17日に丸の内カフェで開かれたESUJのEnglish Clubに参加した際にESUJ理事のSusanさんにサイデンステッカー氏の手紙文コピーを渡し “a game arm” について訊きました。彼女は直ぐには分かりませんでしたが、翌日次のメールが彼女から届きました。
“A game arm”: I did not know that expression, but I have heard my (English) husband and his father use the expression “a gammy leg”. I did not know the spelling. I had to look that up as it was pronounced a “gamey” (like game, not gam) leg, as I recalled. But ‘gams’ is slang for ‘legs’ you may be surprised to know. It usually refers to well-shaped women’s legs, eg, “Nice gams!” (a boy might say to a girl he wanted to talk to).
Anyway, a “gammy” leg is a “bad” leg, one that may need surgery to repair something and causes you to use a cane or walk with a slight limp.
そうですか、イギリス英語で “a gammy leg” なる表現があるのですね。 早速辞書で確認します。
イギリス英語なので英国の辞書を引きました。
・Compact Oxford English Dictionary: gammy: Brit. informal (especially of a leg) unable to function normally because of injury or chronic pain.
ORIGIN dialect form of game: (of a person’s leg) lame.
・Cambridge International Dictionary of English: gammy leg or other body part is damaged or does not work correctly: Ex. I've got a gammy knee.
ふむふむ、もしかすると米語では "gammy leg" を "game leg" と言うのではと推測し、いつも使う米国系の辞書を見直すと、ありました。
The American Heritage Dictionary: game: Crippled; lame: a game leg.
Dictionary.com: lame: a game leg.
なるほど、サイデンステッカー氏は腕が不自由だったのですね。
ところで "weather arm" の方は推測通りでした。 Susanさんのメールに、"As for “Weather arm”, I think that is an expression that is made up but it must mean that Seidensticker’s arm hurt when it rained, or some such." とありました。
“A game arm”: I did not know that expression, but I have heard my (English) husband and his father use the expression “a gammy leg”. I did not know the spelling. I had to look that up as it was pronounced a “gamey” (like game, not gam) leg, as I recalled. But ‘gams’ is slang for ‘legs’ you may be surprised to know. It usually refers to well-shaped women’s legs, eg, “Nice gams!” (a boy might say to a girl he wanted to talk to).
Anyway, a “gammy” leg is a “bad” leg, one that may need surgery to repair something and causes you to use a cane or walk with a slight limp.
そうですか、イギリス英語で “a gammy leg” なる表現があるのですね。 早速辞書で確認します。
イギリス英語なので英国の辞書を引きました。
・Compact Oxford English Dictionary: gammy: Brit. informal (especially of a leg) unable to function normally because of injury or chronic pain.
ORIGIN dialect form of game: (of a person’s leg) lame.
・Cambridge International Dictionary of English: gammy leg or other body part is damaged or does not work correctly: Ex. I've got a gammy knee.
ふむふむ、もしかすると米語では "gammy leg" を "game leg" と言うのではと推測し、いつも使う米国系の辞書を見直すと、ありました。
The American Heritage Dictionary: game: Crippled; lame: a game leg.
Dictionary.com: lame: a game leg.
なるほど、サイデンステッカー氏は腕が不自由だったのですね。
ところで "weather arm" の方は推測通りでした。 Susanさんのメールに、"As for “Weather arm”, I think that is an expression that is made up but it must mean that Seidensticker’s arm hurt when it rained, or some such." とありました。