昨日取り上げた The Japan Times OnlineのSept. 11のキャプション "Kan, Ozawa draw flak for fiddling while Rome burns" の続きです。
"fiddling while Rome burns" が慣用句の様なので辞書で確認します。
"fiddle while Rome burns" で次ぎの説明がありました。
・American Heritage Dictionary: To do something trivial and irresponsible in the midst of an emergency; legend has it that while a fire destroyed the city of Rome, the emperor Nero played his violin, thus revealing his total lack of concern for his people and his empire.
・Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary: to enjoy yourself or continue working as normal and not give any attention to something important and unpleasant that is happening that you should be taking action to prevent
Environmentalists claimed governments were fiddling while Rome burned.
・McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs: Fig. to do nothing or something trivial while knowing that something disastrous is happening. (From a legend that the Roman emperor Nero played the lyre while Rome was burning.) The lobbyists don't seem to be doing anything to stop this tax bill. They're fiddling while Rome burns.
これではどちらが党首・首相になっても日本の状況は中々改善しそうもない気がします。 残念ながら。
"fiddling while Rome burns" が慣用句の様なので辞書で確認します。
"fiddle while Rome burns" で次ぎの説明がありました。
・American Heritage Dictionary: To do something trivial and irresponsible in the midst of an emergency; legend has it that while a fire destroyed the city of Rome, the emperor Nero played his violin, thus revealing his total lack of concern for his people and his empire.
・Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary: to enjoy yourself or continue working as normal and not give any attention to something important and unpleasant that is happening that you should be taking action to prevent
Environmentalists claimed governments were fiddling while Rome burned.
・McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs: Fig. to do nothing or something trivial while knowing that something disastrous is happening. (From a legend that the Roman emperor Nero played the lyre while Rome was burning.) The lobbyists don't seem to be doing anything to stop this tax bill. They're fiddling while Rome burns.
これではどちらが党首・首相になっても日本の状況は中々改善しそうもない気がします。 残念ながら。
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