図書館から本を借りて読む合間に先日アマゾンで購入したUnderstanding Bob Dylanを読んでいます。
今日はそこからの単語を取り上げます。
The ambivalence about the "Sad-Eyed Lady" comes across in the song's second and third lines:
And your eyes like smoke and your prayers like rhymes,
And your silver cross, and your voice like chimes
First there is religious association which occurs throughout the song--the prayers, the silver cross, the holy medallion, her gypsy hymns, the dead angels, her saint-like face, her ghost-like soul, the sad-eyed prophet - all of which remind us of the madonna and mother goddess side of modonna/whore equation. But.... "prayers like rhymes"? Is this also a backhanded compliment? Prayers are meant to be incantations that link the prayer with a deity, so should they be like rhymes, which are children's prayers perhaps, and note here "rhyme" is a noun, not a verb.
上の引用文に出てきた "backhanded compliment" は7/29/2016に取り上げた "complisult" の意味を調べた時に、辞書の説明に使われていた表現ですね。
今回は "backhanded" で辞書を引いて見ます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: Indirect; ambiguous or insincere.: She laughs nervously at the backhanded compliment.
・Cambridge English Dictionary: A backhanded remark seems pleasant but may really be a criticism or mean something unkind: a backhanded compliment
日本語の褒め殺しを連想させますね。
明日から休暇を取ってハワイ旅行に行ってきますのでブログもしばらく休みます。
Kazuo Ishiguroの "When We Were Orphants" を読んでいます。
かなり前（8/2/2011）に覚えた "grain" が次の様に出てきました。
It had split cleanly along the grain of the wood, but the two pieces were lying there side by side; I could see also part of the lattice-work by which it had once been fixed to the front entrance.
ここでは "grain of the wood" は木目となります。英英辞書での説明を下記に引用します。
・Oxford English Dictionary: The longitudinal arrangement or pattern of fibers in wood, paper, etc.: ‘he scored along the grain of the table with the knife’
・Cambridge English Dictionary: the natural patterns of lines in the surface of wood or cloth: to cut something along/against the grain
以前（10/20/2015）"go against the grain" なる表現も取り上げましたね。
Kazuo Ishiguroの "When We Were Orphants" からの引用です。
It was after all only two or three weeks after my father's disappearance and any number of strangers had been coming and going: policemen, men from British counsulate, men from Byatt's, ladies who on entering the house and catching sight of my mother would hold out their arms with a cry of anguish. To those latter, I recall, my mother always responded with a self-possessed smile, and walking up to the lady, would pointedly avoid the embrace, saying instead in her most assured tones something like: 'Agnes, how delightful.
"pointedly" の意味を辞書で見ます。 ・Cambridge English Dictionary: in a very obvious way, usually to express criticism or disapproval: He pointedly ignored her after the show.
"pointedly" は副詞なので、形容詞の "pointed" の項のみ記載している辞書が大半です。
・Collins Dictionary: Pointed comments or behaviour express criticism in a clear and direct way.: They were pointedly absent from the news conference. ⇒ 'This is my house,' Blair said rather pointedly.
Lauren was lying in bed one night when she felt her husband's hand caressing her neck in a way she hadn't experienced in quite a while. Then it slid down her side, stopping at her knee, which was as far as her husband could reach. Then he moved closer and did the same on her other side before abruptly stopping and moving away. Aroused and delighted by this unexpected attention, Lauren whispered, "Honey, that was wonderful. Why did you stop?"
He answered, "I found the remote."
Positioning: The Battle for Your Mindを読んでいると次の文が出てきました。
The truth is, the road to fame and fortune is rarely found within yourself. The only sure way to success is to find yourself a horse to ride. It may be difficult for the ego to accept, but success in life is based more on what others can do for you than on what you can do for yourself.
Kennedy was wrong. Ask not what you can do for your company. Ask what your company can do for you. Therefore, if you want to take maximum advantage of the opportunities that you career has to offer, you must keep your eyes open and find yourself a horse to do the job for you.
Kazuo IshiguroのWhen We Were Orphantsを読んでいます。
There was the moment, for example, when at the dinner table he said quite suddenly to my mother: 'Did I tell you, darling? That fellow came back to see me, that representative from the dock workers. Wanted to thank me for all I'd done for them. Spoke jolly good English too. Of course these Chinese always speak very effusively, these speeches of theirs have all to be taken with a pinch of salt. But you know, dear, I had the distinct impression he meant it. Said I was their "honoured hero". How do you like that? Honoured hero!'
上の箇所に出てきた "pinch of salt" は "with a grain of salt" を連想させますが、どうでしょうか？ 辞書を見ます。
・Wikitionary: (figuratively) Caution, doubt, consideration. Take anything he tells you with a pinch of salt, he's an inveterate liar and mixes truth with his fiction liberally.
・Cambridge English Dictionary: to not completely believe something that you are told, because you think it is unlikely to be true: You have to take everything she says with a pinch of salt, because she tends to exaggerate.
"pinch of salt" を項目として掲載している辞書が余りありませんでしたが、下記のように多くの辞書で "with a grain of salt" の項で "pinch of salt" と同じと説明しています。
"take something with a grain (or pinch) of salt" ・Oxford English Dictionary: Regard something as exaggerated; believe only part of something.: take a stock tip with a grain of salt
Kazuo IshiguroのWhen We Were Orphantsを読んでいます。
'As for that Anderson himself,' he said eventually, 'that chap always gave me an uneasy feeling.
Something fishy about him.
There was something fishy about the whole damn business, if you ask me.'
No sooner had he said this than he looked up at me with a start. Then before I could respond, he began to talk again rapidly, moving us on to what he no doubt considered the safer territory of our voyage to England. Before long, he was chuckling to himself as he recounted memories of our fellow passengers, the ship's officers, amusing little incidents I had long forgotten or had not registered in the first place.
"start" は中学で習う基礎単語ですが、上の引用箇所に出てきた意味が分かりません。 仕方がないので辞書を見ます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: A sudden movement of surprise or alarm.: she awoke with a start
・Cambridge English Dictionary: a sudden movement of the body that you make when something has surprised or frightened you: She gave a start as I entered.
なるほど、こんな意味もあるのですね。この"start" は次のようにこの後の箇所でも何度も出てきました。
I found her standing at the entrance of the restaurant, looking out of the windows into Lower Regent Street. She did not notice me come up to her until I touched her arm and asked: 'Is everything all right?'
She gave a start, and I noticed little traces of tears in her eyes, which she quickly tried to mask with a smile.
When We Were Orphantsを読み始めました。著者はKazuo Ishiguroで、私がこの著者の小説を読むのはこれで5冊目です。
Miss Hemmings was not part of my particular set, but I found that whenever I mentioned her to friends, they would know of her. Moreover, I would glimpse her from time to time at functions, or else, often, in the tea-rooms of the grander hotels. In any case, in one way or another, I ended up accumulating a fair amount of information concerning her career in London society.
"function" は色々な意味があり、機能（動詞もあり）、関数、役割などは知っていますが、上の "at functions" には合いません。他の意味があるに違いません。辞書で調べます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: A large or formal social event or ceremony.: he was obliged to attend party functions
・Cambridge English Dictionary: an official ceremony or a formal social event, such as a party or a special meal, at which a lot of people are usually present: As a mayor, he has a lot of official functions to attend.
Reader's Digest 11月号の記事 "Who They Really Are" で米国大統領候補のヒラリーは何と言われていたでしょうか？
In New York, Jason Zengerle wrote: She is an introvert by temperament, surely traumatized by the invective thrown at her during her time as first lady, consequently terrified spontaneity, and insufficiently skilled at pretending otherwise. Still, genuine cautiousness can also be off-putting, and by the time of Clinton's last presidential run, her opacity and rigidity had morphed into what looked like haughty entitlement.
"off-putting" は 1/21/2010に取り上げましたが復習します。
・Oxford English Dictionary: Unpleasant, disconcerting, or repellent.: his scar is somewhat off-putting
・Cambridge English Dictionary: slightly unpleasant or worrying so that you do not want to get involved in any way: He's slightly aggressive, which a lot of people find off-putting when they first meet him.
The right line at the right time is a thing of beauty. Memorize these tried-and-true replies for any situation.
It's Thanksgiving dinner, and your Luddite uncle Ralph is at it again about how science is bunk:
"I have noticed that even people who claim everything is predetermined and that we can do nothing to change it look before they cross the road." (Stephen Hawking, physicist)
"The only people who still call hurricanes acts of God are the people who write insureance forms."
"acts of God" (Oxford English Dictionary): An instance of uncontrollable natural forces in operation (often used in insurance claims)
(from Reader'd Digest, Oct. 2016 COMPLETE GUIDE TO witticisms Quips RETORTS)
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