今日はJohn Grishamの短編小説集Ford Countyの中のCasinoを読んでいます。
以下に抜粋する箇所に元同時通訳者の村松増美氏からに十数年前教えてもらった単語 "broach" が次の様に出てきました。
After four months, the Lucky Jack had settled nicely into the local scene. All opposition to it faded; the casino was obviously not going away. It became a popular meeting place for civic clubs, class reunions, bachelor parties, even a few weddings. Chief Larry began planning the construction of a Yazoo headquarters, and he was thrilled to see his tribe growing. Folks who'd been quite resistant to the suggestion of Indian ancestry now proudly claimed to be full-blooded Yazoo. Most wanted jobs, and when Chief broached the idea of sharing the profits in the form of monthly handouts, his tribe ballooned to over one hundred members.
村松氏は初対面の人との話のきっかけになる様に目立つネクタイを着けることがあると仰っていました。その話を聞いた一年程後に、米国のある著名な女性（忘れたので著名と言うのも可笑しいのですが、確か政治家だった気がしますが定かではありません）がやはり同じ様に、初対面の人との話の糸口になるようなブローチ(brooch)を着けると言っていた（多分何かの書き物で読んだ、が正しい）のを知り、思わず「座布団一枚」と心の中で叫びました。 "broach" のおさらいをしておきます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: Raise (a sensitive or difficult subject) for discussion: he broached the subject he had been avoiding all evening
・Vocabulary.com: As a verb, broach means to bring up or introduce a sensitive issue. As a noun, a broach is one of those dowdy pins your Great Aunt Edna wears. Telling her not to wear it is a subject you should probably not broach.
Let's say you want to go on vacation with a friend and you ask your dad because he is more likely to say yes. He will probably tell you that he will broach the subject with your mom and let you know. In a less common (and older) usage of broach, if you put a hole in something in order to get out what's inside you broach it. The piercing tool you use is also called a broach. Think of piercing someone with your idea the next time you broach a touchy issue.
酒樽やワインを開けることも "broach" と言えるそうです。ネクタイもブローチも着けない私は、お酒の方なら喜んで実践できそう。
短編小説集Ford Countyの中のFish Filesを読んでいます。
Lying naked under thin sheets, he closed his eyes. He inhaled and sniffed the musty oak and leather smell of the old courtroom. He heard the voices of the other lawyers as they bickered importantly over the last-minute details. He saw the judge in his faded black robe sitting low in a massive chair waiting impatiently for papers to sign to dissolve yet another marriage made in heaven.
Then he opened his eyes, and as he watched the slow silent spin of the ceiling fan, and listened to the early-morning sounds of the ocean, Mack Stafford was suddenly and thoroughly consumed with the joys of freedom. He quickly pulled on some gym shorts and ran down the beach to a pier that jutted two hundred feet into the water.
チェインソー事故の犠牲者への補償金をくすねて大金を得た弁護士Mackは、離婚し、弁護士事務所を破産させ、カリビアンに逃げて行きました。さて "was...consumed with the joys of freedom" ですが、"consume" と来ると消費しか思い浮かばないので、ここでの意味がピンときません。辞書を見ます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: (Of a feeling) absorb all of the attention and energy of (someone): Carolyn was consumed with guilt
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: to engage fully: engross: consumed with curiosity
・Cambridge English Dictionary: to have so much of a feeling that it affects everything you do: He was consumed with jealousy.: As a teenager, I was consumed by passion for the boy next door.
なるほど、"consume" のこんな使われ方もあるのですね。
John Grishamの短編小説集Ford Countyの中のFish Filesを読んでいます。主人公はFord Countyの余り儲からない田舎弁護士。未解決案件の一つでゴミ屑状態（Fish Files）であったチェインソー事故の案件の相手メーカーが欧州のメーカーに買収されたことにより、相手側の弁護士から突然金儲けになりそうな提案が出てきました。
The truth was, he had not been able to locate either Travis Johnson or Doug Jumper. Travis was rumored to be out west driving a truck, something he evidently could do with only seven fulllength fingers. Travis had an ex-wife with a house full of kids and a ledger full of unpaid childsupport. She worked a night shift in a convenience store in Clanton, and had few words for Mack. She remembered his promises to collect some money when Travis lost part of three fingers. According to some sketchy friends, Travis had fled a year earlier and had no plans to return to Ford County.
弁護士Mackの顧客が事故で怪我をしたTravisとDougで、そのTravisの "sketchy friends" とはどんな友人でしょうか？ "sketchy" の意味を辞書で調べます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: Dishonest or disreputable: once the story does come out, the fact that you tried to hide it will seem sketchy: a sketchy neighborhood
・Cambridge English Dictionary: containing few details: So far we only have sketchy information about what caused the explosion.
・Vocabulary.com: Something sketchy is incomplete: it includes the major points but lacks detail. If a political candidate avoids going into detail about her political views, you might say her platform is sketchy.
A sketch is a quick drawing that doesn't have a lot of detail. That definition should help you remember that sketchy things are incomplete. A sketchy speech from the President will outline some important ideas but be short on specifics. A sketchy plan for the weekend would be "Let's go out to eat." That's sketchy because it has the general idea but no specifics, such as the time or place.
スケッチが大雑把な絵の描き方との認識はありましたが、"sketchy" が人を含め色々な事の形容詞として使えるのは知りませんでした。
John Grishamの短編Fetching Raymondを読んでいます。Raymondの死刑執行前に最後のごちそうがRaymondと家族に用意されました。
Within minutes a crew from the kitchen arrived with armed escort. Hurriedly, they unfolded a square card table and covered it with a raher large amount of food. The smells were immediately thick in the room, and Leon and Butch were weak with hunger. They had not eaten since noon. Inez was too distraught to think about food, though she did examine the spread. Fried catfish, French-fried potatoes, hush puppies, coleslaw, all in the center of the table. To the right was a mammoth cheeseburger, with another order of fries and one of onion rings. To the left was a medium-size pizza with pepperoni and hot, bubbling cheese. Directly in front of the catfish was a huge slice of what appeared to be lemon pie, and next to it was a dessert plate covered with chocolate cake. A bowl of vanilla ice cream was wedged along the edge of the table.
州によって制度の異なる米国なので一概には言えませんが、上記の場面が実際にある州もあるのでしょうね。
さて、"hush puppies" は食べたことも聞いたこともないので調べます。
・Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary: chiefly Southern & southern Midland: cornmeal dough shaped into small balls and fried in deep fat —usually used in plural
・Wikipedia: A hushpuppy (or cornbread ball) is a small, savory, deep-fried ball made from cornmeal-based batter. Hushpuppies are frequently served as a side dish with seafood and other deep-fried foods.
写真はWikipedia(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hushpuppy)からです。
John Grishamの短編Fetching Raymondを読んでいます。
Raymondの死刑執行に立ち会うために兄弟のButchとLeonは母親を連れて刑務所に向かってドライブしているところです。
"Said thangs are lookin’ real good, said he’d probably have to fire the team of lawyers he has now so he can hire another team of lawyers. You know Raymond. He’s tellin’ the lawyers what to do and they’re just fallin’ all over themselves.”
Without turning his head, Butch cut his eyes at Leon, and Leon returned the glance. Nothing was said because words were not necessary.
"Butch cut his eyes at Leon" ですが、"cut his eyes at" でButchはLeonを見たようですが（Without turning his headとあるのでどの様に？）辞書でニュアンスを調べます。
・McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs: cut one's eyes at someone or something: Rur. to glance at someone or something. He cut his eyes at me to see if I was looking. She cut her eyes at the TV for a second.
・Urban Dictionary: Glaring or looking at someone with the eyes narrowed and looking to the side instead of looking straight ahead at the intended person. This is considered extremely disrespectful by the person being looked at and is also considered as an act of defiance by the person engaged in the act. This is usually done by a younger person to a person who is older or the same age.
・Collins Dictionary: (Caribbean) to look rudely at a person and then turn one's face away sharply while closing one's eyes: a gesture of contempt
やはり単に "glanced at" したのとはニュアンスが違うようですね。
John Grishamの短編集Ford Countyから二話目のFetching Raymondを読んでいます。
Out from the settlement of Pleasant Ridge, the road became gravel, the homes smaller and farther apart. Leon turned in to a short driveway that stopped at a boxlike house with weeds at the doors and an asphalt shingle roof in need of replacement. It was the Graney home, the place he’d been raised along with his brothers, the only constant in their sad and chaotic lives. A jerry-rigged plywood ramp ran to the side door so that his mother, Inez Graney, could come and go in her wheelchair.
今年の初めに（1/7/2016）に "jury-rig" を取り上げましたが、上に出てきた "jerry-rigged" は同じ意味の様な気もしますが、どうでしょう？ 辞書で確認します。
・The Dictionary of American Slang: Patched or cobbled; hoked-up: these would be much better than something jerry-rigged on my Olivetti
[1980s+; a blend of jerry-built, ''badly or flimsily built,'' found by 1869, with jury-rigged, ''rigged tempoarily or in an emergency,'' found by 1788; the origin of both of these is unknown]
・Urban Dictionary: to make or fix something with shoddy materials, or materials not meant for the job.: The antenna broke on the TV, so I jerry rigged a new one out of tin foil and a coat hanger.
"jerry-rigged" は "jury-rigged" とほとんど同じと思ってよさそうです。
The pickup hit eighty miles per hour, then ninety, as it flew over a long stretch of flat highway. "He's comin' fast," Aggie said, glancing at the mirror, then back at the highway ahead. "Blue lights to hell and back.
" Calvin rolled down his window and said, "Let's toss the beer!"
"No!" Roger squawked. "Are you crazy? He can't catch us. Faster, faster!"
The pickup flew over a small hill and almost left the pavement, then it screeched around a tight curve and fishtailed slightly, enough for Calvin to say, "We're gonna kill ourselves."
建設現場で事故に遭ったBaileyの手術用に輸血を提供する有志として三人の若者が自動車で向かっているのですが、酒飲み運転でパトカーの追いかけられます。 "fishtailed" は初めて見る表現ですが、魚の尾びれの動きを想像すれば、ここでの意味も容易に推測できます。念の為に辞書の説明を見ます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: (Of a vehicle) make a fishtail movement: the vehicle fishtailed from one side of the road to the other
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: to have the rear end slide from side to side out of control while moving forward: the car fishtailed on the icy curve
三十年以上前ですが、米国のニュージャージーに住んでいた時に雪の積もった路上で車が何度か "fishtailed" した経験を思い出しました。
お気に入りの作家John Grishamの作品をまた読むことにしました。図書館から本を受け取って分かったのですが、Ford Countyの題がついていましたが、中身は７つの短編になっていました。最初に読むのはBlood Driveと題された話です。今日とりあげるのは馴染みのある単語 "invalid" です。
By the time the news of Bailey's accident spread through the rule settlement of Box Hill, there were several versions of how it happened. Someone from the construction company called his mother that he had been injured when some scaffolding collapsed at a building site in downtown Memphis, that he was undergoing surgery, was stable, and was expected to survive. His mother, an invalid, weighed over 400 pounds and was known to be excitable, missed some of the facts as she began to scream and carry on.
"invalid" の意味としては無効、無能、不能を直ぐに思い浮かべますが、上の文での意味としてはちょっと合いません。 早速辞書を引きます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: A person made weak or disabled by illness or injury: [as modifier]: an invalid husband
・Cambridge English Dictionary: someone who is sick and unable to take care of himself or herself, especially for a long time: Is the invalid in bed?
・Vocabulary.com: A person who is very sick or injured and needs frequent care is an invalid. Also, something no longer current or useful is invalid.
The main uses of this word have to do with people and things that don't work very well anymore. A driver's license that has expired is invalid -- it needs to be renewed. If you lost your health insurance, it's invalid. People who are called invalids are disabled or incapacitated severely. Be careful with this word, because some think it is inappropriate, since it sounds as if some people are not as valid as others based on physical capability.
なるほど、日本語の無能、不能は否定的なニュアンスが強いのでやたらの人について、少なくとも本人に直接にはつかいませんが、"invalid" も人に対して使う場合は注意が必要ですね。
One day my brother went into a shop to ask for a camouflage jaket for his son. The assistant said they'd arrived in stock but they were having trouble finding them. My brother couldn't resist. "Boy," he said. "They must be REALLY good camouflage jackets."
私が勤めている会社は海外メーカーの計測器を取り扱っているので、各メーカーのカタログやマニュアルを翻訳するのも私の仕事の一つです。カタログやマニュアルで使われる英語は専門用語を除いて難しい単語や言い回しは滅多にないのですが、つい最近英国メーカーの校正器のカタログを読んでいると初めて見る単語（ハイフンでつながっているので純粋には一語とは言えませんが）が次のように出てきました。
This complete system offer a built-in fully functional calibration workstation in a single precision instrument, ideal for a wide range of in-situ or on-site calibration and testing applications.
"in-situ" は初めて見る言葉です。直後に "or on-site" とあるので、"on-site" と大体同じ意味の様ですが、辞書で確認します。
・Vocabulary.com: the archeologists could date the vase because it was in-situ: an in-situ investigator
"on-site" とはちょっと意味が異なりますね。しかも、多くの辞書はハイフン無しの "in situ" を取り上げています。他の辞書の説明も見ます。
・Dictionary.com: situated in the original, natural, or existing place or position: The archaeologists were able to date the vase because it was found in situ.
・Oxford English Dictionary: In its original place: [as adverb]: mosaics and frescoes have been left in situ; [as adjective]: a collection of in situ pumping engines
・Wikipedia: In situ is a Latin phrase that translates literally to "on site" or "in position". It means "locally", "on site", "on the premises" or "in place" to describe an event where it takes place, and is used in many different contexts. For example, in fields such as physics, chemistry, or biology, in situ may describe the way a measurement is taken, that is, in the same place the phenomenon is occurring without isolating it from other systems or altering the original conditions of the test.
"in-situ" は "on-site" と同じ意味でも使われますが、オリジナル、あるいは条件を変えない状態の意味を含んでいるのですね。
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