Question of the Day #867

Those prices open the door for investors looking for income in a market where many state and local governments are flush with cash, said Sylvia Yeh...

From the 2nd paragraph of this article at Advisor Perspectives.

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

景気が良い

この訳で間違いではないですが、ちょっとニュアンスが違います。どちらかというと、下記英語の定義にあるように「とても裕福である。これは、最初から裕福な人のことにも使用しますが、一時的に予期せぬ収入を得た人のことにも使用します。」のほうが近いと思います。

 

Answer

According to Writing Explained:

The phrase flush with cash means to have abundant wealth. It can be for someone who is rich all of the time or someone who unexpectedly and temporarily had an influx of cash.  

   

Examples

• However, since we’re flush with cash for the first time in months, I thought we could use a little bit of it to celebrate.
• With the Nets flush with cash, shrewd agents will try to use them to get better deals for their clients. – New York Post
• When they know that I'm flush with cash, they start flattering me.
• I hear Tom's new girlfriend is flush with cash, so they're always off traveling to exotic locations.
• Their company is flush with cash, so they'll have no problem paying for the work.

   

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Question of the Day #866

Driver Posts Video Rolling Coal on Cyclists—and Is Surprised by the Consequences

From the headline of this article at Bicycling.com.

  上記の文で、rolling coalの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "rolling coal" 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rolling coalは掲載されていませんが、名詞のcoal rollingはあります。Coal rollingの意味は、

コール・ローリング◆自動車のディーゼルエンジンを改造して、過剰な黒煙を大気中に放出するようにすること。

Rolling coalは、この名詞の動詞です。
北米（とくにアメリカやカナダ）でこのような行為を行う人は、いわゆる環境にやさしいハイブリッドやEVに反対する人です。

Answer

According to Car Throttle:

Originally only found in truck-based motorsport, rolling coal has become a modification found in many road-going trucks in a stand against any form of eco-friendly motoring. 

 

Examples

• It's called "rolling coal," and it is indeed a thing.
• It's not new — pickup drivers of a particular type have been rolling coal for several years— but the practice has been attracting greater attention of late.
• Rolling coal is the combination of throwing a large amount of fuel into the engine’s cylinders along with the bypassing or removal of the emission control devices further downstream.
• Rolling coal wastes fuel, which means that your engine is less efficient.
• Pedestrians, cyclists, and electric vehicles have long been favored targets for drivers of monster trucks “rolling coal”—that is, intentionally spewing huge clouds of diesel exhaust at their perceived enemies in the nation’s culture war.

   

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Question of the Day #865

Meanwhile, flavorful sauces don't overwhelm this treasure. But why gild the lily?

From the 2nd paragraph of the ribeye section of this article at Mashed.

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

〔完成しているものに〕余計な手を加える

上記の訳では、ちょっと舌足らずのような気がするので補足します。Lily（ユリ）はすでに美しいのに、さらにgild（金箔をかぶせる、金めっきする）をしたら余計であるというイディオムです。  

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

to add unnecessary ornamentation to something beautiful in its own right

   

Examples

• Should I add a scarf to this jacket or would it be gilding the lily?
• Offering three different desserts after that elaborate meal would be gilding the lily.
• When it comes to cooking there is no need to gild the lily.
• They do the drama really well without gilding the lily. The Sun (2010)
• My sister has good bone structure and lovely skin, so she doesn't need to gild the lily by wearing makeup.

   

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Question of the Day #864

You're Probably 'Fexting' In Your Relationship. Is it Healthy Or Not?

From the headline of this article at the Huffington Post.

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

フェクスティング◆電子メールやSNSなどでテキストを送受信しながら人と口論すること。

Fightingとtextingからできた混成語です。

Urban Dictionaryでは、これ以外のかなり多くの定義はありますが、バイデン大統領夫人が使ったことによりこの意味が主流になりつつあります。

 

Answer

According to the Collins Dictionary:

arguing by text message [blend of fighting and texting]

 

Examples

• My thumbs are sore, I have been fexting with the girlfriend all day!
• While their reasoning is to avoid fighting publicly in front of the Secret Service, the term ‘fexting’, which she so graciously coined for our benefit, was born.
• Suffixes can make a world of a difference. Like it or not, you will soon be hearing the word ‘fexting’, which is obviously different from texting, chexting or sexting.
• Fexting, or fighting over text, is something we've probably all engaged in from time to time.
• If you’re the first lady, then having an argument with the US president via text message (or “fexting”, as Jill Biden called it) might keep marital disputes private from the Secret Service, but relationship experts have warned it could make things worse. [The Guardian, June 2022]

   

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Question of the Day #863

Ethical AI, Possibility or Pipe Dream?

From the headline of this article at Security Week.

  上記の文で、pipe dreamの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "pipe dream" 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. 〔アヘン吸引者が見るような〕夢想、幻想
2. 空想的［非現実的］な考え、かないそうもない夢、夢物語、とっぴな話、世まい言、大風呂敷、はかない希望

二つの訳を見てわかると思いますが、1の意味から2の意味が派生しています。が、今では、1の意味で使われることがほとんどありません。

 

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

an illusory or fantastic plan, hope, or story

   

Examples

• His plan for starting his own business was just a pipe dream.
• Her plans are not realistic - they'll never be more than a pipe dream.
• It sounds like a pipe dream - but that is what is happening on the internet. The Sun (2012)
• What once seemed like a pipe dream for borrowers is now a reality. — Alicia Adamczyk, Fortune, 24 Aug. 2022
• While full self-driving in all conditions is still a pipe dream, engineers seem to be close to achieving it in limited circumstances, such as on highways on clear days. — Christopher Mims, WSJ, 18 June 2022

   

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Question of the Day #862

Where once you had to be born with a silver spoon in your mouth, now a middle-class person could afford a whole set.

From the 20th paragraph of this article at The Sydney Morning Herald.

  上記の文で、born with a silver spoon in your mouthの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "born with a silver spoon in your mouth" 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、

《be ～》裕福な［金持ちの・富貴の］家に生まれた、生まれつき金持ちである、高貴な家柄に生まれた、上流の生まれである、良い星の下に生まれた、何不自由なく育った◆【直訳】銀のスプーンを口にくわえて生まれた ⇒ 銀のスプーンを使っているような金持ちの家に生まれた

   

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

born into a very wealthy family

   

Examples

• Samantha was born with a silver spoon in her mouth; there's always someone to pay her bills if her inheritance isn't enough.
• We may both be wealthy now, but I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I had nothing when I was young, and all of my fortune is down to my own hard work.
• Everyone who attends that university was born with a silver spoon in their mouth, so I just don't think it's the right place for me.
• It is an issue close to her heart as she raised her son Shiia while a single mother and, as she puts it, “wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth”. (The Royal Gazette)
• Needless to say, 39-year-old Laps—that’s his nickname—was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, which he immediately had gold-plated and diamond-­encrusted, then filled with cocaine (hello, Mr. DeLorean!) and later heroin. (Car and Driver Magazine)

   

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Question of the Day #861

His once-rival Iceman — Val Kilmer — is back, too, a huge Navy muckety-muck now.

From the 5th paragraph of this article at ABC News.

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

〈俗〉〔傲慢な〕重要人物、お偉方、高位の人

決して褒め言葉ではないので、使い方に注意してください。
別の言い方は、high muckety-muck, muckamuck, mucky-muckです。

 

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

an important and often arrogant person

Examples

• Bike industry muckety-mucks met with Barack Obama in Chicago.
• He is currently a muckety-muck with the Hunter-Dickinson Group and has had a distinguished career.
• A Dell marketing muckety-muck chucked muck at Apple's iPad 2.
• We're just waiting for the muckety mucks in upper management to give us the green light before we get the project started.
• "All hail the muckety-muck," Jerry muttered under his breath as the CEO walked by.

   

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