Down the hatch

Reader's Digest 8月号のSnow Patrolの記事の最後に近い個所にお祝いパーティの描写がありました。
After picking up their award ten months later, the crew hit London's West End. "Clubs were involved," grins Stan. "We were wearing uniform and people were shaking our hands and buying us drinks. That was uplifting. We raised a glass to the rescue. 'Crew Blackout 26. Ching, ching, Down the hatch.'"
文脈から "Down the hatch." は乾杯の文言の一種と分かります。
先週の土曜日に参加した卓球の試合は４勝１敗で、残念ながら決勝トーナメントに残れず、乾杯と言うより完敗です。
そんな訳で "Down the hatch." をこれ以上深く調べる気になれません。

two sides of a coin

毎週日曜日は気に入ったジョークを紹介しています。
After marriage, husband and wife become two sides of a coin; they just can't face each other, but still they stay together.

pilot bread

TODAY MATTERSを読み終えたので、新しい読み物として "Sea Pup" と言う題の小説を読み始めました。　小説とは行っても主人公は13才の少年なので、子供向けの物語と言った方が正確です。　とは言うものの、情けない事に中学生向け程度の小説でも私の知らない単語、表現はないページの方が少ないというのが実態なのでこの一冊だけでも私のブログのネタはいっぱい出てくるでしょう。　今日取り上げる単語 "pilot bread" も早速２ページに出てきたものです。
"Where's your lunch?"
"I won't need any, Mom. I'm going to live off the water -- like a castaway."
"You must take something -- just in case."
"O.K. Just emergency rations, though." While he stuffed a few rounds of pilot bread and a piece of smoked salmon into a paper bag, his mother slipped in an orange.
この "pilot bread" がどんなパンか知りません。　辞書を見ます。
・Dictionary.com: a hard, saltless biscuit, formerly much used aboard ships and for army rations.
・Cook's Thesaurus: hardtack = hard bread = pilot biscuit = pilot bread = sea bread = ship biscuit = ship bread = tack Notes: Hardtack is an unleavened (cf. http://blog.alc.co.jp/blog/3302827/183181), unsalted biscuit that sailors used to eat while on long sea voyages. Since it's very dry, it can be stored for a long time without refrigeration.
災害用の非常食でしか余り見かけない乾パンですね。　それにしても色々な言い方があるものです。 Cook's Thesaurusでは "hardtack" が一番初めにあるので "hardtack" が最も一般的な名称なのでしょうか。

kid oneself about

Reader's Digest 8月号のSnow Patrolと題された、アフガニスタンでブリザートに遭い孤立した米国海兵隊を英国空軍が救助する話から引用します。
He caught his breath slightly as he flew over a small river. A truck was lying on its roof, lights on, window wipers still flicking. If motorists were losing their bearings and swerving off the road, the crew couldn't kid themselves about how bad conditions had become.
(この "bearings" は既出 "http://blog.alc.co.jp/blog/3302827/157577"）
"kid themselves about" は慣用句に違いありません。"kid oneself about" で調べましたがOneLookの辞書検索では何も出てきません。慣用句を調べるのは苦労する時がよくあります。
やっと "kid yourself about" と "kid yourself" での意味と用例次ぎの辞書で見つけました。
・Macmillan Dictionary: to make yourself believe something that is not true; Consumers may be kidding themselves about how much they’ll spend over Christmas.
・Cambridge Advanced Learner's English Dictionary: to believe something that is not true, usually because you want it to be true; He says there's a good chance she'll come back to him but I think he's kidding himself.
結局 "kid oneself about"/ "kid yourself" は慣用句と言うよりも、"kid" の次ぎの意味を持ったフレーズの様です。
・Collins English Dictionary: (tr) to delude or fool (oneself) into believing (something): don't kid yourself that no-one else knows

a font of data

私の住んでいるマンションの敷地に植えられている金木犀（orange osmanthus）もついに咲きました。香りが強いので直ぐに気がつきますね。
さて、TODAY MATTERSも終わりに近づきました。 Today's GROWTH Gives Me Potentialの章からの抜粋です。
The greatest obstacle to growth is not ignorance. It's the illusion of knowledge. Have you ever known someone who was a font of data yet could do nothing with it to benefit himself or others?
"a font of data" って何でしょう？　"font" と言うと、文字の字体セットとしてのフォントしか知らないのですが、このフォントには別の意味があるようです。
・Wordnik: An abundant source; a fount: She was a font of wisdom and good sense.
・Dictionary.com: a productive source: The book is a font of useful tips for travelers.
"a fount" とも言うとあるので気がつきました、語源は "fountain" ときっと一緒ですね。　日本語の情報源にあたる感じです。　英英辞書は私が英語を勉強する場合の "a font of wisdom" ですし、今やインターネットは現代人にとって最強の "a font of data" と言えるでしょう。

pound

先日の土日にジョッギングをしたのですが途中で金木犀（orange osmanthus）の香りがしました。住んでいるマンションの敷地にある金木犀の蕾は膨らんでいますがまだ咲いていません。昨年は金木犀の匂いを感じたのは１０月１０日でしたので今週末にはマンションの金木犀も咲くでしょう。
さて、Reader's Digest 8月号、HealthSmartのコーナー冒頭の文です。
You need to pound your bones to make your skelton strong.
この文の "pound" の意味は何だろうと引っ掛かりました。 "pound" に「強く打つ」の様な意味があるのは知っていますが、骨を叩く様な運動は思い浮かべません。　文の次ぎを読みます。
But if the mere idea of jogging or skipping makes you hyperventilate, try walking instead - in a weighted vest.
重りを付けたベストを着てジョッギングですか？　やはり "pound" の意味を辞書で見るしかありません。
"pound" は思いのほか色々の意味・用法がありましたが、上の文にピッタリの意味が見つかりました。
・OneLook Quick Definitions: move rhythmically
・Dictionary.com: to walk or go with heavy steps; move along with force or vigor.
・Macmillan Dictionary: to walk or run with heavy and regular steps; pound up/down/toward/across/along: She pounded down the hall to see what had happened.
猛暑は去ったし、今月の２４日に10kmのレースがあるので "I should keep on jogging on weekends to pound my bones."。

off-the-wall

TODAY MATTERSのToday's FINANCES Give Me Optionsの章にあった文章です。
Orman has her critics. Some say her approach to money is too simplistic. Others don't care for some of her off-the-wall opinions. But one thing is for sure. She has settled the financial issue in her life. She earns and properly manages her finances daily. It doesn't really matter how much money she has. She lives modestly. She drives an older car. And when she's not in New York, she lives in a tiny modest house in Oakland that she bought before she became a household name. But she has many options. And that's a good measure of success when it comes to finance.
"off-the-shelf" は良く見聞きする言葉で意味も知っていますが、"off-the-wall" は初めて見る表現です。　早速辞書で調べます。
・OneLook Quick Definitions: conspicuously or grossly unconventional or unusual ("His off-the-wall antics")
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: highly unusual : bizarre off-the-wall
・Collins English Dictionary: slang (off the wall when postpositive) new or unexpected in an unconventional or eccentric way: an off-the-wall approach to humour
最後に引用した辞書の注に語源について次ぎの記述がありました。
possibly from the use of the phrase in handball and squash to describe a shot that is unexpected
スカッシュはやった事はありませんが知っているので納得できます。　でも中学生の時にやった事のあるハンドボールは校庭でしたので壁は関係なさそうですが？

WIFE

Two guys and a girl were sitting at a bar talking about their lives.
The first guy said, "I'm a YUPPIE. You know, Young Urban Professional."
The second guy responded, "I'm a DINK. You know, Double Income No Kids."
They then asked the woman, "What are you?"
She replied: "I'm a WIFE. You know, Woman, Intelligent, Fun, Etc."

megillah

Reader's Digest 8月号のYiddish特集にあった出題単語は難しく覚える気がしないものばかりでしたが、問題ではなく、コラムで紹介していたYiddishの"megillah" を使った次ぎの表現は中々便利そうなので覚えたいと思います。
If someone tells you, "Don't give me the whole megillah," he means, "Cut a long story short." In Hebrew, "megillah" means "scroll" and often refers to the biblical Book of Esther - read aloud, in full, twice, during the festival of Purim.
RDのコラムの説明だけで "megillah" の意味も用例も良く分かりますが、覚えるために辞書で意味の確認と用例を探してみます。　
・Dictionary.com: a lengthy, detailed explanation or account: Just give me the facts, not a whole megillah.
・Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions: a long and complicated story. (From Hebrew megillah via Yiddish.) : Here you come in here with this megillah about a flat tire and how your brother-in-law stole your jack and how your arthritis is kicking up?what do you think I am, some sort of shoulder to cry on?
私も "megillah" は苦手なので "Don't give me the whole megillah." は覚えたい。