Leaf Peeping

My wife and I were looking at paintings in a gallery. One was of a beautiful nude woman with only a little foliage covering her private areas.
"Bad taste," muttered my wife, and moved on. Not me. I lingered, transfixed, until I heard her shout, "What are you waiting for - autumn?"

throw up the sponge/throw in the sponge/throw in the towel

THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINNの一節です。
He whitened a little; he couldn't help it; and it was mighty still in there, and everybody bending a little forwards and gazing at him. Says I to myself, NOW he'll throw up the sponge -- there ain't no more use.
"throw up the sponge" はどう見ても慣用表現の様なので辞書を見ます。
・Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913): To give up a contest; to acknowledge defeat; -- from a custom of the prize ring, the person employed to sponge a pugilist between rounds throwing his sponge in the air in token of defeat. [Cant or Slang] ``He was too brave a man to throw up the sponge to fate.''
ボクシングから来た表現ですね。　そう言えば "throw in the towel" なら聞いたことはあります。
"throw up the sponge" は載っていなくても、"throw in the towel" ならたいていの辞書に説明がありました。
・McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs: throw in the towel and throw in the sponge; toss in the sponge; Fig. (From boxing, where this is done by a boxer's trainer to stop the fight.) to signal that one is going to quit; to quit. When John could stand no more of Mary's bad temper, he threw in the towel and left. Don't give up now! It's too soon to throw in the sponge.
・Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms: throw in the towel; to admit defeat or failure The union was forced to throw in the towel and settle their bitter dispute with the company.
Etymology: based on the literal meaning of throwing a towel into the ring in boxing (signaling that a fighter can no longer continue by throwing a towel into the area where the fight takes place)
世界卓球を見ていると0-2から逆転して3-2になる試合も結構あります。最後まであきらめない "not throw in the towel" がスポーツでは重要だと思います。

call out/call-out

今年は区民農園が借りれなかったのでベランダで野菜作りをしていますが、ミニトマトの実がつき始め、ジャガイモとゴーヤの花も咲き始めました。　日当たりが悪く、風が強いベランダですが何とか収穫までできると良いのですが。
さて、会社で読んだ計測器のマニュアルに次ぎの表現がありました。
Front Panel (Refer to Page 55 for Call Outs)
５５ページを見ると計測器のフロントパネルの写真と各部の名称が載っていました。 "Call Outs" という表現は初めてなので辞書を引きました。"call out" で引きましたが、ほとんどの辞書は "call-out" の項に説明があり、発音を調べる時によく使うMerriam-Webster'sは "callout" のスペルを使用していました。"call out" の見出しがあったのはBusinessDictionary.comだけでした。
・BusinessDictionary.com: Brief note or instruction added to a drawing or text, to draw attention to a particular section of the document.
・Dictionary.com(call-out): a letter, number, or other device for identifying or calling attention to a particular part of an illustration.
・Wiktionary(call-out): 1. Alternative spelling of call out. 2. (graphic arts) A caption or label
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary(callout): an often bordered inset in a printed article or illustration that usually includes a key excerpt or detail
なるほど、いわゆる吹き出しを英語で "call-out"/"call out"/"callout" と言うのですね。　吹き出しと言うと私は四辺形やバルーンあるいは漫画の吹き出しのように文字を囲んだものだけを言うものと思っていたので、上記のマニュアルのページの "call out" は単に各部の名称と計器のその個所を線で繋いでいただけなので吹き出しを意味しているとは気が付きませんでした。
ちなみにマイクロソフトのワードで吹き出しと言う言葉を使っているか見てみましたが、オートシェイプのツールの中に確かに吹き出しの種類を選ぶ個所にありましたが、通常はアイコンを選ぶだけなので吹き出しと言う単語を意識する事はないですね。 "call-out" 作成の説明がネット上にあったので以下に引用します。
AutoShape
"How to Create Call-outs Using Auto Shapes in Microsoft Word 2003"
Create the call-out. Click anywhere in the document after you have selected a call-out shape, to create that shape. A drawing canvas will appear when you click. Click and hold the mouse button in as you drag the cursor to create the call-out to the desired size. Click anywhere outside of the drawing canvas in the document to close the canvas.

marital tiff

「国家の品格」の著者藤原正彦氏はお茶の水女子大学理学部教授の数学者で "Equality is a fiction, too" の項で自分の事を次ぎのように書いています。
I was rather brilliant at schoolwork from elementary school on up, but I never had the faintest success with girls.
...
I never earned more than a two (out of five) for my drawing skills in my reports from elementary school on up, and though I rather fancied myself as a soccer player and plugged away at it for six years at junior high and high school, I never even get close to Beckham's level. For that matter, I am no match for my wife when we have a marital tiff. People all have different levels of ability.
"tiff" と聞くと、十年程前に画像処理関係のソフトウェア販売に携わり、その後間は空きますが１年前にはやはり米国製の画像処理ソフトウェアのローカライズ（日本語対応）の仕事をした関係でGIFやJPEGの様な画像圧縮形式の一種を思い出してしまいます。　ここでの "tiff" は何でしょう？　辞書を引きます。
・Cambridge Advanced Learner's English Dictionary: a slight argument; Have you two had a lovers' tiff?
・Macmillan English Dictionary: a minor argument, especially between people in a sexual or romantic relationship
・Urban Dictionary: An argument, often between Husband and Wife; Those two seem to be having a Lover's Tiff!
なるほど、"marital tiff" は犬も食わない夫婦喧嘩にはピッタリですね。
画像ファイルの形式を示す "tiff" は "Tagged Image File Format" の頭文字でしたね。

cut mustard

The Japan Times Online、May 23, 2010にあったキャプションです。
Can celebs cut mustard in rough-and-tumble politics?
"cut mustard" は前にも見た覚えのある慣用句ですがすっかり忘れています。ハムやソーセージ、あるいはオデンにつけるマスタードの話ではない事は確かです。　まず記事を読んでみます。
...
Celebrity candidates have been a fixture of Japanese elections as long as there have been Japanese elections, but it seems only recently that the media has pointed out how cynical that is.
次ぎの参議院選挙で各党が多くの有名人をかついでいる話ですね。
The more famous the candidate, the more likely that person's party will do well.
どこの政党も人気が落ちているので政党の都合で有名人を利用しているのは見え見えで、黒幕にとっては票さえ集まれば素人政治家の方が扱い易いのでしょうが、それで日本の政治が良くなるのでしょうか？
"cut mustard" はその事を言っているようですが辞書で確かめます。
・Wiktionary: To suffice; to be good or effective enough.; Give me the bigger hammer. This little one just doesn't cut the mustard. This idiom usually appears in negative polarity contexts: “doesn't cut the mustard”, “can't cut the mustard”, and so on.
・The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms: Perform satisfactorily, as in We need a better catcher; this one just doesn't cut the mustard. The origin of this expression is disputed. Some believe it alludes to mustard in the sense of the best or main attraction (owing to its spicing up food), whereas others believe it is a corruption of pass muster. Still others hold that it concerns the preparation of mustard, which involves adding vinegar to mustard seed to "cut" (reduce) its bitterness. The expression is often in negative form.
なるほど、記事のキャプションは否定文ではなく疑問文ですが、否定的な意味、皮肉を込めているのでしょう。 正直私も谷亮子選手（まだ柔道もあきらめないと言っているので）にはがっかりさせられた気がします。その点マラソンの高橋尚子さんの次ぎの言葉には拍手です。
Takahashi said that only "professional" politicians should run, thus giving rise to speculation she was dissing Tani. She probably wasn't, but it's the sort of implied throwdown that tabloids and wide shows find irresistible.
谷さん、"You can't eat your cake and have it too."

calculations are on the mark

日本の真珠湾奇襲をルーズベルト大統領だけが「恥ずべき」とか「破廉恥」という形容詞で憤慨した背景についての個所の「国家の品格」の中の英文です。
It was only because the American people were steeped in the anti-war values of the Monroe Doctrine that President Roosevelt needed to make a display of anger and use extreme language like "infamous" and "dastardly." He made use of inflammatory rhetoric so that he could break his election pledge "not to spill one single drop of American blood abroad" and take America into the European war. His calculations were on the mark: the American people got into a lunatic fury, and Roosevelt was able to join in the world war.
原文の日本語を見るまでも無く "calculations were on the mark" が計算通りの意味であることは文脈から容易に分かりますが、この表現自体は初めて見ます。　 OneLookの検索では "on the mark" は次ぎの辞書の説明だけが見つかりました。
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs: Fig. right on the measurement point; showing just the right anount. It's exactly one quart, right on the mark.
考えて見ると "on the mark" とは反対の意味の "off the mark" は良く見かけますね。

micro-green

次ぎの文はReader's Digest　3月号のFOOD FOR THE SOULと題された記事からです。
Having a farm with greenhouses would provide her expanding business with tomatoes and micro-greens all winter and allow Neumark to harvest crops to fit upcoming menus.
"micro-greens" は食用になる何か小さな植物を示していると思いますが、microとなるとクロレラの様な植物を想像してしまいますが文の前後からしてもその様な植物ではないようなので辞書を引きます。
私がいつも使用するOneLook検索で "micro-green/microgreen/micro green" でチェックしましたがリストされたのはWikipediaのみで、しかも "sprouting" の項に転送されモヤシのような写真がでていました。
サイドGoogleで "microgreen" AND dictionary で検索してやっと次ぎの辞書の説明を見つけました。
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: a shoot of a standard salad plant (as celery or arugula)　
この辞書への掲載は1998年と辞書としてはかなり最新の掲載でした。　更に調べると "microgreen" について詳しい説明のあるサイトを見つけました。
Microgreens (micro greens) are a tiny form of edible greens produced from the seeds of vegetables, herbs or other plants. They range in size from one to two inches long, including the stem and leaves. Microgreens can have surprisingly intense flavors considering their small size, though not as strong as mature greens and herbs.
少し分かってきた様な気がしますが、スプラウト（モヤシ類）とは違うと言う次ぎの説明がありました。
Microgreens are not the same as sprouts. Some articles about microgreens characterize them as being very much the same as sprouts. There are several important differences. Understanding the different production methods of each can help clear up any confusion between them.
スプラウトとは似ているが異なる（特に生育方法が）と言う事のようです。
Sprouts are simply germinated seeds. Sprouts are produced entirely in water.
それで？
Microgreens are not grown in water. The seeds are planted and grown in soil or a soil substitute such as peat moss, or other fibrous materials. They are generally grown in high light conditions with low humidity and good air circulation. The seed density is a fraction of what is used in sprout processing so each individual plant has space in which to grow and develop. Most varieties require 1-2 weeks growing time, some 4-6 weeks. After the leaves are fully expanded the microgreens are ready for harvest. They are cut above the soil surface and packed without any roots. Some micro greens are sold while still growing so that they can be cut by the end user.
Microgreens have much stronger, more developed flavors than sprouts making them an ideal garnish with a broad range of leaf shapes, textures and colors.
モヤシよりかなり高級な野菜のようです。
上記は下記のサイトの説明を抜粋していますので詳しく知りたい方は原文を見てくださ・www.freshorigins.com/microgreens.html

Millionaire

毎週日曜日は気にいったジョークを紹介しています。
Interviewer to Millionaire: "To whom do you owe your success as a millionaire to?"
Millionaire: "I owe everything to my wife."
Interviewer: "Wow, she must be some woman. What were you before you married her?"
Millionaire: "A Billionaire!"

pig Latin

昨日ラテン語を取り上げたついでに今日はつい最近知った怪しいラテン語？を取り上げます。
Reader's Digest　4月号に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" がありました。　意外にも日本人なら間違えないだろうと思う表現がほとんどでしたのでその語法については触れませんが、知らない単語表現が幾つかあったのでそれだけ取り上げます。
You never mean: Equally as well(important, etc.)
You always mean: Equally well
Why: The as isn't necessary. "I speak Latin and pig Latin equally well."
"pig Latin" とは何でしょう？　気になるので調べます。
・American Heritage Dictionary: A jargon systematically formed by the transposition of the initial consonant to the end of the word and the suffixation of an additional syllable, as igpay atinlay for pig Latin.
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: a jargon that is made by systematic alteration of English (as ipskay the ointjay for skip the joint)
日本語でも語順を逆にする隠語がありますが "pig Latin" は本物のラテン語より難しそう。

ergo

「国家の品格」の英訳版には覚えたい英語表現が満載です。この単語 Logic Alone Will Drive the World to Ruinの章にありました。
I asked the students why their English was so poor, and they told me that their English classes had been used to learn typing. What was anyone doing teaching them typing when they should have been learning their native language? I imagine that the argument of the authorities would have gone something like this: "Whether they graduate from high school or from university, everyone in America has to be able to type when they go out into the adult world. Ergo, teaching typing in English period is useful."
"Ergo" は原文では「かくして」となっています。 平易な英語なら "So"、私の知っている硬い単語だと "Therefore" ですが、"Ergo" は全く知りませんでした。　一応辞書の説明を見てみます。
・OneLook Quick Definitions: (used as a sentenced connector) therefore or consequently
・The American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: Latin word meaning “therefore”; usually used to show a logical conclusion: “Birds are warm-blooded animals, and reptiles are cold-blooded animals; ergo, no bird is a reptile.”
やはりラテン語由来の硬い単語の様です。