to the tune

MAX DANGERのThe Rules and the Dead Australianの章にあった表現です。
It was there, balancing his checkbook, Max discovered that he and the beautiful Gloria had overdrawn their joint bank account to the tune of 131,465.
この慣用句らしい "to the tune of" を調べます。
・Cambridge Dictionaries Online: to the stated amount: The City Council had financed the new building to the tune of over 4 million pounds.
・Wiktionary: (idiomatic) roughly; about; as much as; to the sum of, to the extent of: The damage that he did to his car was to the tune of two grand
・McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs: some amount of money Fig. to a certain amount of money. My checking account is overdrawn to the tune of $340. My wallet was stolen, and I'm out to the tune of $70.
用法を知ってしまえばなんて事のない表現でした、と思いかけたら、スラング辞書のUrban Dictionaryに次ぎの様なニュアンスの説明がありました。
Used to mean "approximately", or "in the general range of", but usually only when talking about large sums of money.:
Right Example: So then I had to pay something to the tune of $5,000 for a new one.
Wrong Example: So then I had to pay something to the tune of $0.05 for a new one.
なるほど、引用文の "to the tune of" は131,465も使ってしまったと言うニュアンスがあるようです。

lot

The Affair, Part IIでMAX DANGERはついに銀行の窓口で会った女性とデートをしました。
They said "good-night" outside the disco. Max walked home from Roppongi. He felt bad about what he did; he felt good about what he didn't do. He didn't sleep. His middle child, normally the healthiest of the lot, was up vomiting most of the night.
正直に言って他人の "affairs" には余り興味はありません。私のもっぱらの関心は英語の表現・単語・慣用句です。
"lot" は色々な意味を持っていて、以前にも一度取り上げていますが（Ref. http://blog.alc.co.jp/blog/3302827/archive/2008/09/2 ）、上の引用文にある "lot" の意味はその時の意味とは違います。 また辞書を見ます。
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: a number of associated persons : set （fell in with a rough lot）
・Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary: chiefly Brit: all the members of a group of people - usually singular ・Do you know the lot [=bunch, crowd] that hang around the arcade? ・That lot will never amount to anything! They're a thoroughly bad lot. ・Pipe down, the (whole) lot of you. = Pipe down, you lot.
・Compact Oxford English Dictionary: [treated as singular or plural] informal a particular group or set of people or things: it’s just one lot of rich people stealing from another: he will need a second lot of tills to handle the second currency
・Cambridge Dictionaries Online: UK an amount or set of things, especially when there are several of these amounts: I've already done one lot of washing.: Another lot of visitors will be here this afternoon.
不良 "lot" などで物を示すのは知っていましたが、人にも使えるのですね。　引用文の場合はMAXの家族を示しているのでしょう。

signs of old age

There are three signs of old age.
The first is your loss of memory,
the other two ...I've forgotten.

wall-scaling

Gatsbyの若い頃の日課の一つに次ぎの項目がありました。
Dumbell exercise and <B>wall-scaling</B>.......6.15-6.30
"<B>wall-scaling</B>" は辞書には載っていませんし、 "<B>scaling</B>" の原形 "<B>scale</B>" の動詞の意味としては、「測る/計る」と「魚のウロコを取る」しか知らないので "<B>wall-scaling</B>" は謎です。 "<B>scale</B>" の動詞の意味を調べます。
・Cambridge Dictionaries Online: to climb up a steep surface, such as a wall or the side of a mountain, often using special equipment The prisoner <B>scaled</B> the high prison wall and ran off.
・Vocabulary.com:
a) take by attacking with <B>scaling</B> ladders: “The troops <B>scaled</B> the walls of the fort”
b) reach the highest point of: “We <B>scaled</B> the Mont Blanc”
c) climb up by means of a ladder
・V2 Vocabulary Building Dictionary: 1. to climb up; 2. to reach the highest point; 3. to measure with the use of a <B>scale</B>;
Tips: Although the word <B>scale</B> has many uses and meanings, its most important definition to remember on the SAT is the verb definition, "to climb." Think of "<B>scaling</B> a mountain." When you <B>scale</B> down something, you reduce it.
SATを受ける予定は全くありませんが "<B>scale</B>" のこの意味は必須単語ですね。　それにしても "<B>wall-scaling</B>" を日課に入れるなんて、日本だったら自衛隊とかレスキュー隊にでも入りたい人くらいでしょうね。
Gatsbyの葬式には老いた父親とNickの他は使用人だけで、生前のパーティーに来ていた数百人の客や、Nick以外の友人や仕事関係の人は誰も来ませんでした。これでThe Great Gatsbyは読み終えたので、またMax Dangerの続きを読みます。

fly-leaf / flyleaf

The Great Gatsbyの内容をほとんど紹介していませんが、実は、Gatsbyは殺されてしまいました。葬式の為に駆けつけたGatsbyの父親が主人公のNickに話しかけています。
'Look here, this is a book he had when he was a boy. It just shows you.'
He opened it at the back cover and turned it around for me to see. On the last fly-leaf was printed the word SCHEDULE, and the date September 12, 1906. And underneath:
Rise from bed.................................................6.00 A.M.
Dumbell exercise and wall-scaling.......6.15-6.30 "
...
"fly-leaf" は初めて見る表現ですが、この "leaf" は "turn over a new leaf" の "leaf" と同じ意味だと推測できるので、裏表紙の裏側の何も書かれていないページの事の様に思えますが、辞書で確認します。
"fly-leaf" を載せている辞書は見つかりませんでしたが、"flyleaf" はほとんどの辞書に載っています。
・Macmillan Dictionary: the first or last page of a book that is next to the cover and has nothing printed on it
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: an empty page at the beginning or end of a book
日課の一つの "wall-scaling" も気になるので明日取り上げます。

pigeon-toed

卓球で知り合った方ですが、日本の歴史についての造詣が深いかたで、本も書き、（『明治の兄弟　柴太一郎、東海散士柴四朗、柴五郎』中井けやき）、「けやきのブログII」（http://keyakinokaze.cocolog-nifty.com/rekishibooks/）も作っています。その方から、明治１１年に出版された和英辞典（？漢英辞典）（SANTO DICTIONARY）の序文とその辞書に対するA Foreigner's Opinionの個所、と辞書の本の一部のコピーを頂きました。原本は厚さが数センチもあるものだそうで、明治維新からそれほど経ていないのに驚き、またその内容の凄さにびっくりです。例えば、非常に難しい漢字があって、それに対する英語の説明は A tortoise drawing in its headとありました。もう一つ例を挙げると、これも漢字の方は全くチンプンカンプンですが、英語はMusical reeds of various lengthsとあり良く分かります。　もう一つ頂いた資料は、中井けやきさんが専門の東海散士柴四朗が出身地の若松市立会津図書館に寄贈した蔵書のリストですが、その内、洋書が３００冊ほどあり、これまた明治の日本人の努力、勤勉さに感服です。
さて、話題はいつもの、私が覚えたい英語の表現に変わります。　MAX DANGER、The Affair, Part Iに出た来た次の文にある、表現も面白い。
They stood looking at each other in silence. Miss Fujii smiled. Max smiled. Miss Fujii demurely looked down at her feet--she was pigeon-toed, Max noticed.
想像力が乏しいので "pigeon-toed" がどんな足なのか分かりませんが、多分女性に多い足だとは思いますが。
・Cambridge Dictionaries Online: A person who is pigeon-toed bends their feet in towards each other when they walk.
・Vocabulary.com: having feet that turn inward: No attempt should be made to correct the common tendency of children to toe in or "walk pigeon-toed."
なるほど、それではその反対は何て言うかと調べると、鳩ではない別の鳥が出て来ました。
Antonyms of pigeon-toed: "duck-footed": Having splayfoot; habitually standing or walking with the ends of the feet angled outward.
"duck-footed" は分かる気がしますが、 "pigeon" が内股で歩いているとは気がつきませんでした。今度鳩を見たら観察して見ます。

pneumatic mattress

The Great Gatsbyに出てきた単語です。
He stopped at the garage for a pneumatic mattress that had amused his guests during the summer, and the chauffeur helped him to pump it up.
夏の間客を楽しませ、"pump it up" とあるので、"pneumatic mattress" は空気で膨らんだマットレスに違いありませんが、 "pneumatic" の単語は知らなかったので辞書で確認します。　
・Macmillan Dictionary: filled with compressed air or gas: pneumatic tires
・Cambridge Advanced Learner's English Dictionary: operated by air pressure: Our car has pneumatic brakes.
・Vocabulary.com: Pneumatic means "related to air or gas." If you've ever gone to a drive-through bank where you put your deposit in a container that gets shot through a tube into the bank, by a blast of air, then you've used a pneumatic tube.
そう言えば以前 "kidney stones" の治療の為に通っていた虎の門病院でカルテの移送に "pneumatic tube" を使用したシステムが使われていました。

at the drop of a hat

米国系会社のトップとして日本に送り込まれたMAXも日本での仕事や生活に大分慣れて来たようです。MAXの妻の事はいつも "the beautiful Gloria" と書かれているのですが、意味深長なThe Affair, Part Iと題された章に入りました。
"There sure are a lot of young lovelies flouncing and giggling about. And my, oh my, what tidy little bodies," Unchecked, the theme gradually developed.
They seem so friendly, and anxious to please.
They range all the way from "cute" to sultry.
They appear to be undemanding.
They dress well and always look groomed.
They undress well, at the drop of a hat, in clubs and show bars.
They embody the Oriental mystique.
They look at me and blush.
They look at me and don't blush.
They look at me.
Yes, Max was approaching the "wonder what it's like" stage without actually realizing it.
MAXは日本人女性の魅力に気が付く余裕が出てきたようです。
"They undress well" と言える様なクラブには私は行ったことがないので、同意はできませんが、それより慣用句と思われる "at the drop of a hat" はどんな意味か気になります。
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: as soon as the slightest provocation is given: immediately
・Cambridge Dictionaries Online: If you do something at the drop of a hat, you do it immediately without stopping to think about it: People will file lawsuits at the drop of a hat these days.
・McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs: Fig. immediately; instantly; on the slightest signal or urging. (Alludes to the dropping of a hat as a signal.) John was always ready to go fishing at the drop of a hat. If you need help, just call on me. I can come at the drop of a hat.
MAXさんのテリトリー、麻布、六本木にはそんな場所が色々あるのでしょうね。

under duress

Maxが働いている会社の米国本社CEOの訪日は、実はドタキャンとなったのですが、結局後日実現しました。
The meeting with the MITI official, arranged under duress and without the enthusiastic support of the official himself, should not have degenerated into a lecture highlighting the deficiencies of Japanese oorporate/political/social/economic principles as compared to the virtues of American free enterprise and capitalistic adventurism..
二十年程前に米国の通信機器メーカーの日本のliason officeの代表をしていた頃に、私も米国本社のCEO訪日で、MITIやNTTとのアポイントやら、歌舞伎観賞のアレンジ等をしていた事を思い出しました。　上の引用文に出てくる "under duress" は初めて見る表現ではありませんが、意味を直ぐに思い出せないので、辞書を見ます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: threats, violence, constraints, or other action used to coerce someone into doing something against their will or better judgement: confessions extracted under duress
・Vocabulary.com: Let’s hope you’re never denied food and sleep and forced to sign a confession, but if you are, that's called being under duress. Threats and harsh treatment meant to make you do something you don’t want to do is duress.
Maxの作者は大げさにこの "under duress" を使っていますが、実際にこの状況に近い事は一度や二度は誰にでもありますね。

God is watching

The children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Catholic elementary school for lunch.
At the head of the table was a large pile of apples.
The nun made a note, and posted on the apple tray: "Take only ONE. God is watching."
Moving further along the lunch line, at the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies.
A child had written a note, "Take all you want. God is watching the apples."