| 释义 |
a piece of workA remarkably difficult, malicious, unpleasant, or objectionable person. Boy, our new boss is a real piece of work. Remind me to stay out of her way! I hear Amy's boyfriend is a piece of work. a piece of work AMERICAN, INFORMALIf you say that someone is a piece of work, you mean that they are very surprising, unusual, or impressive. He shook his head in disbelief. `You are a piece of work,' he said. `Do you have any idea what you're playing around with?' piece of work A remarkable person, achievement, or product: "He's a very tough piece of work" (Ted Koppel). piece of work, aAn obnoxious individual. Originally this expression simply referred to something that had been created, and often in an admiring fashion. Shakespeare so used it in Hamlet (2.2), “What a piece of work is a man! . . . the Paragon of animals.” In the first half of the 1900s the term began to be used sarcastically and contemptuously, as in, “Lulu finally had to take her out of the room. Piece of work she is” (David Baldacci, Hour Game, 2004). A documentary film opening in June 2010 was entitled “Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work,” alluding to her often insulting comedy. |