You are a brick

C.S. Lewis の小説 The Magician's Nephew を読んでいます。
"Now's my chance," thought Digory. He darted between the horse and the railings and began going forward. If only the brute would stay still for a moment he might catch the Witch's heel. As he rushed, he heard a sickening crash and a thud. The Witch had brought the bar down on the chief policeman's helmet: the man fell like a nine-pin.

"Quick, Digory. This must be stopped," said a voice beside him. It was Polly, who had rushed down the moment she was allowed out of bed.

"You are a brick," said Digory. "Hold on to me tight. You'd have to manage the ring. Yellow, remember. And don't put it on till I shout."
"You are a brick" と言われても "brick" の意味はレンガしか知りません。辞書を見ます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: British informal, dated A generous, helpful, and reliable person.: “You are really a brick, Vi,” Gloria said.

・Wiktionary: A helpful and reliable person.: Thanks for helping me wash the car. You're a brick.

・Cambridge English Dictionary: a very helpful and kind person who can be trusted: Thanks for bringing all that food along to the party, Tony. You're a brick!
イギリス英語でしかも古い表現の様ですね。子供向けの話ですが、米国の子供たちもこの表現が直ぐに分かるのでしょうか？

I'm game

C.S. Lewis の小説 The Magician's Nephew を読み始めました。
"Why, it's the empty one. Daddy says it's always been empty since we came here."
"I suppose we ought to have a look at it then," said Digory. He was a good deal more excited than you'd have thought from the way he spoke. For of course he was thinking, just as you would have been, of all the reasons why the house might have been empty so long. So was Polly. Neither of them said the word "haunted". And both felt that once the thing had been suggested, it would be feeble not to do it.

"Shall we go and try it now?" said Digory.

"Alright," said Polly.

"Don't if you'd rather not," said Digory.

"I'm game if you are," said she.
"I'm game" ですが、この後結局 PollyはDigoryと共に行動するので、反対しているのではない事は確かです。
辞書で意味を調べます。

・Oxford English Dictionary: Eager or willing to do something new or challenging.: They were game for anything after the traumas of Monday.

・Collins Dictionary: If you are game for something, you are willing to do something new, unusual, or risky.: After all this time he still had new ideas and was game to try them.

・Cambridge English Dictionary: willing to do things that are new, difficult, or that involve risks: It was a difficult challenge, but Roberta was game.

riparian system

The Japan Times Feb.12, 2020のオピニオン記事 'Saving the world’s dying rivers' の次に示すサブタイトルに見慣れない単語がありました。
International cooperation can save riparian systems, but first we must recognize the consequences of doing nothing.
本文内にはこの "riparian" はどこにも出てきませんが、次に示す最初のパラグラフに "riparian systems" を言い換えたと思える表現 "river systems" ありました。
From the Tigris to the Indus and the Yangtze to the Nile, rivers were essential to the emergence of human civilization. Millenniums later, hundreds of millions of people still depend on rivers to quench their thirst, grow food, and make a living. And yet we are rapidly destroying the planet’s river systems, with serious implications for our economies, societies, and even our survival.
"riparian" を辞書で確認します。
・Oxford English Dictionary:

Law: Relating to or situated on the banks of a river.: all the riparian states must sign an agreement
Ecology: Relating to wetlands adjacent to rivers and streams.: the ranch's most expansive riparian habitat

・Vocabulary.com: Riparian refers to anything located on or related to the banks of a river, such as riparian wildlife.
The roots of the word riparian are related to rivers, and that's exactly what this word refers to: riparian things have something to do with the banks of a river or stream. A person selling fishing lures by the river has a riparian business. A frog that lives by the river bank is a riparian critter. A riparian state is located alongside a river.

ladies and gentlemen

Reader's Digest 12/1月合併号の記事 'Mind Your Manners' からの引用です。
Q: Can you still address a group as "ladies and gentlemen"? It seems like that might be misconstrued nowadays.
A: I read that announcements on the London Tube now begin with "Hello, everyone." Management says that this new language is more welcoming than "ladies and gentlemem," which they say "belongs to yesterday." These days, "ladies" are more apt to prefer being called women and "gentlemen," men. The beauty of "Hello, everyone" is that it speaks to all of us, including men, women, and those who identify as gender-fluid or nonbinary.

引用文の最後に出てきた "nonbinary" は先日(1/29/2020)取り上げたばかりですね。
・Collins Dictionary: relating to a gender or sexual identity that does not belong to the binary categories of male or female, heterosexual or homosexual

それにしても昔習った（使ったことはありませんが）スピーチを始める前の決まり文句　"ladies and gentlemen" が今や "politically correct" では無いとは！

crone

Somerset Maugham の短編小説 Redを読んでいます。
"Well, when Red came to the island it had recently been visited by one of those epidemics which the white man has brought to the South Seas, and one third of the inhabitants had died. It seems that the girl had lost all her near kin and she lived now in the house of distant cousins. The household consisted of two ancient crones, bowed and wrinkled, two younger women, and a man and a boy.
"crones" でクローン人間を連想したのですが、そんな人間がこんな話に出てくるはずはありません。辞書を見ます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: An old woman who is thin and ugly.: I would not give them to that old crone, despite what she promises you in return.

・Collins Dictionary: A crone is an insulting word for an old woman.: On it, curled up on a patchwork quilt, was an elderly crone in the foetal position.

日本語で言うと婆でしょうか？　婆も確かにやたらには使えない言葉ですね。
クローン人間のクローンは "clone" ですね。rとlの区別は相変わらず苦手です。
・Oxford English Dictionary: An organism or cell, or group of organisms or cells, produced asexually from one ancestor or stock, to which they are genetically identical.: In plants, large genomic DNA clones from one species were mapped by FISH on chromosomes from related species.

walk the talk

The Japan Times Jan.23 の記事からの引用です。
Paternity leave controversy: It’s time to walk the talk

Leading by example, Koizumi and his colleagues in the government may have a chance to change the mindsets of Japanese men about work and fatherhood.
...
Despite the strong push by the government for a more equitable sharing of child-rearing responsibilities, most people are still trapped in the traditional division of work between men and women. That is to say, men belong at work while women belong at home.
小泉大臣が育児休暇を取るとのニュースを話題にした記事で、内容からすると記事表題にある "walk the talk" は有言実行を意味する様ですが、辞書で確認します。
・Collins Dictionary: to put theory into practice: you can talk the talk but can you walk the walk?

・Cambridge English Dictionary: If you say that someone talks the talk but does not walk the walk, you mean that they do not act in a way that agrees with the things they say: When it comes to recycling he talks the talk but he doesn't walk the walk.
"talk the talk" (Oxford: Speak fluently or convincingly about something or in a way intended to please or impress others.)だとどこかの国の口達者な首相を連想しますが、"walk the talk" と、あるいは上記記事の表題で使われている "walk the walk" (Oxford: Suit one's actions to one's words.)だと有言実行になるのですね。

You bet your sweet life

Somerset Maugham の短編小説 Redを読み始めました。
The mate called one of the crew and gave him the order. The captain watched the Kanaka climb and waited for him to speak. But the Kanaka shouted down that he could see nothing but the unbroken line of foam. The captain spoke Samoan like a native, and he cursed him freely.
"Shall he stay up there?" asked the mate.
"What the hell good does that do?" answered the captain. "The blame fool can't see worth a cent. You bet your sweet life I'd find the opening if I was up there."
引用文の最後の箇所ですが、「俺ならサンゴ礁のない開口部を見つけられる」と言っている様なので "You bet your sweet life" は絶対に/必ずの意味だと推測しますが、慣用句の様なので辞書で確認します。
・Farlex Dictionary of Idioms: You can be absolutely certain that something will happen. Sometimes used ironically.: You bet your sweet life I'm going to that concert? I've been saving up for my ticket for months now!

・McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.: Inf. Fig. You can be absolutely certain of something! Mary: Will I need a coat today? Bill: You bet your sweet life! It's colder than an iceberg out there.; Bill: Will you be at the game Saturday? Tom: You bet your boots!