let-down, n.
(ˈlɛtdaʊn)
[f. vbl. phr. to let down (let v.1 32).]
1. An act or instance of ‘letting down’: (a) a drawback, incident, disadvantage; (b) a come-down, a ‘drop’ in circumstances; (c) a disappointment. slang.
| 1768 Woman of Honor I. 235, I met with such a let-down. 1840 Gen. P. Thompson Exerc. (1842) V. 14 The let-down to what is known as the ‘cottage and cow system’, has always been, that [etc.]. 1861 Times 17 Sept., Here comes another ‘let-down’, really worse than any before. 1866 Lond. Misc. 3 Mar. 57 (Farmer), I don't think that's no little let-down for a cove as has been tip-topper in his time. 1894 ‘J. S. Winter’ Red-Coats, Amyatt's Child Fr. i, It would be hard to say positively that any trace of a disappointment—what Arlington called a ‘let-down’—marked his pleasant fresh face. 1933 N. Coward Design for Living ii. iii. 68 The human race is a let-down, Ernest; a bad, bad let-down! 1934 J. T. Farrell Young Manhood ii. 41 He was lassitudinous in a mood of let-down, already lonesome for yesterday. 1938 J. Steinbeck Long Valley 135 Mike knew it was all over. He could feel the let-down in himself. 1946 W. Stevens Let. 19 Feb. (1967) 523 There is not the..let-down between the two that one finds so often. 1960 M. Spark Bachelors x. 182 And now she's in for a let-down, though she won't admit it. 1971 Daily Tel. 4 Nov. 8/4 What intrigues Mr Barstow is the inevitable let-down which is the result of getting older, of getting bored, of finding that passion can flicker out. |
2. The descent of an aircraft or spacecraft prior to landing. Cf. let v.1 32 d (c).
| 1945 Jrnl. R. Aeronaut. Soc. XLIX. 74/1 Extra fuel to allow for errors in navigation, errors in weather forecasts and technical inabilities to make let-downs and landings through conditions of ice, clouds, or bad ground visibility. 1949 Flight 30 June 754/2 From its pilot, Col. Gray, we learned that, on the let-down from 35,000 ft, while the B-29 was still in formation, its port inner engine had over⁓speeded to 4,500 r.p.m. 1960 ‘N. Shute’ Trustee from Toolroom v. 97 The note of the engines changed as the let-down began. 1969 Guardian 13 Oct. 18/2 The precision of landing depends predominantly on the accuracy with which the spacecraft's orbital position is known at the moment let-down begins. |
3. The action of a cow yielding milk. Cf. let v.1 32 h.
| 1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 5 Jan. 69/3 A time-lag between the end of let-down and stripping is too prevalent. 1965 Lee & Knowles Animal Hormones ii. 32 Thus the ejection of milk at suckling, or the ‘let-down’ of milk as it is referred to by agricultural workers, is a neurohormonal reflex. |
4. attrib. or as adj., in the senses of the vbl. phr. to let down or of the n. (see above).
| 1907 M. C. Harris Tents of Wickedness ii. vii. 193 The next was one of these ‘let-down’ mornings which everybody must remember having awakened to. 1945 E. Bowen Demon Lover 72 The car was a two-seater, with a let-down hood. 1948 [see fan marker (fan n.1 11)]. 1956 Nature 24 Mar. 582/1 In studying the function of the milk gland, with the view of increasing milk production, particular attention has been devoted in recent years to the milk-ejection mechanism (the let-down reflex). 1957 R. H. Smythe Conformation of Dog vi. 88 The exhibition Greyhound has always been noted for length of tibia, low set-on hocks, well let-down stifles. 1964 Yearbk. Astron. 1965 135 At a fixed height the lunar let-down engine will fire to reduce the descent rate and, landing legs having been extended, the vehicle will complete a vertical descent on to the lunar surface, hovering for short periods before making the final touchdown. 1973 M. Mackintosh King & Two Queens ii. 24, I had talked myself out of the let-down feeling and was determined to make the most of the trip. 1974 P. Flower Odd Job i. 6 Somebody had called it an escritoire... It had a letdown flap you could write on. |