词汇 | to hold at bay |
释义 | (redirected from to hold at bay)hold someone or something at bayFig. to make someone, a group, or an animal stay at a safe distance. (Originally referred only to animals.) I held the attacker at bay while Mary got away and called the police. The dogs held the bear at bay while I got my gun loaded. hold at bay, toTo keep some adverse situation from worsening; to hold off an enemy. The term comes from the Old French tenir a bay, which meant to hold open or in suspense, and referred to a hunted animal being cornered by its pursuers. The term was used literally by the fourteenth century, and figuratively soon thereafter. It is also phrased as to keep at bay. |
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