on the hoof

Yokohama in 1872 by Paul Blumを読んでいます。外国人にとって1870年代の横浜での暮らしは "halcyon days" と書かれていましたが、苦労もあった様です。
To the foreigner, trying to live according to western standards in Yokohama in 1872, life could be difficult. Everything for the household had to come from abroad, usually in cans and by sailing ship-flour from America, butter from Denmark, oil and dried vegetables and wines from France, mutton and game from China, potatoes and onions from California, coffee from Aden, et cetera. Meat, however, was available locally almost from the beginning. It was imported on the hoof from China and America and slaughtered at Honmoku.
"It was imported on the hoof" は、その後 "slaughtered" とあるので、牛や豚を生きたままで輸入していたの意味である事が分かります。慣用句らしい "on the hoof" を辞書で確認します。
・Collins English Dictionary: (of livestock) alive:
・Wiktionary: (of cattle) that has not yet been butchered
確かに、"on the hoof" が家畜の前の生きたままの状態を示している慣用句であることは確認できましたが、この慣用句はむしろ次ぎの意味で使われる事が多い様です。
・Collins English Dictionary: in an impromptu manner ⇒ he did his thinking on the hoof
・Cambridge English Dictionary: If you do something on the hoof, you do it while you are moving about or doing something else, often without giving it the attention it deserves: I've got a meeting downtown in 20 minutes so I'll have lunch on the hoof.

halcyon days

Yokohama in 1872 by Paul Blumには明治維新前後に横浜で活躍していた外国人の生活の様子についても色々と記述があります。
Life was leisurely in the early 70's. Offices opened late and closed early.
...
On an ordinary day, by four-thirty the offices would empty, the older men to remove to the Club, the younger to go riding, perhaps, or sailing.
...
They would start our on horseback, followed by the betto - the groom - on foot, carrying the hamper of food and the inevitable bottle of wine. Those were halcyon days, for the dangers of the road - the brawling ronin or the proud daimyo train - no longer existed; the country people were friendly, and the foreigner was encountering for the first time the beauties of the Japanese countryside.
当時は（ 70'sは1970年代ではありません。1870年代、つまり明治の初期です）外国人にとって "halcyon days" とあります。文脈からすると良い意味に違いありません。辞書で確認します。
・Macmillan Dictionary: very happy and peaceful or successful: halcyon decades/time/age
・V2 Vocabulary Building Dictionary: 1. peaceful and calm; 2. happy and carefree
Tips: The word halcyon comes from Greek mythology, where it referred to a bird that had the power to bring calm to the seas during its nesting time (the winter solstice). In modern usage and as an adjective, halcyon has come to describe happy, carefree, and peaceful times. It also refers to a type of bird, otherwise known as a "kingfisher."
自分にとって "Those were halcyon days." と言える日があったのか、なかったのか？あの世で考えよう。

child is father to the man

Yokohama in 1872 by Paul Blumには当時の色々と興味のある話が出てきます。
In the beginning, the Government had ordered certain shops in Edo, Shinagawa, Shimoda and Shizuoka to open branches in Yokohama, but these reputable firms were soon joined by others from all over the country, eager to a make a quick - and not necessarily honest - profit. There were merchant adventures on both sides of town. But perhaps the most serious obstacle to trade was the bureaucracy, a small but lusty child, already father to the man.
当時の官僚機構を "a small but lusty child, already father to the man" と言っていますが、この "father to the man" がいま一つ分かりません。辞書で調べます。　中々分かりませんでしたが、"child is father to (or of) the man" と言う諺がある事が分かりました。　その意味は
・McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs: Prov. People's personalities form when they are children; A person will have the same qualities as an adult that he or she had as a child. (From William Wordsworth's poem, "My Heart Leaps Up.") In Bill's case, the child was father of the man; he never lost his childhood delight in observing nature.
と言うことは、まだ生まれたての官僚機構だが、既に官僚機構特有の仕事ぶり、お役所仕事は備わっていたと言う事なのでしょう。

commuted to

Yokohama in 1872 by Paul Blumを読んでいます。当時横浜には各国のconsular courtsがあったそうです。
It was only the British who maintained, until the turn of the century, a court of law in Yokohama complete with judicial machinery and trained judges.
...
A Mrs. Carew was accused of the arsenic poisoning of her husband.
Mrs. Carewはthe British consular courtで絞首刑を言い渡されます。　しかし、その後、
Mrs. Carew was not hanged. Her sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by Sir Ernest Satow, then Minister to Tokyo, and, some years later, while serving her time in England, she obtained a full pardon.
上の文に出てくる "commuted to" は文脈からして、絞首刑から終身刑に減刑されたの意味だと容易に推測できますが、 "commute" の意味として、通う、通勤するなどの意味しか知らなかったので意外です。辞書で意味を確認します。
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: to change (a penalty) to another less severe: commute a death sentence to life in prison
・Cambridge English Dictionary: to change a punishment to one that is less severe: Her sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.
語源を調べると元々 "commute" には "change" の意味があり、通う意味の方は後からでした。
・Online Etymology: mid-15c., from L. commutare "to often change, to change altogether," from com-, intensive prefix (see com-), + mutare "to change" (see mutable). Sense of "make less severe" is 1630s. Sense of "go back and forth to work" is 1889, from commutation ticket "season pass" (on a railroad, streetcar line, etc.), from commute in its sense of "to change one kind of payment into another" (1795), especially "to combine a number of payments into a single one."

raconteur

先月のASJ記念講演会で頂いたIn Celebration of the 140th Anniersary of the Asiatic Society of Japanの主な内容は、横浜生まれのMr. Paul C. Blumが(1898 - 1981)がASJの９０周年(1962)に行った講演記録で、ASJ発足当時の1872年前後の横浜の様子、特に当時の外国人の活動を主に描いた非常に興味のあるものでした。Paul C. Blumの講演記録の前に氏を個人的に知っているDonald Keene氏がPaul Blumについて書いた4ページの文があり、その中にあった次の単語を今日覚えたい単語として取り上げます。
Although Paul did not become a writer, he was a marvellous raconteur.
"raconteur" の意味を調べます。
・Cambridge English Dictionary: someone who tells funny or interesting stories: He was a brilliant raconteur.
・Macmillan Dictionary: someone who tells stories in a funny and interesting way. The more usual word for this is a storyteller.
この "raconteur" はPaul Blumも1864年にオーストラリアからサーカスを日本に引き連れてきたProfessor Risleyの描写に使っていました。
An American acrobat of great skill, he had played in the leading music halls of London and New York. But he was a rolling stone, a true Bohemian. Strong. agile, a crack shot, an excellent billiard player, a superb raconteur, friendly, humorous, untutored but not unintelligent, he was immensely popular.

free drink

ビールが美味しい季節ですね。この暑さでは犬も飲みたくなる様です。
A dog walks into this bar, jumps up on the stool and says to the bartender,
"Hey barkeep, it's my birthday today. How 'bout a free drink?"
The bartender turns, looks at the dog and nods his head,
"Sure pal, toilet's right down the hall."
これは日本語にしても余り面白いジョークではありませんが、米国のジョークにカテゴリー別のジョークがあり、これはBar Jokeの一つとして笑えます。

imbroglio

DIPLOMACY Memories & Visionsを読んでいます。
In another imbroglio, President Obama, seeing his proposed envoy to Caracas rejected by the Venezuelan Government, retaliated by revoking the visa of the serving Venezuelan Ambassador to Wasington. Here again I am not discussing the merits or demerits of the arguments on both sides. What has to be underlined is the fact that the whole framework of relations between these countries is bound to be profoundly effected by the political vacuum in both capitals at the ambassadorial level.
"imbroglio"、また難しそうな単語が出て来ました。研究社の現代英和辞典を見ると、"imbroglio" 複雑な話、筋、紛糾と説明がありました。退院後に英英辞書の説明も読みたい。
さて、手術の当日、手術後は本を読む時間がたっぷりあったので 、DIPLOMACY Memories & Visions も読み終えてしまい、次に In Celebration of the 140th Anniersary of the Asiatic Society of Japanを読むことにしました。

退院後に "imbroglio" の説明をV2 Vocabulary Building Dictionaryで調べました。
Definition: a complicated, sometimes emotionally charged, situation involving intrigue and misunderstanding
Tips: Imbroglio comes from the Italian imbrogliare, "to mix up." Think of something mixed up and tangled. Imbroglios often result from mix-ups, mishaps, and misunderstandings.
なるほど、mixed upの意味がある事を一緒に覚えれば良いのですね。

diachronic

DIPLOMACY Memories & Visionsの著者はギリシャの元駐日大使のせいか、硬い言葉が時々出てきます。
There is one more reason we have opted for these images: if we accept that the notion of diplomacy and defence are linked, then recourse to the "Art of War" by Sun Tzu may show some interesting diachronic virtues. It is well known that this masterwork, despite its title, does not actually call for war, violence and devastation, but for prevention and tolerance.
"diachronic virtues" の意味が分かりません。研究社の現代英和辞典で "diachronic" の項を引くと、
［言］通時的な(opp. synchronic)（言語事実を史的に縦断して記述・研究する場合にいう）の説明がありますが、さっぱり意味が分かりません。しかたがないのでこの単語は退院後の宿題にします。

退院したので再び "diachronic" を英英辞書で見てみます。
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: of, relating to, or dealing with phenomena (as of language or culture) as they occur or change over a period of time
・Dictionary.com: of or pertaining to the changes in a linguistic system between successive points in time; historical: diachronic analysis.
研究社の現代英和辞典の日本語の説明より断然分かり易いですね。お陰で「通時的な」の意味も分かりました。

fora

The Glass Menagerieを読み終えてしまったので、病院に持って行ったもう一冊の読みかけの本、DIPLOMACY Memories & Visions by George Siorisをまた読み始めました。
"fora" が次ぎの様に何度もでてきます。
・Now, we have reached the opposite extreme, with a dangerous multiplicity of meetings and overlappings as there are continually new international fora, a kind of "conference fatigue."
・A new parameter related to the conduct, but more to the drawing up, of foreign policy is participation in fora which keep mushrooming.
・Speaking of regional fora, we should also underline a new dimension: the developing co-operation among them, i.e., one group interacting with another.
いつもならインターネットのOneLook検索で適当な英英辞書を探すところです。　しかし、入院前に電子辞書を持参するつもりだったのですが、忘れて会社に置いてきたので代わりに持参した数十年前に使っていた研究社の現代英和辞典を使います。この中辞典は収録語数が12万2千と他の辞典と比べると非常に多いので使っていました。けれど "fora" の項目はないので退院後に調べ直す事にします。
手術の当日は三食抜きで栄養は点滴からなのでお腹がグーグーなりました。腹を切られている時は腰椎麻酔のお陰で全く痛くも痒くもないのは良いのですが、手術後も下半身が完全に麻痺したままで、足を触られても全く感じません。自分の手で太股をさわると死体でも触っているような感じで気持ちが悪いこと甚だしい。足を動かそうとしても指、踵、膝のどこも動きません。下半身不随の方の気持ちが良く分かりました。足が動くようになったのは麻酔から８時間後でした。

退院後にいつもの様にインターネットの英英辞書で "fora" を見ると、
・Collins English Dictionary: plural noun of forum: 1.a meeting or assembly for the open discussion of subjects of public interest
と言う事で、単数形は日本語にもなっている "forum" でした。

humor

異常な位シャイなLauraは、母のAmandaが食事に招待した若い男がJimだと知ると、一緒に食事はできないと言い出した。
AMANDA: I don't intend to humor your silliness, Laura. I've had too much from you and your brother, both! So just sit down and compose yourself till they come. Tom has forgotten his key to you'll have to let them in, when they arrive.
そうこうしている内にTomとJimが来て玄関のベルを鳴らします。AMANDAはLauraに言います。
AMANDA: I told you I wasn't going to humor you, Laura. Why have you chosen this moment to lose your mind?
上記引用文に出てくる動詞としての "humor" の意味が分かりません。辞書を見ます。
・Collins English Dictionary: to attempt to gratify; indulge ⇒ he humoured the boy's whims
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: to soothe or content by indulgence: The only way to get along with him is to humor him.: humored her grandfather by listening to his war stories for the hundredth time
・Cambridge English Dictionary: (humour) to do what someone wants so that they do not become annoyed or upset: I applied for the job just to humour my parents.
名詞の "humor" とは意味がちょっと違いますね。

The Glass Menagerieを読みかけたところで入院したのですが、手術は入院の翌日なので本を読む時間がいつもの何倍もあり、一気に読み終えてしまいました。　LauraはやっとA Gentleman CallerのJimとは話ができるようになり、いい感じにもなっていくのですが、Jimはつい最近婚約したと言い、去って行きます。Lauraの結婚相手を招待できたと期待していた母親のAmandaは、息子のTomをなじります。結局Tomは父親と同様にAmandaとLauraを捨てて家をでるという、ハッピーエンドとは正反対の幕切れ。