You’d be hard-pressed to find an organization that doesn’t say collaboration is important. So why are most of them so bad at it?
A statement from Burt’s Bees, labeling him as “The Bee Man,” described Mr. Shavitz as a wisecracker who loved golden retrievers, nature and the yellow color of school buses.
"What does a pupil do with five good GCSEs anyway? It's a no-brainer to the middle classes (unless the child in question already has a burning aspiration in some direction that it's prudent to let them pursue). They stay on at school, have a crack at some more exams, go to college or university, aim to get the best job they can. Politicians are fond of talking about "ordinary people". But what provision is there really, for ordinary? You either sign up to middle-class values and aspirations, or, let's face it, sooner or later, you're screwed"
Thursday
marked Jay Leno’s final night as host of the Tonight Show and Conan
O’Brien marked the occasion with a single wisecrack.
Fed sees strength, holds steady
The Fed said the U.S. economy continues to strengthen, but the slack left over from the recession is still so large that it expects interest rates to stay near zero for an "extended period."
Android Group Shows Cracks as Partners Seek Options
BusinessWeek
By Ari Levy and Brian Womack After Verizon Wireless scrapped plans to offer Google's Nexus One handset this week, Motorola Inc. said it opted for a mapping ...
An 84-Year-Old Wisecracker Keeps Trucking
Jerry Dalia
Elaine Stritch in “The Full Monty” at the Paper Mill Playhouse.
Friends of Elaine Stritch, the Broadway legend, have expressed surprise that, at 84, she is acting this summer in a small role in “The Full Monty” at the Paper Mill Playhouse in suburban Millburn, N.J. One friend asked her how things were going at “the Paperback Playhouse,” to which she replied, in true Stritchy style, “No, we’re first edition.”
“And Every Lad May Be Aladdin (Crackers in Bed)” by Norman Rockwell (1920)
“Here’s a story for you.
Very early one morning, I couldn’t sleep so I went on Facebook. I was scanning the feed, looking for something to connect to, hold on to, perhaps transport me.
I happened upon a friend’s post of this painting depicting a boy in bed. It immediately drew me in. It’s evening, and he’s sitting up in bed, intently reading. Completely absorbed. So focused on his book that he tilts the lamp to directly shine its light so no text is obscured, and shuts out all distractions. Who painted this? I wondered.
I had somehow overlooked the signature. It was so early in the morning; my experience was one of falling into the reality of the painting — I was as absorbed by it as the boy was with his book. There seemed to be all these secrets in that room waiting to be revealed.
I started to explore all the details. I noticed the subtle, gentle way the view outside his window was painted; the welcoming lights of the next-door neighbor’s, the first stars peaking out of the sky. The cord of the window shade inexplicably caught in the drapes — this detail fascinated me. A quiet, off-kilter wink that directs your attention back to the boy instead of out the window. I noticed the hilt of the sword stuck behind the painting on the wall above him, difficult to make out at first. An indication of adventure. Some sort of animal and a man are pictured in the painting — the man appears to be backing away from the beast. Deep shadows against the wall create a powerful silhouette of the boy and contrast with the very strong light of the lamp. I almost missed the dog, sleeping contentedly, one with the quilt and the line of the boy’s propped up legs. Then I noticed the worn shoes, one resting on the other, mirroring the dog resting on the boy’s feet.
Those look like Pop’s shoes, the kind he would draw. Pop loved careworn shoes of all kinds. I was puzzled. Again I thought, Who painted this?
I noticed the books on the side table, and the lamp cord falling into shadow beyond the light’s reach. The dog’s markings reflect the pattern in the quilt mirroring the pattern of the glass lampshade. And what is the boy eating – is that a box of crackers?
The magic of the painting held me for quite a while. I didn’t want to leave the comfort and safety of that room, the boy’s world and that private moment.
I went back to my friend’s page and saw that he had credited the image in another post. It was a Norman Rockwell! How could I not have known?! It was an epiphany. Never before had I seen my grandfather’s work with fresh eyes — for the first time I didn’t bring my history into viewing it. I had complete purity of vision, and I now understood what people have always said to me — that to enter into the magic of one of his paintings, the world he created, is to be truly transported.
This painting is part of the Edison Mazda series that my grandfather painted from 1920 to 1927. I mentioned this series in my last post on Young Valedictorian. I particularly love this series — it speaks to the adventure, enchantment, and safety of childhood.”
-Abigail Rockwell (Granddaughter of Norman Rockwell)
Definition of retriever in English:
noun
1A dog of a breed used for retrieving game.slack
n.
- A loose part, as of a rope or sail.
- A lack of tension; looseness.
- A period of little activity; a lull.
- A cessation of movement in a current of air or water.
- An area of still water.
- Unused capacity: still some slack in the economy.
- slacks Casual trousers that are not part of a suit.
crack
v., cracked, crack·ing, cracks. v.intr.
- To break or snap apart.
- To make a sharp snapping sound.
- To break without complete separation of parts; fissure: The mirror cracked.
- To change sharply in pitch or timbre, as from hoarseness or emotion. Used of the voice.
- To break down; fail: The defendant's composure finally began to crack.
- To have a mental or physical breakdown: cracked under the pressure.
- To move or go rapidly: was cracking along at 70 miles an hour.
- Chemistry. To break into simpler molecules by means of heat.
- To cause to make a sharp snapping sound.
- To cause to break without complete separation of parts: cracked the glass.
- To break with a sharp snapping sound. See synonyms at break.
- To crush (corn or wheat, for example) into small pieces.
- To open to a slight extent: cracked the window to let in some air.
- To strike with a sudden sharp sound.
- Informal.
- To break open or into: crack a safe.
- To open up for use or consumption: crack a book; cracked a beer.
- To break through (an obstacle) in order to win acceptance or acknowledgement: finally cracked the "men-only" rule at the club.
- To discover the solution to, especially after considerable effort: crack a code.
- To cause (the voice) to crack.
- Informal. To tell (a joke), especially on impulse or in an effective manner.
- To cause to have a mental or physical breakdown.
- To impair or destroy: Their rude remarks cracked his equanimity.
- To reduce (petroleum) to simpler compounds by cracking.
- A sharp snapping sound, such as the report of a firearm.
- A partial split or break; a fissure.
- A slight narrow space: The window was open a crack.
- A sharp resounding blow.
- A mental or physical impairment; a defect.
- A breaking, harshly dissonant vocal tone or sound, as in hoarseness.
- An attempt or try: gave him a crack at the job; took a crack at photography.
- A witty or sarcastic remark. See synonyms at joke.
- A moment; an instant: at the crack of dawn.
IN SINGULAR] INFORMAL An attempt to achieve something:
I fancy having a crack at winning a fourth title
adj.
MORE EXAMPLE SENTENCES
- I've had a crack at taking some more pics, some have turned out OK.
- Our greatest living portraitist, Lucian Freud, had a crack at it in 2001.
- Two points later he had a crack at a second serve from Federer and took a big swing.
Excelling in skill or achievement; first-rate: a crack shot; a crack tennis player.
phrasal verbs:
crack down
- To act more forcefully to regulate, repress, or restrain: The police cracked down on speeding.
- To praise highly: He was simply not the genius he was cracked up to be.
- To damage or wreck (a vehicle or vessel): crack up a plane; crack up a boat.
- To wreck a vehicle in an accident: cracked up on the expressway.
- To have a mental or physical breakdown: crack up from overwork.
- To experience or cause to experience a great deal of amusement: really cracked up when I heard that joke.
crack the whip
- To behave in a domineering manner; demand hard work and efficiency from those under one's control.
[Middle English craken, from Old English cracian.]
回答 1 件
2016/08/01 - It means something like finding the secrets of something. If its literally talking about a code, it means to break the co.wisecrack
Line breaks: wise|crack
Pronunciation: /ˈwʌɪzkrak/
• informal
noun
a witty remark or joke: she could pinpoint the absurdity of every situation with a snappy wisecrack More example sentences- The cast deals admirably with a difficult script which is peppered with acerbic one-liners and wonderfully witty wisecracks, characteristic of Marber's earlier comedy.
- While more jokes and wisecracks were coming from the campfire, Alan retreated to his cabin.
- Right, that's got the usual wisecrack remark about snowshoes out of the way, now we can get on with things.
noun
- One who is obnoxiously self-assertive and arrogant: malapert, witling. Informalknow-it-all, saucebox, smart aleck, smarty, smarty-pants, wisenheimer. Slangwiseacre, wise guy. Seegood/bad.
Those three words
produced the world's
first phonograph.
Thomas Edison, America's
most famous inventor,
like to work
late at night.
He left a rough
sketch on his
assistant's desk,
with the note, " Kruesi,
make this."
When Edison got
to work about noon
the next day, Kruesi,
working from Edison's
rough sketch, had made
the world's first
phonograph.
Are you one of those
wisenheimer who
believe that to
get a job done
right,
you have to do
it yourself ?
That might be true
in eating a plate
of spaghetti;
but in little else.
In most cases
two heads
are better
than one.
Especially
if one of
them is
Edison's.
by Richard Kerr.
續‧アメリカの心
東京:學生社1990
wis·en·heim·er
/ˈwīzənˌhīmər/
Noun
A
person who behaves in an irritatingly smug or arrogant fashion,
typically by making clever remarks and displaying their knowledge.
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