run a tight ship

Theodore Boone kid lawyerも終わりに近くなってきました。
Another photo, an aerial. Theo beamed the laser light at a building. “This is the maintenance shed, not too far through the woods from the sixth fairway. The lunch break began at eleven thirty. Eleven thirty on the dot because the supervisor ran a tight ship and expected his workers to check in at eleven thirty, eat quickly, and be back on the job at noon.
"ran a tight ship" は慣用句の様ですが、意味は文脈から推測が付きます。しっかりと管理、監督をするの意味でしょう。辞書で確認します。
・Oxford English Dictionary: Be very strict in managing an organization or operation.: And to the sheriff's credit, he runs a tight ship here.
・Cambridge English Dictionary: to control a business or other organization firmly and effectively: Ruth runs a tight ship and has no time for shirkers.

random

殺人の容疑者が逃げるところを目撃した若者は不法滞在者なので国外退去になることを恐れ、法廷で証言することを拒んでいます。kid lawyerのTheoは思案にくれています。
He had an idea. After the trial, after Mr. Duffy was acquitted and drove away from the courthouse, Theo would wait a few weeks or months, then he would send the gloves to Mr. Duffy. Ship them in an anonymous package, maybe with a note that would read something like: “We know you killed her. And we’re watching.”
Why would he do that? He didn’t know. Another foolish idea.
The thoughts became more random.
"random" は慣用句の "at random" やコンピュータ用語の "random access" で昔から馴染みのある単語ですが、ここに出てきた "random" はちょっとニュアンスが違いますね。　辞書を見ます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: informal Odd, unusual, or unexpected: the class was hard but he was so random that it was always fun
・Cambridge English Dictionary: informal strange or unusual: I just saw Billy wearing a top hat - he's so random!
・Vocabulary.com: Sometime in the 1980s, teenage slang hijacked the adjective random and tried to turn it into a word meaning weird, odd or out of place. As in "Dude! That guy wearing purple spandex at the party was so random!" But don't fall for it. Something that’s truly random is totally governed by chance and has no specific pattern, like choosing a card at random from a magician’s deck.

cut him some slack

Theodore Boone kid lawyerを読んでいます。
Yet, a promise is a promise, and Theo had given his word to Julio and to his cousin that he would keep their secret safe. What if he didn’t? What if he marched into Judge Gantry’s chambers first thing in the morning and flung the gloves on his desk and told everything? The cousin would be toast. He would be chased down by Jack Hogan and the police and hauled into custody. His testimony would save the day for the prosecution. A mistrial would be declared. A new trial would be scheduled. It would be all over the newspapers and television. The cousin would be the hero, but he would also be locked up as an illegal immigrant.
But couldn’t he, the cousin, make a deal with the police and prosecutors? Wouldn’t they cut him some slack because they needed him?
"slack" に緩みの意味があり、ハワイアンミュージックで "slack guitar" と言うチューニングがあるのも知っていますが、この "cut him some slack" は慣用句の様です。辞書を見ます。
・Cambridge English Dictionary: to not judge someone as severely as you usually would because they are having problems at the present time: Andrew's late again." "Cut him some slack - his wife just had a baby.
・Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms: cut somebody some slack (spoken): to give someone additional freedom I'm going to cut you some slack. Because it's the last day of classes, we don't have to talk anything serious today. If you and your kids don't agree about their futures, cut them some slack - explain your views, but don't try to force them to agree.
・Dictionary.com: To make allowances for someone, and not treat a failure severely He's the new kid on the block and doesn't know the way we do things around here yet. Cut him some slack and let him learn from this.
なるほど、大目に見る感じですね。

butt out

主人公のkid lawyer、Theoは知人の従兄の不法移民者が殺人事件の容疑者を目撃したと聞き、面談します。
“He wants to know why he should trust you,” Julio said. Theo was thankful for the interpretation because he’d understood almost none of the Spanish.
He said, “Look, Julio, how about a quick review? He came to you, you came to me, and now I’m here. I didn’t start this process. If he wants to leave, then good-bye. I’ll be happy to go home.” It was tough talk and it sounded pretty strong in English. Julio passed it along in Spanish, and the cousin glared at Theo as if he’d been insulted.
Theo did not want to leave. He knew he should. He knew better than to get involved. He’d been telling himself to butt out, but the truth was that Theo relished being exactly where he was at that moment.
"butt out" は初めて見る表現ではないと思いましたが、意味が直ぐには分からないので辞書を見ます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: North American informal Stop interfering: anyone who tries to cut across our policies should butt out
・Macmillan Dictionary: used for telling someone rudely to go away or not get involved in something: It’s my problem, so butt out!
・Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms: to not get involved in something Teens usually think their parents should just butt out of their lives.
思い出しました、かなり前に（4/11/2008）、"butt out" とは反対の意味の "butt in" を "horn in" と共に取り上げていました。

lionization

March 20のThe Japan Times OnlineのBOOKS / REVIEWS欄に丁度これから読もうとしている "The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up" についての書評がありました。タイトルは "There’s just one problem with Marie Kondo’s ‘Spark Joy’" となっていました。記事の最後の段落を引用します。
Kondo’s success and subsequent lionization — Time Magazine included her in its 100 most influential people of 2015 — speaks to our overcluttered lives. Her tone is matronly, her tips are practical and her advice is easy to follow. However, “Spark Joy” raises a conundrum: Now I have two books which say more or less the same thing, which do I discard? Which sparks less joy?
私は "The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up" を借りて読むだけなので悩む必要はないので安心しました。

thanks for nothing

Theodore Boone kid lawyerを読んでいると、こんな場面がありました。
“Miss Garman, is Theo Boone in class?” It was the shrieking voice of Miss Gloria, the school’s longtime secretary.
“He is,” Miss Garman responded.
“Please send him down. He needs to check out.”
Theo grabbed his things, stuffed them into his backpack, and as he was hustling toward the door Miss Garman said, “If we have a quiz, Theo, you can make it up on Monday.”
Well, thanks for nothing, Theo thought, but instead he said, “Can’t wait.”
英語圏の人は日本人より思った事をストレートに言うと聞いていますが、やはり何でも思ったことを口に出すようではない様です。

passable English

Theodore Boone kid lawyerを読んでいます。
Inside, down in the basement, Theo found Julio and his family finishing dinner. His mother spoke passable English, but it was obvious she was surprised to see Theo on a Wednesday night.
"passable English" は文脈から意味はなんとか通じる英語だと推測できます。辞書で確認します。
・Oxford English Dictionary: Just good enough to be acceptable; satisfactory: he spoke passable English
・Collins Dictionary: adequate, fair, or acceptable: a passable speech
・Cambridge English Dictionary: satisfactory but not excellent: Mary can speak passable Russian.
十年以上前に英検や通訳ガイドの試験を受けましたが、たぶん "passable English" のレベルで試験に通った私の英語のことを言われている様です。まあ、通じれば良いか？（通訳ガイドはペーパーライセンスを持っているだけで、生まれ故郷で何十年も住んでいる東京の事もろくに知らないので、プロにはなれません。）