私は欠席しましたが、ASJ １０月例会のレクチャーを会報で読みました。Dr. Gaye Rowleyによるレクチャーのタイトルは "Recreating The Tale of Genji in Edo: Ogimachi Machiko's In the Shelter of the Pine" でMachikoは幕府大老格柳沢吉保の側室、正親町 町子のことです。その記事の中に、知っている単語ですが、こんな使い方があるの、と思った個所が次の様にありました。
Historically, the principal duty of a concubine was to provide an heir; if the head of a warrior house died without issue, the house could be abolished, and there were examples of this.
"issue" には色々の意味がありますが、上の文に出てきた "issue" は文脈からして、明らかに子供あるいは世継ぎの意味と分かります。しかし、"issue" がこの様な意味で使えるのは知らなかったので辞書で確認します。
・Oxford English Dictionary: formal or Law: Children of one’s own: he died without male issue
・Wiktionary: Progeny; a child or children; offspring. In law, sometimes, in a general sense, all persons descended from a common ancestor; all lineal descendants.
確かに、子供あるいは世継ぎがいるかどうかは重要な問題なので "issue"がその意味で使われることに納得です。
The Sound of Wavesを読んでいます。今日取り上げる表現も見慣れた単語ですが、私の知って いる意味ではありません。
Halfway along the beach towered a huge rock called Hachijo Isle, as tall as a two- storied house, and, just now, among the rank-growing vines on its summit, there were four or five playful urchins, waving their hands and shouting something.
"rank" を辞書で見ます。
・Collins Dictionary: showing vigorous and profuse growth: rank weeds
・Cambridge English Dictionary: used to describe plants that grow too fast or too thickly, or an area covered by these: The abandoned garden was rank with weeds.
何故この様な意味があるのかOnline Etymology Dictionaryを見ました。以下はその抜粋です。
Old English ranc "proud, overbearing, showy," ... In reference to plant growth, "vigorous, luxuriant, abundant, copious" it is recorded from c. 1300.
Sense evolved in Middle English to "large and coarse" (c. 1300), then, via notion of "excessive and unpleasant," to "corrupt, loathsome, foul" (mid-14c.), perhaps from influence of Middle French rance "rancid."
悪臭の "rank" とも関係があるのが分かりました。
この意味の"rank" も "1/19/2009 に取り上げていましたね。
The Sound of Wavesを読み終えました。ハッピーエンドで良かった。またその内に他の三島作品を読もうと思います。
今日取り上げる単語 "prone" は "be prone to" で知っていますが、The Sound of Wavesの次の場面ではその知っている意味ではありません。
Both the deck and the bilge became a lake of blood. The fuel tank was hit and kerosene spread on top of the blood. Some hesitated to fling themselves prone in this mess and were hit in the hips.
早速辞書を見ます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: Lying flat, especially face downward: I was lying prone on a foam mattress: a prone position
・Cambridge English Dictionary: formal lying face down: The photograph showed a man lying prone on the pavement, a puddle of blood around his head.
Vocabulary.comにこの "prone" の意味を覚えるのに役に立ちそうな次の説明がありました。
The second meaning of prone is "lying face down," and the Latin root is pronare, "to bend forward." This is a handy way to remember both meanings: if you tend to wait to start your term paper until the night before it's due, you are prone to procrastination — you bend toward it. If you stay up so late you fall asleep face down in the book, you are now prone at your desk.
なるほど、しかし、やっと思い出しました。この意味の "prone" は 9/3/2008 に取り上げていました。
"Is everything OK?" the waitress asked.
"No," I replied. "The chicken is so tough, you can't cut it with a knife."
"I'm so sorry," she said. "Can I bring you a different knife?"
Q: What's the difference between rock and jazz?
A: Rock is playing three chords for a thousand people. Jazz is playing a thousand chord for three people.
The Sound of Wavesから今日取り上げるのは単語ではなく、極めて口語的な表現です。
"As decided at the last meeting, .... Fortunately, rat-catching can be done in any weather, and I don't believe the police will get after us even if we kill a few rats outside the sewers"
There was general laughter and shouts of "You tell 'em! You tell 'em!"
"you tell 'em" の意味、用法が辞書で分かるでしょうか？
・http://www.english-slang.com/: Used to agree with or encourage someone in what he is saying.: The drunk was arguing with the bartenders and a man cried, "You tell 'em!"
・Urban Dictionary: The phrase "You tell em" is one of many sarcastic remarks which can be used to abruptly end a conversation. If you do not feel like responding to a certain person or your laughing at a complete idiot/moron/goon throwing out a "You tell em" will shut them up or induce a very interesting response.
この手の表現を普通の辞書で調べるのは難しいのですが、インターネットを使うと何とか調べ ることが出来ますね。
The Sound of Wavesを読んでいます。今日の単語は "snaggletoothed" で次の様に出てて きました。
"That Hatsue, she's--"
The rest of the sentence was lost to Shinji in a sudden commotion from another part of the room, mixed with answering laughter from the group around the snaggletoothed boy.
"snaggletoothed" はどんな歯なのでしょうか？
・Oxford English Dictionary: An irregular or projecting tooth.: ‘Would you date a girl that had snaggle-teeth?’
・Collins Dictionary: a tooth that is broken or projecting
日本人は歯並びが悪い人が多い、と言うより、少なくとも米国人は若いときに歯列矯正 (orthodontics)をする人が多いですね。
The Sound of Wavesを読み始めました。これは三島由紀夫の小説『潮騒』をMeredith Weatherby氏が英訳したものです。オリジナルの『潮騒』も読んだことはありませんが、英訳さ れた日本の小説は、物語の背景を想像し易いせいか、結構分かり易く、面白い物が多いので期 待しております。早速取り上げる単語は過去にも取り上げていますが、以前取り上げた時の "dress" とは意味が違います。
Lunchtime came. Jukichi dressed the flatheads on the engine-room hatch and cut them into slices.
魚をさばいている様子ですが、"dress" にその様な意味があるか確認します。
・Oxford English Dictionary: Clean and prepare (food, especially poultry or shellfish) for cooking or eating: (as adjective dressed) ‘dressed crab ’: ‘Anyway I was dressing a salmon… which quite obviously I have overpoached.
’ ・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: to prepare for use or service; specifically : to prepare for cooking or for the table: dress a salad
・Cambridge English Dictionary:
a) to prepare meat, chicken, fish, or crab so it can be eaten: a whole dressed crab
b) to add a liquid, especially a mixture of oil and vinegar, to a salad for extra flavour: a dressed salad
魚をさばく "dress" のはサラダにドレッシングをかけるのとは大分程度が違いますが 、同じ "dress" なのですね。
Reader's Digestの定番記事コーナー Life's Like That ９月号のタイトル "MOD CON" は何だかラテン語の様で意味が分かりません。とりあえず記事を読みます。
My husband and I were standing in line at an ATM in Lucca, a small town in Italy. History, music, religion and art surrounded us, including ramparts, statue of the composer Giacomo Puccini and a beautiful cathedral. Ahead of us, two tourists were chatting. "You can always tell we're near civilisation," said one to the other, "when there's a cash machine close by."
記事は分かりますが、まだ題名の意味が分かりません。辞書を引きます。
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: chiefly British: a modern convenience —usually used in plural: bedrooms at the English country inn are filled with 18th-century charm, while the bathrooms have all the mod cons that 21st-century tourists demand
・Wiktionary: A modern convenience, used to imply the subject is complete with all possible features, enhancements etc.
なるほど、"modern convenience" の事ですか、やっとタイトルの意味が分かりました。
Reader's Digest ９月号の記事 Helping Hands に出て来た単語 "preloved" は良く考えれば分かるのですが、私は辞書を引くまで意味がピンときませんでした。
The reactions from mothers' groups and buy and sell groups was immediate. Offers of preloved clothes, blankets and sleeping bags filled her screen.
辞書で "preloved" を調べます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: Previously owned; secondhand: preloved toys are just as appealing
・Dictionary.com: (Austral, informal)secondhand; previously owned or used; also written pre-loved
オーストラリア英語の様ですね。単に "used" と言うよりも愛着があって良い響きですね。
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