Question of the Day #820

Purpose is a divisive concept, a 'hot potato' for all brands - should organisations let it define everything they do, or is it something that crumbles when scrutinised?

From the lede of this article at Prolific North.

  上記の文で、hot potatoの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "hot potato" 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. ホットポテト、焼きジャガイモ
2. 厄介な［扱いにくい・不快な］問題、難問、難題、手に余るもの
3. 困難な立場
4. 〔政治家などの〕スキャンダル
5. ホットポテト◆子どもの遊び。ボールやお手玉のような物体を次々と別の人に投げ渡す。一定の時点でそれを持っていた人は失格となり、ゲームから脱落。最後まで残った人が勝ち。

問題文の場合は、2番の訳になります。下記、英語の定義でなぜこのような言い方をするのかがわかると思います。  

Answer

According to The Free Dictionary:

A sensitive situation or controversial issue that is difficult to handle and thus gets passed from one person to the next (like a potato that is too hot to hold).

 

Examples

• Pricing policy is another hot potato.
• The abortion issue is a political hot potato in the United States.
• But the reality, that is, a proposed solution, was not offered to us, and remains a hot potato for the next presidency.
• I sure don’t want to have to deal with that hot potato.
• The political candidate knew the issue was a hot potato, so he deferred to his chief of staff, who directed questions to the committee chairperson.

 

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Question of the Day #819

Gender Dysphoria and Adverse Childhood Experiences

From the headline of this article at Public Discourse.

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

性別違和症候群
性別違和症候群（英: gender dysphoria）とは、元来、性転換症(transsexualism)よりも、広範な概念を持つ gender dysphoria を日本語訳したものである。

下記、英語の定義の方がわかりやすいと思うので参照してください。

Answer

According to NHS.UK:

Gender dysphoria is a term that describes a sense of unease that a person may have because of a mismatch between their biological sex and their gender identity.

 

Examples

• “I’ve tried to talk about background issues with therapists, but because I was trans, gender dysphoria was seen as the cause of my problems, and not a symptom of them,” she told me.
• Social and medical transition can be the best outcome for some people with gender dysphoria.
• Lopez's lawsuit demands the hospital allow clinic doctors to offer what they describe as lifesaving treatment to young people with gender dysphoria and similar issues.
• Transgender Trend calls for evidence-based healthcare for children suffering from gender dysphoria.
• But in practice there are people who were born either a woman or a man and experience gender dysphoria but have not yet completed the legal transition to the other gender. 

 

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Question of the Day #818

One conclusion is EarlyNFT is trying to pull a fast one, but perhaps he has some legal rights here.

From the 8th paragraph of this article at Ledger Insights.

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

〈話〉人をまんまとだます

   

Answer

According to the Cambridge Dictionary:

to successfully deceive someone

 

Examples

• You paid too much - I think he pulled a fast one on you.
• I've got a great plan to pull a fast one on the school for April Fools' Day.
• She was pulling a fast one when she said she had a headache and went home.
• Finally, it is also worth bearing in mind that not every buyer who lowers his or her offer is trying to pull a fast one. - Times, Sunday Times (2010)
• He was, rightly, fired ... but he certainly wasn't the first ambitious young journalist under pressure to land a story to pull a fast one. - Times, Sunday Times (2013)

 

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Question of the Day #817

Yes, Succotash Has a Luxurious Side

From the headline of this article at The New York Times.

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

サカタッシュ、サコタッシュ、サッコタシ◆トウモロコシ、ライマメ、トマトのシチュー。アメリカで大恐慌時代に流行した料理。ライマメと野菜の煮込みにバターなどを乗せたものをもサコタッシュと呼ぶことがある。地域によっては感謝祭での伝統料理となっている。

広義では、日本の「ミックスベジタブル」等の茹でた野菜ミックスをsuccotashと言うことがあります。  

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

lima or shell beans and kernels of green corn cooked together

語源

英辞郎によると、

アメリカ先住民族アルゴンキン語で「ゆでたトウモロコシ」の意味。

とありますが、下記Merriam-Websterによると「茹でたトウモロコシの穀粒」になりますので微妙に違います。  

Etymology

According to Merriam-Webster,

Narragansett msíckquatash boiled corn kernels

 

Examples

• The succotash mixture may be fed alone or in conjunction with other meal added to make the food still more in balance.
- PRATT'S PRACTICAL POINTERS ON THE CARE OF LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY|PRATT FOOD CO.
• There were succotash and baked codfish, a good brown loaf, and pies made of blueberries gathered and dried the summer before.
- THE PURITAN TWINS|LUCY FITCH PERKINS
• The cultivation of maize and plants gave the people unleavened bread, the Indian succotash and hominy.
- ANCIENT SOCIETY|LEWIS HENRY MORGAN
• Like the summer succotash of the American South or the ratatouille of France, vignarola is a vegetable stew that, in its ideal form, is radiant with freshness. — Bee Wilson, WSJ, 14 May 2022
• This summer succotash features all of the season's finest veggies: Corn, zucchini, tomatoes and green beans. — Kate Merker, Good Housekeeping, 14 June 2021

 

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Question of the Day #816

While everything seems really far-fetched at the moment, we understand why many may be having trouble understanding the true essence of what we can expect through the Metaverse.

From the 14th paragraph of this article at Digital Information World.

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

〔考え・計画・話・論理などが創意に富んでいるが〕ありそうもない、起こりそうにもない、信じ難い、本当だとはとても思えない、こじつけの、とっぴな、強引とも言える、取って付けたような◆【直訳】遠くから持ってきた

   

Answer

According to the Cambridge Dictionary:

very unlikely to be true, and difficult to believe

 

Examples

• Her story about being chased away from school by wolves seems pretty far-fetched.
• This is probably not far-fetched, as everyone employs various techniques before a fight.
• Of course, many of the ideas were far-fetched, but many turned out to be right.
• The storyline was too far-fetched and none of the actors was particularly good.
• This is not some far-fetched scaremongering from the left. - The Guardian (2018)

 

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Question of the Day #815

If you don’t do audits, a potential Pandora's box of devilish practices might get started and grow without nary a concern that the house of cards is conning others and someday might crash and devastate innocents.

From the 10th paragraph of this article at Forbes.

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

〔トランプカードで作った家のように〕不安定な建物［構造・計画］、砂上の楼閣◆【直訳】トランプ札で作った家/li>

   

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

a structure, situation, or institution that is insubstantial, shaky, or in constant danger of collapse

 

Examples

• If the weakest link breaks, the inspection process will collapse like a house of cards.
• The whole thing is a house of cards and will add to the instability of the country.
• The film is a house of cards. If one scene fails to hold, the entire credibility of the film comes crashing down.
• The scheme is so overly complicated that it's likely to prove to be just another house of cards.
• The next twenty-four hours may well bring the entire house of cards we have constructed tumbling about our ears. -- Ross, Melville LOHENGRIN (2003)

 

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

 

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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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