Japan's Cultural Code Words, 「手先」の項、英語タイトルは "Putting Up a Front Man"の説明文に面白い表現がありました。
A further aspect of Japanese behavior that is not common in the West, and which Westerners generally are not prepared for, is their custom of using tesaki in their dealings with others. The basic meaning of tesaki is "fingers," but its more common meanings include "pawn," and "agent," in the sense "spy," and "cat's paw," in the sense of a person being used as a tool--all of which, of course, are negative connotations.
日本語にも「猫の手を借りたい」というのがありますが、犬とは違って余り人間の言うことをきかない猫は手先には適していないと思いますが、 "cat's paw" の由来が分かるかもと期待して辞書を見ます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: a person who is used by another to carry out an unpleasant or dangerous task: he was merely a cat’s paw of older and cleverer men
・Wiktionary: (figuratively) A pawn or dupe; somebody who has been unwittingly tricked into acting in another's interest.: From a fable, perhaps of Aesop's, in which a crafty monkey uses flattery to convince a cat to pull hot chestnuts from a fire. The cat singes his paw, and the monkey gobbles up the chestnuts leaving none for the cat.
なるほどイソップが由来ですか。 日本人は "cat's paw" を使うとの指摘は良く分かります。大物と言われる政治家はもちろん "cat's paw" を上手く使いますが、ビジネスの世界でも日本では社長が製品のプレゼンをする事は余りなく "cat's paw" にやらせます。 欧米では、上にいる人ほど製品のプレゼンが上手いのには感心します。
A further aspect of Japanese behavior that is not common in the West, and which Westerners generally are not prepared for, is their custom of using tesaki in their dealings with others. The basic meaning of tesaki is "fingers," but its more common meanings include "pawn," and "agent," in the sense "spy," and "cat's paw," in the sense of a person being used as a tool--all of which, of course, are negative connotations.
日本語にも「猫の手を借りたい」というのがありますが、犬とは違って余り人間の言うことをきかない猫は手先には適していないと思いますが、 "cat's paw" の由来が分かるかもと期待して辞書を見ます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: a person who is used by another to carry out an unpleasant or dangerous task: he was merely a cat’s paw of older and cleverer men
・Wiktionary: (figuratively) A pawn or dupe; somebody who has been unwittingly tricked into acting in another's interest.: From a fable, perhaps of Aesop's, in which a crafty monkey uses flattery to convince a cat to pull hot chestnuts from a fire. The cat singes his paw, and the monkey gobbles up the chestnuts leaving none for the cat.
なるほどイソップが由来ですか。 日本人は "cat's paw" を使うとの指摘は良く分かります。大物と言われる政治家はもちろん "cat's paw" を上手く使いますが、ビジネスの世界でも日本では社長が製品のプレゼンをする事は余りなく "cat's paw" にやらせます。 欧米では、上にいる人ほど製品のプレゼンが上手いのには感心します。
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