developed a charlie horse

"CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL" の 'ON PARENTING' の章からの引用です。

The squirrel was excellent in climbing until he developed frustration in the flying class where his teacher made him start from the ground up instead of from the treetop down. He also developed a "charlie horse" from overexertion and then got a C in climbing and a D in running.

忘れていましたが、"charlie horse" はこれまでに２度も取り上げました。　最初はStephen Kingの 'The Running Man' からで次はReader's Digestの２０１９年６月号の記事から引用しました(8/2/2019)。 "charlie horse" の意味はリンク先の過去の記事を参照して下さい。　今日は上記引用文で使われている動詞の "develop" の用法が気になったので辞書の説明を見ました。

・Oxford English Dictionary: develop (something) to begin to have something such as a disease or a problem; to start to affect somebody/something: She developed lung cancer at the age of sixty.
・Collins Dictionary: If a problem or difficulty develops, it begins to occur.: ...blood clots in his lungs, a problem which developed from a leg injury.
・Cambridge English Dictionary: If you develop an illness or problem, or if it develops, you start to suffer from it: The study showed that one in twelve women is likely to develop breast cancer.

"develop" は新製品の開発とか、出現、開拓などの良い意味だけではなく、悪い事象にも使われるのですね（The conflict quickly developed into full-scale war.）。

file past

Seishi Yokomizoの小説 "The Honjin Murders" を読んでいます。

We looked up as if we'd only just realized Kindaichi-san was speaking to us. Then, one by one, we filed past the sword in the ground, and headed deep into the garden away from the annexe house.

引用文の "filed past" の個所の "file" と同様な用例はこれまでに３度も取り上げました。　最初は 'HUCKLEBERRY FINN' を読んだ時(7/05/2010)に出てきた "Indian file" 、次は 'MURDER at the Tokyo Lawn Tennis Club' (8/23/2011)の "file out" で、最後といっても１０年前(11/4/2013)に "Animal Farm" を読んだ時に出てきた "file into" です。
"Indian file" が一番印象に残りましたが、これでその後に見かけた動詞として使われている "file" の意味が直ぐに分かりました。

key

Seishi Yokomizoの小説 "The Honjin Murders" を読んでいます。 'A New Use for a Koto Pick'の章からの引用です。
今日取り上げる単語 "key" は文章に使われていたのではなく、殺人現場を示す図のそれぞれの場所の詳細を説明する記述のタイトルの形で使われていました。

例えば、 "KEY" の下に書かれていたのは：

1. rain shutter broken by Ryosuke, Genshichi, and Ginzo
2. storage closet where the killer hid
3. box of koto picks in tokonoma alcove
... (以下省略)

地図などの端にある記号を指す凡例の意味ですが、辞書での "KEY" のこの意味をどの様に説明しているか見ます。

・Oxford English Dictionary: an explanation of the symbols used on a map or plan: You can find the symbols in the key at the bottom of the page.
・Collins Dictionary: The key on a map or diagram or in a technical book is a list of the symbols or abbreviations used and their meanings.: You will find a key at the front of the book.
・Cambridge English Dictionary: an explanation of the symbols used on a map or plan: You can find the symbols in the key at the bottom of the page.
・Wiktionary: A guide explaining the symbols or terminology of a map or chart; a legend.: The key says that A stands for the accounting department.

最後に引用した辞書に同義語として出ていた "legend" の方は何度か見かけた事があります。

untoward

Seishi Yokomizoの小説 "The Honjin Murders" を読んでいます。 'A Great Tragedy'の章から引用します。

That was when Genshichi returned with the axe. Genzo asked Shoukichi to keep an eye open for anything untoward and went back to the west side of the house.

上記引用文から今日取り上げる単語 "untoward" も '12/20/2011' に取り上げていました。
・V2 Vocabulary Building Dictionary: 1. causing misfortune or disadvantage; 2. not appropriate or fitting; 3. beyond the ordinary or expected
Tips: The root word toward is most commonly used as a preposition, but it can also be used as an adjective, meaning "having a successful or good outcome." Untoward is the opposite of this. For a memory trick, think of how you would want to move toward something toward (fortunate), but you would want to move away from something untoward (unfortunate).

on the nose

Seishi Yokomizoの小説 "The Honjin Murders" を読み始めました。　第一章の 'The Three-Fingered Man' の章から引用します。

"How old is he now? About forty?" asked the wagon driver.
"Forty on the nose." replied the official. "And this is his first marriage."

"on the nose" は初めて見るような表現ですが、文脈から「ぴったり」とか「丁度」の意味であることは容易に予測できます。　辞書を見る前に念の為に過去の記録を調べると '11/30/2012' に村上春樹のPinballを読んだ時に "right on the nose" の表現があり、取り上げていました。

episodic

"The 100-Year Life" を読んでいます。 次の文は 'time' の章からの引用です。

Many of our current concepts of time, including how leisure is defined and used, emerged with the Industrial Revolution. The timing of agricultural work - episodic and slow-paced - did not translate well into a factory context.

"episode" は日本語にもなっていますが、形容詞の "episodic" はどんな意味でしょうか？　辞書を見ます。

・Oxford English Dictionary: happening occasionally and not at regular intervals: Volcanic activity is highly episodic in nature.
・Collins Dictionary: Something that is episodic occurs at irregular and infrequent intervals.[formal]: ...episodic attacks of fever.
・Cambridge English Dictionary: happening only sometimes and not regularly: The war between these two countries has been long-drawn-out and episodic.

flux

"The 100-Year Life" を読んでいます。 次の文は 'Working' の章からの引用です。

A moment's reflection on these changes makes it obvious that being able to forecast developments for the centenarians born today is nonsensical. Dealing with this uncertainty will be a major part of living a long life. Those who live longer - assuming the pace of change will not alter - will experience a great deal more flux than past generations. If, as many technologists claim, the pace of change is increasing, then their experience of flux will be even more profound.

"magnetic flux" は知っていますが、 それではここの "flux" の意味とは関係がなさそうです。　辞書を見ます。

・Oxford English Dictionary: continuous movement and change: Our society is in a state of flux.
・Collins Dictionary: If something is in a state of flux, it is constantly changing.: Education remains in a state of flux which will take some time to settle down.
・Cambridge English Dictionary: continuous change: Our plans are in a state of flux at the moment.

次のVocabulary.comの説明を読むと、 "flux" は元々流動体の流れを意味していたので、流動体は常に変化しているので、変化の意味にもなったことが分かります。

The noun flux describes something that constantly changes. If your likes, dislikes, attitudes, dreams, and even friends are changing all the time, you may be in flux.
Flux can also mean being unsure about a decision. Suppose you just had a great job interview and suddenly your friend invites you to go to Australia with her. You don't know what to do because you don't want to miss a call about the job — or Sydney! You're in flux until you hear from the potential employer. Another kind of flux is liquid moving or flowing, like the flux of water under a sheet of melting ice.

continence

"The 100-Year Life" を読んでいます。 次の文は 'Living' の章からの引用です。

Morbidity is not just about disease, it is also about how people function as they age. A range of studies has examined what are called activities of daily (ADL). These are activities such as bathing, continence, dressing and eating that have an important impact on daily quality of life.

日常の動作、行為等の一つなのでしょうか、"continence" が分からないので辞書を見ます。

・Oxford English Dictionary: 1. (formal) connected with the control of your feelings, especially your desire to have sex 2. able to control the bladder and bowels
・Collins Dictionary: 1. self-restraint or abstinence, esp. in regard to sexual activity; temperance; moderation 2. Physiology the ability to voluntarily control urinary and fecal discharge
・Cambridge English Dictionary: 1. the ability to control when you urinate and empty your bowels: It is important to have strong pelvic floor muscles to maintain continence. 2. the ability to control your sexual desires: He believes that instead of sex education we should promote sexual continence among the young.

引用文の "continence" は辞書に出ている両方の意味で使われているのでしょうね。　もっとも百歳近くの老人だともっぱら "the ability to voluntarily control urinary and fecal discharge" が深刻な問題でしょうね。

lockstep

昨年、後期高齢者の仲間入りしたので、８０歳までは、急にガンに罹るとか交通事故に遭わない限り容易に到達できそうな気がする。そこで目標を９０歳まで元気に過ごす（例えば10kmは無理でも、5kmのレースに出れるとか）ことにしました。　目標を１００歳までに延ばすことはまだ考えられませんが、TVでLinda Gratton著の "Life Shift" の本に触れていたので、図書館で調べると、Linda Gratton and Andrew Scottの共著による "The 100-Year Life" というのがあり、気になったので借りて読むことにしました。

Introductionの箇所からの引用です。

A three-stage life with education first, employment second and then retirement can only be sequenced in a single way. Many people followed these stages and the resulting lockstep of action brought certainly and predictability. People were not faced with excessive opportunities or choices, and companies or governments were not confronted with a great deal of variety across what people wanted or needed.

"lockstep" の意味を辞書で調べます。

・Oxford English Dictionary: a situation where things happen at the same time or change at the same rate: a lockstep approach to teaching
・Collins Dictionary: rigidly inflexible: a lockstep educational curriculum
・Cambridge English Dictionary: a standard procedure that is followed mindlessly: “the union's support had been in lockstep for years”

日本ではお馴染みの横並びあるいは画一的な行動、規則、慣習に使える言葉ですね。

letter in three sports

'Chicken Soup for the Soul' を読んでいます。

I should tell you a bit about my daughter. She's a tomboy, a beautiful five-foot−nine athlete who letters in three sports each year, frets over the difference between an A- and a B, and was just named a finalis in the Miss Teen California contest.

"letters in three sports"　の個所が分かりません。　辞書で調べます。 "letters"

・Macmillan Dictionary: to earn a prize in high school for excellent performance in sports
・Cambridge English Dictionary: If a student letters in a particular sport, they are given a prize for achievement in sport in the shape of the first letter of the name of their high school or university, which is often worn on a special jacket or sweater: She lettered in five varsity sports at Berkeley last year.
・Vocabulary: an award earned by participation in a school sport: he won letters in three sports”

この "letter" は動詞も名詞の用法もありますが、いずれにせよスポーツに限られている様です。