Reader's Digest 12月号のAll in a day's Workのコーナーにあった投稿記事を引用します。
Dead on arrival
On my first day's delivering flowers, the local florist, Frances, sent me to the hospital with a large circular floral arrangement. The label only had the recipient's name, Mr. John Turner, "Down the corridor, first door on the left," said the receptionist. Whistling softly, I strode down the corridor, knocked on the door with a cheery "Good morning!" and stepped into a dimly lit room.
I didn't get far before freezing in my tracks -- Mr. Turner was laid out on a slab, surrounded by flowers and clearly dead. Not knowing quite what to do, and feeling a bit shocked, I placed the flowers carefully inside the door and made a speedy exit.
Back at the shop, Frances listened to my story with a wry smile on her face. "Well, at least now you know what a wreath is for," she observed.
"in my tracks" は慣用句の様です。辞書で調べます。 最初 "track" で辞書を引きましたが、適当な説明に当たりません。そこで "tracks" で調べると "in one's tracks" の慣用句が出て来ました。
・Collins Dictionary: on the very spot where one is standing (esp in the phrase stop in one's tracks)
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: where one stands or is at the moment : on the spot: was stopped in his tracks
・Dictionary.com: Informal. in the spot in which one is or is standing at the moment: He stopped dead in his tracks, listening for the sound to be repeated.
驚いて「固まる」、「立ちすくむ」感じでしょうか。
Dead on arrival
On my first day's delivering flowers, the local florist, Frances, sent me to the hospital with a large circular floral arrangement. The label only had the recipient's name, Mr. John Turner, "Down the corridor, first door on the left," said the receptionist. Whistling softly, I strode down the corridor, knocked on the door with a cheery "Good morning!" and stepped into a dimly lit room.
I didn't get far before freezing in my tracks -- Mr. Turner was laid out on a slab, surrounded by flowers and clearly dead. Not knowing quite what to do, and feeling a bit shocked, I placed the flowers carefully inside the door and made a speedy exit.
Back at the shop, Frances listened to my story with a wry smile on her face. "Well, at least now you know what a wreath is for," she observed.
"in my tracks" は慣用句の様です。辞書で調べます。 最初 "track" で辞書を引きましたが、適当な説明に当たりません。そこで "tracks" で調べると "in one's tracks" の慣用句が出て来ました。
・Collins Dictionary: on the very spot where one is standing (esp in the phrase stop in one's tracks)
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: where one stands or is at the moment : on the spot: was stopped in his tracks
・Dictionary.com: Informal. in the spot in which one is or is standing at the moment: He stopped dead in his tracks, listening for the sound to be repeated.
驚いて「固まる」、「立ちすくむ」感じでしょうか。
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