Question of the Day #611

Calling your UK holiday a ‘staycation’ reeks of classism

From the headline of this article at Metro.

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

ステイケーション◆（ガソリン価格や交通運賃の値上がりが原因で）遠出せずに自宅にいるか、近場で日帰り旅行をして過ごす休暇◆【語源】stay-at-home + vacation

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

a vacation spent at home or nearby

語源

Merriam-Websterによると、

初めて使用されたのが、1944年。

Etymology

According to Merriam-Webster,

First Known Use of staycation: 1944
History and Etymology for staycation: blend of STAY and vacation

Examples

• Start your staycation with a backwards day, Blair says. — Popular Science, "Stuck at home? Trick your brain into treating a staycation like the real thing.," 22 Dec. 2020
• Even if an appointment at the hotel spa isn't an option, there are ways to make your staycation special. — Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, "Meghan Markle's Staycation Guide Is the Holiday Advice We Need Now," 21 Dec. 2020
• The great British staycation is back in fashion with more British holidaymakers choosing not to jet off to the sun but to stay at home instead.
• Or why not try a 'staycation' and turn your home into a holiday resort? The Sun (2009)
• It's easy to have a staycation in a place like NYC.

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Question of the Day #610

Volatility Market Braced For ‘Too Close To Call’ Georgia Runoffs

From the headline of this article at TechnoCodex.

上記の文で、too close to callの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "too close to call" 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、

接戦で勝敗の予測がつかない、わずかな差で予断を許さない

Answer

According to :

too close to say who will win

Examples

• The election is still too close to call.
• In the Senate, the count is too close to call at this point.
• n all three states the results at this stage are too close to call. Dobbs, Michael WALL GAMES
• There are only a few minutes left in the match and it is too close to call.
• The last round was too close to call therefore this round will be crucial in order to declare the winner.

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Question of the Day #609

A deeper look at underlying medical conditions

From the headline of this article at the Corvallis Gazette-Times.

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

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解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

《a ～》基礎疾患、原因疾患

また「基礎疾患」の意味は、日本心臓財団によると

さまざまな疾患の原因となっている病気を指す。樹木の枝葉に対する幹の存在ともいえる、心筋梗塞や脳梗塞に対する動脈硬化症や糖尿病などをいう。

また、underlying medical conditionsを略してunderlying conditionsということもあります。

Answer

According to the Corvallis Gazette-Times:

“Underlying medical conditions mean chronic medical conditions — those that affect a patient’s risk for disease for the duration of his or her life.

Examples

• The below list of underlying medical conditions is not exhaustive and only includes conditions with sufficient evidence to draw conclusions...
• Adults of any age with certain underlying medical conditions are at increased risk for severe illness from the virus that causes COVID-19.
• Call your healthcare professional if you have concerns about COVID-19 and your underlying condition or if you are sick.
• People of any age who are immunocompromised, including those with an underlying medical condition (e.g., cancer)
• About 4 in 10 Adults in the U.S. Are At Greater Risk of Developing Serious Illness if Infected with Coronavirus, Due to Age or Underlying Health Conditions

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Question of the Day #608

How do election officials make sure my vote isn’t hacked by the Russians or that my shifty-looking neighbor doesn’t get to vote twice?

From the 3rd paragraph of this article at the Vallejo Times-Herald.

上記の文で、shifty-lookingの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "shifty-looking" 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shiftyの訳は、

1. 〔人が〕ずる賢い、責任逃れをする
2. 〔風などが〕すぐに向きが変わる
3. 〔人が〕才覚がある、やりくりがうまい

問題文の場合は、1番めの訳になりますので、shifty-lookingは「ずる賢く見える」になります。意訳として、「怪しく見える」でもいいでしょう。 なお、現在3番めの訳が使用されることはほとんどないと思います。

Answer

According to The Collins Dictionary :

having the appearance of being dishonest

Examples

• A shifty-looking stranger walked past.
• There's a couple of shifty-looking people standing on the street corner.
• I looked through the window and there was a shifty-looking guy in a suit. The Sun (2009)
• At first sight, it seems hyena-esque, haunches lower than hackles, kind of shifty-looking. Times, Sunday Times (2015)
• When he and his men arrived at the spot on their patrol, they saw four shifty-looking locals run off. The Sun (2010)

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Question of the Day #607

8 Ways Companies Cook the Books

From the headline of this article at Investopedia.

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

帳簿をごまかす

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

to dishonestly change official records of how much money was spent and received

Examples

• They cooked the books to drive up the company's stock prices.
• The body of an accountant suspected of cooking the books at a local glass factory turns up in a stream. The Sun (2007)
• The committee admitted that, in its recent trials, many officials cooked the books.
• My partner had been cooking the books for years, but because I was the CEO, I got the blame for our company's collapse.
• She knew that when the auditors looked over the books there would be no hiding the fact that she had cooked the books and £3 million was missing.

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Question of the Day #606

From a creative standpoint, fans deserve closure, but the show was circling the drain with meandering plots in those final seasons.

From the 3rd from the last paragraph of this article at TV Fanatic.

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

〈米俗〉〔患者の〕死期が近い、〔患者が〕余命幾ばくもない

ただし、人間だけてはなく、このイディオムは問題文のようにさまざま物を対象とします。と言うか、その他のものの方が多いです。

Answer

According to The Free Dictionary:

To be in a state of severe deterioration such that one is approaching inevitable ruin, failure, or death. Usually used in the continuous form.

Examples

• Get Mrs. Smith’s son on the phone. She’s circling the drain.
• The restaurant where I work is circling the drain. I think I'll be out of a job soon.
• He was already circling the drain when the decision was made to take him off life support.
• The company's closure was inevitable, as it has been circling the drain for the last six months.
• Her political career began to circle the drain after news of her affair came to public light.

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Question of the Day #605

A second point, he said, is “to bring home to a wider public, the politicians, the press, just the nature of the way the Chinese Communist Party operates, therefore, whatever policy we devise towards them must take that into account."

From the 9th paragraph of this article at Voice of America News.

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

AにBを痛感させる

Answer

According to The Free Dictionary :

To cause something to be more intimately acknowledged, recognized, or understood.

Examples

• Her passionate speech about the environment really brought the importance of conservation efforts home to me.
• The sight surely brought home to me the misery of the lives in Nazi concentration camps.
• his account brought home to us the gravity of the situation
• Ministers said that this would bring home to jurors the victims' distress. Times, Sunday Times (2007)
• And that was brought home to them by their famous visitors. The Sun (2014)

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Question of the Day #604

Eventually, they jury-rig the ventilation system to pull in fresh air instead of recirculating it and make the entire unit as “negative pressure” as possible to keep COVID-19 particles from aggregating dangerously. 

From the 6th paragraph of this article at Forward Kentucky.

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

〔有り合わせの物などで〕即席［応急・間に合わせ］の～を作る、～の代用とする

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

to erect, construct, or arrange in a makeshift fashion

Etymology/語源

Vocabulary.comによると、

Jury-riggedは、もともと長い航海の時に帆柱が損傷した時の「代替の帆柱」(jury-rig)の意味の航海用語です。
航海用語で

According to Vocabulary.com:

Jury-rigged　was originally a nautical term — a　jury-rig　was a backup mast that sailors would bring on long voyages in case the original mast was damaged.

Examples

• to jury-rig stage lights using automobile headlights
• In the shed they jury-rigged a cooking stove to get some heat.
• ‘jury-rigged classrooms in gymnasiums’
• The　survivors　of　the　wreck　jury-rigged　some　fishing　gear.
• Connors　jury-rigged　a　sail　and　headed　toward　land.

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Question of the Day #603

10 things Trump may do as a lame-duck president

From the headline of this article at The Hill.

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

1. 〔政治の〕レーム・ダック、死に体◆政権を担っているが、選挙で敗れて政権を離れることになる議員、知事、大統領、政党、政権などを指す。
2. 〈米〉〔大統領の〕レーム・ダック◆任期を残して次の選挙への不出馬を表明した大統領。
3. 〔後任が決まっている〕退職間近の人
4. 〔株式市場で〕大損をした人
5. 〔経営状態が〕悪化した会社
6. 〔交換される〕古いもの
7. 役立たず、無能者、効率の悪いもの

英辞郎には、さらに具体的にlame-duck presidentの詳しい説明があります。二通りのlame-duck presidentがいることに注目していただきたいと思います。

《a ～》〈米〉今期限りで［任期満了とともに］職を退く大統領◆特に、次期大統領として再選されなかった場合。広義では、次期大統領選に出馬しない場合や、今期ですでに2回（上限回数）大統領に選ばれている場合も含む。◆今後の支持率についてあまり気にする必要がないため、思い切った政策を実行する場合がある。

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

1. one that is weak or that falls behind in ability or achievement
2. an elected official or group continuing to hold political office during the period between the election and the inauguration of a successor
3. one whose position or term of office will soon end

Etymology/語源

The Idiomsによると、

初めて使用されたのは、1755〜65年ごろ。
1700年代に生まれたこの表現は、当初借金が払えない株式仲買人を指したが、1860年代に政治家に使われるようになった。

According to The Idioms:

Origin: [1755–65].
This expression originated in the 1700s and then meant a stockbroker who did not meet his debts. It was transferred to officeholders in the 1860s.

Examples

• A lot of time and effort goes into supporting employees who are essentially lame ducks.
• This is regarded by many as a lame-duck initiative that has failed to deliver its promises.
• What do you expect from a lame-duck mayor?
• The flip side of this recognition went unacknowledged by the White House, but it can no longer be denied: Trump is officially a lame duck. — John Cassidy, The New Yorker, "A Victory for Democracy: Trump Allows the Transition to Begin," 24 Nov. 2020
• At the same time, lawmakers continue to work through a lame duck session and prepare to return to regular session in early January. — J.d. Davidson, Washington Examiner, "Ohio jobless numbers good, but just one month: Policy group," 23 Nov. 2020

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Question of the Day #602

Internet humorist and podcaster Asterios Kokkinos had no idea he’d wind up in the New York State Supreme Court embroiled in one of the pettiest cases to pass through the halls of justice when he entered into a mutually destructive flame war with George “Maddox” Ouzounian years ago.

From the headline of this article at Vice.

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

《イ》ネットワーク上で議論するときに過熱し過ぎてけんか状態になること

なお、日本語と英語の違いがあるので一概に言えませんが、日本語のネット上の「炎上する」に一番近い言い回しです。

Answer

According to The Free Dictionary:

An online discussion on a newsgroup, forum, or thread of blog comments in which debate about a subject degenerates into an exchange of personal insults.

Examples

• I can't come to work today because i'm having a flame war on www.flamewarforum.com.
• A wordn00b/word had started an innocent thread about graphical differences between Half-Life 2 and Doom3, but when Brassmonkey came in, the discussion turned into a flamewar, until Abom|nation had to close it down.
• "It started out as a discussion poll but quickly turned into a fu**ing flamewar."
• The result of this exchange led to an extended internet flame war.
• Flame wars often draw in many users (including those trying to defuse the flame war) and can overshadow regular forum discussion if left unchecked.

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Question of the Day #601

We’ve all had bad days. Occasionally it’s been a tough week. And some months are better than others — blistering heat in August and ice storms in February come to mind. But an entire year gone off the rails?

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

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

軌道からはずれて、頭が狂って

Answer

According to The Free Dictionary:

1. To be in a state of chaos, dysfunction, or disorder.
2. To be crazy, eccentric, or mentally unhinged.

Examples

• Our project has been off the rails ever since the manager up and quit last month.
• I think you should cut back on your drinking—you were totally off the rails last night!
• They've got to do something about these children because clearly they've gone off the rails.
• By the spring, the project seemed to be going off the rails. No major sponsor had come forward with the extra £1 million or so needed.
• The campaign for independence seems to have gone off the rails.

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Question of the Day #600

We hope you’ll join us—it’ll definitely be rad.

From the last line of this article at Slate.

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

1. 〈俗〉急な、過激な
2. 〈俗〉素晴らしい、見事な

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

COOL, RADICAL

Examples

• That skateboard is totally rad.
• The party was totally rad.
• "Those are some rad shoes."
• Robyn provides her stunning and distinctive voice to a really rad single that's showing how the disc renaissance is growing with Channel Tres bringing the song into a cool R&B and house avenue. — Star Tribune, "6 cool things in music this week include Robyn, Amanda Shires, Rhiannon Giddens and Neal Karlen's Prince book," 2 Oct. 2020
• If the foursome can tap deeper into their superhero personas to will the Tokyo Olympics into existence next summer, that truly would be rad. — Jeff Metcalfe, The Arizona Republic, "Jagger Eaton takes turn as Captain America while waiting on Olympic qualifying to resume," 23 Sep. 2020

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