John GrishamのThe Racketeerを読み始めました。約一年前(6/26/2015)にとりあげた "fence" が次の様に出て来ました。 復習です。
I spend a fourth of my time as a jailhouse lawyer, and today I have a new client. Roman comes to me from a small town in North Carolina where he owned a pawnshop that specialized in fencing stolen goods, guns primarily. His suppliers were a couple of gangs of coke-crazed idiots who robbed fine homes in broad daylight.
"fence" で名詞（盗品売買者）、動詞としても使われています。
・Collins Dictionary: the business of buying and selling stolen property
・The Dictionary of American Slang: A person or place that deals in stolen goods : but even big fences like Alphonso can get stuck/ The loot had disappeared and been handled by a fence (1700+)
The clown that stole the Mona Lisa found it hard to fence.
犯罪ものの小説にはつきものの単語ですね。
Calico Joeの巻末に同じくJohn Grishamが書いた小説The Racketeerの紹介があったので、これも読む事にしました。この話は１０年の刑で刑務所に入っている弁護士の話から始まりました。
Now I was surrounded by a bunch of toy soldiers who’d never heard a shot fired in anger and couldn’t run a mile without collapsing. And they were the good guys.
When we arrived at the jail, there was a photographer from the local newspaper. My goons walked me slowly inside, making sure I would be well photographed. Their version of the perp walk.
刑務所に入る所ですが、"perp walk" は何か特別な歩き方なのでしょうか？ ・Oxford English Dictionary: An act of walking into or out of a police station, courthouse, etc., that a person in police custody is made to perform for the benefit of the media: scores of high-ranking executives have been subject to perp walks
・Dictionary.com: the parading by police of a handcuffed arrested suspect for the benefit of media and bystanders: In court, Valente showed he knows how to dress for a perp walk, sporting a striped shirt and a purple scarf.
Word Origin: short for perpetrator walk
・Farlex Financial Dictionary: Informal; the practice of the police allowing the media to photograph or tape a recently arrested suspect. Some disagree with this practice as it may allow the suspect to be convicted in public opinion before the trial. On the other hand, police do it in order to assure the public that they are doing their job. Perp walks may affect business; for example, if the police parade a recently arrested CEO of a company, it may negatively impact a company's stock price.
日本の企業のトップが雁首そろえてく行う口先だけの「ごめんなさい会見」を連想します。これは英語で "perp appology" と言えば通じる気がしました。何せ三菱自動車は不正の常習犯ですから。
Reader's Digest 3月号の定番記事 Life's Like ThatにAll the Mod Consと題された次の記事がありました。
While staying at a small bed and breakfast recently, my husband found some unexpected amenities for customers. According to the list, there was a 'washing machine, dishwasher, ironing board and free wi-fe'.
こう言うTypo（では無いかも？）は愉快ですね。
Calico Joeの巻末に著者John Grishamの後書きがあり、その中に面白い説明がありました。
This is a novel, so any mistake should be promptly classified as part of the fiction.
昨晩我が家の月下美人の花が一つ開きました。例年は５月末から６月の初めに開花を始める様なので今年は少し早いですね。
Calico Joeを読み終えましたが、いつも私がブログ取り上げる覚えたい英語の表現とか単語ではなく、表現そのものに興味を覚えた二つの個所を紹介します。
A guy in a black robe appears, probably of the generic dial-a-priest variety because Warren Tracey never went near a church.
日本でも私の様に信心深くない者でも、葬式などで坊さんを電話で（今はインターネットでも可？）依頼できますが、"generic dial-a-priest variety" はその米国版ですね。
次は小説の後に付いていたAuthor's Noteにあった文です。
This is a novel, so any mistake should be promptly classified as part of the fiction.
Calico Joeから取り上げる最後の表現です。
We laugh because we are expected to. Marv's not much of a speaker, and I get the impression he drew the short straw. I can just see these old goats sitting around the men's grill, playing gin rummy, arguing about who will speak at whose funeral. "Okay, you do Warren, and I'll do yours, and Fred'll do mine."
"drew the short straw" は文脈からするとババを引いた意味の様ですが、どうでしょうか？
・Oxford English Dictionary: Be the unluckiest of a group of people, especially in being chosen to perform an unpleasant task.: He drew the short straw when we ran out of room in the shelter.
・Cambridge Idioms Dictionary: to be the member of a group who has to do an unpleasant job Sorry, Jim, you drew the short straw. You're on toilet-cleaning duty.
Calico Joeを読み終えました。故意にビーンボールを投げた死ぬ前についに告白し謝ったWarrenをJoeは許す個所は感動ものでした。
John GrishamのCalico Joeも終わりに近づいてきました。真実をCalico Joeに告白した元投手の父親 Warren はガンで亡くなり、その葬式に主人公は出席しました。
The highlight is a eulogy by Marv somebody from, of course, the golf club. Marv tells a real knee-slapper about playing golf with Warren one day. Warren was driving the golf cart. His ball was in the water. He got too close to the edge of the pond, flipped the cart, Marv almost drowned, and Warren avoided getting splashed with a single drop of water.
葬式の集まりで故人の逸話を語っているところなので "knee-slapper" は膝を叩く様な話、笑い種の様ですがどうでしょう？ 辞書で確認します。
・Oxford English Dictionary: An uproariously funny joke.: There are plenty of smiles and quite a few knee-slappers.
・The Dictionary of American Slang: Something very funny, esp a joke; boffola: That's a knee-slapper. If she ever told a kneeslapper, I wasn't there.
Calico Joeにビーンボールを投げつけ、Joeの選手生命を奪った元投手であった父親から、あのビーンボールは意図的であったという真実を引き出すために色々と昔の話を聞き出しています。
We've touched briefly on his marriages, one subject I had planned to avoid. After he takes a nap, I hit pay dirt with a simple question: "Did you ever play baseball in Arkansas?"
"Oh yes, in the Texas League we played the Arkansas Travelers several times a year. A wonderful old stadium in downtown Little Rok. Nice crowds."
The door swings wide open, and Warren springs to life. Forgotten games, old teammates, strange happenings, locker room humor, curfew violations, life in the bus leagues--we stay on the subject of minor-league baseball for a lot of miles.
野球の話とは言え、上の "hit pay dirt" は野球のヒットではないですね。
・McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs: Fig. to discover something of value. (Alludes to discovering valuable ore.) Sally tried a number of different jobs until she hit pay dirt. I tried to borrow money from a lot of different people. They all said no. Then when I went to the bank, I hit pay dirt.
・Cambridge Idioms Dictionary: to achieve or discover something important or valuable She finally hit pay dirt with her third novel which quickly became a best seller.
宝物を掘り出した感じですね。
小説Calico Joeの語り手の父親はプロの投手で、小説のタイトルになった非常に前途有望な打者Calico Joeにビーンボールを投げて、Calico Joeの選手生命を絶たせたのです。その父親についての話です。
When he was about fifty-five, roughly ten years ago, his then wife, Karen, I believe, convinced him to sober up and stop smoking. To his credit, he did, though the damage to his body had been done. Poor Karen. She soon realized he was far more agreeable on the sauce than off. They divorced, and never solo for long, he took up with Agnes, the current wife.
主人公の父親は酒飲みで離婚と再婚を何度も繰り返した様です。それはともかく "on the sauce" は何でしょうか？
・McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs: drinking regularly; intoxicated. Poor old Ron is on the sauce again. He is on the sauce most of the time.
・Urban Dictionary:drunk; referring to the runny texture of liquor. In verb form: "to be sauced"
Mike: What was up with Shelly last night?
Dan: Dude, she was on the sauce.
酔っぱらうとソースとお酒の区別が付かなくなるのでも言うのでしょうか？
A man from ancient Rome walks into a bar. He holds up two fingers and says, "Five beers."
現代人はVサインしか分からないでしょう。
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