Question of the Day #814

Were there certain countries that were actually winners in this whole supply chain mishegoss?

From the headline of this article at Newsweek.

  上記の文で、mishegossの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "mishegoss" 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：
Weblioによると、

狂気

厳密にいうと、mishegossは英語ではなくYiddishですが、Yiddishの単語が英文・英会話の中で使用されるようになっています。

発音を確認したい場合は、Vocabulary.comで音声を聞くことができます。  

Answer

According to Vocabulary.com:

(Yiddish) craziness; senseless behavior or activity

 

Examples

• "It just doesn’t fit into the normal —— 'Broadway mishegoss,' Ms. Taymor said." New York Times Nov 24, 2010
• "I think it's great that in the midst of all this mishegoss on the debt ceiling, budget, deficits, stimulus, the committee is taking the time to look at the longer term challenges that middle class families have been struggling with well before the recession took hold."
• "After the Janet Jackson bosom mishegoss, the NFL got scared of hiring young people, because all young people want to do is take off their clothes, and if you watch television, you know the last thing you ever see on TV is young people taking off their clothes."
• "In the end, compromises were struck and the blizzard — which stopped almost every show in town except the unstoppable Leguizamo — made much of the mishegoss moot."
Chicago Tribune Feb 11, 2011
• But as Leo Rosten noted in his classic "The Joys of Yiddish," mishegoss is more often used in a light, amused, madcap vein: "a wacky, irrational, absurd belief . . . a piece of tomfoolery" or, in another sense, a foolish fixation: "She has a new mishegoss -- that the neighbors are trying to ruin her."

 

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Question of the Day #813

“I would not put it past [Russian President Vladimir] Putin to now view the Arctic as another avenue for conflict, and one that will allow him to flex his muscles,” says Daniel Silverberg

From the 16th paragraph of this article at Time.

  上記の文で、would not put it past [someone]の意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "would not put it past [someone]" 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、

〔悪い事や不愉快なことを〕（人）ならやりそうだ［やりかねない・やっても不思議ではない］と思う

   

Answer

According to The Free Dictionary:

Based on that person's pattern of behavior, it is not impossible to imagine them engaging in that kind of bad behavior.

 

Examples

• You know what she's like. I wouldn't put it past her to call the police and say I stole them.
• I would not put it past John to take all of those stray cats home.
• Do I think Joe stole the money? Honestly, I wouldn't put it past him. He has no conscience.
• It seems a bit far-fetched that the government is spying on us with our own appliances, but I wouldn't put it past them.
• He wouldn't put it past Caitlin to have stopped work and gone home for the night, even though she knew how important it was.

 

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Question of the Day #812

Anecdotally, according to experts, this year also resulted in a very high number of students on wait lists.

From the 15th paragraph of this article at Time.

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

順番待ちリスト［名簿］

ということですが、問題文のように学校・大学関係においては、「補欠名簿」と言うことになります。
ちなみに、waiting listということの方が多いように思いますが、学校関係においてはwait listが一般的のようです。  

Answer

According to the Cambridge Dictionary:

a list of people who have asked for something, especially a place at a college or in a class, or a ticket for something, that is not immediately available but may be in the future

 

Examples

• ‘It also wants the government to increase funding to reduce wait lists for surgery at B.C. hospitals and give doctors more say in rebuilding the health system, he said.’
• In the Washington area 1,520 people are on the wait list for a new kidney.
• Officials said the wait list for the program is currently at 20 families.
• They agreed that 2,000 of the 2,500 coming off the wait list will be put in a less expensive program offering fewer services than the main program.
• She said they sometimes made an "executive decision" to offer care to a disabled person who was not at the top of the wait list.

 

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Question of the Day #811

It’d be one thing if the decision to pull the plug was based solely on CNN+’s underperformance over its first few weeks.

From the 7th paragraph of this article at Nieman Lab.

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

1. 〔電源コンセントから電気器具の〕プラグ［電源コード］を抜く
2. 〔患者から〕生命維持装置を外す
3. 〔活動などを〕やめる、打ち切る
4. 〔事業・融資などから〕手を引く、撤退する

問題文の場合は、3番目の訳になります。  

Answer

According to The Free Dictionary:

1. Literally, to discontinue the power supply for a device by removing its power cable from the socket.
2. By extension, to force something to end; to remove the means for something to continue operating.
3. To remove, turn off, or discontinue someone's life-support system, resulting in their death.

 

Examples

• The computer crashed so badly that the only thing I could do was pull the plug.
• They pulled the plug because they felt our department wasn't an important part of the business.
• I've instructed my family to pull the plug on me if I ever become brain dead.
• The banks have the power to pull the plug on the project.
• Vic would find out about it, know Janey's talking to me, and he'd pull the plug. - James W. Hall OFF THE CHART (2004)

 

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Question of the Day #810

However, as Pazdur himself admitted, changing a well-established practice won’t be a cakewalk.

From the headline of this article at Fierce Biotech.

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

〈米話〉簡単なこと［にできること］、楽勝

「楽勝」と言う意味があることから、この単語はしばしばスポーツ関連の記事に使用されます。  

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

1. a one-sided contest: an easy victory
2. an easy task

語源

英辞郎によると、

19世紀のアメリカ黒人たちの間で始まった歩き方を競う競技で、最も奇妙な歩き方をした者が賞品としてケーキをもらえたことから。

 

Etymology

According to NPR.com,

The cakewalk was a pre-Civil War dance originally performed by slaves on plantation grounds. The uniquely American dance was first known as the "prize walk"; the prize was an elaborately decorated cake. Hence, "prize walk" is the original source for the phrases "takes the cake" and "cakewalk."

 

Examples

• She expected the election to be a cakewalk.
• Reducing the state budget is not going to be a cakewalk.
• But unfortunately for Cincinnati, the Cotton Bowl was also a cakewalk for Alabama. — Laine Higgins, WSJ, 1 Jan. 2022
• The role of a mentally challenged person is no cakewalk, but the actor takes to it like a fish takes to water.
• A war might be launched without legitimacy, but its human and financial costs will be much more readily questioned, particularly if the war turns out not to be a cakewalk.

 

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Question of the Day #809

Gonzaga’s Cierra Walker plays roshambo with assistant coach Craig Fortier during last season’s virtual FanFest.

From the caption of the photograph of this article at The Spokesman-Review.

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

じゃんけん◆【同】rock-paper-scissors

   

Answer

According to YourDictionary.com:

(games) The game of Rock Paper Scissors.

語源

Mental Flossによると、

とある逸話によると、この単語はアメリカの独立戦争でアメリカ軍と共に戦ったフランス人貴族のComte de Rochambeauが語源とされています。

しかし、roshamboがジャンケンの同義語とする最も古い記述は、1936年にOakland, Californiaで出版されたThe Handbook for Recreation Leadersです。その本の中の綴りは、ro-sham-beauでした。

Ben Zimmer氏によると、Comte de Rochambeauはジャンケンとは全く関係がないと言っています。ジャンケンは1600年代の中国が起源で、日本に伝わってから「じゃんけんぽん」と呼ばれるようになったとされています。20世紀初頭にこの遊びはヨーロッパに伝わり、1930年代アメリカで遊ばれるようになったようです。

サンフランシスコに東アジア系の移民が多いため、その周辺の子供たちは日本語の「じゃんけんぽん」として覚えたと考えられます。この変化を裏付けるものはありませんが、Zimmer氏は1930年代のサンフランシスコ周辺の子供たちが「じゃんけんぽん」を同じリズムの（歴史の授業で覚えた）roshamboに改名したのではないかと推測しています。

 

Etymology

According to Mental Floss,

According to certain legends, the term dates back to the Comte de Rochambeau, a French nobleman who fought against the British during the Revolutionary War...

The earliest known use of "roshambo" as a synonym for the game of Rock, Paper, Scissors is found in a 1936 book called The Handbook for Recreation Leaders, published in Oakland, California. That mention spelled it “ro-sham-beau.”

Zimmer says that the Comte de Rochambeau had no involvement with the game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Versions of the game originated in China as far back as 1600 before spreading to Japan, where it was called “Jon Ken Pon.” The Japanese game eventually spread to Europe in the early 20th century, and made it to the U.S. in the 1930s.

Because the San Francisco area has long been home to a large population of East Asian immigrants, it’s likely that kids playing the early version of Rock, Paper, Scissors became familiar with the Japanese name Jon Ken Pon. While there’s little historical evidence to trace the change, Zimmer hypothesizes that Bay Area kids in the ‘30s ended up Americanizing the name (perhaps with the help of the Revolutionary War knowledge they picked up in history class) and transforming it into a word with similar cadence: “roshambo.”

 

Examples

• In some circles, the decisive game of Rock, Paper, Scissors goes by another name: roshambo.
• Hey! I'll roshambo (Rochambeau) you for the last beer!
• Pat: I challenge you to a Roshambo, winner takes all.

 

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Question of the Day #808

Trauma dumping: When your venting becomes 'toxic' to your friends

From the headline of this article at USA Today.

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

名詞

1. 穴、ベント、出口、排出口、通気口、通風孔
2. 火道
3. 〔不満・怒りなどの〕はけ口
4. 〈話〉＝ventilator

自動詞

1. 〔怒りなどの感情を〕爆発させる、発散する、愚痴る
2. 通風する

他動詞

1. 〔～に〕通気孔をつける
2. 〔煙などを〕放出する
3. 〔不満・怒りなどを〕発散［爆発］させる

問題文の場合は、上記名詞形の三番目の訳になりますが、他の訳からなぜそのような意味になるのかが伺えるのではないでしょうか。  

Answer

According to :

Transitive verb

1. to provide with a vent
             
2.                            
                              
   1. to serve as a vent for
                              
   2. DISCHARGE, EXPEL
                              
   3. to give often vigorous or emotional expression to
                              
                
3. to relieve by means of a vent

Intransitive verb
to relieve oneself by venting something (such as anger)

 

Examples

• She vented her frustrations by kicking the car.
• Don't vent your anger on me.
• I screamed because I needed to vent.
• The meeting will be an opportunity for everyone to give vent to their feelings.
• I didn't mean to upset anyone, I just needed to vent.

 

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