on the qui vive

副词 adv.
中文释义

英文释义

副词 adv.
  1. In a state of heightened vigilance, especially prior to battle.
    — The political influence wielded by many of the court ladies, and especially by the first lady-in-waiting (mother of the present Emperor), bears a certain resemblance to that which the eunuchs wielded under the later Manchus at the court of Peking. […] And behind the 30 ladies-in-waiting there are the rank and file of female palace attendants, some 300, all of Kyoto stock—quite sufficient to keep any conscientious chamberlain on the qui vive.

词源

Partial calque of French sur le qui-vive (“in a state of heightened vigilance”).
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