give someone a wide berth

Reader's Digest 5月号の記事 "The Odd Couple" から引用します。

I took comfort in knowing that there was one kid who'd behaved more outrageously than I had: Maxey. I vowed that when I came back to the hall, I wouldn't do anything to attract notice. And I would give Chris Maxey a wide berth.

"berth" に寝台や停泊所の意味があるのは知っていますが、"give someone a wide berth" は慣用句の様です。　辞書を見ます。

・Oxford English Dictionary: to not go too near somebody/something; to avoid somebody/something: He gave the dog a wide berth.
・Collins Dictionary: to stay at a prudent distance from; keep well clear of: Since his riding accident, he has given a wide berth to skittish horses
・Cambridge English Dictionary: to avoid a person or place:　I tend to give the city centre a wide berth on Saturdays because it's so busy.

なるほど、近づかないことですね。

jock

Reader's Digest 5月号の記事 "The Odd Couple" から抜粋します。

All of that changed dramatically when I collided with one jock in particular: Chris Maxey, known to everone as Maxey.

"jock" が "jockey" を指すことがあるのを知っていますが、この "jock" はこの前の文脈からして、騎手でもディスクジョッキーでもなさそうですが、しばらく読んでいると次の文が出てきました。

I didn't know Maxey was a wrestler when we met that first night in the hall along with the 13 other secret society inductees, but he was clearly some kind of athlete.

やはり "jock" は騎手以外のスポーツマンも示すのですね。　辞書を見ます。

・Oxford English Dictionary: man or boy who plays or enjoys sport a lot, especially one who does not have many other interests: I was never one of the jocks at school.
・Collins Dictionary: A jock is a young man who is enthusiastic about a particular sport and spends a lot of time playing it. Some people use this term to suggest that the person has few other interests and is not very clever.: ...an all-American football jock.
・Cambridge English Dictionary: a man or boy who is enthusiastic about and good at sport: He didn't want to be thought of just as a dumb jock who played football.

運動能力に優れているスポーツマンというより、他の事には関心を示さない、あるいは能力のない運動バカのニュアンスがありますね。

Fairy tale lesson

Reader's Digest 5月号の記事 "All in a Day's Work" から引用します。

After my class read Little Red Riding Hood, I asked the young students what lesson we might learn from the fairy tale. I was looking for "Beware of strangers." But one student's response worked as well: "Know what your grandmother looks like."

"Know what your grandmother looks like" で日本の電話でのオレオレ詐欺を連想しました。 "Know what your son sounds like."

petty officer

Reader's Digest 5月号の記事 "Humor in Uniform" から引用します。

My dad joined the Navy out of spite. He was a petty officer.

"petty officer" は "petty" の意味からすると階級の低い軍人の様ですが、実際はどの程度なのでしょうか？

・Oxford English Dictionary: a sailor of middle rank in the navy
・Collins Dictionary: A petty officer is an officer of low rank in the navy.: Petty officers are the backbone of a navy.
・Cambridge English Dictionary: a rank in a navy, below the officers but above the ordinary sailors: Chief Petty Officer

単なる兵隊よりちょっと上の軍人ですね。　この記事の面白いのは "out of spite" で海軍に入隊したのにただの "petty officer" だったのですが、 "petty" のニュアンスを辞書で確認します。

・Oxford English Dictionary: (disapproving) caring too much about small and unimportant matters, especially when this is unkind to other people: How could you be so petty?
・Collins Dictionary: If you describe someone's behaviour as petty, you mean that they care too much about small, unimportant things and perhaps that they are unnecessarily unkind.: He was petty-minded and obsessed with detail.
・Cambridge English Dictionary: complaining too much about things that are not important: Don't be so petty!