and a.|hwɒtˈhəʊ|
A. int. An exclamation used to call the attention of a person, or as an expression of excitement or exultation. Cf. what B. I. 3. Now arch. or affected.
c1386Chaucer Miller's T. 251 What how, what do ye maister Nicholay? 1579Spenser Sheph. Cal. July 5 What ho, thou iollye shepheards swayne, Come vp the hyll to me. c1590Marlowe Faustus iii. iv. (1616), What ho, Officers, Gentlemen, Hye to the presence to attend the Emperour. 1610Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 313 What hoa: slaue: Caliban. 1810Scott Lady of L. ii. xxxv, ‘Malise, what ho!’—his henchman came. 1864Ballantyne Lifeboat x, ‘What ho! Coleman,’ cried Bax,..‘have you actually acquired the art of sleeping on a donkey?’ 1899H. Wyndham Soldiers of Queen vi. 137 ‘What ho! Did you get your bloomin' ticket this time?’ demands a brother ‘Lancer’.
B. (hyphened) as adj. Superior, smart, stylish; designating the type of person supposed to use the exclamation, esp. the heartier kind of officer and gentleman.
1937in Amer. Speech (1938) XIII. 239/1 At the time of their installation the elevators at the Ritz Carlton were considered the What-ho-iest in town. 1973Times Lit. Suppl. 21 Sept. 1074/3 Those who survive to be relieved by what-ho young soldiers in scarlet tunics and white bandoliers. 1977Time 22 Aug. 37/1 The Legionnaires are a carefully assorted lot,..a soulful French musician, a what-ho English blueblood, a hulking Russian who once guarded the Czar's family, and so on. |
