Question of the Day #120

"Trump praises Duterte for 'unbelievable job' cracking down on drugs in the Philippines"
From the headline of this article at Politico.

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


～に断固たる措置を取る、～を厳しく取り締まる［とがめる・懲らしめる］、～を厳重に［びしびし］取り締まる、～を厳罰に処する、～を弾圧する

Answer

According to Oxford Dictionaries:

Take severe measures against.

Etymology/語源

Online Etymology Dictionaryによると名詞のcrackdownの語源は、

crack downとも書く。1935年に動詞句（1915年）から派生。

According to Online Etymology Dictionary, the origin of the noun crackdown is as follows:

also crack down; 1935, from the verbal phrase (1915), from crack (v.) + down (adv.); probably from the sense of "to shoot at" (1913).

Examples

• ‘Labour has taken tough measures to crack down on crime and anti-social behaviour.’
• ‘The government has cracked down on more complex tax-avoidance schemes.’
• ‘The relationship between citizens and police has changed since the police started cracking down on organized crime.’
• ‘Its still illegal, but what this does mean is that the police are cracking down on the harder drugs, like cocaine and heroin.’
• ‘Where these are not cracked down on immediately then further, and worse, anti-social behaviour usually follows.’