sparkless en · ADJ
Etymology
From spark + -less.
Meanings
-
(not-comparable) without a spark
But when we come to a fine thing in our own language--to a stanza from Shelley's "Adonais" for instance: He has outsoared the shadow of our night; Envy and calumny and hate and pain, And that unrest which men miscall delight, Can touch him not and torture not again; From the contagion of the world's slow stain He is secure, and now can never mourn A heart grown cold, a head grown gray in vain; Nor, when the spirit's self has ceased to burn, With sparkless ashes load an unlamented urn. what can you do with that?
1939, Arthur Quiller-Couch, On The Art of Reading:The worn-out brushes in a dead starter or a short circuit in a sparkless ignition distributor would eventually be revealed to a mechanic who carefully dug through the clues.
2007 January 28, Scott Sturgis, “A Mechanic’s Laptop Makes Manuals All but Obsolete”, in New York Times:From the contagion of the world's slow stain 5 He is secure; and now can never mourn A heart grown cold, a head grown grey in vain-- Nor, when the spirit's self has ceased to burn, With sparkless ashes load an unlamented urn. 41.
1891, Shelley, Adonais:
-
(not-comparable) lacking in creativity or energy
Live, though, this youthful Minnesota-based band performed a somewhat sparkless set that seemed to bury the conceptual strengths, the stark voicings, and the crisp rhythms that on the album helped shape the arrangements and link the horns.
1996 January 26, Neil Tesser, “Motion Poets”, in Chicago Reader:It's a small triumph that LiveWire's sparkless production manages to preserve the plot.
2004 July 23, Lawrence Bommer, “Much Ado About Nothing”, in Chicago Reader:
Deriveds
Translations (2)
ja 閃烈 (lacking in creativity or energy) · ru безы́скровый (without a spark)