| 例句 |
derring-do noun dated or humorous •what Sir Bluebonnet lacks in physical stature, he hilariously makes up for in charisma and derring-do. See spunk. USAGE derring-do Derring-do (= daring action) derives, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, from a “chain of misunderstandings and errors.” Originally, the term was dorryng do, a verb phrase meaning “daring to do.” A sixteenth-century misprint in the poetry of John Lydgate (ca. 1370–1450) made it derrynge do, which Spenser (1579) misunderstood and used as a noun phrase meaning “manhood, chivalry.” Then Sir Walter Scott popularized the phrase in Ivanhoe (1820) with the spelling derring-do, and this has been the settled spelling ever since. But because of its historical and modern associations with daring, writers often use the erroneous spelling daring-do —e.g.: “Instead, it is also called ‘Flower Flange’ and has more to do with flowers than fighting and daring-do [read derring-do ].” ( Knoxville News-Sentinel; Sept. 25, 1998.).Usage notes show additional guidance on finer points of English usage. |