"The Briefcase" の主人公はお酒好きなのでお酒を飲む場面がよく出てきますが、これはツキコが酒飲みになる前の話です。
In my twenties, I had traveled to France with a girlfriend of mine, and we had gone into a cafe to get something to drink I just wanted plain, regular water, but when I ordered "Water," they brought out mineral water. I was so parched and hoping to quench my thirst, but the moment I swallowed it down, I choked and nearly threw up. Yet I was so thirsty. And here was water, right in front of me. Yet this water--with bubbles springing up from the carbonation--was a bitter mouthful. Even had I wanted to drink it, my throat would reject it. But since I didn't know enough French to say, "I would prefer still water rather than water with gas," I forced my friend to share with me the lemonade that she had ordered. It was terribly sweet--awful, really. That was before I was in the habit of slaking my thirst with beer instead of water.
最後の文に出てきた "I was in the habit of slaking my thirst with beer instead of water." の "slaking" は知らない単語ですが、文脈からするとここでは「喉の渇きを潤す」意味だと推測できます。辞書で確認します。
・Collins Dictionary: (literary) to satisfy (thirst, desire, etc): I stopped months ago, and these days I slake my thirst with mineral water and ease anxiety with a mug of sweet and milky cocoa.
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: satisfy, quench: slake your thirst: will slake your curiosity
・Cambridge English Dictionary: to satisfy a feeling of being thirsty or of wanting something: After our long game of tennis, we slaked our thirst with a beer.: I don't think Dick will ever manage to slake his lust for power.
"slake" が潤すのは喉の渇きだけとは限られていませんが、喉の渇きを潤す時によく使われるようです。ビールを飲む度にこの "slake" を思い浮かべましょう。
In my twenties, I had traveled to France with a girlfriend of mine, and we had gone into a cafe to get something to drink I just wanted plain, regular water, but when I ordered "Water," they brought out mineral water. I was so parched and hoping to quench my thirst, but the moment I swallowed it down, I choked and nearly threw up. Yet I was so thirsty. And here was water, right in front of me. Yet this water--with bubbles springing up from the carbonation--was a bitter mouthful. Even had I wanted to drink it, my throat would reject it. But since I didn't know enough French to say, "I would prefer still water rather than water with gas," I forced my friend to share with me the lemonade that she had ordered. It was terribly sweet--awful, really. That was before I was in the habit of slaking my thirst with beer instead of water.
最後の文に出てきた "I was in the habit of slaking my thirst with beer instead of water." の "slaking" は知らない単語ですが、文脈からするとここでは「喉の渇きを潤す」意味だと推測できます。辞書で確認します。
・Collins Dictionary: (literary) to satisfy (thirst, desire, etc): I stopped months ago, and these days I slake my thirst with mineral water and ease anxiety with a mug of sweet and milky cocoa.
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: satisfy, quench: slake your thirst: will slake your curiosity
・Cambridge English Dictionary: to satisfy a feeling of being thirsty or of wanting something: After our long game of tennis, we slaked our thirst with a beer.: I don't think Dick will ever manage to slake his lust for power.
"slake" が潤すのは喉の渇きだけとは限られていませんが、喉の渇きを潤す時によく使われるようです。ビールを飲む度にこの "slake" を思い浮かべましょう。
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