Question of the Day #134

"Conservative’s Story About ‘How Republicans Are Born’ Backfires Spectacularly"
From the headline of this article at 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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解答

意味： 英辞郎によると、


1. しっぺ返しを食らう、恨みを買う、思わぬ面倒を招く
2. 期待外れに終わる、裏目に出る

で、この場合は、２番が適訳です。

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

 to have the reverse of the desired or expected effect 

Etymology/語源

Online Etymology Dictionaryによると、

動詞として「期待外れに終わる、裏目に出る」の意味で使われ始めたのは1912年で、銃器の暴発から。

According to Online Etymology Dictionary:

As a verb, 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
• My plan to throw her a surprise party backfired when she ended up sobbing that everyone had forgotten her birthday
• "But that also backfired, particularly with women, Hill said." — Fredrick Kunkle, Washington Post, "Here are some takeaways from the Uber founder’s departure," 20 June 2017
• "There are already signs that the effort may backfire." — Gregg Carlstrom, The Atlantic, "The Qatar Crisis Is Pushing Hamas Back to Iran," 14 June 2017
• "Deportation of gang members from the U.S. to Central America could easily backfire and make the situation in Central America worse." — Miami Herald, "Miami summit an opportunity to rethink Central America," 13 June 2017

Question of the Day #133

"High-living North Carolina ‘prosperity gospel’ pastor indicted for bilking church in massive tax fraud scam"

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

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解答

意味： 英辞郎によると、


1. （人）をだます
2. 〔人から金などを〕だまし取る
3. 〔希望などを〕くじく、挫折させる
4. 〔追求などを〕逃れる、かわす

ということなので、この場合は、２番目が適訳でしょう。

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

to cheat out of something valuable

Etymology/語源

Online Etymology Dictionaryによると、

1650年ごろ、当初はトランプ遊びのcribbageで「相手の得点を邪魔する」として使用された。「人を騙す」としての使い方は、1670年代から。

According to Online Etymology Dictionary:

1650s, from or along with the noun (1630s), first used as a cribbage term; as a verb, "to spoil (someone's) score." Meaning "to defraud" is first recorded 1670s.

Examples

• bilking investors out of their life savings
• The lawsuit alleged that Danone used these claims to bilk consumers out of more than $100 million.
• Con artists routinely hack into accounts to impersonate people and bilk money from strangers.
• He bilked clients out of tens of millions of dollars.
• ‘some businesses bilk thousands of dollars from unsuspecting elderly consumers’

Question of the Day #132

"Science Calls Out Jeff Sessions on Medical Marijuana and the 'Historic Drug Epidemic'"
From the headline of this article at Scientific American.

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

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解答

意味： 英辞郎によると、


（人）に挑戦する、（人）を非難する

Answer

According to MacMillan Dictionary:

to challenge someone over something they have said or done

Etymology/語源

Online Etymology Dictionaryによると、

「人を決闘に呼び出す」という意味は、1823年から。

According to Online Etymology Dictionary:

To call out someone to fight (1823)

Examples

• Why he would call her out in an open forum is beyond me.
• You should politely but firmly call them out on their offensive behavior.
• Both films quite seriously question and call out the cretinous conception of　"black masculinity" pushed in the idiom.
• Too many in the opinion world have a disinclination to call out their ownside.

Question of the Day #131

"THE LICKSPITTLES WHO SERVE TRUMP, NOT AMERICA"
From the headline of this article at Newsweek.

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

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解答

意味： 英辞郎によると、


おべっか使い

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

a fawning subordinate

Etymology/語源

Online Etymology Dictionaryによると、

lick-spittleとも書く。1741年頃に初めて使われた。

According to Online Etymology Dictionary:

also lick-spittle, "sycophant, abject toady, one who will do any repulsive thing," 1741

Examples

• a partisan news program whose host is more of a lickspittle for the White House than a serious journalist
• ‘he is a lickspittle for the Establishment’
• "You get up right after midnight to practice being a lickspittle and a trimmer!" Such is Life, Frank Wedekind

Question of the Day #130

"Al Franken hammers Trump judicial appointee for pushing ‘conspiracy theories and white nationalism’"
From the headline of this article at Raw Story.

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

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解答

意味： 英辞郎にいろいろな役はあるが、これが一番近いかと思います。


〔敵を〕たたきのめす、攻撃する

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

to criticize severely

Etymology/語源

Online Etymology Dictionaryによると、

「激しく打ち負かす」という意味で初めて使われたのは、1948年

According to Online Etymology Dictionary:

that of "to defeat heavily" is from 1948

Examples

• The report hammers the private motorist.
• If we turned up late we would be hammered by everybody.
• ‘he got hammered for an honest mistake’
• Her latest film has been hammered by the critics.

Question of the Day #129

"Vice President Pence Lawyers Up"
From the headline of this article at Mother Jones.

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

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解答

意味： 英辞郎によると、


〈主に米話〉〔裁判の当事者などが〕弁護士を立てる［選任する]

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

to obtain the services of a lawyer especially while being investigated for possible wrongdoing

Etymology/語源

Merriam-Websterによると、

初めての使用されたのは、1995年

According to Merriam-Webster:

First Known Use of lawyer up
1995

Examples

• He lawyered up, but only after he confessed to being in Cheryl's apartment.
• What really spooks the honest, hard-working, likable, routinely successful detectives on “N.Y.P.D. Blue” is the prospect of a suspect “lawyering up.” The detectives cajole and threaten to keep the probable perp from exercising his right to counsel, because once a sharp lawyer appears the client will say nothing and the audience will be deprived of the confession that climaxes so many episodes. — Walter Goodman, New York Times, 23 Feb. 1995
• The people at Madoff who had been highly compensated were the ones they were looking at. In the end, most of those people “lawyered up” or fled. — Eleanor Squillari et al., Vanity Fair, June 2009
• They should tell him the only course of action is to show up and tell the truth, come what may. But now he's all lawyered up, so that's not going to happen. He's all but untouchable now. — Christine Brennan, USA Today, 22 May 2014
• The interview ended abruptly when the suspect lawyered up.

Question of the Day #128

"‘He drank the Kool-Aid’: Homeland Chief Kelly ripped for lying at his hearing — then pushing Trump agenda"
From the headline of this article at Raw Story.

上記の文で、drink the Kool-Aidの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "drink the Kool-Aid" mean?

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解答

意味： 英辞郎によると、


〈米俗〉むやみに信じる、無批判に従う、うのみにする、信奉者である

Answer

According to Oxford Dictionaries:

Demonstrate unquestioning obedience or loyalty to someone or something.

Etymology/語源

英辞郎によると、

【語源】1978年、米国の宗教団体Peoples Templeのメンバー多数が集団自殺し、または毒殺された。この人々の多くは毒を混ぜたクールエイドのような物を与えられ、それを飲んだという。そこから「クールエイドを飲む」とは「教祖が飲めと言えば毒入りでも飲む＝無批判に受け入れる」という意味になった。
なお、Kool-aidとは、このリンクにあるような商品で、水で溶く粉末の「ジュース」です。主に、子供が飲むもので、日本の駄菓子屋にあるようなものです。

According to Wiktionary:

Referring to the Peoples Temple cult movement, who committed mass suicide in 1978 by drinking Flavor Aid (not Kool-Aid as was believed then) laced with cyanide.

Examples

• ‘A lot of the press also drank the Kool-Aid in the first year.’
• ‘I'm not drinking the Pentagon Kool-Aid.’
• ‘The fact of the matter is that virtually every employee drinks the Kool-Aid and keeps their mouth shut publicly when still on board.’
• ‘It is strange that after he accuses his opponent of having "drank the Kool-Aid", he then complains that they call anyone who disagrees of being a bigot.’
• ‘If you can't see the bias in almost every news organization, then you're probably drinking their Kool-Aid.’

Question of the Day #127

"EXCLUSIVE: Trump Set To Roll Back Obama’s Cuba Policies"
From the headline of this article at the Daily Caller.

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

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解答

意味： 英辞郎によると、


1. 押し返す、押し戻す、後退させる［する］、撃退する
2. 〔徐々に〕縮小する

ですが、この場合は、記事を読んでもどちらが適訳なのかがわかりにくく、簡単に「後退させる」でいいのではないでしょうか。

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

1. to cause to retreat or withdraw

Etymology/語源

動詞句のroll backの語源は見つからないのですが、名詞のrollbackは、Online Etymology Dictionaryによると、

「縮小」の意味は、1942年から動詞句から派生した米英語。roll (v.) + back (adv.).

I cannot find the etymology for the verbal phrase, but according to Online Etymology Dictionary the noun rollback's etymology is as follows:

"reduction," 1942, American English, from verbal phrase, from roll (v.) + back (adv.).

Examples

• lobbyists for the industry pressured the legislators to roll back the new automotive safety standards
• You can’t roll back all the reforms of the last ten years.
• Her staff has pushed to roll back environmental protections.
• It's unusual forany company to roll their prices back.
• The government tried to roll back the growing student movement.

Question of the Day #126

"White House considering vetting Trump’s tweets: report"
From the headline of this article at the Hill.

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

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解答

意味： 英辞郎によると、


〈話〉厳しく吟味する、入念に検査する

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

1. to evaluate for possible approval or acceptance
2. to subject to usually expert appraisal or correction

Etymology/語源

Online Etymology Dictionaryによると、

（獣医が（とくにレース前の競争馬のような）動物を注意深く診察するように）何かまたは誰かを注意深く調べるという口語の意味は、1901年頃から。

According to Online Etymology Dictionary:

The colloquial sense of "subject (something) to careful examination" (as of an animal by a veterinarian, especially of a horse before a race) is attested by 1901.

Examples

• They vetted her thoroughly before offering her the job.
• The book was vetted by several different editors.
• He's already vetted the plan, so we can start right away.
• ‘proposals for vetting large takeover bids’
• ‘each applicant will be vetted by police’

Question of the Day #125

"The Intercept reported Monday that the NSA believes hackers used that breach to obtain information used to spearphish its customers."
From the second paragraph of this article at the Hill.

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

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解答

意味： 英辞郎によると、


スピアーフィッシング◆特定の人物を標的としたフィッシング詐欺

Answer

According to FBI.com:

Instead of casting out thousands of e-mails randomly hoping a few victims will bite, spear phishers target select groups of people with something in common—they work at the same company, bank at the same financial institution, attend the same college, order merchandise from the same website, etc. The e-mails are ostensibly sent from organizations or individuals the potential victims would normally get e-mails from, making them even more deceptive.

Etymology/語源

かなり新しい用語で、英辞郎によると、

◆【語源】もり（spear）で一匹の魚を狙って突き刺す様子から。

This is a relatively new term and according to Wictionary:

Blend of spearfishing +‎ phishing.

Duh! :)

Question of the Day #124

“…and warning the president 'overplayed his hand' in meetings over the weekend.”
From the end of the first paragraph of this article in the Hill.

上記の文で、overplay one's handの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "overplay one's hand" mean?

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解答

意味： 英辞郎によると、


〔交渉などで〕強く出過ぎる

ですが、英文の定義を読んでもらえばわかりますが、「〔交渉などで〕自分の立場等を過信して、強く出過ぎる」というニュアンスがあります。

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

to make a mistake due to the belief that one's position is stronger or better than it really is

Etymology/語源

Online Etymology Dictionaryによると、

トランプ遊びからの隠喩。手持ちのトランプの割に強気に出過ぎること。(1926年)

According to Online Etymology Dictionary:

a metaphor from card games, in to overplay (one's) hand, "to spoil one's hand by bidding in excess of its value" (1926)

Examples

• The union overplayed its hand by demanding too much, causing the company to withdraw what would have been its best offer.
• ‘she chose to overplay her hand and lost the sympathy of those who could have saved her’
• ‘Firefighters should beware the dangers of overplaying their hand.’
• ‘It would appear that the Republicans totally overplayed their hand and the voters reacted accordingly.’
• ‘The young agent was so keen to serve the public interest that he overplayed his hand.’

Question of the Day #123

"Trump unleashes Sunday morning tweet-spasm: White House leaks ‘are fabricated lies made up by #FakeNews’"
From the headline of this article at Raw Story.

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

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解答

意味：

英辞郎には、tweet-spasmという用語は掲載されていないが、それぞれの単語は掲載されている。

tweetの本来の意味は、さえずりまたは小鳥がさえずるですが、今では、


• ＜自動詞＞〔ツイッターで〕つぶやく
• ＜他動詞＞〔ツイッターで〕～をつぶやく
• ＜名詞＞ツイート、つぶやき

の意味もあります。

また、spasmの意味は、

けいれん、発作

であることから、tweet-spasmの意味は、「ツイッター上のつぶやきの発作」となる。すなわち、ツイッターで「たて続けにつぶやきを投稿すること」を意味する。

この同意語でもっと一般的な言い方は、tweet-storm/tweetstormです。ただし、tweetstormには、「特定の話題に関して、複数のユーザによってツイッターが活発になること」という意味もあります。

Answer

As far as I can tell, there is no definition out there yet for tweet-spasm, but it is easy enough to surmise that it is synonymous with tweet-storm (or tweetstorm) for which there are definitions.

According to tweetstorm:

a series of tweets (= messages on Twitter™) sent one after the other by one person

Etymology/語源

ツイッター自体が2006年にできたサービスなので、tweet-spasmはもっと新しいことになりますが、tweetstormに関していうとツイッターの歴史の中で比較的古く、2008年から使われている。What's a 'Tweetstorm'?によると、

As early as 2008… tweetstorm referred to a general flurry of Twitter activity about a particular matter…

「2008年頃から、tweetstormは、特定の話題に関してツイッターが活発になることを意味した」

Since Twitter itself only became available in 2006, we know that tweet-spasm must be newer, although I cannot pin down the exact date. However, the following gives us some idea about the origin of tweetstorm.

As early as 2008… tweetstorm referred to a general flurry of Twitter activity about a particular matter…

Examples

下記例文は、tweetstormのものですが、tweet-spasmを代わりに使用できるものです。
The following examples are for tweetstorm, but tweet-spasm can be used in any of them.

• Sadly, there is still no limit to the number of tweets in a "tweetstorm." — Jim Kerstetter, The New York Times, 25 May 2016
• ‘Monday's tweetstorm was just the latest salvo in a year-long anti-media campaign’
• ‘the agency responded to his recent tweets with a tweetstorm of its own’