Momoが住む町にthe Timesaving Bankのthe men in greyが出没し、人々に時間の節約を勧めています。 床屋のMr Figaroのところにもthe man in greyがやってきました。
Work faster, for instance, and stick to essentials. Spend only fifteen minutes on each customer, instead of the usual half-hour, and avoid time-wasting conversations. Reduce the hour you spend with your mother by half. Better still, put her in a nice, cheap old folks' home, where someone else can look after her -- that'll save you a whole hour a day. Get rid of that useless budgerigar. See Miss Daria once every two weeks, if at all. Give up your fifteen-minutes review of the day's events. Above all, don't squander so much of your precious time on singing, reading and hobnobbing with your so-called friends. Incidentally, I'd also advise you to hang a really accurate clock on the wall so you can time your apprentice to the nearest minute.
千円床屋はまさに15分で一人の客をさばいています。
さて "hobnobbing" は知らない単語です。友人と一緒に本を読むことはしませんが、歌う他に直ぐに思いつくのは話したり、飲むことですが何でしょう? 辞書を見ます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: Mix socially, especially with those of higher social status: a select few who hobnob with the biggest celebrities the country has to offer
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: to spend time with someone (such as a famous or wealthy person) in a friendly way: He loves to hobnob with celebrities.
なるほど、"hobnobbing" に会話や飲食はつきものなので当たらずとも遠からずでした。駄目押しの説明を引用します。
・Vocabulary.com: To hobnob is to spend time or hang out with someone, especially at a social event. When you're invited to a fancy benefit party at a museum, you might get to hobnob with socialites and minor celebrities.
When you hobnob, you mingle or pal around with fancy folks. People who work in book publishing occasionally get to hobnob with writers, and if you get a job on a movie set, you may have a chance to hobnob with movie stars. Hobnob first meant "to drink to one another," or "to toast each other." In Britain, a HobNob is also a popular cookie or biscuit brand.