Question of the Day #1378

Majority of Canadians would pay under the table cash to avoid sales tax: survey

From the headline of this article at Global News.

  上記の文で、pay under the tableの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "pay under the table" 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。
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、

（人）に賄賂［袖の下］を払う［与える］

Pay under the tableは「非合法的」なお金の渡し方に間違いありませんが、「賄賂」と限りません。どちらかというと「裏金」の方が適訳です。例えば、問題の見出しの場合は、「統計によると、カナダ人の大多数は、売上税を回避するために裏金で現金払いを好む」になります。

Answer

According to The Free Dictionary:

To give a worker payment that is not officially documented and has not been taxed.

 

Examples

1. Because the restaurant pays me under the table, no taxes come out of my paycheck.
2. I don't have a visa to work in this country, so I've been nannying for a family who pays me under the table.
3. How should an employer respond to an employee that wants to be paid under the table?
4. However, he asked if he could get paid under the table to save us both a bit of $$.
5. Is being paid under the table a good thing or a bad thing?

   

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Question of the Day #1377

Hold fast: How a nautical phrase inspired the motto of our times

From the headline of this article at CBC.com.

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

【句動】

1. 〔～に〕しがみつく
2. 〔～を〕固守する
3. 〔～を〕堅持する
4. 〔色が〕あせない

   

Answer

According to The Free Dictionary:

1. To remain securely adhered (to something).
2. To remain determined, stalwart, and unyielding, as in one's position or opinion.

 

Examples

1. He held fast to his principles.
2. No, tape won't hold fast in this case—you need to use a stronger adhesive.
3. Though it may be hard, we must hold fast in our pledge to environmental reform.
4. I've held fast to my principles my whole life, and I don't intend to compromise them now with your gang of thugs!
5. ”The strikers held fast at Hicks’s mines, but world events intervened.”
Fannie Never Flinched by Mary Cronk Farrell

   

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Question of the Day #1376

Team USA’s militarism is a big bummer in an otherwise incredible WBC tournament

From the headline of this article at Royals Review.

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

1. 〈話〉嫌な［がっかりする］こと［出来事・体験］、不愉快なこと［出来事・体験・状態・時間］、残念なこと、失望、失敗（作）、駄作
2. 〈米話〉怠け者

   

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

1.              
   1. an unpleasant experience
   2. something that is unpleasant or disappointing
2. FAILURE, FLOP

 

Examples

1. All this goodwill and success are a huge bummer for Jessi’s current husband, Jordan. — Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 12 Mar. 2026
2. People thought the script was a bummer. — Brent Lang, Variety, 11 Mar. 2026
3. Still, the creators and the cast didn’t want the revival to feel like a bummer. — Alexis Soloski, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2023
4. "I've left my wallet at home." "What a bummer!"
5. Are we to believe that one of pop’s bright new stars was once … kind of a bummer? From Los Angeles Times

   

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Question of the Day #1375

With a finish in the top three of an event required to punch one's ticket to the Tokyo Olympics, some Hokies will look to either take a well-deserved rest this summer or continue training at the professional level.

From the 5th paragraph of this article at HokieSports.com.

  上記の文で、punch one’s ticketの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "punch one’s ticket" 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。
I will add the answer and other remarks here tomorrow.

 

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解答

意味：
Punch one’s ticketの和訳は、ほとんどありませんがえいご1日1語にありました。推測で説明しているので、途中までそれなりですが、問題文の意味まで辿り着いていません。
そこで、下記のThe Free Dictionaryの定義を訳すと、

1. 文字どおりの意味は、特にバスや汽車に乗車する時、運賃を払っていることを証明するために切符に改札鋏等で切ってもらうこと。
2. 1番の定義の延長の意味として、（とくに競技等において）前進するために何らかのアクションを起こすこと。

問題文の場合は、この2番の訳が適切です。

 

Answer

  According to The Free Dictionary:

1. Literally, to punch a hole in or otherwise mark one's ticket, especially for a bus or train, to show they have paid the fare to ride.
2. By extension, to perform an action that allows one to proceed, especially in a competition.

 

Examples

1. With a win tonight, they will punch their ticket to the tournament.
2. If this deal goes through, you'll have punched your ticket to the corner office.
3. She has punched her ticket to her second Olympics Games.
4. You have punched your ticket to the final round with this win.
5. In scoring 13 points, they punched their ticket to the Super Bowl in Jacksonville.

   

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Question of the Day #1374

$48M ‘boondoggle’ set to be killed by N.J. gov. ‘Not good enough,’ she says.

From the headline of this article at NJ.com.

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

【名・自動】
〈米話〉〔多大な労力・時間・金を費やす〕無駄［無意味］な仕事［活動・計画・公共事業］（を行う）

ただし、上記の訳に下記英語にある大事な部分が含まれていません。それは、often involving graftつまり「しばしば収賄を伴う」の部分です。

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

a wasteful or impractical project or activity often involving graft

 

Examples

1. Is high-speed rail a valuable addition to infrastructure, or a boondoggle?
2. Republicans called the plan a boondoggle and a drain on federal highway funds.
3. The senator called the new highways proposal "a fraud and a boondoggle that the taxpayer should not tolerate."
4. Why: In a state known for its outlandish mansions, this is the boondoggle that set the standard. — Christopher Reynolds, latimes.com, 21 May 2017
5. The judges were not somebody’s nephew on a boondoggle but were, for the most part, their countries’ best legal minds. — Foreign Affairs, 20 Oct. 2023

   

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Question of the Day #1373

COLUMN: People going bananas for baby macaque online

From the headline of this article at OrilliaMatters.

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

1. 〈俗〉頭がおかしくなる、気が狂う◆【語源】バナナを目の前に出されたサルが騒ぐ様子から◆【参考】go ape
2. 〈俗〉熱狂する、怒り狂う
3. 〈俗〉〔機械などが〕駄目になる、いかれる

   

Answer

According to The Free Dictionary:

1. To become irrational or crazy.
2. To express great excitement about something in an exuberant manner.

 

Examples

1. I'll end up going bananas if I have to work in this cubicle for one more day!
2. The kids are going to go bananas when we tell them about the trip.
3. Confession: I don’t always go bananas for depictions of food in art, but April brings a smattering of excellent and tasty shows. From Seattle Times
4. “Yet it’s not cluttered up; it’s streamlined and simple. Whatever we did was going to be seen in that opening shot of the train going through Asteroid City, so we couldn’t go bananas and let any part of it get too big and out of control.” From Los Angeles Times
5. Students are going bananas over the lack of options available in the cafeteria for lunch.

   

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Question of the Day #1372

Scoot and shoot the breeze for charity

From the headline of this article at defense.gov.au.

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

〈米話〉おしゃべりする、無駄話をする、油を売る◆【直訳】口から風を吹く

   

Answer

According to Dictionary.com:

Talk idly, chat

 

語源

Wiktionaryによると、

1919年に初めて記録されたスラングで、風に向かって話すことを意味する。

 

Etymology

According to Wiktionary:

A slang phrase, alluding to talking into the wind, it was first recorded in 1919.

   

Examples

1. They've been sitting on the porch for hours, just shooting the breeze.
2. We were just standing around shooting the breeze.
3. 1999, The Ninth Gate (motion picture), spoken by Dean Corso (Johnny Depp):
   Listen, I came here to do some business, not shoot the breeze. If you want to expound your personal philosophies, write another book.
4. Catch him after practice and he’s happy to shoot the breeze with a smile on his face. From Seattle Times
5. “It felt like they were just shooting the breeze,” recalled Robinson Chavez, whose aching black-and-white photos anchored the series. From Los Angeles Times

   

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