每日单词：threadbare

threadbare

英 ['θredbeə(r)] 美 ['θredber]

adj.磨破的；陈腐的

“Threadbare” 这个词由“thread”（线）和“bare”（裸露的）组成，字面意思是“线都磨光了”，引申为“（衣服等）穿旧的，磨得很薄的”。它形象地描述了衣物因为长时间的穿着和洗涤，线头磨损，布料变薄的状态。在日常用语中，“threadbare” 也可以用来形容陈腐的、老一套的观点或论据。

◉外刊例句

① 《经济学人》 (The Economist), 2023年9月10日

“The government’s excuses for its failure to address climate change are becoming increasingly threadbare.”

“政府未能解决气候变化的借口越来越显得陈旧乏味。”

② 《卫报》 (The Guardian), 2023年6月20日

“The old threadbare sofa in the living room was a reminder of the family’s humble beginnings.”

“客厅里那张破旧的沙发让人想起这个家庭卑微的起点。”

◉经典名著

在查尔斯·狄更斯的小说《雾都孤儿》（Oliver Twist）中，可能会这样描述一个角色的穿着：

“He was dressed in a threadbare suit, a testament to the hard life he had led.”

“他穿着一套破旧的衣服，证明了他过去的艰苦生活。”

◉Usage Examples

(1) The carpets had worn rather threadbare.

(2) He had thrummed upon this topic till it is threadbare.

(1) 地毯已磨得相当破旧了。

(2) 他对这个问题一再发言已使它成为陈词滥调。

◉Usage Notes

Those jeans you wear every day that have holes in the knees and thin patches in the rear? They're threadbare. Threadbare means thin from overuse.

Furniture, clothing or a rug is threadbare if the fabric is thin and worn through. If your father tells the same jokes over and over again, you might accuse him of having a threadbare sense of humor. A friend who chooses to live a threadbare lifestyle doesn't have a lot of things, and what they do have is not in the best of shape. When you see this word, picture your childhood stuffed animal with the fur rubbed thin from too much cuddling.

1. [ADJ-GRADED 能被表示程度的副词或介词词组修饰的形容词](衣服、地毯等)破旧的，磨薄的，陈旧的 Threadbare clothes, carpets, and other pieces of cloth look old, dull, and very thin, because they have been worn or used too much.

She sat cross-legged on a square of threadbare carpet.

她盘腿坐在一块破旧的方形地毯上。

2. [ADJ-GRADED 能被表示程度的副词或介词词组修饰的形容词](活动、想法、论点)无力的，不充分的，陈旧乏味的 If you describe an activity, an idea, or an argument as threadbare, you mean that it is very weak, or inadequate, or old and no longer interesting.

...the government's threadbare domestic policies.

政府陈腐的国内政策