Question of the Day #84

"McCain, Again the Maverick, Challenges President Trump"
From this article at the Wall Street Journal.

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


独立独行の人、独自路線を行く人［組織］、一匹オオカミ

Answer

According to :

an independent individual who does not go along with a group or party

Etymology/語源

Dictionary.comによると、

1865-1870年頃、米英語。テキサス州の開拓者のSamuel A. Maverick (1803年生-1870年没)が自分の子牛に烙印をしなかったことから。

According to Dictionary.com:

1865-70, Americanism; after Samuel A. Maverick (1803-70), Texas pioneer who left his calves unbranded

Examples

• Let him refind his inner rebel, the famous irreverent maverick, let the tiger out of the cage. —Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal, 28–29 June 2008
• In the Senate, however, he had established himself as a bright and prickly maverick, not averse to sharp criticism of his own party, its policies, and its leaders, most especially Bill Clinton. —John Gregory Dunne, New York Review of Books, 13 June 2002
• This, of course, is dangerous for the rest of us. With one successfully repatriated daughter, Papi might yank us all out of college and send us back. Not to mention that it's out and out creepy that Fifi, the maverick, is so changed. —Julia Alvarez, How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents, 1991
• “Maverick is a word which appeals to me more than misfit. Maverick is active, misfit is passive.“ — Alan Rickman (actor), “Alan Rickman's Quotes“ Facebook (2008)
• “Listen closely to maverick entrepreneurs…, and you quickly realize that they don't sound like traditional executives.“ —William C. Taylor and Polly G. Labarr, Mavericks at Work: Why the Most Original Minds in Business Win (2006)

Question of the Day #83

"Sean Spicer: Who is President Trump's spin doctor?"
From this article on the BBC News website.

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


〈俗〉〔政治家などによる〕言葉の偏った解釈

Answer

According to Dictionary.com:

Slang. a particular viewpoint or bias, especially in the media; slant

Etymology/語源

Online Etymology Dictionaryによると、

「メディアによってあたえられた影響」の意味としては、1984年より。

According to Online Etymology Dictionary:

Meaning "influence imparted by a media source" is from 1984.

Examples

• They tried to put a favorable spin on the news coverage of the controversial speech.
• "The spin his people are putting on it is that he wants to do this for 40 years," says a talent representative.
• The idea that they would attempt to spin her nuanced response as politically calculating is even sillier.
• ‘he tried to put a positive spin on the president's campaign’
• ‘he was sick and tired of the Government's control freakery and spin’

Question of the Day #82

"Why President Trump's strongman shenanigans may betray weak and incompetent leadership"
From the title of this article at The Week.

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


1. 〈話〉偽り、ごまかし、ペテン、不正行為◆通例複数形shenanigans
2. 〈話〉いたずら、悪ふざけ

Answer

According to :

1. tricky or questionable practices or conduct —usually used in plural
2. high-spirited or mischievous activity —usually used in plural

Etymology/語源

Online Etymology Dictionaryによると、

1855年頃、カリフォルニア州のSan FranciscoやSacramento周辺で使われるようになったが、由来ははっきりしない。

由来には様々な説があるので、下記英文の語源を参照してください。

According to Online Etymology Dictionary:

1855, of uncertain origin. Earliest records of it are in San Francisco and Sacramento, California, U.S. Suggestions include Spanish chanada, a shortened form of charranada "trick, deceit;" or, less likely, German Schenigelei, peddler's argot for "work, craft," or the related German slang verb schinäglen. Another guess centers on Irish sionnach "fox."

Examples

• students engaging in youthful shenanigans on the last day of school
• an act of vandalism that went way beyond the usual shenanigans at summer camp
• Meaning that what we think of Phoenix and his shenanigans is a reflection of our own experience, and not the actor.
• The whole incident was a PR nightmare for McCain, rivaled only by the shenanigans of his own running mate.
• The shenanigans get under way as English Lindsay faces off with American Lindsay in a game of poker.

Question of the Day #81

"Such Is the Human Race: Missing Twain In the Era of Trumpian Skullduggery"
The title from this article at Common Dreams.

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

---

解答

意味： 英辞郎によると、


不正（行為）

スペルは、skullduggeryでもskulduggeryでも構いません。

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

underhanded or unscrupulous behavior; also :  a devious device or trick

Etymology/語源

Dictionary.comによると、

1705-1715年ごろの米英語。スコットランド語のsculduddery（姦淫、わいせつ（なもの））の変形。

According to Dictionary.com:

1705-15, Americanism; variant of sculduddery, orig. Scots: fornication, obscenity

Examples

• But the hyperactive Sarkozy is hypersensitive to these oft-repeated allegations of skullduggery.
• He would be cagey enough to stay ignorant of any overt strife or any other skullduggery that could be laid at his door.
• After a little conversation to assure themselves that there was no skullduggery afoot, the truckers consented.
• ‘a firm that investigates commercial skulduggery’

Question of the Day #80

"Elizabeth Warren Storms The Senate To Take On Spineless Republicans: ‘Where Are You?’"
From the headline of this article at PoliticsUSA.com.

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


骨［根性・意気地・意地・勇気］のない、ひ弱な、腰の抜けた

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

lacking strength of character

Etymology/語源

Online Etymology Dictionaryによると、

上記の意味は、1885年から。

According to Online Etymology Dictionary:

Meaning "lacking moral force" is from 1885.

Examples

• a spineless man who let his wife make all the decisions
• spineless seamen who trembled at the first roar of the cannon
• His spineless duplicity confirms that the good guy is actually pretty much a louse.
• He then offered the spineless excuse that, “A public figure cannot control what people say in open meetings.”
• Moulitsas said Obama might be one of those "spineless Democrats who are ... afraid of controversy."

Question of the Day #79

"Noah asks, 'Do you think Mitch McConnell realized what a solid he’s done you?'"
From the subtitle of this article at the Huffington Post.

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


〈俗〉好意、親切な行為◆【同】favor◆

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

US slang :  favor

Etymology/語源

この使い方の語源は、なかなか見つからなくて、唯一見つかったのはUrban Dictionaryのものなので疑いの余地があるけれど、参考のために掲載します。 Urban Dictionaryによると、

米国北東部の特に都市部で1980年代中頃から使用されている。テレビドラマSeinfeldで使用されるかなり前のことになる。

The use of the word "solid" as a synonym of favor is hard to pin down, and the only online reference that I could easily find was from the Urban Dictionary so it is probably suspect. According to Urban Dictionary:

The phrase "do me a solid" means do me a favor. The term was first used in the Northeastern United States, particularly in urban environments, at least as early as the mid-1980's, long prior to the Seinfeld episode usage.

Examples

• “Can you do me a solid and watch my stuff?”
• So her husband did her a solid and dropped her off for the afternoon, where she was free to sketch some of the exhibits
• Please do me a solid: lend me your car for one week.
• I owe him; he did me a solid last year.
• KRAMER: Hey. Hey, would you do me a solid?
  JERRY: Well, what kind of solid?
  KRAMER: I need you to sit in the car for two minutes while it's double-parked. I gotta pick up some birds.
  From the Seinfeld episode "The Jacket" in 1991.

Weekend Recommendation #26

Weekend Recommendation #26

This week's recommendation:

今週のおすすめ：

Media Bias/Fact Check

Why is this recommended?
なぜ、これがおすすめ？

This is the place to go to see if the source you are reading is biased in any particular way. If I read something controversial at a site that is new to me, this is where I go to check if it's biased.

このサイトは、媒体の偏見を判定しているサイトです。政治的な偏りやフェイクニュース、または風刺のサイト等であるとか。驚くようなニュースを始めてのサイトで読んだ時、必ずこのサイトでその媒体の信憑性をチェックするようにしています。

Media Bias/Fact Check

Question of the Day #78

"Apparently, Spicer didn't feel like shelling over the $7.99/year to his domain host GoDaddy to hide his own data."
from the last line of this article at Mashable.

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

---

解答

意味： 実は、英辞郎にも英英辞典にもshell overというイディオムはありません。ただ、文脈からこれは、shell outの変形であると考えていいでしょう。
Shell outに関しては、英辞郎によると、


〈話〉〔大金を〕支払う

となっているが、下記英語の定義を見てわかるように、「大金」である必要性はなく、「金を支払う」が適切な訳です。

Answer

Actually, you won't find the idiom "shell over" in any online dictionary that I googled. However, it is easy enough to surmise from the sentence that it is being used in place of "shell out."
According to The Free Dictionary:

to spend a certain amount of money

Etymology/語源

Online Etymology Dictionaryによると、

「支払う」の意味のshell outは、比喩的な使い方で、1801年から使用されている。ナッツの殻から実をとるイメージから。

According to the Online Etymology Dictionary:

To shell out "disburse" (1801) is a figurative use from the image of extracting nuts.

Examples

• I'm not going to shell out $400 for that!
• Come on. You owe me. Shell out!
• We had to shell out $1,000 for auto repairs.
• We had to shell the full amountof tuition out even though many of the classes had been canceled.
• We shelled out an obscene amount of money for those concert tickets.

Question of the Day #77

"On conflicts of interest, she ranks among the worst."
from Mother Jones (Last line of the second paragraph.２段落目の最後の引用文。)

上記の文で、conflict of interestの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "conflict of interest" 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.

---

解答

意味： 英辞郎によると、


《法律》利益［利害（関係）］の衝突、利益相反

Answer

According to Merriam Webster:

a conflict between the private interests and the official responsibilities of a person in a position of trust

Etymology/語源

Online Etymology Dictionaryによると、

句のconflict of interestは、1743年頃もう既に使用されていた。

According to the Online Etymology Dictionary:

Phrase conflict of interest was in use by 1743.

Examples

• The senator placed his stocks in trust to avoid possible conflict of interest.
• "In some localities the seams are under separate ownership, and there is a resulting conflict of interests." "The Economic Aspect of Geology" by C. K. Leith
• "It is idle to argue that there are at times no conflict of interest between the employee and the employer." "Herbert Hoover" by Vernon Kellogg
• "All are written from the standpoint of the conflict between the interests of society and the individual." "College Teaching" by Paul Klapper
• "There are so many conflicting forces and interests, and the conditions of success are so complex!" "Ways of Nature" by John Burroughs

Question of the Day #76

"Trump Supporters’ #BoycottStarbucks Attempt Backfires Spectacularly"
from the Huffington Post

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


1. 〔内燃機関で〕逆火を起こす
2. しっぺ返しを食らう、恨みを買う、思わぬ面倒を招く
3. 期待外れに終わる、裏目に出る

なので、この文例の場合は、３の「裏目に出る」になる。

Answer

According to Merriam Webster:

1. to make or undergo a backfire
2. to have the reverse of the desired or expected effect

Etymology/語源

Online Etymology Dictionary によると、

計画等が裏目にでるという意味で初めて使用されたのは1912年で、火器の逆火の事故の比喩的な使い方。

According to the Online Etymology Dictionary:

Of schemes, plans, etc., "to affect the initiator rather than the intended object" it is attested from 1912, a figurative use from the accidental back-firing of firearms.

Examples

• Their plans backfired.
• ‘overzealous publicity backfired on her’
• His plan backfired when Sue discovered the hidden presents.
• If the charges amount to a negotiating ploy, that could backfire and motivate Democrat supporters to protest.
• But those ads could now backfire, said Dave Sargent, head of automotive research at J.D. Power.

Question of the Day #75

"Donald Trump ushers in a new era of kakistocracy"
from the New Statesman

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

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

---

解答

意味： 英辞郎によると、


悪徳政治

となっているが、下記Merriam-Websterの英文の定義を見てわかるように、ただの「悪徳政治」ではなく、the worst peopleによる政治です。

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

government by the worst people

Etymology/語源

Online Etymology Dictionaryによると、

1829初出。aristocracyの反意語的なニュアンスで生まれた単語で、「社会における最悪の要員による政府」の意味。ギリシア語のkakos（悪い）の最上級kakitos（最悪） より。

According to the Online Etymology Dictionary:

1829, "government by the worst element of a society," coined on analogy of its opposite, aristocracy, from Greek kakistos "worst," superlative of kakos "bad"

Examples

• Burt Wheeler arrived in Washington as a Senator in 1923, when the backwash of war and prohibition had brought America about as near to kakistocracy as it has ever come.
• It was evident that democracy had bloomed as it always did when forcibly planted, in a kakistocracy of the worst possible men.
• Since it takes the worst type of person to become a successful politician, all democracies will eventually become kakistocracies.
• American government under the Bush administration portrays a perfect example of a kakistocracy in all its ignorant, trigger happy, private-interest-driven glory.

A Message from the Author of this Blog

時事性を考えて、しばらくの間は、このブログの材料をトランプ大統領関連の記事から取り上げます。

For the foreseeable future, because of their topicality, I plan to pick up terms and phrases from articles about the actions taken by President Trump.

Question of the Day #74

Title from a Slate article:

"Trump Basically Just Admitted He’s Ditching His Promise to Renegotiate Prescription Drug Prices"

上記の文で、ditchの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "ditch" 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、自動詞・他動詞の意味がたくさんあるが、この例の場合は下記のようになる。


〈俗〉見捨てる、見捨てて逃げる、置き去りにする、ほったらかす、見限る、厄介払いする

Answer

According to Dictionary.com:

1. to get rid of
2. to escape from
3. to absent oneself from (school or a class) without permission or an acceptable reason.

Etymology/語源

Online Etymology Dictionaryによると、

「何かをditch（<名>溝）に放り込む」の意味は、1816年。米英語で記録に残っているものとして、「置き去りにする、捨てる」の意味として初めて使用されたのは、1899年 。

According to Online Etymology Dictionary:

Meaning "to throw into a ditch" is from 1816, hence sense of "abandon, discard," first recorded 1899 in American English.

Examples

• The thief ditched the purse in an alley.
• They ditched the car in a vacant lot.
• They ditched me at the concert.
• Fox, to its credit, ditched the guy when he asked the network for money.
• She ditched the firm for a $17,000-a-year job at the ABC affiliate in Washington.