Question of the Day #575

" In order to convey their disgust with UNC’s decisionmakers, they discussed the creation of clusters of the virus and the chaos inherent in the situation by including the word “clusterfuck” in the headline of their August 16 editorial on the print version of the paper. "

From the 3rd paragraph of this article at the Nonprofit Quarterly.

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

名詞形

〈卑俗〉とんでもない大失敗、とんでもなくめちゃくちゃな事柄［状態］◆非常に下品な表現。一説に、もともとは米軍で使われた俗語。

他動詞形

〈卑俗〉～をとんでもなくめちゃくちゃな状態にする◆非常に下品な表現。一説に、もともとは米軍で使われた俗語。

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

vulgar slang
: a complex and utterly disordered and mismanaged situation : a muddled mess

Etymology/語源

Merriam-Websterによると、

初めて使用されたのは、1969年。

According to Merriam-Webster:

First Known Use of clusterfuck:
1969

Examples

• Zap is funny. Zap has the hots for your mother, who, even if she weren't too wrapped up in the tragic clusterfuck of her own life to notice, would probably be out of his league anyway. — Jonathan Tropper, Everything Changes, 2005
• As Luke tuned up, I watched as tourists snapped photos, panhandlers hassled the tourists, and junkies and drunks mixed it up like trained bears in a Russian circus during an earthquake. I realized that soon mine would be the loudest voice in this clusterfuck and that all these people would be staring at me. — Robert Wilder, Tales from the Teachers' Lounge, 2007
• This is an organizational clusterfuck.
• By the time the artillery came in the enemy was already on top of us. It was a total clusterfuck.
• Axios notes that the comments made by the president during Tuesday night’s /clusterfuck/ debate were condemned by Democrats, and Republicans asked the president to clarify his statements because they need further proof before they can call him a racist race-baiting racist.

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Question of the Day #574

"Bihar: RJD faces herculean task to satisfy allies on seat sharing"

From the headline of this article at The Times of India.

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

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解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

非常に困難な［骨の折れる］仕事

Herculean effortやHerculean featとも言います。

Answer

According to Idioms Online:

A herculean task is an extremely difficult task; an almost impossible undertaking.

Etymology/語源

Herculean taskは、ハーキュリーズ（ギリシア名ヘラクレス）に由来します。The Idiomsによると、

ヘラクラスは、ゼウスの妻ヘラをなだめるために12の功業をあたえられたことから、herculean taskが「非常に困難な仕事」という意味になった。

（上記は、かなり省略した解説なので、興味のある方はヘラクレスの「12の功業」をググってください。

According to The Idioms:

A Herculean Task requires superhuman amounts of physical strength or mental effort in honour of the Greek God Hercules. The word Herculean describes Hercules himself and he is famous for his strength and labours in the Greek myths.
Hercules (known to the Greeks as Heracles) was given 12 labours that he had to complete to appease Hera (essentially for being born to Zeus and someone other than Hera. Zeus slept around a lot). Each of these tasks was considered to be nigh impossible including defeating the Hydra and retrieving Cerberus from the Underworld (without dying). Thus, an extremely difficult task is often described as "herculean."

Examples

• It will be a Herculean task to get through to the quarter-finals, but this untested team is up for the challenge.
• It was a Herculean task for me, but I tried my best.
• “The President informed the people that they had a Herculean task before them.”
• “The building of the Great Pyramids of Egypt must have been a Herculean effort.”
• It would be a measured and constructive gesture in the herculean task of providing more employment.

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Question of the Day #573

"Schools, charities and groups of concerned citizens have been trying to tackle the issue by offering free dinners for pupils who may not even be getting one square meal a day in the holidays, community lunch clubs and, of course, the record high in use of food banks. "

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

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

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---

解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

《a ～》〔量的にも栄養的にも〕十分な［まともな］食事

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

a full or complete meal

Examples

• Inmates receive three square meals a day.
• You need a good square meal.
• ‘three square meals a day’
• They haven't had a square meal for four or five days. 
• You don't have to have three square meals a day. Times, Sunday Times (2008)

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Question of the Day #572

"Really, though, the Emmys are beside the point."

From the 7th paragraph of this article at the Los Angeles Times.

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

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---

解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

〔話などの〕要点から外れて、的を外して、的外れで◆【同】off the point

Answer

According to The Free Dictionary:

Tangential or insignificant to the main issue being discussed.

Examples

• The exact cost is beside the point – what’s important is that we get the job done.
• Brian didn't like it, but that was beside the point.
• These criticisms are not beside the point; but they are not the point. Times, Sunday Times (2008)
• I do love the apartment, but that's beside the point because I don't have enough money for a security deposit right now.
• Your weekend plans are beside the point—let's get back to the topic at hand.

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Question of the Day #571

"‘Have a Heart for the Homeless’ is on the ball "

From the headline of this article at the Wellsville Daily Reporter.

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

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---

解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

思いやりがある、情け深い心を持つ［起こす］

Answer

According to the McMillan Dictionary :

used for asking someone to be more reasonable, because they are asking you to do something that is too difficult or unpleasant

Examples

• "'There,' said he; 'now you have a heart that any man might be proud of'". Gregory Maguire WICKED: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST
• Don't make me write it again! Have a heart!
• Please let me go to the party – have a heart!
• Have a heart! I'll never get all that done.
• ‘They've given over a million dollars through our services to the evacuees there and so they have a heart.’

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Question of the Day #570

"And then what I was saying before about the probation agents, being able to do basically whatever they wanted, that’s been a real hot point with anybody, not only the people who are on probation, but their families because all of a sudden somebody is just locked up on a whim or what seems to be a whim."

From the 10th paragraph of this article at The Real News Network.

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

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---

解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

〔行動などが〕気まぐれに、思い付きで、ふと思い付いて

Answer

According to The Free Dictionary:

Based on a sudden, impulsive urge, desire, or idea; without careful planning or because of a capricious inclination.

Examples

• On a whim, we drove to the beach for the weekend.
• Major governmental policies cannot be decided on a whim; they have to be carefully and rationally thought through.
• He quit his job on a whim.
• We decided, more or less on a whim, to sail to Morocco.
• “I got it on a whim one day a few years ago.”

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Question of the Day #569

"But also, if a Government or any entity regulates with a heavy hand, the risk is not only for free speech but also for future understanding of what free speech is. "

From the 10th paragraph of this article at Techthelead.com.

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

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---

解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

締め付け

ただし、下記例文でわかるように「締め付け」の他に「きびしく」「過度に」等の意味もありますので、上手に意訳する必要があります。

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

—used to say that something has been done without delicacy or with too much force

Examples

• Henry and Richard both ruled with a heavy hand.
• The heavy hand of the military has not prevented their economies from doing very well.
• "All crimes against women were punished with a heavy hand much more severely than in modern times." "The Truth About Woman" by C. Gasquoine Hartley
• That's when he took over his ailing father's Buffalo-area store and ran it at times with a heavy hand. autonews.com
• Sulfur is a preservative that was used with a heavy hand in those days, though in recent years a movement toward natural winemaking has caught up with Burt 's practice. online.wsj.com

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Question of the Day #568

"Trump, Pelosi have chosen to fiddle while economy burns"

From the headline of this article at Gulf Today.

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

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---

解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

自動詞

1. バイオリンを弾く
2. 時を空費する

他動詞

1. ～をバイオリンで弾く
2. 〔時を〕空費する
3. ～をいじくる、もてあそぶ
4. ～をだます、ごまかす

問題文の場合、「時を空費する」でいいでしょう。

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

Intransitive verb

1. to play on a fiddle
2. 1. to move the hands or fingers restlessly
   2. to spend time in aimless or fruitless activity: PUTTER, TINKER
   3. MEDDLE, TAMPER
   4. to make minor manual movements especially to adjust something

Transitive verb

1. to play (something) on a fiddle
2. CHEAT, SWINDLE
3. to alter or manipulate deceptively for fraudulent gain

Examples

• Put your papers down and stop fiddling with them!
• He stood there fiddling with his keys.
• "He looked at it and he started to fiddle with the cable," Mrs. Perez told The Telegraph. HARRY DANCES WITH CHILEAN CHILDREN|TOM SYKES|JUNE 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
• Harriet fiddled with a pen on the desk.
• She told Whistler that his portrait of her was finished and to stop fiddling with it.

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Question of the Day #567

"Ending the summer in style! Ivanka Trump gets dressed to the nines to pose for a sweet family photo with her three children - before celebrating the start of the school year with cupcakes"

From the headline of this article at The Daily Mail.

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

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Write your answer in the Comments.

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---

解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

《be ～》申し分なくスマートに着こなしている、着飾っている、盛装している、めかしこんでいる、おめかししている

Answer

According to The Cambridge Dictionary:

to be wearing fashionable or formal clothes for a special occasion

Examples

• Jackie went out dressed to the nines.
• She goes out dressed up to the nines and comes home after midnight. The Sun (2016)
• Most of the photographs of her at her lowest weight show her dressed up to the nines for the runway. Times, Sunday Times (2017)
• Even a simple photo of themselves — pretty, proud, plump and dressed up to the nines — is enough to excite a strange moral response. Times, Sunday Times (2012)
• We could tell the black tie event was the most important of the social season. Everyone was dressed to the nines.

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Question of the Day #566

"'Tenet' is super slick and full of ambition, but forgets to be a thriller"

From the headline of this article at Slick.com.

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

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---

解答

意味：
英辞郎によるとslickの形容詞系の意味は、

1. 滑らかな、ツルツルした、スベスベした
2. 〔人や話が〕口先だけの、ペラペラとしゃべる、調子のいい
3. 〈話〉〔人が〕利口な、如才ない、巧妙に立ち回る
4. 〔物事が〕洗練された、優雅な、心地良い
5. 〔人が〕物腰が柔らかな、上品な
6. 〈米話〉素晴らしい、格好いい

問題文の場合は、6番目の訳が適切でしょう。

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

1. 1. having a smooth surface: SLIPPERY
   2. having surface plausibility or appeal: GLOSSY
   3. based on stereotype: TRITE
2. 1.  characterized by subtlety or nimble wit: CLEVER
   2.  DEFT, SKILLFUL
3. extremely good: FIRST-RATE
4. archaic: SLEEK

Examples

• When the 21st century arrived, the music industry was near the historical peak of its profitability—in part because of slick sing-alongs catering to teenagers and written by grown-up Swedes. — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, "Katy Perry and the End of Pop," 1 Sep. 2020
• Manilow gave the slick, polished performance that we've come to expect.
• A slick pass from Eaves to Brinkworth set up the goal.
• There's a big difference between an amateur movie and a slick Hollywood production.
• His style is slick and visually exciting.

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Question of the Day #565

"The uniting theme that pieces this little episodic shards together into a bigger picture is that every one of these teams defenestrated their franchise scorer and were notably worse off for it."

From the 7th paragraph from the end of this article at The Hockey Writers.

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

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解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

～を窓から放り出す

なお、下記英語の定義にあるように、「～を窓から放り出す」から「人（特に指導者）を無理やり退陣させる」意味もあります。

Answer

According to the Cambridge Dictionary :

1. to throw or push someone out of a window
2. to force someone, especially a leader, out of his or her job

Examples

• They threatened to defenestrate him.
• It would not be a good time to defenestrate the Prime Minister.
• And, as this summer and fall have shown, she can expertly defenestrate an adversary when the situation calls for it. From The New Yorker
• Name the poet who threatened to defenestrate himself when he was a judge if his choice did not win. Times, Sunday Times (2008)
• "The rebels stormed the palace and defenestrated the President"

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Question of the Day #564

"Apple and Shazam sing the same tune"

From the headline of this article at the Financial Times.

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

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---

解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

同じことばかり言う

Answer

According to The Free Dictionary :

To have the same understanding of something as someone else; to say the same things about something as other people, especially in public.

Examples

• I think we should have a meeting with everyone who's involved in the project. That way we can all be singing the same tune before we begin.
• Make sure everyone the campaign is singing the same tune before we release any kind of statement to the press.
• Everyone was singing the same tune – one politician after another stood up to declare that there was only one solution to the crisis.
• Not all moms and dads can sing the same tune.
• But when Saddam Hussein, Madeleine Albright and the Israelis all sing the same tune, something has got to be wrong.

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Question of the Day #563

"The rest of it should be a piece of cake. Should be, but often isn't."

From the 5th paragraph of this article at Joe.ie.

上記の文で、a piece of cakeの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "a piece of cake" 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、

非常に簡単な［たやすい］こと

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

something that is easy to do

Examples

• "How was the test?" "It was a piece of cake."
• Getting rid of him will be a piece of cake.
• Just another surveillance job, old chap. Piece of cake to somebody like you.
• `It's not exactly a stressful job is it?' `If it's quiet, it's a piece of cake. It's just a bit boring.'
• No problem. When you know what you're doing, it's a piece of cake.

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