gadfly
n. 形似苍蝇, 牛虻, 讨厌的人 [医] 虻
发音
词形变化
释义与例句
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1.
Any dipterous (“two-winged”) insect or fly of the family Oestridae (commonly known as a botfly) or Tabanidae (horsefly), noted for irritating animals by buzzing about them, and biting them to suck their blood; a gadbee.
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2.
A person or thing that irritates or instigates.
定语 比喻 -
3.
A person or thing that irritates or instigates.
A person who upsets the status quo by posing novel or upsetting questions, or attempts to stimulate innovation by being an irritant.
定语 比喻 -
4.
Synonym of gadabout (“a person who restlessly moves from place to place, seeking amusement or the companionship of others”).
定语 比喻 -
5.
A person who takes without giving back; a bloodsucker.
定语 贬义 比喻 俚语He’s a regular gadfly and takes advantage of his friend’s generosity.
词汇关系
相关短语
词源
From gad (“sharp point, spike; (dialectal) sharp-pointed rod for driving cattle, horses, etc., goad”) + fly, in the sense of a fly which irritates cattle, etc., by biting them, similar to the prodding of a goad. Gad is derived from Middle English gad, gadde (“metal spike with a sharp point; stick with a sharp point for driving animals, goad; metal bar or rod, ingot; (by extension) lump of material; metal rod for measuring land; (by extension) unit of linear measure equal to about 10 to 16 feet”), borrowed from Old Norse gaddr (“spike; goad”), from Proto-Germanic *gazdaz (“spike; goad”), further etymology uncertain. Sense 2.1.1 (“person who upsets the status quo”) may allude to the Apology by the Greek philosopher Plato (428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 B.C.E.), where he describes Socrates (c. 470 – 399 B.C.E.) acting as a goad to the Athenian political scene like a gadfly (Ancient Greek μῠ́ωψ (mŭ́ōps)) arousing a sluggish horse.
来源：wiktionary