belay and rappel

山登りはほとんど経験がありませんが、大雪山と富士山は登ったことがあります。屋久島の縄文杉も見に行きましたがこれもミニ登山と言えるかな。今日は、Reader's Digest 7月号の記事 "FREE FALL" 、登山好きの女性(Lauren McLean)がイエローストーンパークの南にある Grand Teton National Parkの登山で大怪我をし、助けられた話に出てきた、山登りに関係する単語を二つ覚えたいと思います。
最初の単語は "belay" で次ぎの個所に出てきました。
Ybarra was sitting on a broad slab near the top of the buttress, where he'd anchored himself to the rock so that he could safely belay his partner's ropes. He seemed surprised when Ries turned up alone, and he winced when she informed him of McLean's position.
"belay" の意味を辞書で調べます。
・Collins Dictionary: (mountaineering) to secure (a climber) to a mountain by tying the rope off round a rock spike, piton, nut, etc: Mr Hunston said:'The ice was getting very brittle and hard and I couldn't get the quality of ice to belay.
・Oxford English Dictionary: fix (a running rope) round a cleat, rock, pin, or other object, to secure it. --secure (a climber) with a belayed rope: he belayed his partner across the ice
次ぎの単語は "rappel" です。
Ybarra pulled out his mobile phone and dialled emergency; the dispatcher patched him through to a search-and-rescue (SAR) coordinator for Grand Teton National Park. "We've got an injured climber," Ybarra told the ranger. "I'll tell you more when I have the details." Then he re-tied his own rope and began rappelling down the cliff. "rappel" を辞書で調べます。
・Macmillan Dictionary: to come down the side of a cliff or mountain using a rope that is fastened to the top of the cliff or mountain and to your body
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: to descend (as from a cliff) by sliding down a rope passed under one thigh, across the body, and over the opposite shoulder or through a special friction device

driving license

A young boy had just gotten his driving license.
He asked his father, who was a minister and a bit of a twit, if they could discuss the use of the car.
His father took him to his study and said to him, "I'll make a deal with you. You bring your grades up, study your bible a little and get your hair cut, and we'll talk about it."
After about a month the boy came back and again asked his father if they could discuss use of the car.
They again went to the father's study where his father said, "Son, I've been real proud of you. You have brought your grades up, you've studied your bible diligently, but you didn't get your hair cut!"
The young man waited a moment and replied, "You know Dad, I've been thinking about that. Samson had long hair, Moses had long hair, Noah had long hair, and even Jesus had long hair...."
To which his father replied, "Yes, and they walked everywhere they went!"

Creatures of Emotion

When dealing with people, let us remember we are not dealing with creatures of logic. We are dealing with creatures of emotion, creatures bristling with prejudices and motivated by pride and vanity.
(Excerpt from How to Win Friends and Influence People)
たしかにその通りです。

black ice

Reader's Digest 7月号の記事 "Man in the Crowd" から引用します。
As we passed through Bozeman, Montana, US, in early February, a heavy snow slowed us down. The radio crackled warnings about black ice and poor visibility, so we opted to impose on friends who were doing a production of Fiddler on the Roof at Montana State University.
"black ice" ってどんな氷？　辞書を見ます。
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: a nearly transparent film of ice on a dark surface (as a paved road or a body of water) that is difficult to see: Drivers should beware of black ice.
・Vocabulary.com: a thin coating of ice (as from freezing mist) on a road or sidewalk; nearly invisible but very hazardous: Five vehicles including a fire engine have crashed due to black ice on a road in Sheffield.
なるほど、考えて見ると分かり易い表現ですね。

goose-step

Japan Times Online、July 28の記事タイトルとサブタイトルを引用します。
60 years of Korean armistice: One war, two histories, no peace
Goose-stepping soldiers, columns of tanks and a broad array of ominous-looking missiles poised on mobile launchers paraded through Pyongyang's main square Saturday in a painstakingly ...
"Goose-stepping" は初めて見る表現ですが、北朝鮮兵士が行進する姿はＴＶのニュースで度々見ているので、あの独特な行進は容易に眼に浮かびます。辞書でどのように説明されているか見てみます。
・Dictionary.com: a marching step of some infantries in which the legs are swung high and kept straight and stiff.: Some carry banners, others wear helmets, still others do the goose-step
・Macmillan Dictionary: to march without bending your leg when you raise it
. ・Collins Dictionary: to march in goose step ⇒ photos of soldiers goose-stepping beside fearsome missiles ⇒ For one surreal moment the actors goose-step across the stage
北朝鮮兵士の "goose step" はいつ見ても異様な感じがします。

clean head of beer

"The Briefcase" に度々出てくるセンセイとツキコがお酒を酌み交わす場面です。
"Is there no sake?" I asked.
"No, there's some in the refrigerator, but I've had enough already," he said as he tilted a five-hundred-milliliter bottle of beer. The foam rose cleanly in his glass. I took a glass that was upside down on a tray on top of the refrigerator.
Please, I said, holding it out in front of Sensei. He smiled and poured the same clean head of beer for me.
私の勤めている会社の人達は店で生ビールを注文するのに「泡なし」と言うのですが、 上に出てきた "clean head of beer" がどうもその泡と同じ意味のようです。　辞書で調べます。
辞書には "head" の項で次ぎの説明が出ています。
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: the foam or scum that rises on a fermenting or effervescing liquid (as beer)
・Macmillan Dictionary: the white bubbles on the top of a glass of beer
・Vocabulary.com: the foam or froth that accumulates at the top when you pour an effervescent liquid into a container: “the beer had a large head of foam”
"clean head of beer" の "head" がコップ/ジョッキーに注がれたビールの泡であることは確かですが、"clean" の意味は、私が最初に連想した「泡なし」（コップ/ジョッキーの上に泡がほとんどできないように注いだビール、泡より液体の多い方が得だと考えているようだ） ではなく、多分次の意味でしょう。
・Macmillan Dictionary: clean smells, tastes, and colors are light and fresh: The wine is clean and fresh, though with a robust flavor.

"The Briefcase" は現在の日本が舞台だったので非常に分かり易かった。また機会があったら川上作品を読んでみたい。

coffee klatch

"The Briefcase" の一場面です。
Ms. Ishino would be shut up in the art prep room, and when the aroma of coffee drifted out to the classroom, the art students knocked on her door.
"What is it?" Ms. Ishino would answer in her husky voice.
"Please, Ms. Ishino, let us have a coffee klatch," one of the art students would say through the door. He spoke in a deliverately bewildered tone.
"coffee klatch" の "klatch" は外来語のような気がします。 勘では "coffee break" ではないかと思いますがどうでしょうか？・Cambridge English Dictionary: an occasion when people meet socially to talk and drink coffee
・Macmillan Dictionary: or coffee klatsch: a social occasion where people have conversations about unimportant things
・Dictionary.com: a social gathering for informal conversation at which coffee is served.
Origin: German Kaffeeklatsch, equivalent to Kaffee coffee + Klatsch noise (e.g., of conversation)
"klatch" は外来語というのは当たっていましたが、 "break" ではなく、"noise (e.g., of conversation)" の意味でした。　"coffee break" で当たらずとも遠からず。

off-kilter

ツキコとセンセイの年の差は３０才程ありますが、とにかく一緒に飲む場面が多い話です。
Sensei stood in front of the odenya that was next door to Satoru's place before we ducked inside. Looking closely, I noticed that Sensei's torso was indeed slightly off-kilter as he walked. I wondered how much his butt--ahem, his backside--was hurting him. I couldn't tell anything from his expression.
センセイはどこか痛いようなので "off-kilter" は身体が曲がっているのか、調子が悪いのか、どんな意味でしょうか？
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: not in perfect balance : a bit askew
・McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs:
1. Lit. out of balance; crooked or tilted. (*Typically: be ~; get ~; knock something ~.) John, your tie is sort of off-kilter. Let me fix it. Please straighten the picture on the wall. It's out of kilter.
2. Fig. malfunctioning; on the fritz. (*Typically: be ~; go ~.) My furnace is out of kilter. I have to call someone to fix it. This computer is out of kilter. It doesn't let me log on.
"off-kilter" で調子が悪いのと曲がっているの両方の意味があるようです。

Grounds for divorce

The wife left me a note on the fridge saying, "It's no good - it's just not working. I'm staying at Mum's for a while."
I opened the door, the light came on and the beer was chilled. Goodness knows what she was on about!