| 词组 | Priming the pump |
| 释义 | (redirected from Priming the pump)prime the pumpTo take action that encourages the growth of something or helps it to succeed. While the government was forced to slash public expenditures following the major economic crash, they've recently begun priming the pump again across the public sectors. The only way we'll get this project off the ground is if one of the directors of the company primes the pump. prime the pumpEncourage the growth or action of something, as in Marjorie tried to prime the pump by offering some new issues for discussion. In the late 1800s this expression originally was used for pouring liquid into a pump to expel the air and make it work. In the 1930s it was applied to government efforts to stimulate the economy and thereafter was applied to other undertakings. prime the pumpmainly AMERICAN, JOURNALISMCOMMON If someone primes the pump, they take action to help something succeed or develop, usually by spending money on it. He said he would consider priming the pump through increased spending on roads or housing if the economy declined more rapidly than expected. Note: You can also talk about pump-priming, or say that someone pump-primes an economy or a project. I think we are going to have to do some more pump-priming in order to get the economy going. The plan offers a way of pump-priming an economy which is growing too slowly. Note: To prime a water pump means to pump it until it is full of water and all the air has been forced out, so that it is ready to be used. prime the pumpstimulate or support the growth or success of something, especially by supplying it with money.This phrase is used literally of a mechanical pump into which a small quantity of water needs to be poured before it can begin to function. 1977 Tom Sharpe The Great Pursuit Significance is all…Prime the pump with meaningful hogwash. prime the ˈpumpgive somebody, an organization, etc. financial help in order to support a project, business, etc. when it is beginning: The government should really prime the pump in new high technology projects. That’s the only way they’ll be able to survive in the current economic climate. ▶ ˈpump-priming noun: The nation is relying on pump-priming to get the economy started.Originally, this was a way of making a pump work properly by adding water to it.prime the pumpInformal To encourage the growth or action of something. prime the pump, toTo help something to succeed, as by contributing money to a cause. This Americanism dates from the nineteenth century and literally means to pour liquid into a pump so as to expel any air and make it operate. During the years of the Great Depression the phrase began to be used figuratively, at first for government measures to stimulate the lagging economy. In time it began to be used in a far more general fashion, as T. Sharpe did in The Great Pursuit (1977), “Significance is all . . . prime the pump with meaningful hogwash.” |
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