Question of the Day #314

"Trump portrait: you couldn’t create a creepier Yuletide scene if you tried"
From the headline of this article at The Guardian.

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

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解答

意味：
Creepierは、creepyの活用形です。 英辞郎によると、


1. 〔虫が〕はい回る
2. むずむずする、ゾクゾクする、身の毛のよだつような、気味悪い、ゾッとする

この場合は、当然2番ですが、2番の意味は多くの人が1番の「〔虫が〕はい回る」様子を気持ち悪がることからきています。
活用は、creepy, creepier, creepiestです。

ちなみに、英語圏の人がコーヒー用の「森永クリープ」(Creap)を気持ち悪がる理由は、creepと同じ発音と似た綴りだからです。

Answer

"Creepier" is, of course, a form of "creepy." According to Merriam-Webster:

1. producing a nervous shivery apprehension
2. of, relating to, or being a creep : annoyingly unpleasant

Although both definitions seem to fit this headline, I think I'll go with definition 1. For what it's worth, there is a Japanese powdered creamer called Creap of all things. Needless to say, it is not popular with English-speaking foreigners.

Etymology/語源

Online Etymology Dictionaryによると、

「這う様子」の意味は、1794から。「肌に虫が這うような感じ」は1831年から、また現在使われているこのような「ゾクゾクする、身の毛のよだつような」雰囲気は1858年から。

According to Online Etymology Dictionary:

1794, "characterized by creeping," from creep + -y (2). Meaning "having a creeping feeling in the flesh" is from 1831; that of producing such a feeling, the main modern sense, is from 1858.

Examples

• The snakelike branches overhead were creepier when she could see them in daylight, and the few birds and insects she saw made her shudder.
• Rees described the novel as "a creepier book than people think. — The Long Goodbye (novel)
• After they head back to their cabin and night sets in, things become even creepier. — Villmark
• "Entertainment Weekly" gave the film a B- rating, calling the film "trash, but creepier than you expect. — House on Haunted Hill (1999 film)
• ...Lilith should be a woman or little girl, with the writers eventually settling on the latter because they found it creepier. — Supernatural (season 3)

Question of the Day #313

"After criticism, Trump pushes out Mattis sooner than planned"
From the headline of this article at AP News.

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

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解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、


押し出す［のける］、排除する

となっていますが、この場合は「解任する」に意訳するのがいいでしょう。

Answer

According to Oxford Learner's Dictionaries:

to make somebody leave a place or an organization

Examples

• I felt I was being pushed out of the job.

Question of the Day #312

"Trump downplays resignation of anti-ISIS special envoy Brett McGurk, calls it 'nothing event'"
From the headline of this article at ABC News.

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

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解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、


〔物事を実際よりも〕軽く見る［扱う］、軽視する、見くびる、重要視しない

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

PLAY DOWN, DE-EMPHASIZE

Etymology/語源

Online Etymology Dictionaryによると、

1968年から。動詞句のplay ~ downより。音楽や演劇関係から派生したかもしれない。

According to Online Etymology Dictionary:

"de-emphasize, minimize," 1968, from verbal phrase play (something) down, which is perhaps from music or theater

Examples

• Athletes often downplay their injuries.
• he self-deprecatingly downplays his own contributions to the festival's success
• The government has been trying to downplay the crisis.
• ‘this report downplays the seriousness of global warming’
• The press has downplayed the president's role in the negotiations.

Question of the Day #311

"Japan drops by three to 114th in gender equality rankings by World Economic Forum"
From the headline of this article at the Japan Times.

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

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解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、


男女の平等、ジェンダーの平等、男女同権

なお、例文の場合は、形容詞として使っているので本当ならばハイフォンを入れたgender-equalityが正しいのですが、ハイフォンを省略する場合は少なくない。

Answer

According to Dictionary.com:

the state of having the same rights, status, and opportunities as others, regardless of one's gender.

Examples

• Gender equality does not imply that women and men are the same, but that they have equal valueand should be accorded equal treatment.
• Things like more economic development, better education, and “gender-equality measures.”
• Massachusetts should take the lead in starting a gender-equality movement in the name of Senator TedKennedy.
• Gender equality is equality between women and men, who should have the same opportunities to shape society and their own lives. This area includes issues such as power, influence, finances, education, work and physical integrity.
• Gender equality addresses the tendency to ascribe, in various settings across societies, different roles and status to individuals on the basis of gender. 

Question of the Day #310

"Aeon teams with Go-Jek in new Southeast Asian drive"
From the headline of this article at Nikkei Asian Review.

上記の文で、team with の意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "team with" 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：
英辞郎を調べるとteam withの例がたくさんありますが、この場合はteam with local policeの例が適訳です。


地元の警察と協力する

ということは、このteam withは、team up withの省略形であると考えていいでしょう。

～とチームを組む、～と協力［提携］する◆【同】partner with

Answer

According to Dictionary.com:

to gather or join in a team, a band, or a cooperative effort (usually followed by up, together, etc.).

Examples

• ‘he teamed up with the band to produce the disc’
• Lang teamed with Draper to develop the vaccine.
• to team up on a research project
• But I think Steve Austin has to team up with a Japanese holdout to stop a nuclear bomb from going off or something.

Question of the Day #309

"Suspected gas explosion destroys eatery in Japan, hurts 42"
From the headline of this article at ABC News.

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


〈米話〉飲食店、レストラン

複数形は、eateries

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

 LUNCHEONETTE, RESTAURANT

The plural form is eateries.

Examples

• we usually go to lunch at an eatery that is just around the corner from the office
• Readers, what are your favorite eateries where kids can eat for free? — Sally Deneen, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Free kid's meals offered at South Florida restaurants," 12 July 2018
• Gelato gets packed in a croissant, doused in espresso, and made into sundaes and shakes at this Disney Springs eatery. — Lauren Delgado, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Take a break from steamy summer with cool, creamy gelato," 12 July 2018
• The elite youngsters were photographed walking into the exclusive London eatery yesterday evening.
• As Samuelsson tells it over lunch at his celebrated Harlem eatery , Red Rooster, he wouldn't have it any otherway.

Question of the Day #308

"With debate on constitutional reform sidelined, has immigration law been a pyrrhic victory for Abe?"
From the headline of this article at the Japan Times.

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

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解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、


犠牲が多くて引き合わない勝利◆エピラス（Epirus）のピュロス（Pyrrhus）王がローマ軍と戦った。

なお、下記英語の説明にあるようにpyrrhic自体に形容詞として「犠牲が多くて引き合わない」の意味があります。

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

a victory that is not worth winning because so much is lost to achieve it

It should be noted that pyrrhic can be used with a similar meaning by itself. According to Merriam-Webster:

1. achieved at excessive cost
2. also: costly to the point of negating or outweighing expected benefits

Etymology/語源

Online Etymology Dictionaryによると、

1885年から。紀元前280年にエピラス（Epirus）のピュロス（Pyrrhus）王がローマ軍と戦って勝利したが、自軍の犠牲があまりにも大きくその後にローマを攻めることが不可能となったことから。

According to Online Etymology Dictionary:

1885 (usually in phrase Pyrrhic victory), from Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, who defeated Roman armies at Asculum, 280 B.C.E., but at such cost to his own troops that he was unable to follow up and attack Rome itself....

Examples

• It's a pyrrhic symbolic victory that could actually be causing extra environmental damage.
• This will be a war of attrition and a Pyrrhic and Camdean Victory for myself.
• Legislators are no longer thinking ahead even as far as the next election; all their focus is on the next Pyrrhicvictory.
• But Howard Kurtz says it could prove a pyrrhic victory that could threaten his second-term agenda.
• However, if that is all that is accomplished, it will be a Pyrrhic victory.

Question of the Day #307

"The Japanese economy contracted the most in over four years in the third quarter as companies slashed spending"
From the first sentence of this article at Reuters.

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

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解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、


1. 〔規模や程度が〕縮小［収縮］する、縮まる
2. 《医》〔筋肉が〕収縮する

この場合は、もちろん1番です。
なお、記事の見出しのshrinkと同じ意味です。ここであえて同義語を使っていることに注目しましょう。

Answer

According to :

to become smaller in amount or quantity

Etymology/語源

Online Etymology Dictionaryによると、

小さい範囲に収めること、小さくする、縮めるの意味は14世紀の終わり頃から。

According to Online Etymology Dictionary:

late 14c., "to draw into a smaller compass, become smaller, shrink" (intransitive)

Examples

• A recession is a period when the economy is contracting.
• Agricultural output has contracted by 2.3 percent.
• The manufacturing economy contracted in October for the sixth consecutive month.

Question of the Day #306

"Ikumen: How Japan’s ‘hunky dads’ are changing parenting"
From the headline of this article at .

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

答えは、コメントに書いてください。
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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hunkyは、


〈俗〉〔特に男性が〕体格のがっしりした、筋肉質でセクシーな

ということになっているが、日本人男性のイメージとちょっと違うと思うので、同じページにあるhunky guyの和訳を見ると、

《a ～》〈俗〉格好いい［セクシーな・たくましい］男性

ということになるので、「格好いいお父さんたち」でいいのではないでしょうか。

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

being a hunk : attractive and usually well-built

However, given that "well-built" men aren't all that popular in Japan, the "hunky dads" in the above headline should probably be interpreted as "attractive dads."

Etymology/語源

Merriam-Websterによると、

上記の意味で初めて使用されたのが1972年。

According to Merriam-Webster:

First Known Use of hunky
Adjective
1972, in the meaning defined above

Examples

• Here's how we're used to seeing hunky male superstars in their downtime: tuxedoed up on the red carpet, holding hands with pencil-thin beauties. — Sheila Weller, Good Housekeeping, "Meet Mr. Romance: Hugh Jackman," 11 July 2013
• There’s the winsome barista, Tara (Vanessa Hudgens), caught in a love triangle with a hunky vet, Dr. Mike (Michael Cassidy), and an altruistic but nerdy dog-rescue-center owner, Garrett (Jon Bass). — Katie Walsh, The Seattle Times, "Pups lift the doldrums of ‘Dog Days’," 7 Aug. 2018
• I think he's quite hunky.
• Sam Claflin— hunky , pretty, beautiful Sam Claflin—won the highly sought-after role.
• Hardly anyone could be more blue collar than Palin, out on the fishing boat with her hunky blue-collar husband, Todd.

Question of the Day #305

"Japan has so many vacant homes it's giving them away"
From the headline of this article at CNN.com.

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

答えは、コメントに書いてください。
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解答

意味：
英辞郎によるとvacantの意味は、


〔場所が〕空いている、使われていない

ということで、vacant homesは「空き家」のことです。 また、同記事の6段落目の最後に"...Japan's countryside has become haunted by deserted 'ghost' houses, known as "akiya."とあることから、ghost housesも同じ意味で使われていることがわかります。

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster, "vacant means:

not lived in

And further cites as an example, "vacant houses."

Question of the Day #304

"The G20 Communiqué Bookends the George H.W. Bush Era"
From the headline of this article at The Atlantic.

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


～を〔ブックエンドのように両脇から〕はさむ

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

to serve as or mark the beginning and ending of (something): to be the first and last parts or events of (something)

Examples

• Steven Spielberg bookended "Saving Private Ryan" with 5 pointless opening minutes and 5 even more pointless closing minutes.
• … a movie that, together with All the President's Men, bookends the era of heroic investigative journalism. — Rand Richards Cooper
• This account is based on interviews with people involved in and familiar with the discussions and negotiations that stretched between Mr. Musk’s first tweets and a blog post late Friday night that put a bookend on the deal. — Tim Higgins, WSJ, "Public Bravado, Private Doubts: Inside the Unraveling of Elon Musk’s Tesla Buyout," 27 Aug. 2018
• … the period bookended by the Civil War and the civil rights movement. — Christopher Benfey
• The anthology is bookended by an introductory essay by the editors … and an epilogue … — C. L. Salter

Question of the Day #303

"Russian President Vladimir Putin "tried again to muck around in our elections this last month, and we are seeing a continued effort along those lines,” Mattis told an audience at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California on Saturday."
From the second paragraph of this article at ABC News.

上記の文で、muck around の意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "muck around" 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〉めちゃめちゃにする、いじくる、いいかげんに扱う
2. 〈英話〉ふざける、戯れる、冗談を言う
3. 〈英話〉ブラブラして時間をつぶす［浪費する］、ぶらつく、のらくら過ごす、ウロウロする
4. 〈話〉〔人を〕困らせる、〔人の不幸に〕付け込む

全体的には、ネガチブが意味ですが、この場合は1番でしょう。

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

1. to spend time doing things that are not useful or serious : to waste time
2. to be unfair or dishonest with (someone) : to lie to or cheat (someone)

Examples

• The president's wife doesn't muck around with policy or sit in on Cabinet meetings. 
• Why muck around now and encourage unions to keep striking?
• Quit mucking around and help me take out the trash!
• Please don't muck around with the thermostat, Ihave it set exactly the way I want it.
• I've been mucking around with the melody but haven't been able to get it quiteright.