cling to the skirts of

动词 v.

英文释义

动词 v.
  1. To depend upon and be unwilling to relinquish.
    — Idleness is his chief good, and pauperism and theft are for the race not an unwelcome means of attaining their object. The vis inertia of the black blood is so great, that even a large mixture of white blood will overcome it only so far as to induce the individual to perform menial offices, clinging to the skirts of white society.
  2. To be closely associated with or proximate to.
    — Sometimes we came upon a station close by the bank, clinging to the skirts of the Unknown, and the white men rushing out of a tumble-down hovel, with great gestures of joy and surprise and welcome, seemed very strange—had the appearance of being held there captive by a spell.

词形变化

clings to the skirts of present,singular,third-person clinging to the skirts of participle,present clung to the skirts of participle,past clung to the skirts of past

词源

From the image of a child clinging to his or her mother's skirts for reassurance and safety.
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