【英语学习】【WOTD】chockablock 释义/词源/示例

一凡stkeke

于 2019-02-24 18:32:06 发布

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分类专栏： WOTD 文章标签：英语学习 chockablock filled up block pulley

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chockablock adj. [CHAH-kuh-blahk]

摆满；塞满

Definition

1: brought close together
1：拿到一起

2: very full
2：非常满

Did You Know?

Chockablock started out as a nautical term. A block is a metal or wooden case with one or more pulleys inside. Sometimes, two or more blocks are used as part of a rope and pulley system called a "block and tackle" to provide a mechanical advantage - as, for example, when hoisting a sail on a tranditional sailing ship. When the rope is pulled as far as it will go, the blocks are tight together and are said to be chockablock. Non-nautical types associated the chock in chockablock with chock-full, which goes back to Middle English chokkefull, meaning "full to the limit" ( a figurative use of "full to choking"). We thus gave chockablock the additional meaning "filled up." Chockablock can also be an adverb meaning "as close or as completely as possible," as in "families living chockablock" or the seemingly redundant "chockablock full."

词根/词源演化：chokkefull ("full to the limit") --> chock-full --> chock + a + block --> chockablock

Chockablock最初是个航海术语。一个block是一个金属或木制外壳，内部有一个或多个滑轮构成（参看后图）。有时候，两个或多个block与绳索共同组成滑轮组（block and tackle），提供了机械收益 - 例如，当升起风力帆船的风帆时使用。当绳索拉到尽头时，两个block会紧紧挤在一起，称为chockablock状态（参看下图）。
Image result for chockablock

chockablock中的chock与chock-full有关系，chock-full可以追溯到中古英语chokkefull，意思是“完全到达极限full to the limit” （即满至窒息full to choke的比喻意义）。于是我们又赋予chockablock额外的意思“充满的”。chockablock也用于表达副词含义，意思是“尽可能接近或者完整地”，例如，可以使用在“生活在一起的大家族 families living chockablock”，以及看起来有点冗余的短语“chockablock full 完全充满地”中。

注：nautical：海上的，航海的，船员的；nautical term：航海用语；hoist：升起，升高，举起 n. 起重机
block：In sailing, a block is a single or multiple pulley.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_(sailing)

pulley：滑车，滑轮，皮带轮；block and tackle：滑轮组

Examples

"The one-square-mile borough is chockablock with shops, restaurants, small business, and a bustling downtown."
--- Katie Park, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 13 Jan. 2019
这个仅有一平方英里大的小镇里挤满了商店，旅馆，小店以及一个熙熙攘攘的市中心。
注：borough：自治的市镇，区；bustling：嘻嘻嚷嚷的，忙碌的，n. 喧嚣
"The release schedule for the next few months of music is chockablock with new voices, classic names, and bands in the process of transitioning from the first category to the second."
--- Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 5 Sept. 2017
接下来几个月的音乐发布计划中充满了新人的声音，经典的名字以及正从first category过度到second category的乐队。