Question of the Day #412

"After that rally erupted in violence, the president’s days of mealy-mouthed 'both sides' rhetoric were widely criticized. "
From the seventh paragraph of this article at The Bulwark.

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


〔自分の考えなどを〕はっきりと言わない、遠回しに［当たり障りのないように］言う

ですが、下記英語の定義にあるように、他に「不誠実、ずる賢い、不道徳な」のような意味もあります。

Answer

According to Dictionary.com:

avoiding the use of direct and plain language, as from timidity, excessive delicacy, or hypocrisy; inclined to mince words; insincere, devious, or compromising.

Etymology/語源

Dictionary.comによると、

初めて記録されたのが、1565〜75年頃。

According to Dictionary.com:

First recorded in 1565–75

Examples

• Spokesmen have been mealy-mouthed in defence of the president.
• Twenty-five years later, he wrote a mealy-mouthed not-quite apology for his rhetoric.
• a mealy-mouthed spokesperson
• mealy-mouthed excuses
• He repeated that he did not intend to be mealy-mouthed with the country's leaders.

Question of the Day #411

"You can’t fix the cause of their suffering, you don’t know how to fix their symptoms and you walk on eggshells, not knowing how to talk to them or if your presence is even wanted. "
From the headline of this article at .

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


非常に用心して歩く、薄氷を踏む思いをする、慎重に［用心深く］行動する［振る舞う］、細心の注意を払う

Answer

According to The Free Dictionary:

To act with great care and consideration so as not to upset someone.

Etymology/語源

Wiktionary.orgによると、

1800年頃から。おそらく卵の殻は、踏まれるとすぐ割れることから。

According to Wiktionary.org:

1800s usage, probably from the imagery that eggshells are easily broken when stepped upon.

Examples

• The littlest thing tends to anger my mother, so I feel like I have to walk on eggshells whenever I'm at her house.
• Everyone is walking on eggshells at my firm because the owner is visiting our office this week.
• My roommate is so stressed out about her job that I have to walk on egg shells around the house because she’s always trying to work.
• Whenever my mother-in-law visits I'm walking on eggshells in my own home.
• Healthy or sick, good days or bad, I felt I was always walking on eggshells around him.

Question of the Day #410

"Today, he’s a gay YouTube and Instagram star and comedian based in Brooklyn, New York, whose impressions and sketches have garnered over 50 million views on social media."
From the first paragraph of this article at People.com.

上記の文で、sketchの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "sketch" 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：
Sketchの意味はいくつかありますが、この場合は、英辞郎によると、


〔喜劇の〕寸劇

となりますが、もっと簡単に言えば、「コント」です。

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

a slight theatrical piece having a single scene
especially: a comic variety act

Etymology/語源

Online Etymology Dictionaryによると、

「寸劇や短いパフォーマンス、とくに喜劇的なもの」の意味は、1789年から。

According to Online Etymology Dictionary:

meaning "short play or performance, usually comic" is from 1789

Examples

• I thought the sketch about celebrity chefs was really funny.
• She helped write a sketch for a comedy show.
• ...a five-minute sketch about a folk singer.
• ‘a hilarious sketch for their latest BBC series’

Question of the Day #409

"Linda Richman Is Verklempt"
From the headline of this article at TabletMag.com.

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


感情に圧倒された、あぜんとした、感極まった、胸がいっぱいの

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

overcome with emotion; choked up

Etymology/語源

Merriam-Websterによると、

初めて使用されたのが、1991年。
イディッシュ語のfarklemt（精神的に沈んだ、深い悲しみ）から。

According to Merriam-Webster:

First Known Use of verklempt: 1991
Borrowed from Yiddish farklemt "depressed, grieving,"

Examples

• Hunched over my tiny screens lately, I've found myself … verklempt over an old video I posted of my son blowing bubbles in the bathtub. — James Poniewozik
• Actor BD Wong, a San Francisco native who has achieved great acclaim on Broadway and television, was initially verklempt, struggling to contain his emotion before finding words to describe Perloff. — Catherine Bigelow, San Francisco Chronicle, "Stars come out to celebrate Perloff’s ACT tenure," 9 Apr. 2018
• ‘she was all verklempt earlier this week over her latest split from her husband’
• Two suicides by students caused the compassionate teacher to be verklempt with grief
• After her father’s death, the verklempt woman cried herself to [sleep] every night.

Question of the Day #408

"10 Most Badass Muscle Cars, Ranked"
From the headline of this article at HotCars.com.

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

形容詞

1. 〈卑〉〔人が〕付き合いにくい、たちの悪い
2. 〈主に米・卑俗〉すご腕の、恐ろしいほど優秀な、大胆不敵な、超格好いい◆【類】wicked ; bad

名詞

1. 〈卑〉たちの悪いやつ
2. 〈卑俗〉〔大胆な行動などを褒めて〕すごいやつ

例文の場合は、もちろん形容詞の２つ目の訳になります。

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

Adjective

1. chiefly US, informal + sometimes offensive: ready to cause or get into trouble
2. chiefly US, informal + sometimes offensive: of formidable strength or skill

Noun

1. chiefly US, informal + sometimes offensive: a person who is badass

The meaning in the example is, of course, the second adjective definition.

Etymology/語源

Online Etymology Dictionaryによると、

"tough guy"（たくましい［強靱な・屈強な］男、タフガイ）の意味は、1950年代から。米国の俗語。

According to Online Etymology Dictionary:

"tough guy," 1950s U.S. slang

Examples

• You look badass!
• ‘a badass demeanour’
• ‘this was one badass camera’
• Recent Emmy-winner Joey Pants is one bust-out, badass dude who deserves a hit.

Question of the Day #407

"Why Canadians should take note of what’s happening in UK politics"
From the headline of this article at The Times of Israel.

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


～に気付く、～に注目する

Answer

According to Cambridge Dictionary:

to give attention to something, especially because it is important:

Examples

• You should take careful note of what she tells you because she knows their strategy well.
• While you are working through this process, take note of the features in the garden that you would like to keep.
• It was then that I realized that I had forgotten to take note of any landmarks en route.
• Visitors are reminded to take note of local laws and customs.
• Please take note ofthe hour. It is late.

Question of the Day #406

"The song is imaginative and catchy, and it transforms Simba’s preening self-regard into such a hummable earworm that it’s easy enough to buy into everything he proclaims."
From the third paragraph of this article at Vox.

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

解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、


話〉頭から抜けない［頭の中で何度も繰り返される・耳にこびりついて離れない］音［曲・メロディ・歌］

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

a song or melody that keeps repeating in one's mind

Etymology/語源

Dictionary.comによると、

1980~1985年ごろ。ドイツ語のohrwurm（「ノリのいい曲、earwig（ハサミムシ）」の意）から。

According to Dictionary.com :

1980–85; loan translation of German Ohrwurm ‘catchy tune, earwig’

Examples

• The earworm, which rose to popularity in 2018, mixed animation and two human kids dancing out the story of a shark family, K-pop style. — Abbi Matheson, BostonGlobe.com, "Doo doo doo doo doo doo: ‘Baby Shark Live!’ is coming to Boston this fall," 10 July 2019
• At the theme parks, a lot of the rides will load the hordes into boats that float through movie scenes or saddle you with an earworm. — Jim Webster, Twin Cities, "In Orlando or Anaheim for a Disney vacation? Explore the cities beyond the gates, too," 29 June 2019
• “Cups” has had the unlikeliest of journeys to summer earworm.
• The newer sense of "earworm" is actually influenced by the German word for this phenomenon—a word that translates to "earworm."
• Scientists claim to have found a way to help anyone plagued by earworms – those annoying tunes that lodge themselves inside ourheads.

Question of the Day #405

"IOG said Friday it had signed binding definitive agreements with CER to farm out 50% of its North Sea assets...as well as the Thames pipeline and Thames receiving facility."
From the fourth paragraph of this article at S&P Global.

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


〔仕事を〕外注［アウトソーシング］する、下請けに出す

他にもいくつかの意味があるので、上記リンクを参照してください。

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

to turn over for performance by another usually under contract

Etymology/語源

Merriam-Websterによると、

上記の意味で初めて使われたのは、1600年ごろ。

According to Merriam-Webster:

First Known Use of farm out
circa 1600, in the meaning defined

Examples

• We could always farm the typing out to freelancers.
• The trend for corporate legal staffs is to do more work in-house, instead of farming it out to law firms.
• We can take advantage of new technology more quickly by farming out computer operations. 
• Magazines often farm out articles to freelance journalists.

Question of the Day #404

"Democrats Need To Reverse Engineer Republican Gaslighting"
From the headline of this article at Rantt Media.

上記の文で、gaslightingの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "gaslighting" 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：
日本ではあまり聞かない現象のためか、英辞郎には掲載されていないので、Weblioで調べてみました。


ガスライティング
特定の人をターゲットとして、集団で付け回したり、ターゲットが妄想癖や精神的な欠点を持っていると思い込ませるような工作をするなどして、ターゲットを精神的に追い詰めていくこと。精神的虐待の一種とされる。

アメリカでは、トランプ大統領の台頭でとくに共和党との関連が強く主張されてる言葉です。
なお、動詞形はgaslight/gaslightedです。

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster, gaslight means the following:

to attempt to make (someone) believe that he or she is going insane (as by subjecting that person to a series of experiences that have no rational explanation)

Etymology/語源

Merriam-Websterによると、

イギリスの劇作家Patrick Hamiltonの1938年の劇Gas Lightから。その後、1940年と1944年に英米でGaslightという映画として制作された。内容は、ある男性が、自分の妻を様々な方法でだまし、妻が狂っていると思わせる。

According to Merriam-Webster:

after Gas Light, a play (1938) by British writer Patrick Hamilton, subsequently made into British and American films entitled Gaslight (1940 and 1944), in which a man attempts to trick his wife into believing that she is going insane

Examples

• Stacey was being gaslighted by someone leaving Jack's watch in the house, and then making it disappear, and calling her on the phone using Jack's voice.
• Gaslighting is a manipulation tactic used to gain power. And it works too well.
• You’re Not Going Crazy: 15 Signs You’re a Victim of Gaslighting
• "Gaslighting" has been all over the press lately, mainly in reference to Donald Trump.

Question of the Day #403

What is this – a weird diplomatic “pinkie promise”, which means precisely nothing?"
From the last paragraph of this article at The Guardian.

上記の文で、pinkie promiseの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "pinkie promise" 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：
なんと、pinkie promiseは英辞郎の無料版や他の主なオンライン辞書に掲載されていないという事実を発見。したがって、「指切り　英語」をぐぐって、このページがありました。で、回答は、


「指切り」

上記のページは「"指切りげんまん"は英語でなんて言う?」という表題の記事なので、関心ある方は参照してみてください。

また、Urban Dictionaryには、下記の例文の１つ目のような現代のアメリカの「指切りげんまん」のような言葉が掲載されています。

Answer

According to Stack Exchange:

A pinky promise (or "pinky swear") is a gesture in which two parties interlock little fingers in a symbolic gesture of agreement. 

Etymology/語源

According to HC AT TULANEによると、

pinky promiseまたはpinky swearは、日本の「指切り」に由来するという説があります。

しかし、他にもいくつかの説があるのでどれが本当なのかは定かではない。

According to HC AT TULANE:

It is said that the “pinky promise” or “pinky swear” originated in Japan where it is known as yubikiri, which means “finger cut-off.” This is because in Japan the person that broke the "pinky promise" had to cut off their pinky finger. 

However, there are other stories about its origin so make of this what you will.

Examples

• Pinkie promise. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.
• Pinkie promise me you wont do it again.
• Pinkie promise you will call me when you get back!