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。
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。
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