you get my drift

Natsuo Kirinoの "OUT" を読んでいます。

借金の返済で困っている Kunikoはパブで働けば工場勤めより収入が増えると考え面接を受けています。

"I see," said Kuniko. But it's not just age, she thought, her spirits falling like an elevator. If she were pretty and stylish, her age probably wouldn't matter. Age wasn't really the problem at all, she thought, her insecurities now in the ascendant.
"Sorry you had to go to all this trouble," said the manager, "but I'm afraid at the present time..."
"I understand," Kuniko blurted out, nodding hastily.
"If you don't mind my asking, what d'you do now?"
"I work part-time in the neighborhood."
"That's probably best anyway," he said. "This is hard work. The customers are spending ten or twenty thousand an hour, so they don't like to go home empty-handed. You're a big girl; you get my drift. They want 'relief.' That's not the kind of work you're looking for, is it?

"you get my drift" の意味は推測できますが、この意味の "drift" を辞書で確認します。

・Oxford English Dictionary: the general meaning of what somebody says or writes: Do you catch my drift?
・Collins Dictionary: The drift of an argument or speech is the general point that is being made in it.: I follow the drift of her conversation.
・Cambridge English Dictionary: to understand the general meaning of what someone is saying: She could see from his expression that he caught her drift immediately.

contusion

まだ読んでいない「放送大学の英語で道を語るの参考文献」はまだありますが、'The Book of Tea'、'Bushido'、'Zen in the Art of Archery' の三冊を読んだところで少し飽きてきたので、今度は小説を読むことにしました。借りた本はNatsuo Kirinoの "OUT" ですが、図書館で受け取って、本が大きくて厚いのと活字が小さいのでちょっと驚きました。何とか貸し出し期限内に読み終えたいと思います。

深夜にコンビニ弁当を作る工場、そこで働く女性の気の毒な生活の話が続いています。

"Come on," said Masako, bending over her. "You're getting soaked." As she helped her to her feet, she caught a glimpse of a large, dark bruise on Yayoi's stomach where the shirt of her uniform was pushed up. Was this the reason she seemed so distracted? The contusion was unmistakable on her white stomach, straighten Yayoi's uniform to hide the bruise from view.

"contusion" は初めて見る単語だと思いますが、この単語の前に出てきた "dark bruise" と同じ状態を指しているものと推測できます。　辞書で確認します。

・Oxford English Dictionary: an injury to part of the body that does not break the skin: There were multiple contusions and abrasions on his face and arm.
・Collins Dictionary: A contusion is a bruise.: She was treated for bruising and contusions.
・Vocabulary.com: Contusion is really just a fancy word for a bad bruise. Professional athletes are often benched suffering from contusions. After all, if they're being paid millions, it sounds kinda wimpy to pull them because they're suffering from a...bruise.
A contusion is any damage to the body that doesn't break the skin but ruptures the blood capillaries beneath, resulting in a handsome-looking discoloration. For once, it's a medical term not used widely to describe a broader emotional or psychological state. You could talk about an "emotional contusion," but please, better not to. There are better terms around (see heartbroken, wounded, forlorn, etc.). Your audience will thank you.

Vocabulary.comの説明は丁寧で分かり易いですね。"contusion" は "a fancy word for a bad bruise" なのですね。

parry

Eugen Herrigelの "Zen in the Art of Archery" を読んでいます。

次の個所はArcheryではなく、swordmastersについての記述です。

He gets to know all the technical possibilities by which his life may be endangered in combat, and although he soon becomes capable of straining his attention to the utmost, of keeping a sharp watch on his opponent, of parrying his thrusts correctly and making effective lunges, he is really worse off than before, when half in jest and half in earnest, he struck about him at random under the inspiration of the moment and as the joy of battle suggested.

"parrying" の意味を原型の "parry" で調べます。

・Oxford English Dictionary: to defend yourself against somebody who is attacking you by pushing their arm, weapon, etc. to one side: The shot was parried by the goalie.
・Collins Dictionary: If you parry a blow from someone who is attacking you, you push aside their arm or weapon so that you are not hurt.: I parried, and that's when my sword broke.
・Cambridge English Dictionary: the act of blocking an attack by pushing a weapon away or putting something between your body and a weapon: The parry is intended to deflect an attack.

"parry" は10年前（5/28/2014）に読んだ "Fahrenheit 451" で初めて知った単語です。

deportment

卓球のWTTファイナルは見ごたえのある試合がいっぱいありましたね。特に女子、特にダブルスは決勝で日本人同士、素晴らしい試合でした。それに比べ、私の好きなラグビーの試合ですが、恒例の早慶戦、早稲田の一方的な試合で、慶応は一つもトライを取れず残念な試合でした。私自身も昨日東京都のシニアマラソン、たったの5kmですが、に2年ぶりに参加して走りました。残念ながら30分を３１秒超えました。昨年は膝の怪我で走れなかったのですが、又走れるようになっただけで良しとしましょう。

さて、Eugen Herrigelの "Zen in the Art of Archery" を読んでいます。

More than five years went by, and then the Master proposed that we pass a test. "It is not just a question of demonstrating your skill," he explained, "An even higher value is set on the spiritual deportment of the archer, down to his minutest gesture. I expect you above all not to let yourself be confused by the presence of spectators, but to go through the ceremony quite unperturbed, as though we were by ourselves."

"deportment" は見覚えがあります。多分辞書で意味を調べたことがある単語ですが、思い出せませんし、このブログでも取り上げていません。辞書を見ます。

・Oxford English Dictionary: (British English) the way in which a person stands and moves: lessons in deportment and etiquette; He has good deportment.
・Collins Dictionary: Your deportment is the way you behave, especially the way you walk and move.: [formal] She taught deportment classes and ran a course in walking the catwalk.
・Cambridge English Dictionary: the way a person behaves: Throughout the ordeal of her husband's funeral, Mrs Kennedy was a model of deportment (= behaved in a controlled and calm way).

shooting into the blue

Eugen Herrigelの "Zen in the Art of Archery" を読んでいます。

Obediently we practiced letting off our shots without taking aim. At first I remained completely unmoved by where my arrows went. Even occasional hits did not excite me, for I knew that so far as I was concerned they were only flukes. But in the end this shooting into the blue was too much for me. I fell back into the temptation to worry.

"shooting into the blue" の意味はなんでしょうか？　著者は弓道の初心者なので、とりあえず、的を狙って弓を射っているだけの様なので、そのことを意味しているようですが、辞書で "into the blue" の項を見ます。次の説明を見つけました。

・American Herritage Dictionary: At a far distance; into the unknown: spontaneously take a trip into the blue.
・Collins Dictionary: into the unknown or the far distance

特に的を意識しないで遠くの先に弓を放っているようです。当たればまぐれと言うことですね。

nocking the arrow

Eugen Herrigelの "Zen in the Art of Archery" (原文はドイツ語でH.F.C.Hull氏が英訳)を読み始めました。この本も放送大学の講座『英語で「道」を語る』で参考文献として載っていたものです。

The Master now went on to relate the breathing, which had not of course been practiced for its own sake, to archery. The unified process of drawing and shooting was divided into sections grasping the bow, nocking the arrow, raising the bow, drawing and remaining at the point of highest tension, loosing the shot.

"nocking the arrow" の意味は文脈からして、矢をつがえることを指していると思いますが、辞書で "nock" を見ます。

・Collins Dictionary: to fit (an arrow) on a bowstring
・Dictionary.com: to adjust (the arrow) to the bowstring, in readiness to shoot.: In shooting at the target the first thing is to nock the arrow, that is, to place it properly on the string.

現在では余り使われることがないせいで、例文を載せている辞書は上記のオンライン辞書のDictionary.comしか見当たりませんでした。

popping zits

今日も Reader's　Digest 9月号の記事 "Do You Kiss Your Dog?" からの引用です。

PIMPLE POPPING
Are you hooked on popping zits?
Come on, we're all friends here. After all, whether you're doing it out of boredom or vanity, or for the dopamine hit (gross but true; your brain rewards this bad habit with a flood of happy hormones, you're not alone.

"zit" は知りませんでしたが、表題が "PIMPLE POPPING" となっているので、ここでは "pimple" と同じで、"popping zits" はニキビをつぶすことだと推測できます。

・Merriam-Webster: a small, red, swollen spot on the skin : pimple: got a zit on his face
・Collins Dictionary: Zits are spots on someone's skin, especially a young person's.: My skin gleamed and all zits had disappeared.

上記の様に "zit" は辞書にありますが、"pop/popping zit" や "pop/popping pimple" の用例説明は辞書には見当たりません。意味の近い説明、用例で見つかったのは次の例くらいです。

・Merriam-Webster:　to push, put, or thrust suddenly or briefly: pops a grape into his mouth
・Collins Dictionary: to burst open or cause to burst open with such a sound
・Cambridge English Dictionary: to move quickly and suddenly, especially from a closed space: pop out When you open the box, a clown pops out.

しかし、Google検索で "pop/popping zit" や "pop/popping pimple" は、動画等を含め多くの例がでてくるので、がニキビをつぶす意味であることは確かです。

Tinkling in the Shower

今日も Reader's　Digest 9月号の記事 "Do You Kiss Your Dog?" からの引用です。

Relief for secret shower tinkler: Peeing while you're in there is actuslly pretty normal.
"Warm, running water from the shower stimulates the bladder to want to contract," says Lori Lerner, associate professor and chief of urology at Boston University's Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine.

"tinkle" で知っているのは歌詞の "tinkle, tinkle little star" ですが、この "shower tinkler" の意味は文中に説明があり、歌詞の "tinkle" とは大違いです。

・Oxford English Dictionary: an act of urinating: to have a tinkle
・Collins Dictionary: (intransitive) British informal: to urinate

この意味は英国英語のスラングなので、文中で意味を説明しているのですね。

zoonotic

今日も Reader's　Digest 9月号の記事 "Do You Kiss Your Dog?" からの引用です。

Pet owners are shameless when it comes to showering their for babies with affection. A recent survey revealed that 61% of dog owners admit to kissing their dogs on the mouth. All this despite the possibility of zoonotic (animal-to-human) diseases, including pasteurella, which can result in skin inflammation and joint infections; salmonella (stomach cramps, fever) and E. coli (diarrhea, bloodstream infections).

"zoonotic" は後に "(animal-to-human) diseases" とあるので動物から人に伝染する病気の形容詞形と分かりますが、辞書で確認します。

・Oxford English Dictionary: a disease that can be spread from animals to humans: The disease emerged as a zoonosis but then mutated into a human-only strain.
・Collins Dictionary: of or relating to zoonosis: The new coronavirus is also a zoonotic disease.

"zoonosis" が "zoonotic" の名詞形ですね。

・Oxford English Dictionary: a disease that can be spread from animals to humans: The disease emerged as a zoonosis but then mutated into a human-only strain.
・Collins Dictionary: a disease that can be transmitted to people by vertebrate animals: The disease is classified as a zoonosis, which means that humans can be infected.

gingivitis

Reader's　Digest 9月号の記事 "Do You Kiss Your Dog?" からの引用です。

A cold, the flu or even herpes can be easily passed along on a toothbrush, especially if you have gingivitis or bloody gums.

"gingivitis" は後に "bloody gums" とあるので。歯周炎かなと推測しますが、辞書の説明を見ます。

・Collins Dictionary: inflammation of the gums: Swollen, painful or bleeding gums are signs of gingivitis, a gum infection.
・Cambridge English Dictionary: an infection of the gums (= the part of the mouth from which the teeth grow) which causes swelling, pain, and sometimes bleeding: Secondly, there has been a very extensive epidemic of gingivitis, which disease is an early stage of scurvy.