小而俐落、簡單而聰明
把「沒有多餘的東西」這一點看成優點:體積上不多一分,就是小巧好看;做法上不多一步,就是漂亮的一手。這一支不再講收納,而是在讚美一種剛剛好。
neat (dainty) · adjective · B1
Small in a pleasing way; little and attractive to look at.
小巧精緻
Picture a desk where every pen is in its holder, the papers sit in one straight stack, and nothing spare is lying around. Neat is that look: clean, in order, nothing extra. Once you hold that picture, the other uses follow — small and trim, clever with nothing wasted, and a drink with nothing added to it.
Neat came into English from Anglo-French neit / French net, from Latin nitidus 'well-favored, elegant, trim', literally 'gleaming', from nitere 'to shine'. The 'unadulterated' sense is recorded of wine from the 1570s and of spirits from about 1800 — so the tidy sense and the no-water sense both come from one idea of pure and unmixed.
neat 經由古法語 net 進入英文,來自拉丁文 nitidus(好看、乾淨俐落),字面意思是「發亮的」,源頭是 nitere(發光)。「不摻東西」的用法在 1570 年代先用於葡萄酒,約 1800 年用於烈酒。所以「整齊」和「不加水的酒」不是兩個不相干的字,而是同一個「純淨、沒有混雜」的概念往兩邊長。
Online Etymology Dictionary, entry 'neat' (etymonline.com/word/neat)
From the picture
小而俐落、簡單而聰明
把「沒有多餘的東西」這一點看成優點:體積上不多一分,就是小巧好看;做法上不多一步,就是漂亮的一手。這一支不再講收納,而是在讚美一種剛剛好。
neat (dainty) · adjective · B1
Small in a pleasing way; little and attractive to look at.
小巧精緻
口語稱讚:很棒
從「漂亮的一手」再往外走一步,就變成隨口的稱讚:看到什麼喜歡的東西都可以說 neat。到這裡它已經跟整齊沒關係了,只留下「好」的感覺。
neat (cool, informal) · adjective · B1
Very good, pleasant, or enjoyable — used especially in American English when you like something.
很棒/很酷
酒裡什麼都沒加
同一個「沒有多餘的東西」用在杯子裡:不加冰、不加水、不調任何東西,只有酒本身。字源上這一支和整齊同源,都來自「純淨、不混雜」的意思,所以它不是另一個字。
neat (undiluted drink) · adjective · B1
Used about a drink that has nothing added to it — no ice, no water, and no other liquid mixed in.
純的/不加冰
tidy · adjective · B1
Tidy and carefully arranged, so everything looks in the right place and nice to look at.
整齊/整潔
neat (person) · adjective · B1
Used about a person who likes to keep things tidy and in the right place.
愛整潔
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法,原文照列,我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的;有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
Neatname
A surname from Middle English.
neatadj詞源 1/ˈniːt/
Clean, tidy; free from dirt or impurities.
Free from contaminants; unadulterated, undiluted. Particularly of liquor and cocktails; see usage below.
chemistrynatural-sciencesphysical-sciencesConditions with a liquid reagent or gas performed with no standard solvent or cosolvent.
archaicWith all deductions or allowances made; net.
Having a simple elegance or style; clean, trim, tidy, tasteful.
Well-executed or delivered; clever, skillful, precise.
Facile; missing complexity or details in the favor of convenience or simplicity.
Good, excellent, desirable; interesting; cool.
neatintj詞源 1/ˈniːt/
Used to signify a job well done.
Used to signify approval.
neatnoun詞源 1/ˈniːt/
informalAn artificial intelligence researcher who believes that solutions should be elegant, clear and provably correct. Compare scruffy.
neatnoun詞源 2/ˈniːt/
archaicA bull or cow.
neatnoun詞源 2/ˈniːt/
archaicCattle collectively.
資料來源:英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary(CC BY-SA 4.0)。 原文照列,未經改寫。