Question of the Day #114

"The optics could not be worse."
Vox.comのこの記事の最後の段落の最初のセンテンス。

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

残念ながら2012年ごろから頻繁に使われ始めた用法にもかかわらず、例文の場合の適訳は無料版の英辞郎等の辞書に掲載されていない。そこで、英英辞書で調べてみました。 Dictionary.comによると、

状況、活動、出来事等が一般人や特定の団体によってどのように理解または把握されるか。

注意点としては、opticsを使用する場合、複数形の動詞を使うこと。

ということなので、「見え方、受け取り方、認識の仕方」という意味になります。同義語は、appearance, looks等。

例文を書き換えれば、
The appearance could not be worse.
How this looks could not be worse.

になります。

Answer

According to Dictionary.com:

(used with a plural verb) the way a situation, action, event, etc., is perceived by the public or by a particular group of people

Etymology/語源

Stack Exchangeによると二つの説がある、

Macmillan Dictionaryによると、政治的に初めて使用されたのが、米国のカーター大統領時代（1976-1980）。

Oxford English Dictionaryによると、最も古い使用例は、1958年。

There are two answers according to the replies at Stack Exchange:

Macmillan Dictionary has been following the development of this new metaphor. Their gloss of the word’s history claims that the first political use was during the US presidency of Jimmy Carter, but that it became popular more recently in the context of the Libyan conflict.

The OED’s definition 2c of the singular optic as a noun is ‘A particular way of interpreting or experiencing something; a viewpoint, a perspective.’ The earliest citation in this sense is dated 1958.

Examples

• The optics on this issue are pretty good for the Democrats.
• Administrators worry about the bad optics of hiring new staff during a budget crisis.
• … when a broken-down bailout recipient like Citigroup tries to pay its top executives gigantic bonuses or to acquire a new private jet, it has failed to reconsider the optics. — Nick Paumgarten
• Skilling said Baxter “was concerned about the optics of the conflict, but not about the ethics or propriety of the transactions,“ according to interview memos. — Peter Behr and April Witt
• The Carter lovefest shows insensitivity to the buzzword of this year—the optics —not just with Israel but with American voters.