pigeonholed

Reader's Digest 4月号に掲載された女優Judi Denchについての記事から引用します。
Her recent work includes the comedy The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, the Bond epic Skyfall, and now the tender, intimate Philomena. She also starred with Ben Whishaw in a West End run of Peter and Alice - playing the elderly Alice Liddell, who as a girl had inspired Lewis Carroll. It reminds you that, at 79, not only does Judi Dench refuse to be pigeonholed, but she's not slowing down either.
"pigeonhole" は４年前に採り上げた単語で、「分類して置く」の意味を覚えましたが、上の引用文の様に型にはめる、決め付ける意味の使いかたも出来るのですね。 "pigeonhole" の説明を辞書で再確認します。
・Wiktionary: To categorize; especially to limit or be limited to a particular category, role, etc. Fred was tired of being pigeonholed as a computer geek.
・Collins English Dictionary: to classify or categorize, esp in a rigid manner: Only a fool would now pigeonhole them as makers of cheap and cheerful cars.

fossick

Reader's Digest 4月号の記事Miracles, Marvels & Coincidencesはちょっと前に読んだPaul Auster著のThe Red Notebookと似ていて、偶然の話を集めた内容でした。その中のA FAMILIAR RINGからの抜粋です。
Don Breyfogle loves fossicking with his metal detector at weekends but he had no idea it would bring him closer to a fellow Wal-Mart employee, Eric Uschold. By incredible coincidence, Don's metal detector came across a gold class ring lost 18 years earlier by Eric in Marshall, Minnesota.
私も米国に住んでいた時に金属探知機を使って何かを探している人を見かけた事が実際に二度あります。初めて目にした時は何をしているのか不思議でしたが、警察とか軍隊の仕事の一環ではなく、金属探知機を使って指輪などを探すことを趣味にしている人は米国には結構いるようです。
上の引用文に出てきた "fossicking" は金属探知機を使った時だけかどうかは分かりませんが、捜す意味があることには違いありません。辞書で確認します。
・Oxford Dictionary: Rummage; search: 'he spent years fossicking through documents’
・Collins English Dictionary: (intransitive) to search for gold or precious stones in abandoned workings, rivers, etc; to rummage or search for (something): They can fossick in our creek for sapphires or go bushwalking.
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary:
1.Australian & New Zealand: to search for gold or gemstones typically by picking over abandoned workings
2.chiefly Australian & New Zealand: to search about: rummage
元々宝石や金を探すのに使った単語の様です。

work up

Reader's Digestに毎月掲載されるUnbelivevable by Nury Vittachiの記事は誇張が過ぎているので余り面白くないと思って読んでいるのですが、4月号のMind your languageと題された話はまんざら誇張では無いようでした。
A man angered by a misspelled sign outside a US government office threatened to blow up the building with a homemade bomb, news reports said. This is absolutely crazy - people these days get way too worked up over trivial things.
引用した上の個所にある "worked up" の意味は文脈から意味はだいたい分かりますが、"work up" のこの様な使い方は知らなかったので辞書で確認します。
　 ・Collins English Dictionary: to arouse the feelings of; excite
・Wiktionary: To raise; to excite; to stir up.: He worked up the public's passions to rage.
・Vocabulary.com: (of persons) excessively affected by emotion: “she was worked up about all the noise”

shower

前置きがEven the slightest slip-up can turn a compliment into a curseとなっているReader's Digest 4月号の記事 "Translation trip-ups" がありました。　この "slip-up" と "trip-ups" は同じく間違いを示しているようです。しかし今日採り上げる単語は記事の中にあります。　記事は間違いの実例を幾つか示していますが、その内から日本に関する話題の箇所を引用します。
"CHOCOLATE FOR HIM" In the 1950s, when chocolate companies began encouraging people in Japan to celebrate Valentine's Day, a mistranslation from on confectionary maker conveyed the message that it was customary for women to give chocolates to men on the holiday. And that's what they do to this day. On February 14, women shower their men with treats, and on March 14, the men return the favour.
バレンタインデイに女性が男性にチョコレートを渡す日本の習慣は日本人には常識なのでここでの "shower" の意味は分かりますが、この様な使い方ができるのは知りませんでした。辞書で確認します。
・Macmillan Dictionary: to give a large number of things or a large amount of something to someone: shower someone with something: He showered her with flowers and jewelry.
・Collins English Dictionary: (transitive) to give (gifts, etc) in abundance or present (a person) with (gifts, etc) ⇒ they showered gifts on him
・Cambridge English Dictionary: to give someone a lot of presents or praise: She only sees her niece occasionally, so she showers her with presents when she does.

spend a fortune

先週 "break the bank" を採り上げましたが、Reader's Digest 4月号のTechコーナーの記事 "How to create a Wi-Fi hotspot" にも "break the bank" と同じ様な意味の表現がありました。
WANT ACCESS to Wi-Fi on your computer but don't want to spend a fortune on coffee at your local cafe? If you have a smartphone and a decent signal, the answer's in your pocket. By "tethering" your phone to your laptop or tablet, you can use the mobile network to get online and use a proper computer keyboard and screen instead of the miniature version.
"fortune" の意味としては幸運しか知らなかったのですが、上の最初の文に出てきた "spend a fortune" は文脈からして、大金を使う意味だろうと推測できます。辞書を見ます。
・Macmillan Dictionary: [singular] informal a lot of money: spend/pay a fortune: They must have spent a fortune on flowers alone.
・Oxford Dictionary: informal A surprisingly high price or amount of money: 'I spent a fortune on drink and drugs’

parking fine

You know, people don't usually compliment me on any driving, so I was very pleased this morning when I saw a note on my car reading "parking fine". That was nice of them!
...
That's the ticket.