old /əʊld $ oʊld/ ●●● S1 W1 adjectiveadj (comparativecomp older, superlativesupl oldest) 1 not new 不新的OLD/NOT NEW something that is old has existed or been used for a long time 旧的,陈旧的,年代久远的 OPP new Some of the houses around here are very old. 这里有些房子年代已经很久远了。
one of our oldest traditions 我们最古老的传统之一
The car’s getting old now, and things are starting to go wrong with it. 这辆汽车现在越来越旧,已经开始出毛病了。
That story’s as old as the hills (=extremely old). 那个故事非常古老。
2 not young 不年轻的OLD/NOT YOUNG a) someone who is old has lived for a very long time 年老的,年迈的 OPP young a home for old people 养老院
get/grow old I can’t run around like I used to – I must be getting old. 我不能像以前那样东奔西跑了——我一定是老了。
b) the old [plural] people who are old 老年人 the care of the old and sick 对老人和病人的照料
3 age 年龄AGE used to talk about how long a person or thing has lived or existed (多少)岁five/ten/fifty etc years old I can’t believe you’re nearly forty years old! 我无法相信你都快40岁了!
a house that’s 300 years old 有300年历史的房子
Are you older than Sally? 你比萨莉大吗?
You’re old enough to get your own breakfast now. 你现在已经长大,可以自己弄早餐了。
I’m not coming skating. I’m too old for that now. 我不去玩溜冰,我现在太老玩不动了。
five-year-old/ten-year-old etc somebody/something a six-week-old baby 六周大的婴儿
a 500-year-old sword 一把有500年历史的剑
somebody is old enough to know better (=used to say that you think someone should behave more sensibly) 某人已长大,应该明白事理
somebody is old enough to be his/her/your mother/father (=used to say that someone is too old to be having a sexual relationship with someone else) 某人的年纪够当他的/她的/你的母亲/父亲了〔用于表示某人年龄过大,不适合成为性伴侣〕
4 BEFOREthat you used to have 以前拥有过的 [only before noun] your old house, job, girlfriend etc is one that you used to have 原先的,原来的,从前的 SYN former I met up with one of my old girlfriends at the weekend. 周末我和一位昔日的女友聚了聚。
My old car was always breaking down. 我以前的那辆车老是抛锚。
That happened when we were still in the old house. 那件事发生时我们还住在老房子里。
My old boss was awful! 我原来的老板太差劲了!
old flame (=someone with whom you used to have a romantic relationship) 旧情人,老相好
► see thesaurus at last 5 familiar 熟悉的 [only before noun]USED TO/ACCUSTOMED TO old things are things that are familiar to you because you have seen them or experienced them many times before 老一套的,熟悉的 It’s good to get back into the old routine. 真好,生活又恢复了原样。
I enjoyed seeing all the old familiar faces. 我喜欢看到所有那些熟悉的老面孔。
He comes out with the same old excuses every time! 他每次都找那些老掉牙的借口!
→ it’s the same old story at story(9) 6 very well known 相识已久的 [only before noun]LONG TIME an old friend, enemy etc is someone you have known for a long time 相识很久的,旧交的 Bob’s an old friend of mine. 鲍勃是我的一位老朋友。
They’re old rivals. 他们是老对手了。
7 the old days PASTtimes in the past 旧日的时光,以前in the old days In the old days people used to fetch water from the pump. 从前,人们用抽水泵打水。
in the old days• And yet nothing is like it was in the old days.• It was easier in the old days.• That might have been in the old days, but not since the missionaries and business men come in.• He said that in the old days men came here probing for gold trying to find their lode.• It was dug by an escaping prisoner in the old days; my aunt knows all about it.• He said that in the old days, the street trees were elm, maple, and ash.• Kept absolutely meticulous accounts, even in the old days when he was a kid.• That was in the old days when it was different. 8 the good old days/the bad old days PASTan earlier time in your life, or in history, when things seemed better or worse than now 过去的好日子/坏日子 We like to chat about the good old days. 我们喜欢聊聊过去的好时光。
9 be/feel/look like your old self BETTER/RECOVEREDto feel or look better again after you have been ill or very unhappy 感觉/看上去恢复了原来的样子 It’s good to see you looking more like your old self again. 很高兴看到你又和以前一样了。
be/feel/look like your old self• After five months in the hospital, I'm feeling like my old self again. 10 any old thing/place/time etc spokenUNIMPORTANT used to say that it does not matter which thing, place etc you choose 随便哪个东西/地方/时间等都行 Oh, just wear any old thing. 噢,就随便穿一件吧。
Phone any old time – I’m always here. 随便什么时候打电话来都行,我一直在这里。
any old thing/place/time etc• He could play with Orlando any old time.• If you believed that, then you'd believe any old thing. 11 any old how/way spokenUNTIDYCARELESS in an untidy or careless way 凌乱地;随便地 The papers had been dumped on my desk any old how. 报纸乱七八糟地堆在我的书桌上。
any old how/way• By this time nobody was paying any attention, just stamping round any old how.• The doctors and nurses knew too and just treated you any old way.• Go back to living in proper departments instead of any old how all over the place.• Like you they want to dance-not just any old way but a la Alvin Ailey.• They've dropped things just any old how, he thought, listening to the distant chattering of the nomes.• There's some stand any old how, you'd be really ashamed of them. 12 good/poor/silly old etc somebody spokenKNOW somebody used to talk about someone you like 可爱的/可怜的/傻乎乎的等某人〔说到自己喜欢的人时用〕 You poor old thing! 你这可怜的家伙!
13 a good old something (also a right old something British English) spokenENJOY/LIKE DOING something used to talk about something you enjoy 用于谈论喜欢的事 We had a good old talk. 我们畅快地聊了一阵子。
a good old something• But even marriage to a good old boy has not opened all arms to Fonda.• It was high time, he intimated, that he and old Barney got together for a good old chinwag.• If you need thrills, excitement and a good old dose of adrenalin, then the Ducati is a top option.• He was a good old man, and I still miss him.• He was a good old mule.• We had a good old time at the reunion.• One of these days Sam is going to come up against a good old time proper door.• Our only hope is a good old winter storm over the Christmas holiday. 14 old devil/rascal etc spoken used to talk about someone you like and admire 淘气鬼,调皮鬼 You old devil! You were planning this all along! 你这个捣蛋鬼!你一直在计划这事啊!
old devil/rascal etc• He is not a character I like at all because I think he was just an old rascal.• I really miss the old devil.• Not that he's the worst of them, poor old devil.• Yet, in spite of everything, David Miller grew up to idolise the old rascal.• Impotent old devils and dried-up hags always deride the efforts of the young.• A true old devil, Manson vanishes in a puff of smoke.• There was one old devil with red eyes. 15 old fool/bastard/bat etc spoken not politeDON'T LIKE used to talk very rudely about someone you do not like 老糊涂/老混蛋/老太婆等〔用于粗鲁地谈论不喜欢之人〕the stupid old cow 这愚蠢的老泼妇
old fool/bastard/bat etc• He was no more to her, he thought, than a tiresome old man, an old fool.• Look there that old fool Broom, slipped off to sleep.• An old fool if you like.• Am I to be troubled by a skinny old fool in mirror shades?• The old bats included a plastic, an aluminum and a wooden one.• She thought what an undecided old fool Phoebe was, but it made her outburst at the Frolic all the more courageous.• But then the old fool should have been a little less unwashed and boring. 16 the old guard OLD-FASHIONEDa group of people within an organization or club who do not like changes or new ideas 〔机构或俱乐部内的〕守旧派,保守派,保守分子 He’ll never manage to persuade the old guard. 他绝对劝服不了这群老顽固。
the old guard• The trouble is that his men have done just as badly as the old guard.• Soon many of the old guard felt his hand upon them.• But the old guard in the leadership sends in the tanks and introduces a new phase of vicious repression.• By agreeing to run, Daley gave up his Senate seat and angered some of the old guard on the South Side.• Would she like to abandon the old guard, she was asked?• Meanwhile, like the Old Guard, the conventional wisdom dies but does not surrender.• To the old guard there is no such place.• But now what had happened to the old guard was happening to him, too.
17 be an old hand (at something) EXPERIENCEDto have a lot of experience of something (在某方面)是老手,经验老到 I’m an old hand at this game. 玩这种把戏我很在行。
18. be old before your time OLD/NOT YOUNGto look or behave like someone much older than you, especially because of difficulties in your life 〔尤指因经历过磨难而〕显得成熟,显得老成 19. for old times’ sake REMEMBERif you do something for old times’ sake, you do it to remind yourself of a happy time in the past 看在往日的情分上,念及老交情for old times’ sake• A slight drizzle appeared, just for old times' sake.• I just thought it might have been kinda fun, you know, for old times' sake.• Then one day, just for old times' sake, I paid a visit to Winston Street.• This was really just for old times' sake, just for fun.• Or even, for old times' sake, one of the left splinter parties. 20. the old country especially American EnglishAmESANCOUNTRY/NATION the country that you were born in, but that you no longer live in, used especially to mean Europe 〔移民等的〕祖国,故国〔尤指欧洲国家〕the old country• A change of citizenship did not of course imply a divorce from the old country.• I remember hearing stories in my childhood about how women like that were stoned to death in the old country.• Real yearning for the old country.• They were very religious people that come over here from the old country.• It is one of the oldest country houses in Northamptonshire.• So what if Uncle Cedric escaped from the Old Country one step ahead of the law?• In the Old Country people developed a special taste for TSHUHlnt, since it was different from ordinary cooked meals.• If Kevin wanted a root in the old country, then this, she decided, must be it. 21. an old head on young shoulders SENSIBLE British EnglishBrE a young person who seems to think and behave like an older person 少年老成 22. pay/settle an old score PUNISHto punish someone for something wrong that they did to you in the past 报旧仇,了结宿怨pay/settle an old score• Oh, I heard plenty of rumours, but they were nearly all based on settling old scores.• There was no place like the thick of battle for settling an old score.• With the championship having been decided, this was likely to be their last chance to settle old scores. 23 of/from the old school OLD-FASHIONEDold-fashioned and believing in old ideas and customs 老派的,守旧的 a doctor of the old school 老派的医生
of/from the old school• Harris was a newspaperman of the old school.• At such a time, with his formal dress, he looked like a diplomat of the old school.• I had to have ideas about how to sell the packages even though my business was still of the old school.• Oscar was from the old school.• He was of the old school, complete with stiff collar and bowler hat, and he was a good all-rounder.• As a soldier of the old school, Eisenhower felt his responsibility was to protect the nation's security.• The overall effect was grandfatherly-a gentleman of the old school, fusty, faintly absentminded, and deeply courteous.• This one was of the old school: giddy and flirtatious.• He was one of the old school, not exactly sleeping under hedges, but an itinerant caddie.• They sweep aside the qualifications and reservations which monetarists of the old school would occasionally express. 24. old wives’ tale BELIEVEa belief based on old ideas that are now considered to be untrue 无稽之谈;愚蠢的信仰;迷信 25 of old literary from a long time ago in the past 往日的,从前的of old• heroes and kings of old n If there is more than one adjective, the adjectives are usually used in a fixed order.
You say: There are some nice old houses.
✗Don’t say: There are some old nice houses. You say: She was dressed in old black clothes.
✗Don’t say: She was dressed in black old clothes. n COLLOCATIONS – Meaning 3: used to talk about how long a person or thing has lived or existedphrasesbe 5/10/50 etc years oldMy dad is 45 years old.
a five-year-old/fifteen-year-old etc somebody/somethinga three-year-old boy
how old is …?‘How old is your daughter?’ ‘She’s ten.’
be too old for somethingHe was too old for military service.
be old enough to do somethingYou’re old enough to help with the cooking.
somebody is old enough to know better (=used when you think someone should behave more sensibly)He’s old enough to know better, but he went and did it anyway!
somebody is old enough to be somebody’s mother/father (=used when you think that someone is much too old to be having a relationship with another person )Why would she want to go out with someone who was old enough to be her father?
THESAURUSperson 人old having lived for a long time 旧的;年代久远的 年老的,老迈的I’m too old to learn a new language. 我年纪太大,没法学一门新的语言了。
elderly a polite word for old 年老的,年迈的〔较old礼貌〕a home for the elderly (=elderly people) 养老院
nIf you are elderly, you may be eligible for financial assistance.
aging (also ageing British EnglishBrE) [only before noun] becoming old 变老的an ageing rock star 年华逝去的摇滚歌星
the problems of an ageing population 人口老龄化问题
aged /ˈeɪdʒəd/ [only before noun] written aged relatives are very old 〔指亲人〕年迈的She had to look after her aged aunt. 她得照顾年迈的姑母。
elder brother/sister especially British EnglishBrE [only before noun] an older brother or sister. Elder sounds more formal than older 哥哥/姐姐〔elder听起来比older正式〕I have two elder brothers. 我有两个哥哥。
ancient [not usually before noun] informal very old – used humorously 极老的〔幽默用法〕I’ll be 30 next year – it sounds really ancient! 明年我就30岁了——听上去好老哦!
be getting on (in years) informal to be fairly old 上年纪了He’s 60 now, so he’s getting on a bit. 他现在60岁,有点上年纪了。
be over the hill (also be past it British EnglishBrE) informal to be too old to do something 不再年轻Everyone thinks you’re past it when you get to 40. 人人都觉得一过40岁就不年轻了。
thing 物old 旧的;年代久远的an old Chinese saying 中国的一句老话
ancient very old – used about things that existed thousands of years ago, or things that look very old 古代的;古老的,古旧的ancient civilisations 古文明
an ancient Rolls Royce 一辆古旧的劳斯莱斯
age-old used about traditions, problems, or situations that have existed for a very long time 〔传统、问题或情形〕古老的,存在已久的the age-old tradition of morris dancing 莫里斯舞蹈的悠久传统
the age-old prejudice against women in positions of power 对担任要职的女性由来已久的偏见
n the age-old problem of nationalism
nage-old hatreds between religious groups