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Oxford English Dictionaryは一時サブスクになっていましたが、また無料で使用できるようになったようです。

Oxford English Dictionary

Question of the Day #1273

‘Killing Eve’ Review: A Trip to Russia Leaves Sandra Oh Twiddling Her Thumbs in a Frustrating Episode

From the headline of this article at Indie Wire.

  上記の文で、twiddle one's thumbsの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "twiddle one's thumbs" 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. 両手の指を組んで親指同士をクルクル回す
2. 〔暇なので〕のんびりしている

1番の訳のように、本当の行為を示すこともありますが、実際は比喩的に使用することがほとんどです。
また、ただ「のんびりしている」だけではなく、問題の見出しのように何か理由があって「のんびりせざるを得ない」ことを意味することもあります。

 

Answer

According to The Free Dictionary:

To wait idly because one cannot take action or has nothing to do at the moment. Although the phrase refers to an actual movement of the hand (in which one's fingers are interlaced and each thumb is brought over the other in succession), the phrase is usually used figuratively.

 

Examples

1. I'm just twiddling my thumbs here in the ER, waiting for someone to give me an update on Claire's condition.
2. What am I supposed to do while waiting for you? Sit here and twiddle my thumbs? Don't sit around twiddling your thumbs. Get busy!
3. There I sat for three hours, twiddling my thumbs, while he made call after call.
4. With her grandson still twiddling his thumbs on the bench, Dolores has now become the main attraction. — Tim Spiers, New York Times, 15 May 2025
5. Rather than twiddling thumbs and waiting for veterans like Pederson, García and Semien to get going, the Rangers made a decisive move to bring in someone new. — Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 14 May 2025

   

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Question of the Day #1272

X-Men Erased: Marvel Doubling Down On Ms. Marvel Retcon

From the headline of this article at Cosmic Book News.

  上記の文で、retconの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "retcon" 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. 【名】
   〈俗〉〔物語で〕過去にさかのぼる設定の補完◆「彼には実はこういう過去があった」などと後から付け足したり、「前作で死んだはずの人物が実は生きていた」などと軌道修正すること◆【語源】retroactive continuity
2. 【他動】
   〈俗〉〔物語で～についての〕過去を新たに設定する

Retconに関して、もっと詳しいことを知りたければ、ぜひA Short History of 'Retcon'を参照してください。

 

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

1. noun
   the act, practice, or result of changing an existing fictional narrative by introducing new information in a later work that recontextualizes previously established events, characters, etc.
2. transitive verb
   to apply a retcon to (a fictional story, character, event, etc.)

  Check out A Short History of 'Retcon' for more information about the word retcon.

Examples

1. Could Bail's Backstory—and by extension the childhood of Princess Leia—suddenly be getting a retcon? — Ryan Britt
2. The character has done everything from going into dormancy after losing his powers to being destroyed to being brought back via retcon … — Sage Ashford
3. Then came the series finale, and one of the most famous—and, depending on one's perspective, fascinating or infuriating—retcons in the history of TV. — Emily Nussbaum
4. The Sherlock Holmes character has been retconned dozens of times in various media. — Peter Hartlaub
5. The revival won't be retconning the original ending. — Marco Vito

   

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Question of the Day #1271

The Endless Potential Of The Pedal Steel Guitar, An Odd Duck By Any Measure

From the headline of this article at NPR.org.

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

 

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解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

《an ～》変わり者、変人

問題の見出しにあるように人間以外にも使えることに注意してください。（例文参照）


 

Answer

According to The Free Dictionary:

A rather unusual, strange, or peculiar person.

   

Examples

1. His new girlfriend is nice enough, but she's a bit of an odd duck, don't you think?
2. "Oh, sure, I remember him from when I was a kid," [Lynn] Hewlett says. "… He was always aloof. Wouldn't speak to anyone. He was an odd duck. …" — Mel White
3. Mikasa Callie Mikasa Callie Bone China 12 Piece Dinnerware Set, Service for 4 in White $120 $78 Amazon The Mikasa Callie dishware set is a bit of an odd duck. —Tom Mylan, Bon Appétit, 26 Feb. 2025
4. Italia is an odd duck, both the story’s voice of conscience and a source of comic relief, a figure of fun and possibility. —Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2024
5. Apple In the pantheon of Macintosh, there are odd ducks, then there is the Macintosh XL. —Benj Edwards, Ars Technica, 24 Jan. 2024

   

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Question of the Day #1270

The evolution of preferred male traits, female preference and the G matrix: “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore”

From the headline of this article at Nature.com.

  上記の文で、be not in Kansas anymoreの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "not in Kansas anymore" 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：
Y-Sapix Global Campusによると、

オズの魔法使いの中の「Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.」というセリフから、「not in Kansas anymore」という慣用句表現が生まれました。これは「もはや、穏やかで安心できる環境ではない」という意味で使われます。

映画The Wizard of Oz（「オズの魔法使い」）は、1939年に初上映され、そして1949年と1955年に2度映画館で再上映されました。そして1956年から1991年の間、ほぼ毎年アメリカで全国放送されたので、観たことのないアメリカ人は皆無に等しいと思います。それだけ長いこと放送され愛された映画なので、このnot in Kansas anymoreというイディオムが定着したのでしょう。

 

Answer

According to The Free Dictionary:

To no longer be in a place that one knows or where one is comfortable; to be in a completely unfamiliar or discomfiting environment. A reference to The Wizard of Oz, in which Dorothy, upon arriving to Oz, says, "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

 

Examples

1. As we walked into the bustling streets of Delhi, we knew we weren't in Kansas anymore.
2. It can actually be quite shocking to finish college and enter the workforce, because suddenly you realize that you aren't in Kansas anymore and life operates in a totally different way now.
3. “We’re not in Kansas anymore,” he joked in a release announcing the venture. (Furniture Today Magazine)
4. From the moment the door is opened by the heavily made up Riff Raff (Brad Foster Reinking), and the slinky, slithering Phantoms swarm around them, Brad and Janet begin to realize that they’re not in Kansas anymore, so to speak. (Broadway World)
5. As soon as I walked into that party I thought, "I'm not in Kansas anymore."

   

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Question of the Day #1269

Carl Thompson needs to get something off his chest.

From the lede of this article at ABC.net.au.

  上記の文で、get something off one's chestの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "get something off one's chest" 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、

胸の内を明かさなければ

   

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

to tell someone about (something that has been making one upset or unhappy)

 

Examples

1. You've been a little cold to me lately. Is there something you'd like to get off your chest?
2. I'm sorry but I just have to get something off my chest. How could you treat me like that last night?
3. You're clearly annoyed, so go on, get it off your chest—what's bothering you?
4. I had to tell someone what had happened at the office to get it off my chest!
5. My doctor gave me the opportunity to talk and get things off my chest.

   

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Question of the Day #1268

Here is a picture of Arrowhead Lanes from back in the day

From the headline of this article at Smile Politely.

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

〈米俗〉ずっと前、昔々◆back in the day when ... の略。

   

Answer

According to the Cambridge Dictionary:

used for talking about a time in the past, usually when you are remembering nice things about that time

 

Examples

1. Back in the day, we had an apartment with a swimming pool.
2. An artist or producer or engineer from back in the day wouldn't think fondly of surface noise on their records.
3. Nevertheless, this was a major accomplishment back in the day.
4. Back in the day, that's what we wanted to sound like when we were younger.
5. The live program featured children in the audience and like most children shows back in the day featured fun, games, safety tips and cartoons.

   

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