pass

"The Old Man and the Sea" を読み終わったので図書館から借りたもう一冊 Agatha Christieの "Murder in the Mews" を読み始めたのですが読み始めて直ぐに前に聞いた事がある話だと感じました。自分のブログを見たら昨年の６月に読んだ本である事が分かりました。小説のタイトルはほとんど記憶していなかったので同じ本を借りたのでした。　そこでO. Henry短編集の昨年の読み残りの半分を再び読むことにします。 O. Henryの短編集には詐欺師の話が幾つかありますが "Jeff Peter as a Personal Magnet" もその一つで次ぎの文はそこからです。
"'I do feel some little better, Doc,' says the Mayor, 'damed if I don't. Now state a few lies about my not having this swelling in my left side, and I think I could be propped up and have some sausage and buckwheat cakes.'
"I made a few passes with my hands.
"'Now,' says I, 'the inflammation's gone. The right lobe of the perihelion has subsided. You're getting sleepy. You can't hold your eyes open any longer. For the present the disease is checked. Now, you are asleep.'
詐欺師が病気の市長に手で何かをしたようですが、"I made a few passes with my hands." の "pass" を辞書で調べます。
・Dictionary.com: (in feats of magic) a. a passing of the hand over, along, or before anything.
・Webster's New World College Dictionary, 4th Ed.:
5. a motion of the hands that is meant to deceive, as in card tricks or magic; sleight of hand
6. a motion or stroke of the hand, as in mesmerism or hypnotism
7. a) a motion of the hand as if to strike; b) a tentative attempt
"pass" にこんな意味があるなんて面白いですね。