小词详解 | pithy
pithy 英 [ˈpɪθi] 美 [ˈpɪθi]
SAT GRE
外刊例句
That pithy motto was coined by Leo Durocher, a baseball manager noted for exulting at injuring his opponents and for cheating his players at cards.
这句简练的格言出自利奥·迪罗谢,这位棒球队经理以伤害对手和在牌局上对自己的球员出千为乐,由此出名。
——《经济学人》A pithy turn of phrase or a striking metaphor can all too easily turn into a headline, causing big market moves and a public backlash.
精辟的措辞或引人注目的隐喻都很容易成为头条新闻,引起市场大幅波动和公众强烈反对。
——《纽约时报》
基本释义
[adjective] (of language or style) concise and forcefully expressive
[形容词] (指语言或风格)简洁且表达有力的
深入解读
Pithy 是一个由名词 pith (木髓、树心;柑橘类水果的衬皮;核心)+形容词后缀 -y 衍生而来的单词,字面意思即指“多髓的”以及“柑橘类水果衬皮厚的”,比如:
一个衬皮厚的橙子
a pithy orange
从“多髓的”这个概念出发,现在更为常见的是用 pithy 引申形容言语或写作“简洁有力的、简洁扼要的、简洁精炼的、言简意赅的”,常意味着不仅简明扼要,而且富有实质和意义,因而特别具有说服力或效力,比如:
精炼的对白
pithy dialogue言简意赅的评论
a pithy remark
名著用例
They could always talk; and their discourse, witty, pithy, original, had such charms for me, that I preferred listening to, and sharing in it, to doing anything else.
她们总能谈个不休,她们的交谈机智、精辟、富有独创,对我的吸引力很大。我喜欢倾听,喜欢参与,甚过干一切别的事情。
出自英国女作家夏洛蒂·勃朗特(Charlotte Brontë)创作的具有自传色彩的长篇小说《简·爱》(Jane Eyre)。
同近义词
laconic: (of a person, speech, or style of writing) using very few words
succinct: (especially of something written or spoken) briefly and clearly expressed
concise: giving a lot of information clearly and in a few words; brief but comprehensive
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