English Collection

日頃目に付いた覚えたい英単語、慣用句などの表現についてのメモです。

louche

2015年06月03日 | 英語の本を読む

Reader's Digest四月号のWord Powerクイズで分からなかったもう一つの単語 "louche"(of doubtful morals) について更に調べます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: Disreputable or sordid in a rakish or appealing way: the louche world of the theater: If you can't dance, stand at the bar and look louche.
・Vocabulary.com: Someone with louche taste is decadent and flashy. It’s one thing to wear gold around your neck as jewelry, but louche to have all your teeth capped in the precious metal just for the heck of it.
Louche is an adjective that describes something “of questionable taste or morality" but is also kind of attractive. It comes from the French louche, which also means “squinting,” and that word comes from the Latin lusca, meaning “one-eyed.” Imagine a louche pirate with an eye patch that you just can't turn away from. It's pronounced like a little kid trying to say "loose," like "loosh." You can also use louche in place of words like decadent, shady, and sinister.
この言葉もフランス語由来なので発音の注意です。品の悪いニュアンスなのに "kind of attractive" とあるのは不思議な意味を含蓄している単語です。美輪明宏を連想しましたがどうでしょうか?

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