poorBrE /pɔː(r), pʊə(r)/ NAmE /pɔːr, pʊr/► SEE ALLbe a/the poor man’s sb/sthbe/come a poor second, third, etc.(as) poor as a church mousepoor old sb/stha poor relationbe in high/low spiritstake a dim/poor view of sb/sth ●be a/the ˌpoor man’s ˈsb/ˈsthbe a person or thing that is similar to but of a lower quality than a particular famous person or thing（比同类的名人）逊色的人；廉价的代用品◆Try some of this sparkling white wine — the poor man’s champagne. 尝一下这种白葡萄汽酒吧，这是穷人的香槟酒。●be/come a poor second, third, etc. (especially BrE) finish a long way behind the winner in a race, competition, etc.（在体育比赛等中）被远远抛在后面的第二名／第三名等◆The Socialists won the election easily with 40% of the vote, with the Democrats coming a poor second with only 26%. 社会党以 40% 的得票轻易地在选举中获胜，第二位的民主党远远落在后面，只得到了 26% 的选票。●(as) poor as a church ˈmousevery poor非常贫穷◆She was as poor as a church mouse, living on a tiny pension. 她一贫如洗，靠菲薄的养老金生活。OPP(as) rich as Croesus●ˌpoor old ˈsb/ˈsth (informal) used to express sympathy（表示同情）可怜的，不幸的◆Poor old Mrs Kirk’s just gone into hospital again. 可怜的柯克太太又进医院了。◆She sat down to rest her poor old legs. 她坐下来让她可怜的双腿休息一下。●a poor reˈlationsb/sth with less importance, respect or power than others穷亲戚；无名小卒；微不足道的人（或事物）◆At the peace conference, our country was treated very much as the poor relation. 在和谈中，我们国家好像是富人的穷亲戚，处处低人一等。●be in high/low ˈspirits ( in good/poor ˈspirits) be happy and cheerful/sad and miserable情绪高涨／低落◆John was in rather low spirits all evening.约翰一晚上都闷闷不乐。▸ˌhigh-ˈspirited, ˌlow-ˈspirited
adjective
◆high-spirited children兴高采烈的孩子们●take a dim/poor ˈview of sb/sthdisagree with or dislike sb/sth对…不赞同；不喜欢；对…持悲观看法◆Farmers tend to take a dim view of the public walking over their land.农民对公众踏入他们的土地很有意见。◆The judge said he took a very poor view of their behaviour.法官说他不认同他们的行为。