adopted home state

一昨日引用したReader's Digest 12/1月合併号の記事 'Mind Your Manners' の続きの箇所です。
I finally got a different doctor, although I wish I'd just said, "Please call me Steven." And that's my advice to you; Introduce yourself and ask folks to call you by your name (first or last). Learn theirs too. We all need to feel more connected.
One exception: In my adopted home state of North Carolina,just about everyone is "sweetheart."
"adopted home state" 文脈からしてこれは第二の故郷の意味でしょうね。辞書で確認します。
・Merriam-Webster: used or chosen in place of or in preference to an original: her adopted home/country

・Cambridge English Dictionary: An adopted country is one where someone chooses to live although they were not born there: Spain is my adopted country.

millennial / get my knickers in a twist

Reader's Digest 12/1月合併号の記事 'Mind Your Manners' からの引用です。
Q: At doctors' offices or local restaurants, the clerk or cashier--always younger than me--often calls me "honey" or "sweetheart." This burns me up! I don't think it's acceptable for someone younger to speak to me in this manner. What can I say to these people that won't make them feel bad?
A: Hello, generation gap! Believe me, I wasn't happy when millennials started calling me "sir" as soon as the salt exceeded the pepper in my hair, but I didn't umbrage. I figured it was better than, "Hey, you! Old man!" Yes, try to give a young person a break.
But I do get my knickers in a twist when I hear someone use a term of endearment to a client or guest, such as when my own doctor repeatedly called me "muffin" (which was not only unprofessional but also a little bit creepy).
恋人、夫婦間でも相手を "honey" とか "sweetheart" と呼ぶ習慣のない日本人としては興味深い悩み相談ですね。
ところで "millennials" と慣用句らしい "get my knickers in a twist" を調べます。
"millennials":
・Oxford English Dictionary: Denoting people reaching young adulthood in the early 21st century.: most social networking groups are dominated by the millennial generation

・Wiktionary: Of or relating to people born in the last two decades of the 20th century.: the millennial generation; He was suffering from a typical millennial problem: Which is the correct emoji to use?

"get my knickers in a twist":
・Oxford English Dictionary: informal British: Become upset or angry.: The Tories have really got their knickers in a twist over this.

・Urban Dictionary: Agitated, anxious, in a tizz. British, Strine, and New Zealand. Cf. panties in a knot.

イギリス英語ですね。
cf. Strine: Australian English, or the way that Australians pronounce English words

busybody

Reader's Digest １2/１月合併号の記事 'Mind Your Manners!' からの引用です。
I often hear people disparage those who use hadicapped-only parking spots, as if they are cheating. My mother injured her neck in a car accident and has permanent damage in her feet, legs, knees, and hips that makes walking difficult. To a stranger she looks fine, but parking at a distance is a challenge. Does she neet to carry a doctor's note to show busybodies?
"Busybody" は 10/8/2008 に取り上げましたが、語源が気になったので調べました。
WRITING EXPLAINED https://writingexplained.org/idiom-dictionary/busybodyにあった説明を引用します。
This term has a negative connotation and dates all the way back to the 1500s. It comes from the definition of busy meaning meddlesome or prying and body meaning person. Busy in this sense is now obsolete outside of this idiom.
Busybodies could try to pry into the affairs of others in many ways. They could directly ask personal questions to various individuals in an attempt to gain private information. Also, they might ask others for gossip about other individuals and could even spy on people.
Because busybody is not a polite thing to call someone, it is best to avoid doing so.
他人のことにやたらにお節介していたら忙しくなるのは当然ですよね。

kicking over the traces

Somerset Maughamの短編小説 "The Colonel's Lady" から引用します。
"I don't deny that I've had a bit of fun now and then. A man wants it. Women are different."

"We only have men's word for that," said Harry Blane, with a faint smile.

"Evie's absolutely the last woman I'd have suspected of kicking over the traces. I mean, she's a very fastidious, reticent woman. What on earth made her write the damned book?"

大佐の方にも不貞の気配を感じた友人から問われて大佐は男は別だなどと都合の良いことを言っています。
"kicking over the traces" も慣用句の様なので調べます。
・The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms : Break loose from restraint, misbehave. For example, There's always one child who'll kick over the traces as soon as the bell rings. This metaphoric expression alludes to the straps attaching a horse to a vehicle, which the animal sometimes gets a leg over in order to kick more freely and thereby refuse to move forward.

・Longman Dictionary: British English old-fashioned to start behaving badly by refusing to accept any control or rules: But perhaps even misogynists can kick over the traces.

・Cambridge English Dictionary: to behave badly and show no respect for authority

have it out

Somerset Maughamの短編小説 "The Colonel's Lady" からの引用です。
"It's not very pretty to put detectives on one's wife, old boy; and besides, taking for granted for a moment that Evie had an affair, it was a good many years ago and I don't suppose it would be possible to find out a thing. They seem to have covered their tracks pretty carefully."
"I don't care. You put the detectives on. I want to know the truth."
"I won't, George. If you're determined to do that you'd better consult someone else. And look here, even if you got evidence that Evie had been unfaithful to you what would you do with it? You'd look rather silly divorcing your wife because she'd committed adultery ten years ago."

"At all events I could have it out with her."

"You can do that now, but you know just as well as I do that if you do she'll leave you. D'you want her to do that?"

大佐は妻の不倫について友人の弁護士に相談に行き、探偵を雇うことを頼みますが、止めた方が良いとたしなめられています。"I could have it out with her." の個所が分かりません。 "have it out" が慣用句の様なので辞書を見ます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: Attempt to resolve a dispute or misunderstanding by confronting someone and engaging in a frank discussion or argument.: give her the chance of a night's rest before you have it out with her

・Wiktionary: To confront (someone) with a view to settling a conflict.: I'm not standing for this. I'm going to go and have it out with her right now.

・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: to settle a matter of contention by discussion or a fight: thinks they just need to have it out

if she was a day

William Somerset Maughamの短編小説 "The Colonel's Lady" を読み始めました。
He supposed he'd been in love with her when he asked her to marry him, as least sufficiently in love for a man who wanted to marry and settle down, but with time he discovered that they had nothing much in common. She didn't care about hunting, and fishing bored her. Naturally they'd drifted apart. He had to do her the justice to admit that she'd never bothered him. There'd been no scenes. They had no quarrels. She seemed to take it for granted that he should go his own way. When he went up to London now and then she never wanted to come with him. He had a girl there, well, she wasn't exactly a girl, she was thirty-five if she was a day, but she was blonde and luscious and he only had to wire ahead of time and they'd dine, do a show and spend the night together. Well, a man, a healthy normal man had to have some fun in his life.
"she was thirty-five if she was a day" の "if she was a day" の意味が分からないので辞書を見ます。
OneLookの検索で次の二つの辞書の説明を見つけました。
・Oxford English Dictionary: At least (appended to a statement about a person's age): he must be seventy if he's a day’
・Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary: if he (or she) is a day at least (added to a statement about the age of a person or thing).: 1992 Shashi Tharoor Show Business Lawrence must be fifty if he's a day.
この用法は覚えるしかないですね。

came off

Roald Dahlの短編小説 "Claud's Dog" からの引用です。
Personally, I had my own career as a filling-station owner to keep me busy, not to mention second-hand cars, but if Claud wanted to fool around with dogs that was all right with me, especially a thing like today -- if it came off. As a matter of fact, I don't mind admitting that every time I thought about the money we were putting on and the money we might win, my stomach gave a little lurch.
"came off" は基本動詞の "come" が使われていますが、私の知らない表現です。辞書を見ます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: (of an action) succeed; be accomplished.: this was a bold experiment which did not come off

・Collins Dictionary: If something comes off, it is successful or effective.: It was a good try but it didn't quite come off.

・Cambridge English Dictionary: to happen as planned, or to succeed: I tried telling a few jokes but they didn't come off.
英語は難しいですね。

left out in the cold

Roald Dahlの短編小説 "Claud's Dog" からの引用です。
Claud stopped to catch his breath. He was having a vision now -- the same vision that accompanied all his dreams of wealth -- of an immense factory building with tall chimneys and hundreds of happy workers streaming through the wide wrought iron gates and Claud himself sitting in his luxurious office directing operations with a calm and splendid assurance.
"There's people with brains studying these things this very minute," he went on. "So you got to jump in quick unless you want to get left out in the cold. That's the quick before all the others, Mr. Hoddy."
"left out in the cold" は文字通りだと「寒い所に置き去りされる」となりますが、比喩表現としての慣用句の様です。辞書で確認します。
・Oxford English Dictionary: Ignored; neglected.: the talks left the French out in the cold

・Collins Dictionary: If you say that a person, group, or country has been left out in the cold, you mean that they have been ignored by others rather than being invited to take part in some activity with them.: Developing countries might be left out in the cold in current world trade talks.

mantle

Roald Dahlの短編小説 "Claud's Dog" からの引用です。
"You never know, you see. You could be sickenin for it weeks and weeks and not feel it. Then all of a sudden-bang!-and it's got you. That's why Doctor Arbuthnot's so articular. That's why he sent me out so quick, see. To stop the spreadin of disease.
He had now taken upon himself the mantle of the Health Officer. A most important rat he was now, deeply disappointed that we were not suffering from bubonic plague.
外套とか炉棚の "mantle" は知っていますが、上記の "mantle" は何か別の意味ですね。辞書を見ます。

・Oxford English Dictionary: An important role or responsibility that passes from one person to another.: The second son has now assumed his father's mantle.

・Collins Dictionary: If you take on the mantle of something such as a profession or an important job, you take on the responsibilities and duties which must be fulfilled by anyone who has this profession or job.: Glasgow has broadened its appeal since taking on the mantle of European City of Culture in 1990.

・Cambridge English Dictionary: the responsibilities of an important position or job, especially as given from the person who had the job to the person who replaces them: He has been asked to take on the mantle of managing director in the New York office.

putting salt on its tail

Roald Dahlの短編小説 "Nunc Dimittis" からの引用です。
“Is it not possible,” I said, “that a man might be — how shall I put it? — extremely fond of a lady and at the same time have his own good reasons for not wishing her to know about it yet?”
“More than possible, Mr Lampson.” with a man has to stalk his quarry with great caution, waiting patiently for the right moment to reveal himself.”
“Precisely, Mr Lampson.”
“There are better ways of catching a bird than by chasing it through the woods.”
“Yes, indeed, Mr Lampson.”
“Putting salt on its tail, for instance.”
“Ha-ha?”
“All right, Mr Royden, I think you understand. Now—do you happen by any chance to know a lady called Janet de Pelagia?”
「鳥を捕らえる」と言うのは女性の心を捕らえることの比喩表現ですが、その鳥を捕らえる良い方法に "Putting salt on its tail" があると言っています。これは慣用句か何かでしょうか？

・Farlex Dictionary of Idioms: obsolete To try to capture or encapsulate someone or something. An allusion to the folk method of capturing birds by sprinkling salt on their tail feathers.: We spend so much time putting salt on the tail of an ideal version of life—more money, more property, better status—that we forget to enjoy our present circumstances.
"Putting salt on its tail" の説明を掲載しているのは上記の辞書だけでしたが、Web上には次の様な話が一杯ありました。

When I was little 5-6 my dad told me if I wanted to catch a bird all I need to do was put salt on its tail end and I would be able to catch it because then it could not fly.I kept trying this for a couple of years.lol