Question of the Day #1392

SOONER OR LATER, WE ALL JUMP THE SHARK

From the headline of this article at My Sun Day News.

  上記の文で、jump the sharkの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "jump the shark" mean?

  答えは、コメントに書いてください。
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解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

〈俗〉〔一時は人気があった存在・特にテレビドラマなどが〕落ち目になる、人気回復を狙って悪あがき［やたらと派手なことを］する

   

Answer

According to the Cambridge Dictionary:

(usually of television shows) to reach a point where something stops becoming more popular or starts to decrease in quality

 

語源

英辞郎によると、

【語源】アメリカのテレビドラマHappy Days（1974～1984年）に登場人物が水上スキーで「サメを飛び越える」場面があり、それ以降だんだん話がつまらなくなったという。

 

Etymology

According to Wiktionary:

From Hollywood (Part 3), an episode in 1977 during the fifth season of the American television series Happy Days, in which the character Fonzie jumped over a shark on waterskis. The expression argues that it was at this point that the show bore no similarity to its original form.

   

Examples

1. The show jumped the shark a few years ago.
2. Will Twitter soon jump the shark?
3. Jumping the shark is typically applied to TV shows which are losing their audience, or have run out of creativity.
4. I would define jumping the shark for classic rock as the point when a successful classic rock band, adapted a new, inferior sound in order to increase their audience, to jump on a new musical trend, or simply because they had run out of good song ideas.
5. 2003, Jon Hein, Jump the Shark, book overview (revised edition; Plume; →ISBN, 9780452284104)
   Happy Days infamously jumped the shark when Fonzie literally jumped a shark on water skis. I Love Lucy jumped the shark when Lucy and Ricky moved to the suburbs. The Brady Bunch jumped the shark when Cousin Oliver moved in.

   

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Question of the Day #1391

Nvidia's 'meh' moment

From the headline of this article at Reuters.

  上記の文で、mehの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "meh" mean?

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Write your answer in the Comments.

明日、ここに答えを書きます。
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解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

1. 【形】
   〈俗〉別に大したことはない、期待ほどではない、凡庸な
2. 【間投】
   〈俗〉まあ（いいか）、別に◆無関心・投げやり。

   

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

1. not impressive: SO-SO
2. APATHETIC, INDIFFERENT

 

Examples

1. We thought it would sell, but customers are saying “Meh!”
2. My lashes are just kind of meh — dark, but short and straight, with sparse/light bottom lashes. — Karina Hoshikawa, refinery29.com, 18 June 2021
3. My feeling about meh food is that the number one culprit is usually underseasoning. — Molly Baz, Bon Appétit, 20 Apr. 2021
4. In a new interview, the comic — who recently announced the end of his popular and long-lived podcast “WTF” — criticized the current podcast landscape as awash in meh. - From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 13, 2025
5. “It’s a long life to spend doing something you’re only meh about,” I insist. - From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon

   

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Question of the Day #1390

Comms etymology: What’s the scuttlebutt? The origins of words heard around the office

From the headline of this article at Ragan.com.

  上記の文で、scuttlebuttの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "scuttlebutt" mean?

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Write your answer in the Comments.

明日、ここに答えを書きます。
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解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

1. 飲料水用のたる◆不可算
2. 〈米話〉うわさ、ゴシップ

   

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

1. 1. a cask on shipboard to contain fresh water for a day's use
   2. a drinking fountain on a ship or at a naval or marine installation
2. RUMOR, GOSSIP

 

Examples

1. Besides, he has no proof that the allegations are true; Washington is full of scuttlebutt.
2. And both the scuttlebutt and spoilers could conceivably conspire to hurt the bottom line. — Chris Lee, Vulture, 2 Apr. 2026
3. For all the scuttlebutt about the Big 12’s new LED glass court, reviews have mostly been positive from players and coaches. — Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 11 Mar. 2026
4. I’ve heard scuttlebutt from the donor community, some of whom are reportedly miffed to have their microscopically printed names out of circulation. - From Washington Post • Jul. 23, 2022
5. Just as the scuttlebutt had it, we men of the First Marine Amphibious Corps were heading for the Solomons to force a landing on Bougainville. - From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac

   

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Question of the Day #1389

‘A leopard can’t change its spots’ – Norton says as he rehashes APNU’s promises at Bagotsville

From the headline of this article at the NewsRoom.gy.

  上記の文で、a leopard can’t change its spotsの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "a leopard can’t change its spots" mean?

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Write your answer in the Comments.

明日、ここに答えを書きます。
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解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

ヒョウは自分で斑点を変えられない。／ヒョウは、いつまでたってもヒョウ柄のまま。／持って生まれた性質は直らない。／性格を変えることはできない。／三つ子の魂百まで。

   

Answer

According to :

used to say that people cannot change their basic personalities, habits, etc.

 

Examples

1. After our breakup, he came crawling back, trying to convince me that he'd changed, but I know that a leopard can't change its spots.
2. You're never going to convince Tom about this—he's too stubborn, and a leopard can't change its spots.
3. A: "Come on, a leopard can't change its spots." B: "I thought so too, but the former president really seems to have changed his views on social welfare since leaving office."
4. He's a conservative, no matter what he says; the leopard cannot change its spots.
5. “I don’t believe he has really gone legit. A leopard doesn’t change its spots.”

   

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Question of the Day #1388

'It's still in shambles': Can Boeing come back from crisis?

From the headline of this article at the BBC.

  上記の文で、in shamblesの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "in shambles" mean?

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Write your answer in the Comments.

明日、ここに答えを書きます。
I will add the answer and other remarks here tomorrow.

 

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解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

めちゃくちゃで、最悪で

In a shamblesと言うこともあります。

 

Answer

According to The Free Dictionary:

Completely destroyed or wrecked.

 

Examples

1. Many years of neglect have left the house in shambles.
2. After the earthquake, the town lay in shambles.
3. Our economy is in shambles.
4. Under US pressure, she is grappling with leading a country saddled with the world's largest proven oil reserves but an economy in shambles. From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026
5. Experts say these policy shifts have broken a student loan system that was already in shambles, leaving nearly 45 million borrowers, disproportionately women, in financial and emotional distress. From Salon • Mar. 17, 2026

   

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Question of the Day #1387

Why do female leaders keep getting thrown off the 'glass cliff'?

From the headline of this article at The Standard.

  上記の文で、glass cliffの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "glass cliff" mean?

  答えは、コメントに書いてください。
Write your answer in the Comments.

明日、ここに答えを書きます。
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解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

ガラスの断崖◆失敗の恐れが非常に高い地位。特に、業績の悪い時にglass ceilingを突き破って昇進し、難しい仕事をさせられている女性の地位。

もともと女性対象の言葉で今でも女性の場合が多いけれども、マイノリティーや男性でも対象になることがあります。

 

Answer

According to the Cambridge Dictionary:

a situation in which you are only given a high position in an organization when there are difficult conditions which make you likely to fail

   

Examples

1. Women were often left teetering on a glass cliff after being handed impossible jobs.
2. This lack of support for women and minorities is central to the glass cliff phenomenon.
3. Beware the glass cliff - you'll get a lofty promotion, but failure will be guaranteed.
4. This dynamic, where a talented female leader inherits a collapsing situation, is so common in the business world that experts have a name for it: The glass cliff. From Salon • Sep. 26, 2025
5. The glass cliff theory holds up in business as well as politics, and, according to a 2011 Harvard Business Review report, “does not seem to apply to organizations with a history of female leaders.” From Seattle Times • May 15, 2023

   

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Question of the Day #1386

International Studies Fulbright Awardee Ginger Trask Getting the Lay of the Land in Samoa

From the headline of this article at Johns Hopkins University.

  上記の文で、lay of the landの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "lay of the land" mean?

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解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

地勢、状況、形勢

下記英語の定義にあるように、しばしば比喩的に使用されます。問題の見出しの場合では、対象がサモアなので「地勢」の可能性もありますが「状況」に間違い無いと思います。

 

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

the arrangement of the different parts in an area of land: where things are located in a place
-> often used figuratively

 

Examples

1. She knew the lay of the land from hiking through it daily.
2. It takes time for new employees to get the lay of the land in this department.
3. It’s been happening on a larger scale as well: since launching in 2023, AMC Theatres Distribution has turned to domestic distribution experts Variance Films to get the lay of the land. — Gregg Goldstein, Variety, 10 Nov. 2025
4. So investors may have been waiting to evaluate the lay of the land. From Barron's • Mar. 12, 2026
5. "I love turning on terrestrial television in any country that I'm in. It really gives you the lay of the land." From Salon • Jan. 15, 2025

   

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