Question of the Day #1399

Peru robbery: Shoe-shop thieves get off on the wrong foot

From the headline of this article at the BBC.

  上記の文で、get off on the wrong footの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "get off on the wrong foot" mean?

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解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

第一歩［出だし］を誤る、出だしで失敗する［つまずく］、悪いスタートを切る、滑り出しに失敗する

Getの代わりにstarted off on the wrong footと言うこともできます。また、反対の意味としてget/start off on the right footと言うこともできます。
 

Answer

According to the Longman Dictionary:

to start a job, relationship, etc badly by making a mistake that annoys people

 

Examples

1. We got off on the wrong foot the other day and it was my fault.
2. We just got off on the wrong foot the other day.
3. Would you give some advice on how to start my new business? I don’t want to get off on the wrong foot.
4. Unfortunately, Pope got off on the wrong foot with his new troops.
5. He got off on the wrong foot with a tactless remark about his audience.

   

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Question of the Day #1398

Here's why I don't care about fair weather fans and you shouldn't either

From the headline of this article at CBS Sports.

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

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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、

《野球》好天の時だけのファン◆勝っているときだけそのチームを応援するファンのこと。  

   

Answer

According to Your Dictionary:

A fan who only pays attention to their favorite team when they are performing well.

 

Examples

1. I've been rooting for the home team in their playoff run, but I'll admit I'm just a fair-weather fan.
2. Yeah, I get sad when the Marlins lose, but I still support them regardless. I'm not a fair-weather fan.
3. Please, you're just a fair-weather fan. I know you can't name five players on the team!
4. He's just a fair-weather fan who disappears when the team starts losing.
5. Fair-weather fans are often criticized by loyal supporters.

   

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Question of the Day #1397

Pair have other fish to fry

From the headline of this article at The Irish Times.

  上記の文で、have other fish to fryの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "have other fish to fry" 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、

〔依頼・提案などに応じられない理由として〕他にやるべきことがある

   

Answer

According to The Free Dictionary:

To have more important or more interesting things to do or attend to.

 

Examples

1. I hope the boss keeps this meeting short—we all have other fish to fry.
2. I can't worry about that now, I have other fish to fry!
3. "We've got a few other fish to fry before we get there, but I think we've said since we introduced Jacob that he's got a huge future in front of him," McCullum said. - From BBC • Sep. 8, 2025
4. As it turns out, the administration has other fish to fry at the moment. - From Salon • Jul. 12, 2019
5. "We have so many other fish to fry," said Robin Raphel, a former assistant secretary of State for South Asia who is a senior associate with the Center for Strategic and International Studies think-tank. - From Reuters • Apr. 3, 2022

   

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Question of the Day #1396

Managing Partner Sam Pond Pays His Respects at Workers’ Memorial Breakfast

From the headline of this article at Pond Lehocky.

  上記の文で、pay one’s respectsの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "pay one’s respects" mean?

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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、

敬意を表する、表敬訪問する、弔問に訪れる

 

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

to visit or speak with someone in a polite way as a sign of respect

 

Examples

1. I went up to her after the meeting and paid my respects.
2. I think we should go over and pay our respects to the new neighbors and make them feel welcome to the area!
3. I'm heading to Janet's house after her father's funeral on Sunday to pay my respects to her and her family.
4. 2025 April 21, Devin Watkins, “Pope Francis has died on Easter Monday aged 88”, in Vatican News‎[1]:
   Mr. Bruni told journalists that, as of Monday evening, Pope Francis' closest collaborators have begun to pay their respects to the late Pope.
5. “After all, it’s the usual thing to do, isn’t it, to pay one’s respects to a bride?” - From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier

   

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Question of the Day #1395

Israel’s fait accompli in Gaza

From the headline of this article at Al Jazeera.

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

  答えは、コメントに書いてください。
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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、

〈フランス語〉既成事実

   

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

 a thing accomplished and presumably irreversible

 

Examples

1. In some years, the presentation of the best picture prize in the final minutes of the Oscars telecast feels like a fait accompli. - Daniel Arkin, NBC News, 15 Mar. 2026
2. The citizens of New York City will be faced with a fait accompli. - David Donovan, New York Daily News, 22 May 2024
3. That’s not a criticism that this was some sort of fait accompli. — Albert Breer, SI.com, 8 Feb. 2018
4. The policy change was presented to us as a fait accompli, without consultation or discussion.
5. But his promise to review consultant contracts that have been normally regarded as a fait accompli is a good start, some observers say. - From Salon • Mar. 8, 2025

   

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Question of the Day #1394

Maryland becomes first state to ban surveillance pricing in grocery stores

From the headline of this article at the Guardian.

  上記の文で、surveillance pricingの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "surveillance pricing" 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：
英辞郎にこの用語はまだ掲載されていないので、AIツールギャラリー の説明を引用します。

いま、AIを使って一人ひとりに異なる価格を表示する「監視プライシング（Surveillance Pricing）」が、米国を中心に広がっています。
購入履歴、閲覧行動、使っているブラウザやスマートフォンの機種、さらにはバッテリー残量まで分析し、「この人ならいくらまで払うか」をAIが算出して価格を変える仕組みです。

   

Answer

According to Epic.org:

Surveillance pricing is the practice of collecting personal information about consumers and charging different prices to individual (or groups of) consumers for the same goods or services. The goal of surveillance pricing is to infer the highest price that the customer is willing to pay, based on consumers’ personal data and other market data.

 

Examples

1. “Surveillance Pricing” Hurts Consumers, Incentivizes More Corporate Spying on Them
2. There’s no doubt that at core, the kind of leverage that surveillance pricing enables is something that hurts ordinary people — especially those least able to afford it.
3. The Federal Trade Commission’s initial findings from its surveillance pricing market study revealed that details like a person’s precise location or browser history can be frequently used to target individual consumers with different prices for the same goods and services.
4. Have you ever shopped online for a flight, only to find that the price mysteriously increased the second time you checked? Or have you and a friend searched for the same hotel room on your phones, only to find your friend sees a lower price? This isn’t a glitch — it’s surveillance pricing at work.
5. What makes surveillance pricing controversial isn’t just the price difference — it’s that you usually don’t know it’s happening. There’s rarely any disclosure or obvious way to compare your price with what others see.

   

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Question of the Day #1393

FCC Demands Early Review of Disney Broadcast Licenses Amid Kimmel Kerfuffle

From the headline of this article at Yahoo! News Malaysia.

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

【名】
〈英俗〉〔不要な〕ばか騒ぎ、騒動◆可算

   

Answer

According to :

a disturbance or commotion typically caused by a dispute or conflict

 

Examples

1. Allow me also to say one thing about the issue that has created some kerfuffle, namely voting rights.
2. We have all this great kerfuffle over one year—reducing the age from 21 to 20.
3. The kerfuffle comes amid questions about whether Mamdani will go forward with a project that would expand luxury housing at Hudson Yards. — Marcia Kramer, CBS News, 24 Apr. 2026
4. A kerfuffle ensued about whether the Africans had the right to take a lunch break. — Namwali Serpell, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2017
5. This has caused, to put it mildly, no end of kerfuffle. — Josef Adalian, Vulture, 14 Sep. 2023

   

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