Question of the Day #1437

President Donald Trump is in the catbird seat as New York City’s mayoral race enters its final days — positioned to benefit no matter who takes City Hall.

From the 2nd paragraph of this article at Politico.

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

有利な立場、権力の座

   

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

a position of great prominence or advantage

 

Examples

1. With memory giants like Samsung and SK Hynix cranking up production to keep pace with Nvidia’s Blackwell ramp, Lam is sitting in the catbird seat. — John Buckingham, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025
2. And Shanae is in the catbird seat, still mulling over whether to pick Logan or James. — Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 18 Oct. 2022
3. Of the two Democratic leaders, Newsom had the easier path to the political catbird seat. — John Myers, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2022
4. Publicly the Communist Party acts like this market dominance puts it in the economic catbird seat. — The Editorial Board, WSJ, 3 Mar. 2021
5. Even with all of the congressional turnover — and the prospect that more could be coming — the GOP still sits in the catbird seat in Texas. — Tom Benning, Dallas News, 9 Aug. 2019

   

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Question of the Day #1436

Priceless 145-Year-Old Martin Guitar Accidentally Gets Smashed to Smithereens in Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight

From the headline of this article at Open Culture.

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

〈話〉〔破壊・爆発などによってできた〕小さな破片

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

small broken pieces: FRAGMENTS, BITS

Examples

• The city was bombed to smithereens during the war.
• So many movies involve everyone and everything being blown to smithereens.
• The fragile dish broke into smithereens.
• Any such attempt, of course, would get laughed into smithereens on Twitter. — Washington Post, 27 June 2021
• Those most terrible weapons have been hovering around Verdansk since early on in its lifespan, spurring on speculation that the developer would be blowing the map to smithereens. — Dave Thier, Forbes, 19 Apr. 2021

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Question of the Day #1435

For America’s Rarest Wildlife, Survival May Hinge on a Single Word

From the headline of this article at Yale Environment 360.

  上記の文で、hinge on (something)の意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "hinge on (something)" 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、

～次第である、～で決まる、～による、～に依存する、～にかかっている、～に左右される

   

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

to be determined or decided by (something) : to depend on (something)

 

Examples

1. The prosecution's case hinged on the evidence of a witness who died before the trial.
2. The film's plot hinges on a case of mistaken identity.
3. Many of the changes ordered by Biedscheid hinge on strong age-verification measures. — ABC News, 8 Aug. 2026
4. The lawsuit does not hinge on the question of whether ICE should be operating at the Glenwood Springs strip mall, Hanlon reminded the council, asking the members to take their feelings about the federal agency out of the equation. — Elizabeth Hernandez, Denver Post, 7 Aug. 2026
5. The answers to these questions, as so many inevitably do, hinge on time and money. — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 2 Sep. 2024

   

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Question of the Day #1434

A Flint woman is suing a man for $10,000 after he stood her up on a date.

From the 1st paragraph of this article at Fox 2 Detroit.

  上記の文で、stand someone upの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "stand someone up" 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）を立たせたままにする、（人）を待たせる、（人）に待ちぼうけを食わせる、（人）との約束［デート］をすっぽかす◆【参考】get stood up

   

Answer

According to The Free Dictionary:

To fail to meet someone for a date, meeting, or appointment, especially without telling them. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "stand" and "up."

 

Examples

1. I'm sorry I stood you up, but I had a family emergency last night.
2. Tom is really bad about standing up his dates.
3. He stood her up at the restaurant.
4. I don't know if I've been stood up or if she's just late - I'll wait another half hour.
5. He stood up his date while he played basketball with the guys.

   

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Question of the Day #1433

And I can’t wait for Derrick Rose, Jennifer Hudson or Kanye West to join forces with the cops to help get the word out in our violent neighborhoods that the definition of a snitch is a criminal who rats out his associates.

From the 10th paragraph of this article at My Chicago.

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

【句他動】

1. 〈俗〉〔人を〕密告［告げ口］する
2. 〈俗〉〔人を〕見捨てる

   

Answer

According to The Free Dictionary:

To inform an authority figure of one's bad or illegal behavior.

 

Examples

1. I can't believe you ratted me out like that to Mom and Dad—I'm never telling you anything ever again!
2. The criminal ratted out his accomplices to avoid jail time.
3. He decided to rat out his coworker to the manager.
4. She threatened to rat out the thief to the police.
5. He didn't want to rat out his friend, but he had no choice.

   

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Question of the Day #1432

Military groups advocate for 7-day mail-in ballot grace period as they await Supreme Court decision

From the headline of this article at Spectrum News.

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

1. 〔ローンや借金の支払い〕猶予期間◆利子や延滞金などがかからない期間。◆【同】period of grace
2. 〔保険の〕猶予期間◆毎月の保険料の支払いが期限より遅れても保険が有効な期間。◆【同】period of grace

なお、上記の例は金融関係ですが、今ではあらゆる金融以外の分野でもgrace periodは使用されます。（下記、例文参照）

 

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

a period of time beyond a due date during which a financial obligation may be met without penalty or cancellation

Despite the definitions in many dictionaries, I think it we can all agree that the phrase "grace period" is no longer limited to loans and the like; e.g., see the examples below.

 

Examples

1. Most recently, a district court judge in July reinstated a three-day grace period for voters to return mail ballots after election day, which GOP lawmakers had eliminated. — John Hanna, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2026
2. Diaz said there is a 30-day grace period for students where all lunches will be provided free of charge. — Austin Horn july 22, Miami Herald, 22 July 2026
3. The new law will take effect after a two-year grace period. — Reuters, NBC news, 26 Sep. 2025
4. This may take the form of an interest rate subsidy or an extended grace period.
5. The second defect is that the grace period of five years creates rather a long delay.

   

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Question of the Day #1431

A couple getting married in St. Lucia share the biggest lessons they've learned from planning a destination wedding

From the headline of this article at Business Insider.

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

リゾート婚◆リゾート地で行う結婚式。

上記の訳は間違っているわけではないが、下記の英語の定義は「伝統的には、destination weddingとは、挙式または披露宴が結婚するカップルの住んでいる地域以外のところで行われる」とのことです。

 

Answer

According to The Knot:

Traditionally, though, a destination wedding is a ceremony and/or reception that's held outside of the couple's hometown, which requires travel for most (if not all) of those involved.

 

Examples

1. It's nearly impossible to create one, concise destination wedding definition because it looks different for every couple.
2. According to The Knot 2025 Real Weddings Study, which surveyed nearly 17,000 recently married couples, destination weddings are somewhat common these days.
3. The Caribbean islands, Mexico, and the Bahamas are among the most popular wedding destinations, though couples have endless options when it comes to locale.
4. A big part of what makes something a ‘destination wedding’ is the randomness of the location.
5. The sun setting over lapping ocean waves or behind the Eiffel Tower as you say “I do” to your beloved sounds downright magical. But a far-away wedding locale isn’t for every couple. Read on to discover whether a destination wedding is right for you.

   

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