Question of the Day #549

"Advocates will attempt a long-shot effort to seek legislative action to protect workers in Nebraska meat-processing plants before senators go home in two weeks."

From the 1st paragraph of this article at the Lincoln Journal Star.

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

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---

解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

1. 〔スポーツやゲームなどで〕勝つ見込みの低い参加者［競走馬・候補］
2. 〔賭の〕大穴
3. 〔事業や冒険などの〕大きな賭、大ばくち、大胆な試み◆見込みは低いものの成功すれば大きな成果が得られるもの。
4. 〔撮影時の〕ロング・ショット、俯瞰

ただし、問題文の場合は、long-shotで形容詞として使われているので、「可能性のとても低い」の意味になります。

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

1. a venture involving great risk but promising a great reward if successful also: a venture unlikely to succeed
2. an entry (as in a horse race) given little chance of winning
3. a bet in which the chances of winning are slight but the possible winnings great

Examples

• I hope to double my profits, but I know that's a long shot.
• The horse was a long shot, but we bet on him anyway.
• It's a long shot, but you could try phoning him at home.
• The deal was a long shot, but Bagley had little to lose.
• I thought about meeting a handsome stranger but it seemed a bit of a long shot.

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Question of the Day #548

"The MLB negotiations are enough to make a fan cry uncle, and maybe that’s the point"

From the headline of this article at Boston.com.

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

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---

解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

降参する

cry uncleの他にsay uncleとyell uncleともいうことがあります。

Answer

According to The Free Dictionary :

To admit defeat or plead for mercy, especially in an informal physical contest of some kind.

Examples

• They ganged up on him in the schoolyard and made him say uncle.
• The brothers often play fought, but it was invariably the younger of the two who had to cry uncle by the end.
• They’re determined to make the President cry uncle in the budget debate.
• She was nagging his boyfriend until he cried uncle。
• If you say uncle right now, I'll let you go first in the next game.

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Question of the Day #547

"As Africa is not a monolith, “nommo” has more than one meaning, but the many definitions boil down to the power of the spoken word. "

From the 1st paragraph of this article at Greatist.

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

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---

解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

1. 〔食べ物が〕煮詰まって～の状態にする
2. 〔問題・状況などが〕要約すると～ということになる、結局［詰まるところ］～ということになる

問題文の訳は、当然2番目になります。

Answer

According to Collins Dictionary :

If you say that a situation or problem boils down to a particular thing or can be boiled down to a particular thing, you mean that this is the most important or the most basic aspect of it.

Examples

• What they want boils down to just one thing. It is land.
• Mind you, most books I seem to read these days could probably be boiled down to a sentence.
• The problem boils down to one thing - lack of money.
• What it all boils down to is a lack of communication.
• In the end, what it all boils down to is money, or the lack of it.

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Question of the Day #546

"Loofah Seeds Market Emerging Trends, Global Demand and Business Opportunities 2020 to 2026 "

From the headline of this article at the Weekly Wall.

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

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---

解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

《植物》ヘチマ、ヘチマの海綿状繊維、ヘチマ布巾、ヘチマ・スポンジ

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

1. any of a genus (Luffa) of Old World tropical plants of the gourd family with white to yellow flowers and large usually elongate fruits that are sometimes eaten as vegetables when immature
   also: the fruit of a loofah
2. a sponge consisting of the fibrous interior of the mature dried fruit of a loofah (especially Luffa aegyptiaca synonym L. cylindrica)

Examples

• Then, trim your toenails and use a scrub, loofah, or textured towel to slough off dead skin. — Sara Hendricks, USA TODAY, "10 ways to make your weekends feel more normal in quarantine," 22 Apr. 2020
• Exfoliate the Skin Use a loofah, washcloth, or exfoliating sponge to gently exfoliate your skin before shaving. — Alanna Martine Kilkeary, Teen Vogue, "How to Shave Pubic Hair If You Have a Vagina," 9 Mar. 2020
• In the main, further loofahs would have to come from hard currency countries, whereas sponges in the main come from soft currency areas.
• Insoles are sometimes called shoe socks and are made of cork, wool, canvas, felt or sometimes loofah.
• Richard inspected and rejected as poor towel substitutes a loofah, a half-empty bottle of shampoo, and a small yellow rubber duck. Neil Gaiman NEVERWHERE (2001)

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Question of the Day #545

"Will Poulter: “I’m a scaredy cat – I’ll always avoid confrontation”"

From the headline of this article at NME.

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

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---

解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

〈話〉意気地なし、弱虫、臆病者

なお、英辞郎では特定されていませんが、scaredyは子供の使う単語で「怖がり」の意味です。が、会話の中ではscaredyもscaredy catも大人が使用することもあります。

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

an unduly fearful person

Etymology/語源

Merriam-Websterによると、

わかる限り、初めて使用されたのが1948年。

According to Merriam-Webster:

The first known use of scaredy-cat was in 1948

Examples

• Come on, scaredy-cat - it won't bite you!
• Don't be such a scaredy-cat. 
• I watch from my scaredy-cat corner. Times, Sunday Times (2015)
• She's not the only celeb scaredy-cat. The Sun (2008)
• Ryan was feeling sick. He thought about going to the doctor, but he is a scaredy-cat when it comes to needles. In other words, he’s too scared to go.

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Question of the Day #544

"Imagine a Venn diagram, where every category of data represents a circle. The more circles you overlay, the smaller and more specific the overlapping center will become."

From the 4th paragraph of this article at Forbes.

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

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解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

《数学》ベン図

集合で使うあの円です。英語の定義は、かなり複雑なので解読できるか試しましょう。

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

a graph that employs closed curves and especially circles to represent logical relations between and operations on sets and the terms of propositions by the inclusion, exclusion, or intersection of the curves

Etymology/語源

Dictionary.comによると、

19世紀。イギリスの論理学者John Venn（1834年生、1923年没）より。

According to Dictionary.com:

C19: named after John Venn (1834–1923), English logician

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Question of the Day #543

"'It doesn’t mean you have to be those things, you might be many of those things at once or you may be none of them'. This is word salad and will confuse children."

From the 4th paragraph of this article at The Spectator.

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

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---

解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

言葉のサラダ

と和訳がありますが、これでは意味わかりませんよね。そこで、下記英語の定義を参照します。
最初の定義は、心理学用語の意味です。統合失調症等の精神疾患の症状として現れる理解できない、まとまりのない発言や文章。
定義2は、一連の無意味で支離滅裂な理解できない理にかなっていない言葉や発言。

問題文は、当然2番目の定義になります。

故竹下元総理大臣の「言語明瞭・意味不明瞭」と評された発言がword saladに当たると思います。

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

1. psychology: unintelligible, extremely disorganized speech or writing manifested as a symptom of a mental disorder (such as schizophrenia)
2. a string of empty, incoherent, unintelligible, or nonsensical words or comments

Examples

• Damage to Wernicke's area can result in the loss of semantic associations … . Trying to speak results in garbled, nonsensical juxtapositions that neuroscientists call "word salad". — Duncan Graham-Rowe
• In the moments when the debate wasn't in circus form it seemed very conventional and very one-sided, with one candidate who could give complete, coherent and informed answers about issues and the other who specialized in word salad. — Robert Schlesinger
• But Drew Brees needs to prove there is substance to his mea culpa, that his wasn’t yet another word salad from someone who doesn’t get it and just wants all this to go away. — Nancy Armour, USA TODAY, "Opinion: Drew Brees needs to do more than apologize for comments on protests," 4 June 2020
• Your explanation is a pompous word salad, with absolutely no meaning.
• The eyes fill with panic, the utterances jostle as if trying to escape, the word salad blurts out. Times, Sunday Times (2017)

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Question of the Day #542

"'She simply, in an act of civil disobedience, was trying to be a pain in the neck,' McNair said."

From the 17th paragraph of this article at GoErie.com.

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

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---

解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

《a ～》頭痛［悩み］の種、イライラさせる［いらつく・腹立たしい・とても嫌な・うんざりさせる・不快にさせる・困った・面倒くさい］こと［出来事・人・やつ］、目の上のこぶ、嫌な仕事、面倒

Answer

According to The Free Dictionary:

An especially irritating, aggravating, or obnoxious person, thing, or situation.

Examples

• You know, Jack, you may be my friend, but you can be a real pain in the neck sometimes!
• This calculus homework is a pain in the neck. It's not that I don't understand it, it's just so tedious!
• He was a pain in the neck. I was glad when he left my department.
• She decided that being a pain in the neck gets all the attention. Times, Sunday Times (2007)
• Michelin star wars: are the culinary ratings the highest accolade in food or a pain in the neck? Times, Sunday Times (2012)

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Question of the Day #541

"Post-Brexit Britain will be under Trump’s thumb"

From the headline of this article at Gulf News.

上記の文で、under (someone's) thumbの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "under (someone's) thumb" mean?

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解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

（人）の言いなりになって

Answer

According to The Free Dictionary:

Under another's authoritarian control; continually forced to submit to another's will.

Examples

• They seem happy when they're out and about, but I hear that Johnny is under his husband's thumb at home.
• Although the job paid well, I couldn't stand the way I was under the boss's thumb.
• I cannot tell you what pain I feel when I see how much my mother is under my father's thumb. 
• She has Rachel firmly under her thumb.
• “But I had let her know I wasn’t going to leave her anything unless she got rid of (her husband) because she was under his thumb.” (The Herald Paladium)

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Question of the Day #540

"Eliminating Age Discrimination from Lockdown Curfews"

From the headline of this article at Inter Press Service News Agency.

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

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---

解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

1. （夜間）外出禁止令
2. 門限（時間）
3. 〈米軍〉帰営時刻
4. 《野球》カーフュー、最大延長時間◆それを超えて試合を延長しない時間、アメリカでは午前1時とされる（2003年4月現在）

問題文の場合の意味は、「外出禁止令」です。
Curfewの使い方（前置詞、動詞等）がいろいろあるので、下記例文を是非参照して下さい。

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

1. the sounding of a bell at evening


2. 1. a regulation enjoining the withdrawal of usually specified persons (such as juveniles or military personnel) from the streets or the closing of business establishments or places of assembly at a stated hour
   2. a requirement that someone (typically a child) be home by a particular time
   3. a signal to announce the beginning of a curfew
   4. the hour at which a curfew becomes effective
   5. the period during which a curfew is in effect

Etymology/語源

Merriam=Websterによると、

中英語。「暖炉の火を消すの合図」の意味のフランス語coverfeuから。

According to :

Middle English, from Anglo-French coverfeu, signal given to bank the hearth fire

Examples

• The teens were stopped by police for violating the curfew.
• The city ordered a curfew soon after the rioting started.
• Beginning this Fourth of July holiday weekend, the Navajo Nation's curfew will be in effect between 8 p.m. Friday and 5 a.m. Monday. — Chelsea Curtis, The Arizona Republic, "'Alarming rise' in COVID-19 cases around Navajo Nation leads to more weekend curfews," 1 July 2020
• The village was placed under curfew.
• He was shot for breaking (= not obeying) the curfew.

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Question of the Day #539

"It’s actually more economical to let your characters buy the farm."

From the 10th paragraph of this article at PC Invasion.

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

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---

解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

〈俗〉戦死する

とありますが、「戦死」だけではなく「死ぬ」「壊れる」「だめになる」の意味もあります。

Answer

According to Wiktionary :

(idiomatic, US, informal, euphemistic) To die; generally, to die in battle or in a plane crash. 

Examples

• If you crash at 60 mph, the odds are you'll buy the farm.
• Did you hear that old Walt bought the farm? What a shame—at least he got to spend 92 years on this earth.
• I'll pass through this illness; I'm too young to buy the farm.
• The plane nosedived into the ground and exploded. He bought the farm.
• Then tracers laced the sky in front of me. Forget the shooting! If I get distracted now, I'll buy the farm anyway!

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Question of the Day #538

"She Rted one commentator who wrote: “@jk_rowling has pinpointed why so many gay peeps are concerned about the new version of trans activism."

From the 6th paragraph of this article at The Free Press Journal.

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

答えは、コメントに書いてください。
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---

解答

意味：
なぜか、かなり一般的になっているこの単語が英辞郎、Weblio等に掲載されていないので、下記英語の定義を訳すと、

<口語体>
人々（とくに自分の友人や同僚に使われることが多い）

Answer

According to Lexico:

informal People (often used to refer to a person's friends or associates)



Etymology/語源

Lexicoによると、

1950年代から。peopleを省略してsを付けたスラング。

According to Lexico:

1950s representing a pronunciation of the first syllable of people + the plural ending -s.

Examples

• He's gone out with his peeps.
• I'll have to ask my peeps about this.
• Only ten peeps showed up for the hike.
• So what do you think, peeps?
• Hey my peeps, how are you doing?

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Question of the Day #537

"Frustrated by American military failure and the intransigence of the North Vietnamese, Nixon instructed his lead negotiator, Henry Kissinger, to imply that the President of the United States existed on the very edge of rationality and could behave with reckless abandon if pushed too far. "

From the 1st paragraph of this article at The Article.

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

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解答

意味：
英辞郎には訳がないので、Weblio翻訳によると、

向こうみずな奔放で

ですが、今ひとつ意味不明なので、下記英語の定義を訳すとこんな感じです。


軽率な・衝動的な熱意をもって

文脈にもよりますが意訳すると「結果を考えずに〜をする」ぐらいが適訳ではないかと思います。

Answer

According to The Free Dictionary:

With rash, unrestrained impulsiveness, enthusiasm, or zeal.

Examples

• Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.
• They played and swam with the reckless abandon and joyfulness of three year olds.
• I am saying that we need to proceed carefully, instead of moving forward with reckless abandon.
• Normally a creature of habit, he has changed coaches and routine with reckless abandon in the past six months.
• They gambled with as much reckless abandon as they flew their airplanes. They knew they might buy the farm tomorrow.

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Question of the Day #536

"Gen X keen to go back to office, millennials want to wait: LinkedIn"

From the headline of this article at Livemint.

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

＝Generation X
〈米〉X世代、ジェネレーションX◆1960年代初頭から1970年代半ばにかけて生まれた、ベビー・ブーム世代の後の世代。高学歴だが失業者が多く、消費文化になじめずに、将来の希望を持てない世代とされる。

もっと詳しい説明は、下記例文のリンク先にあります。

Answer

According to The Indepedent:

Generation X
The starting birth years for those who fall into generation X have a very large span, with the birth years understood to range from the early-to-mid 1960s to the early 1980s.
However, some have differing opinions over where generation X begins due to the uncertainty over the ending birth years of the post-World War II baby boomers.

Etymology/語源

The Independentによると、

Generation Xは、1991年出版のDouglas Couplandの著書Generation X: Tales for Accelerated Cultureから人気がでたとされている。

According to The Independent:

The term "generation X" was popularised by the 1991 book Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, by Douglas Coupland.

Examples

• In fact, that’s the anecdotal origin of the term Gen X — illustrating the undetermined characteristics they would come to be known by.
• The exact years that comprise Gen X vary. Some researchers—demographers William Straus and Neil Howe, for example—place the exact birth years from 1961 to 1981, whereas Gallup places the birth years between 1965 and 1979.
• Gen X is often characterized by high levels of skepticism, “what’s in it for me” attitudes and a reputation for some of the worst music to ever gain popularity.
• The idea behind that “X” was about coming between. Gen X supposedly didn’t know what they were, or what they wanted. All they knew, they were told, was what they didn’t want — marriage, money, success — and then they shrugged and popped a Prozac.
• Gen X gave America portable music via the Walkmen, experienced “Parental Advisory” stickers first on music, forward fashion, and a whole lot more that jumpstarted and defined what America is today.

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