hang-up

RD4月号のネイティブがよく誤る語法の特集 "How to Sound Smarter - The Reader's Digest Version of those rules for talking and writing - the ones you missed in school" から取り上げる最後の表現です。
You never mean: Everyone has their grammar hang-ups
You always mean: Everyone has his or her grammar hang-ups
Why: Everyone, everybody, and close cousin each are singular, so words that refer to them should also be singular. Or, since we all have our grammar hang-ups, you could just rephrase the sentence.

"hang-up" の意味が引っかかるので辞書を見ます。
・OneLook Quick Definitions: 1. an unforeseen obstacle 2. an emotional preoccupation
・Dictionary.com:
1.a preoccupation, fixation, or psychological block; complex: His hang-up is trying to outdo his brother.
2.a source of annoying difficulty or burden; impediment; snag: The most serious hang-up the project has is a shortage of funds.
3.a fixture, object, or decoration that can be affixed to a wall, ceiling, other objects, etc.: He brightened up the room with flower baskets and other hang-ups.
"Even native speakers have grammar hang-ups." なので我々が分からない事だらけなのは当然ですね。

rehashing/rehash

「国家の品格」（英語訳）から取り上げる最後の単語です。
As I pointed out in Chapter Three, the ideas of the neo-classical economists are no more than a rehashing of Adam Smith.
"rehashing" は初耳（初目？）の単語ですが、再び(re)ハッシュ(hashed beafのハッシュ？）の様な意味を連想しますが辞書で確認します。
・OneLook Quick Definitions: present or use over, with no or few changes
・Dictionary.com: to work up (old material) in a new form.
・American Heritage Dictionary: To bring forth again in another form without significant alteration: rehashing old ideas.
上の "rehash" は動詞ですが、 "rehash" は名詞としても使われます。
・Century Dictionary: Something hashed afresh; something concocted from materials formerly used: as, a literary rehash.
考えて見ると世の中の本やドラマなど"rehashing"/ "rehash" がほとんどです。

bounce an idea off you

今日話題にする表現もRD4月号の「ネイティブがよく誤る語法」の特集 "How to Sound Smarter - The Reader's Digest Version of those rules for talking and writing - the ones you missed in school" からです。
You never mean: Off of
You always mean: Off
Why: Some words are perfectly fine on their own. "May I bounce an idea off you?"
"bounce an idea off you" は慣用句のようなので調べます。
・MoneyGlossary.com: To seek feedback (initial impression) from someone.
・Dictionary of Management Jargon: To get someone's initial impression of an idea they have not heard before; "Can we bounce an idea off someone today"
・American Heritage Dictionary: To present or propose for comment or approval. Often used with off: bounced a few ideas off my boss.
・COED: discuss an idea with another person in order to test or improve it.
最初の二つはビジネス関係の辞書ですが、どうもこの表現はビジネス関係でよく使われるようです。

take

I was teaching the story fo Lazarus to my Sunday school class: "After his death, many people gathered to console Mary and Martha."
"They treated Lazarus's body, wrapped him, and laid him in the tomb. After four days of mourning, Lazarus stood up and walked out of the tomb. Now, what do you think those people were thinking then?"
One of my students had an interesting take on the event: "All that work for nothing."
Note: この意味の "take" は一年程前に取り上げた "take"（blog.alc.co.jp/blog/3302827/archive/2009/05/26） と同じ意味ですね。

prize out

以下の文もTHE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINNのからの一節です。
Betwixt the hut and the fence, on the back side, was a lean-to that joined the hut at the eaves, and was made out of plank. It was as long as the hut, but narrow -- only about six foot wide. The door to it was at the south end, and was padlocked. Tom he went to the soap-kettle and searched around, and fetched back the iron thing they lift the lid with; so he took it and prized out one of the staples.
"prize" だと賞に関係する意味しか知りません。上の文の "prize out" は賞とは無縁の意味なので辞書を引きます。
・OneLook Quick Definitions: to move or force, especially in an effort to get something open
・Compact Oxford English Dictionary: use force in order to open or move apart. 2 (prise out of/from) obtain (something) from (someone) with effort or difficulty.
・Macmillan Dictionary: to force two things apart; prize something off/apart/open: She prized the lid off the can with a screwdriver.
なるほど、"prize" に "pry" と同じ様な意味があるのですね。

P.S. prize (USA), prise (UK) ORIGIN from Old French prise ‘a grasp, taking hold’.

be bereft of

"bereft" は２年前に取り上げた単語で、"bereft family" や "bereft of hope"、 "bereft of happiness" などの精神的に失ったものについて使われるものと記憶しましたが、「国家の品格」（英語訳）に出てきた次ぎの "bereft of" は精神的なものではなく物質を示しています。
We need to think carefully about why a small island bereft of natural resources has such an extraordinary track record.
そこで辞書をよく見ると、
・McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs: left without someone or something
失ったものは "

someone or something" とあります。　更に他の辞書を見ると次ぎの丁寧な説明を見つけました。
・V2 Vocabulary Building Dictionary: without something necessary or desirable;
なるほど、単に "something" ではなく、必要なもの、持っていたいものを失う、あるいは持っていない場合に使うようです。　この辞書には次ぎの解説もありました。
Tips: The difference between the adjectives bereft and its synonym bereaved is that the latter usually refers exclusively to someone who has been deprived of a loved one through death. People can, on the other hand, be bereft of many things, including values, abstractions, and characteristics, as well as people. Bereft is usually used in the form "bereft of something." The verb to bereave means "to lose or be deprived of something." Its past tense form is also bereft. So, bereft is both an adjective and a past-tense verb.
なるほど、これで "bereft" の・意味用法が良く分かりました。
同じ辞書にあった例文を一つついでに引用しておきます。
Susie was bereft of her job during the recession, but she soon recovered by getting an even better one.
今の仕事について一年経ちましたが、前職のように一年ちょっとで "bereft of my job" の状態にならないよう祈っています。

resveratrol

Reader's Digest　5月号のBottoms Up For Your Bonesと題されたお酒好きが喜びそうな記事からです。
Move over, milk: One study of men and post-menopausal women found those who drank one to two glasses of beer or wine daily had bones that were up to 8% more dense than those of teetotallers.
こう言う効果がなくてもお酒が好きな人は（私もそうですが）いずれお酒を飲むでしょう。　記事で最も気になった単語は次ぎの文にあります。
Lead researcher Katherine Tucker of Tufts University says beer is very high in silicon, a trace mineral that promotes bone formation, and wine's full of resveratrol, an antioxidant shown in animal studies to protect against bone loss
"resveratrol" が骨の減少を防ぐ原因となる抗酸化物質のようです。　辞書で　."resveratrol" を確認します。
・American Heritage Dictionary: A natural compound found in grapes, mulberries, peanuts, and other plants or food products, especially red wine, that may protect against cancer and cardiovascular disease by acting as an antioxidant, antimutagen, and anti-inflammatory.
・Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary: a compound C14H12O3that is a trihydroxy trans form of stilbene found in some plants, fruits (as the mulberry), and seeds (as the peanut) and especially in the skin of grapes and certain grape-derived products (as red wine) and that has been linked to a reduced risk of coronary artery disease and cancer
と言うものだそうですが、この単語は私が調べた英和辞書(リーダーズプラス、英辞朗）には出ていませんでした。　Wikipedia に次ぎのような興味ある記述がありました。
Resveratrol seems to have first been mentioned in a Japanese article in 1939 by M. Takaoka, who isolated it from the poisonous but medicinal Veratrum album, variety grandiflorum. The name presumably comes from the fact that it is a resorcinol derivative coming from a Veratrum species.
偶然ですが、今週は日月火曜と珍しくワインばかり飲みました。上記の通り赤ワインは "resveratrol" を含んでいるので身体に良いそうです。　でもRDの記事の締めくくりは次ぎの文でした。
But remember: Excess alcohol can harm your bone - and the rest of you.

historic vs. historical

RD4月号のネイティブがよく誤る語法の特集 "How to Sound Smarter - The Reader's Digest Version of those rules for talking and writing - the ones you missed in school" からです。
You almost never mean: Historical
You almost always mean: Historic
Why: In short, historic means "significant" ("a historic election") But if you intend "occurring in or relating to history," go with historical (think "historical data" or "a historical link between the two world wars").
これは微妙ですね。　"historic" は "significant" で、「歴史的な」と言いたい場合のみ "historical" を使えと言っていますが、辞書での "historic" の説明はどうか調べます。
・OneLook Quick Definitions: 1. important in history ("The historic first voyage to outer space") 2. belonging to the past; of what is important or famous in the past ("Historic victories")
・American Heritage Dictionary: 1. Having importance in or influence on history. 2. Historical
これだとやはり "historic" も. "historical" と同様な意味で使われる様ですが、後者の辞書には次ぎの注意書きがあるのでそれも読みましょう。
Usage Note: Historic and historical have different usages, though their senses overlap. Historic refers to what is important in history: the historic first voyage to the moon. It is also used of what is famous or interesting because of its association with persons or events in history: a historic house. Historical refers to whatever existed in the past, whether regarded as important or not: a minor historical character. Historical also refers to anything concerned with history or the study of the past: a historical novel; historical discoveries. While these distinctions are useful, these words are often used interchangeably, as in historic times or historical times.
なるほど、重要性や意義のある場合は "historic" で単に歴史に関係する場合は "historical" と覚えておけば良いでしょうか？　ネイティブにも微妙な単語のはずだ。

rank

「国家の品格」（英語訳）の "Freedom and equality cannot coexist" の項にあった文章です。
It is not actually possible for freedom and equality to coexist.
...
God does not perpetrate paradoxes of this kind. Therefore, the idea that freedom and equality are both God-given is a rank lie.
"rank" には色々な意味・用法がありますが、この意味は何でしょうか？　辞書を見ます。
・OneLook Quick Definitions: conspicuously and outrageously bad or reprehensible ("Rank treachery")
・Dictionary.com: 5.utter; absolute: a rank amateur; rank treachery. 6.highly offensive; disgusting: a rank sight of carnage. 7.grossly coarse, vulgar, or indecent: rank language.
"rank"は名詞、動詞、形容詞と本当に沢山の意味・用法がありましたが形容詞としての用法は思ったより多くはなく、でも大概が良い意味ではありませんでした引用文で使われていた "rank lie." の"rank" は上に引用した辞書のどの意味にも当てはまるようですが、「国家の品格」原文の日本語は「真っ赤な嘘」となっていました。

pip and pit

Reader's Digest　4月号にあった "Pigeon Post Pips Internet" と題された記事の中の文で使われている動詞 "pit" の意味が分かりません。　そもそもタイトルの中の "Pips" も分かりませんが、まず "pit" が使われている文を示します。
A worker at a South African IT company was so unhappy with the performance of Telkom, the country's biggest internet firm, he decided to pit a carrier pigeon against their broadband service.
伝書鳩とブロードバンドでどんな関係があるのでしょうか？　辞書を見ます。
・OneLook Quick Definitions: set into opposition or rivalry ("Pit a chess player against the Russian champion")
・American Heritage Dictionary: To set in direct opposition or competition: a war that pitted brother against brother.
なるほど、この文の後に、伝書鳩に4GBのメモリースティックを付けて80kmを飛ばしてADSLのダウンロードのスピードと競って、なんと伝書鳩の方が速かったとありました。　すると、タイトルの "Pips" は負かせたの意味かと思いますが、これも辞書で確認します。
・OneLook Quick Definitions: defeat thoroughly
・Dictionary.com: 1. to blackball 2. to defeat (an opponent) 3. to shoot, esp. to wound or kill by a gunshot
この意味になった由来は "1875-80; perh. special use of pip1, in metaphorical sense of a small ball" だそうですが、タイトルにこの単語を使ったのは "Pigeon Post" と語呂を合わせるためでしょう。 .