calibrated

Kazuo Ishiguroの "Klara and the Sun" を読んでいます。
The new B3s - three boy AFs - were soon calibrated and took up their positions.
---
'What those two need is a complete recalibration.'

小説の主人公、KlaraはAFで、AFはArtificial Friendの略語です。つまり、人間の友達として作られたロボットです。そして、B3はAFの新しいモデルを指しています。
さて、上の引用個所に動詞の "calibrate" と名詞の "recalibration" が出てきますが、私の務め先では精密な計測器を取り扱っているので、どちらも頻繁に使われている言葉で、日本語では専門用語としては校正を指し、一般用語なら調整に相当します。
日本語では日常語として校正は余り目・耳にしないと思いますが、英語では "calibrate" も "recalibration" も結構使われるようで、このブログでも既に二度もとりあげました。
(11/2/2010) "calibrating/calibrate/calibration"
(8/28/2013) "calibration and calibrated box"
忘れていましたが、 "calibration" には目盛りの意味もありましたね。

oblong

半年以上前に予約していたKazuo Ishiguroの "Klara and the Sun" がやっと借りれたので読み始めました。
最初に取り上げる単語は次の個所に出てきた "oblong" です。
Some of the people who paused turned out not to be interested in us at all. They'd just wanted to take off their sports shoe and do something to it, or to press their oblong. Some though came right up to the glass and gazed in.
この "oblong" はその後にも次のように何度も出てきます。
We would find the Mother sitting at the Island, staring at her oblong as she drank her coffee, Melania Housekeeper hovering nearby to refill her cup.
...
If Josie was talking about her oblong tutors, doing her best to be humorous about them, the Mother would listen with a serious expression, then interrupt to say:
'We could switch. If you don't like the guy, we can always switch.'
...
I became exited at this prospect. But first Josie had her tutorial, and I watched her spread her papers over the surface of the Island and turn on her oblong.
"oblong" は長方形のイメージがありますが、辞書を見ると楕円形を意味する場合もあるようでした。
・Oxford English Dictionary: An object or flat figure in an elongated rectangle or oval shape.

これだけでは小説に出てくる "oblong" が実際に何だか直ぐには分かりませでしたが、よくよく考えると、"oblong" はスマホの様な "gadget" を指していると推測します。小説の舞台はSFの未来なので今のスマホよりも優れている "gadget" でしょうね。

I like apples vs I like watermelon (sequel)

'I like apples vs I like watermelon' の問題ですが、ネットで調べると、日本に住んでいるニュージーランド人が次の説明をしていました。(https://www.fruitfulenglish.com/blog/simon-4/)
Hello! My name is Simon.
I am from New Zealand, and have been living and teaching English in Japan since 1999.
（以下抜粋）
I like cabbage -- this is probably the most common way of saying this. (non-count usage)
I like cabbages -- this strikes me as a little odd. But it is possible, especially if you're referring to different types of cabbage. (I like red cabbage, and I like green cabbage, so I like cabbages). (count usage)
I like a cabbage -- can be used in colloquial English, but it would usually be followed by something, for example "I like a cabbage from time to time."
The problem arises because it's not clear if cabbage is a count noun or a non count noun. It can be thought of both ways.
If non count, then "I like cabbage" would be more ordinary. And if you bought one, you would say, "I bought a head of cabbage". (non count usage)
If count, then "I like cabbages" is fine, and when you go to the store, you buy a cabbage. (count usage)
"I like a cabbage" is colloquial, like "I like a good coffee from time to time." or "I like a good wine from time to time."
"How do I know which form to use?”
For some foods there is no hard and fast rule. Depending on who you ask, some people will tell you to use the countable form (e.g. green pepper)（注： uncountableの誤り？), and some will tell you to use the uncountable form (e.g. green peppers)（注：countableの誤り？）. The only way to know for sure is to google the word in a short sentence, in quotation marks (e.g. “I like green peppers.” / “I like green pepper.”) If one form has an overwhelming number of results compared to the other, then that is the form you should use.
Here are some examples I tried:
“I like pizza” – 1,540,000 results” / “I like pizzas” – 28,100 results”
“I like steak” – 195,000 results” / “I like steaks” – 71,900 results”
“I like ice cream” – 1,670,000 results” / “I like ice creams” – 223 results”
“I like watermelon” – 520,000 results” / “I like watermelons” – 84,300 results”
“I like paprika” – 20,900 results” / “I like paprikas” – 224 results”
Based on the above results, I would use the uncountable form of pizza, ice cream, and paprika. With steak and watermelon, the results are close enough that I think either form is fine.
So let’s try this test with green pepper(s):
“I like green pepper.” – 114 results” / “I like green peppers.” – 417 results”
It seems that both forms are fine. It’s just not a very popular food…

この方法はある程度は実用的だが、ネットの英語は英語を母国語としない人の文も多いので、余り当てにはなりません。
それでも、“I like paprika”とか“I like pizza”の例からすると、Anne Crescini准教授の理屈も正解ではないことが分かりました。本当にすっきりする説明は見つかりませんでした。

I like apples vs I like watermelon

English Journal 2月号の記事「名詞にまつわる１５のミステリー」に非常に興味のある記述がありました。
米国人のAnne Crescini准教授（北九州市立大学）の発言です。
"Why do we say, 'I like apples,' but we don't say, 'I like cabbages'? Because you can count a cabbage just as easy as you can count an apple. But we don't say, "I like cabbages," right? Then I thought, "Maybe it's fruits and vegetables that are divided." But then I thought, "No, that's not it. Because we say, 'I like apples,' but we don't say, 'I like watermelons,' right?
And I think maybe it's the fact that, people don't think you're gonna actually eat an entire watermelon at one sitting. And so, I think when the noun is maybe too big or the amount is too large or it's kind of vague, the "s" is taken off, where you can easily sit down and imagine yourself eating an apple or a banana or an orange. And so then, in that case, you would put an "s" on it, right? But no one sits down and eats an entire watermelon or an entire cabbage.
なるほどとは思いましたが、この文法（？）、理屈が正しいか、もう少しネットで調べたいと思いました。
(To Be Continued)

trencherman

O.Henryの短編 'The Theory and The Hound' からです。
Plunkett seemed as unconcerned as if he were dining at his own table in Chatham County. He was a gallant trencherman, and the strange tropic viands tickled his palate. Heavy, commonplace, almost slothful in his movements, he appeared to be devoid of all the cunning and watchfulness of the sleuth.

"trencherman" はどんな人でしょうか？　辞書で調べます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: A person who eats in a specified manner, typically heartily.: ‘he is a hearty trencherman, as befits a man of his girth’

・Collins Dictionary: an eater; esp., a person who eats much and heartily:

・Wiktionary: A feeder; a great eater; a gormandizer.: My own preference when it comes to a substantial meal might be more than just a scotch egg but that’s because I’m a hearty trencherman.


"trencherman" から溝を掘る人を連想しましたが、"trencherman" が何故上記の意味になるのか気になったので語源を調べると "trencher" に次の意味があることが分かりました。
・Oxford English Dictionary: historical A wooden plate or platter for food.: Anisia placed a trencher of food in front of a customer.

・Cambridge English Dictionary: in the past, a flat, wooden dish used to serve food: A trencher is fetched, placed on the floor of the hall, and filled with meat.

古い言葉の様です。