英単語についてのメルマガ、ArcaMax Vocabulary, March 21, 2010に面白い表現がありましたので記事を引用します。
Q: Is there anything ever "ulterior," other than a motive? Or is anything "gaping," other than a hole (or, I suppose, a maw)? How did these words come to be such one-trick ponies? Were they ever used more broadly? -- Jim Maloy, Greensburg, Pa.
A: I've always been fascinated by these one-trick ponies. You might think "one-trick pony" is an old-fashioned phrase, but it was actually coined during the 1970s to denote someone skilled in only one area or who has success only once.
One of my favorite one-tricks is "whopping," which is invariably used with "increase." As language maven Edwin Newman once asked, "When does an increase begin to whop?"
To answer your question, "ulterior" was once used to modify many adjectives. The Oxford English Dictionary lists citations for "ulterior accomplishments," "ulterior designs" and "ulterior intentions."
Readers, can you pony up any other words used exclusively in one phrase? Please send me your one-tricks!
"one-trick ponies" の意味は文中にあるので辞書は引きませんが、日本語の馬鹿の一つ憶えを思い起こせます。 最後の方に出てくる "pony up" の意味が分からないので辞書を引きす。:
・OneLook Quick Definitions: give reluctantly
・Dictionary.com: Informal. to pay (money), as in settling an account: Next week you'll have to pony up the balance of the loan.
Q: Is there anything ever "ulterior," other than a motive? Or is anything "gaping," other than a hole (or, I suppose, a maw)? How did these words come to be such one-trick ponies? Were they ever used more broadly? -- Jim Maloy, Greensburg, Pa.
A: I've always been fascinated by these one-trick ponies. You might think "one-trick pony" is an old-fashioned phrase, but it was actually coined during the 1970s to denote someone skilled in only one area or who has success only once.
One of my favorite one-tricks is "whopping," which is invariably used with "increase." As language maven Edwin Newman once asked, "When does an increase begin to whop?"
To answer your question, "ulterior" was once used to modify many adjectives. The Oxford English Dictionary lists citations for "ulterior accomplishments," "ulterior designs" and "ulterior intentions."
Readers, can you pony up any other words used exclusively in one phrase? Please send me your one-tricks!
"one-trick ponies" の意味は文中にあるので辞書は引きませんが、日本語の馬鹿の一つ憶えを思い起こせます。 最後の方に出てくる "pony up" の意味が分からないので辞書を引きす。:
・OneLook Quick Definitions: give reluctantly
・Dictionary.com: Informal. to pay (money), as in settling an account: Next week you'll have to pony up the balance of the loan.
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