vault

武蔵が亡くなった後、武蔵の養子（宮本伊織）は武蔵の菩提を弔うための記念碑を１６５４年に建立しました。その碑文からの抜粋です。

He learned immeasurable things, recognizing that the humble jitte had many unexpected benefits far greater than that of the sword. Nevertheless, the jitte is a weapon not often carried. Compared to this, two swords are always worn at the hip. Therefore, utilizing both swords can be just as advantageous as the principle underlying the jitte. Musashi gave with dual swords was as magnificent as a sword dance. His iron swords soared and his wooden swords vaulted. Although his adversaries ran hither and thither to escape his blows, their evasive movements were futile.

"vault" は何度も辞書で引いたことのある単語ですが、どうも苦手な単語です。上記引用文での意味を調べます。

・Oxford English Dictionary: o jump over an object in a single movement, using your hands or a pole to push you; vault over something: She vaulted over the gate and ran up the path.
・Vocabulary.com: Vault is a verb that means "to jump over something." If you were hurrying out to the pasture to visit your favorite cow, you might vault over the gate in your excitement.
When you support yourself with your hands as you jump over some hurdle, you vault, just as a gymnast might do across a vault — a piece of gymnastic equipment made to be vaulted over after a running start. Another meaning of vault is the arched roof of a building, or something that resembles such an archway. A storage chamber, especially one that's kept underground, is also a vault, like a bank vault.
これらの辞書に説明されている動詞の "vault/vaulted" の意味としては合いませんね。しかし次の辞書で次の意味を見つけました。
・Collins Dictionary: to curve or bend in the form of a vault
木刀が円弧を描くような動きだったのだと推測しました。

be primed

五輪書 "The Book of Five Rings and Other Works" を読み終えて、やはり武蔵が書いた兵法三十五箇条 'Combat Strategy in 35 Articles' を読んでいます。第二十七箇条の 'About "Opportunity Knocks"' からの引用です。

"Opportunity Knocks" is when the enemy comes in close to attack you with his sword and you either slap it away with your own sword, parry the attack or hit. In all cases of slapping, parrying or hitting, the enemy's attack should be considered an opportunity. If actions of riding, evading or sticking to the enemy's sword are all executed with the intention of striking, your body, mind and sword will always be primed to deliver.
Carefully consider this.

だいぶ前（2/10/2008）に "prime" にユニークな意味 "introduce liquid into (a pump) to facilitate its working" を取り上げましたが、子供の頃、家にまだ手押しの井戸があり、たまに水がなくなり、水を "prime" した経験があるので直ぐに覚えられましたが、その意味での例はその後見聞きしたことがありません。上の引用文での "prime" の意味は何でしょうか？

・Oxford English Dictionary: to make something ready for use or action: The bomb was primed, ready to explode.
・Collins Dictionary: If someone primes a bomb or a gun, they prepare it so that it is ready to explode or fire.: He was priming the bomb to go off in an hour's time.
なるほど、準備する意味もあるのですね。 "prime" の他の意味も全て簡潔に説明している次の辞書も引用します。
・Vocabulary.com: If something is in its prime, it is at its best. The same goes for a person. If you are young and healthy and in the prime of your life, you are ready to take on the world.
Prime often means "main." The prime reason you go to concerts is to see your favorite groups perform. If your mother is angry that you came home late, tell her that this is a prime example of why you need a cell phone — so you can call her. It can also mean "of the highest quality" as in prime beef or flowers. As a verb, prime means to get ready. Hopefully you've primed yourself for your exams. Prime the pump and start the engine!

balancing a door on the tip of his nose

Alexander Bennett氏翻訳の五輪書 "The Book of Five Rings and Other Works" を読んでいます。The Wind Scroll(風の巻)から引用します。

Setting your gaze on specific points will cause uncertainty and will adversely affect your strategy. To give another example, players of kemari do not focus intently on the ball as they kick it. They can still deflect the ball off their temple and kick it using the bansuri technique or keep it afloat with an oimari kick, or even a spin kick. As the player becomes more accomplished, he can kick the ball without needing to look at it. The same can be said of acrobats. Someone accustomed to this art can juggle several swords while simultaneously balancing a door on the tip of his nose. He has no need to fix his gaze as he can see what he is doing intuitively through lots of training.

"balancing a door on the tip of his nose" の箇所ですが、曲芸を例えているようですが、鼻先に "door" を載せてバランスを取る様子は想像力に欠ける私にはどうしても想像が付きません。
仕方なく、ChatGPT に訊いてみました。

ChatGPT: In the context of The Book of Five Rings, the phrase "balancing a door on the tip of his nose" is used metaphorically to emphasize a principle of skill and mastery. Musashi is illustrating the idea that with extensive practice and experience, an accomplished person no longer needs to rely on deliberate, focused attention to perform complex tasks. Instead, their actions become intuitive and natural, allowing them to handle multiple challenging tasks simultaneously.
Balancing a door on the tip of the nose symbolizes an extraordinary feat requiring exceptional balance, coordination, and focus. The imagery conveys that such a level of skill is achievable not through conscious effort on every detail but through the internalization of techniques, enabling one to perform seamlessly and with ease.
The broader message in the passage is that in martial arts, as in life, over-focusing on specific details or points can lead to rigidity and a loss of strategic perspective. Instead, one should aim to cultivate a state of fluid awareness and intuitive understanding, honed through rigorous training and experience.

例えだと言うのは分かっていますが、それでも鼻先に "door" は解せません。しつこく、質問しました。

I understand that the sentence has a figurative meaning, but I cannot imagine a door on the tip of one's nose. What kind of door can you imagine?
ChatGPT: The image of balancing a door on the tip of one’s nose is indeed exaggerated and fantastical, intended more to astonish the imagination than to be taken literally. However, if we try to visualize it practically, it could refer to a lightweight, narrow door—perhaps something like:
A Small Wooden Panel or Shoji Screen: In traditional Japanese settings, sliding doors or partitions (like shoji) made of lightweight wood and paper could fit the description. Such a door might be physically plausible to balance for a trained performer.
A Miniature Door or Model Door: The "door" could be imagined as a scaled-down version of an actual door—small and light enough to balance on a nose as part of a circus or acrobatic act.
A Large Decorative Object with Door-Like Qualities: It might not be a literal door at all but a metaphor for a door-shaped object, such as a flat, rectangular prop designed to look like a door but optimized for balancing.
This hyperbolic example highlights the extraordinary skill of an acrobat rather than suggesting a specific, practical door type. It's meant to evoke awe and underline the idea of mastery and intuitive expertise.

なるほど、やはり私の想像力が足りなかったのですね。それにしてもこの様な質問にほんの数秒で答えるChatGPTは凄い。

haphazard

Alexander Bennett氏翻訳の五輪書 "The Book of Five Rings and Other Works" を読んでいます。今日もThe Fire Scroll(火の巻)から引用します。

In the case of individual combat, if your opponent assumes a rear or side posture to conceal his intentions, his mind will be revealed through the movement on his sword if you lure him with a feint. Thus, with object divulged you can snatch victory by utilizing the right approach. You will miss the right rhythm if you are haphazard. Study this thoroughly.

"haphazard" は初めて見る単語ではないようですが、意味を思い出せないので、辞書を見ます。

・Oxford English Dictionary: with no particular order or plan; not organized well: The books had been piled on the shelves in a haphazard fashion.
・Collins Dictionary: If you describe something as haphazard, you are critical of it because it is not at all organized or is not arranged according to a plan.: The investigation does seem haphazard.
・Vocabulary.com: Anything haphazard is random, disorganized, slipshod, or hit-or-miss. A tent erected haphazardly might look more like a big nylon bag of dirty laundry than a place to sleep.
Ever heard the expression "I'll hazard a guess?" In it, the word hazard means "chance," as in "take a chance." Think of the hap in haphazard as short for "happen." Combine hap- and -hazard and you get something that happens (or appears to have happened) by chance. If you approach a math problem with haphazard reasoning, you're likely to get it wrong.

harquebuse

五輪書 "The Book of Five Rings and Other Works" のThe Fire Scroll(火の巻)から引用します。

About "Trampling the Sword"
"Trampling the Sword" is exclusive to combat.
In the case of large scale strategy, the enemy will start by shooting their bows or harquebuses. It will be difficult to penetrate the enemy line if you attack after they release a volley of arrows and bullets as they will have time to re-draw thier arrows and load powder in their barrels.

"harquebuses" は余り英語らしくありませんが、何かの飛び道具の様です。　辞書を見ます。

・Collins Dictionary: any of several small-caliber long guns operated by a matchlock or wheel-lock mechanism, dating from about 1400
Also: harquebuse, harquebuss, arquebus. Also called: hackbut, hagbut
・Wikipedia: An arquebus is a form of long gun that appeared in Europe and the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. An infantryman armed with an arquebus is called an arquebusier.
The term arquebus is derived from the Dutch word haakbus ("hook gun") which was applied to an assortment of firearms from the 15th to 17th centuries.

スペルも色々あるようで、"harquebus"　はフランス語経由と書かれていたり、14世紀から使われていると書かれているのもありました。日本語で言う火縄銃だと思えば良さそうで、火縄銃はその機構から "matchlock gun" とも言われるようです。

unremittingly

やっと五輪書 "The Book of Five Rings and Other Works" の本文に入りました。The Earth Scroll(地の巻)から引用します。

For those who care to learn my principles of combat strategy, follow these rules in observing the Way:
1. Think never to veer from the Way
2. Train unremittingly in the Way
3. Acquaint yourself with all arts
4. Know the Ways of all vocations
5. Discern the truth in all things
6. See the intrinsic worth in all things
7. Perceive and know what cannot be seen with the eyes
8. Pay attention even to trifles
9. Do not engage in superfluous activities

"unremittingly" を辞書で調べます。

・Oxford English Dictionary: never stopping: unremitting hostility
・Collins Dictionary: Something that is unremitting continues without stopping or becoming less intense.: He watched her with unremitting attention.
・Cambridge English Dictionary: never stopping, becoming weaker, or failing: Our thanks are due to Bob Lawrence whose unremitting labours have ensured the success of the whole project.
・Vocabulary.com: During a heat wave, it's not always the temperature itself that's a problem. It's that the heat is unremitting––you don't get a break from it. It's sweltering hot day after day after day.
You'd think the word unremitting would be connected to the word remit, but that's true in only a loose way. Remit means to send back––but if you remit a debt, you forgive it, or lift it. Unremitting describes something that is never lifted or sent back. Like the Energizer Bunny, it keeps coming and coming and coming.

さすが宮本武蔵です。武芸以外にも通じる原則ですね。

ripping yarn

Alexander Bennett氏翻訳の五輪書 "The Book of Five Rings and Other Works" を読んでいます。
今日引用するのも翻訳者のIntroductionからで、武蔵が初めて刀での対決をした時の話で、武蔵はまだ13歳でした。

Before anybody could stop him, he charged at Kihei, brandishing his weapon like a madman. Kihei drew his blade to deflect the attack but Musashi penetrated his defenses, discarded his staff and unceremoniously dumped Kihei on his head. Barely conscious, Kihei attempted to get back on his feet but MUsashi retrieved his staff and beat him to death with fourteen or fifteen blows to the head. Of course, this account was a figment of Hokin's imagination but nevertheless made for a ripping yarn.

まず "ripping yarn" の "ripping" の意味を調べます。

・Collins Dictionary: Chiefly British, Slang, Obsolete：excellent; fine; splendid

翻訳者は五輪書が古い本なので意図して古い言葉を使用したと思われます。次に "yarn" を調べます。

・Oxford English Dictionary: a long story, especially one that is exaggerated or invented: He used to spin yarns (= tell stories) about his time in the army.
・Collins Dictionary: A yarn is a story that someone tells, often a true story with invented details which make it more interesting.: Doug has a yarn or two to tell me about his trips into the bush.
・Vocabulary.com: Yarn is made from fibers, and it comes in many colors. When you knit, you weave yarn with needles and end up with a pot holder or a pair of mittens. Another kind of yarn is a long story that's told out loud. You might, in fact, tell your friend a yarn while you crochet an afghan with yarn. The Old English root word, gearn, means "spun fibers," but it comes from the Proto-Indo-European ghere, or "intestine."

Wikipediaによると1976～1979年に英国で "Ripping Yarns" と題されたTVシリーズがあったそうです。
・Wikipedia: Ripping Yarns is a British television adventure comedy anthology series.

bides his time

宮本武蔵の五輪書、Alexander Bennett氏による翻訳の "The Book of Five Rings and Other Works" を読むことにしました。この本には五輪書に入る前に翻訳者によるIntroductionがあり、宮本武蔵についての詳しい解説が50ページもありました。今日引用するのはそのIntroductionからの文で、有名な巌流島での佐々木小次郎との決闘前の場面の個所です。

Kojiro, armed with a massive sword dubbed the "Drying pole," waits impatiently for Musashi to arrive by boat from the mainland. However, Musashi bides his time. During the voyage, he whittles a boat oar into a crude but brutally effective club-sword and fastens a band (hachimaki) around his head to prevent his hair from falling into his eyes.

"bides his time" の意味を調べます。

・Oxford English Dictionary: to wait for the right time to do something: He decided to bide his time until he got an opportunity to talk to her alone.
・Collins Dictionary: to wait patiently for a chance: He was content to bide his time patiently, waiting for the opportunity to approach her.
・Merriam-Webster: to wait for: is biding his time before asking for a raise

Lay, Lady, Lay

Reader's Digest 10月号のWORD POWER(単語クイズ)は動詞の特集でしたが、欄外に "Lie and Lay for Laymen" と題された次の記述がありました。

If you confuse the verbs lie and lay, you're not alone; it's among the most common errors in English. Even the greats get it wrong--Bob Dylan's song "Lay, Lady, Lay" should be "Lie, Lady, Lie." Lie means "to recline," and lay means "to put down." So you could say: "I'm tired. I need to lie down, right after I lay down my Reader's Digest."

"lie" と "lay" はネイティブでも間違い易いとは、ましてやノーベル章を受章したボブ・ディランですら間違えていると知って驚きです。例の歌、"Lay, Lady, Lay" は正しくは "Lie, Lady, Lie" となるべき、との事ですが、"lie" には嘘をつく意味もあるし、Lady とは韻を踏まないので、もしかしてボブ・ディランは意図して正しくない "Lay, Lady, Lay" としたのではと勘繰りたくなりますが、英語の先生はそれは認めないのでしょうね。

muffing

Reader's　Digest 10月号の記事 "Terrified of Turtles"　からの引用です。

Then, in my 20s, some friends convinced me to join them in jumping into a lake from a bridge. On the way down, all I could think of was snapping turtles swarming me when I landed. I flailed my arms and legs midair in a futile attempt to stop myself, totally muffing the jump and doing a painful belly flop into the water.

"muffing" を辞書で調べます。

・Collins Dictionary: If you muff something, you do it badly or you make a mistake while you are doing it, so that it is not successful.: He muffed his opening speech.
・Cambridge English Dictionary: to spoil an opportunity or do something badly: I only had two lines in the whole play and I muffed them.