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?

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、

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.

このサイトが役に立つと思ったら、ぜひ英語に関心のある知り合いとシェアしてください。

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?

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、

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.

このサイトが役に立つと思ったら、ぜひ英語に関心のある知り合いとシェアしてください。

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?

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、

《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

このサイトが役に立つと思ったら、ぜひ英語に関心のある知り合いとシェアしてください。

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。
I will add the answer and other remarks here tomorrow.

---

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)

このサイトが役に立つと思ったら、ぜひ英語に関心のある知り合いとシェアしてください。

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?

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、

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.

このサイトが役に立つと思ったら、ぜひ英語に関心のある知り合いとシェアしてください。

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?

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、

〈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.

このサイトが役に立つと思ったら、ぜひ英語に関心のある知り合いとシェアしてください。

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?

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、

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)

このサイトが役に立つと思ったら、ぜひ英語に関心のある知り合いとシェアしてください。