tad tame

The Japan Times Online May 30のFILM REVIEWS欄の次の記事タイトルに引っ掛かりました。
‘Deadpool 2’: A tad tame but still a ton of fun
"tad" は以前 "a small bit or piece" の意味があることを調べていますが、 "tame" は「飼い慣らす」とか「なついた」「従順な」の様な意味しか思いつかないので、映画の感想としてはどんな意味になるのか分かりません。
とりあえず記事を読んで見ます。
Blame it on the Bat. For a brief period, Deadpool seemed like the most subversive player on the cinematic superhero circuit, deflating the genre’s pretensions with a barrage of self-referential humor and fourth wall-breaking asides. But after last year’s “The Lego Batman Movie,” he’s starting to look rather tame: a potty-mouthed prankster who ultimately plays it safe, respecting comic-book conventions rather than trying to blow them into a heap of interlocking plastic pieces.

"tame" は誉め言葉ではない事は分かりますが、酷くけなしているいるのでもなさそうです。辞書で確認します。
・Oxford English Dictionary: Not exciting, adventurous, or controversial.: network TV on Saturday night is a pretty tame affair
・Collins Dictionary: If you say that something or someone is tame, you are criticizing them for being weak and uninteresting, rather than forceful or shocking.: The report was pretty tame stuff.
・Cambridge English Dictionary: not interesting or exciting: It was a tame film in comparison to some that she's made.
上に引用した最後の辞書の例文も映画についての形容で使っていますね。しかし、"A tad tame but still a ton of fun" とは。何だか笑点を連想しました。

cloy

Reader's Digest 4月号の記事 '25 Ways Sugar Is Making You Sick' からの引用です。
How do you keep added sugar from seeping into your own diet?
I just don't have it around the house. Take all that stuff out of your environment. Once you start cutting back, you'll lose your sweet tooth.
It's a palate phenomenon, and it doesn't take long. You'll notice that you can suddenly taste the natural sweetness in unprocessed food, and you'll start to find processed products cloying and unpleasant.
文脈からして "cloying" は良い意味ではないようです。辞書で意味を調べます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: Disgust or sicken (someone) with an excess of sweetness, richness, or sentiment.: a romantic, rather cloying story
・Collins Dictionary: to surfeit, or make weary or displeased, by too much of something, esp. something sweet, rich, etc.: We found this just a little cloying in its sweetness, not sufficiently clean, although pleasant enough.
・Macmillan Dictionary: to make you feel sick or annoyed by being too sweet or too pleasant: The smell of her cheap perfume soon began to cloy.
簡単に言うと甘過ぎて気持ち悪い位の感じでしょうか？　私は甘党ではないので分かります。以前は餡子の入った饅頭も食べれませんでした。今でも羊羹は駄目です。

repo agent

Reader's Digest 4月号の記事 'That's Outrageous!' からの引用です。
He'd made his car payment: An Illinois man drove to a Walmart, shoplifted some electronic divices, and then nonchalantly sauntered out the door. That was when he noticed a problem: His car was gone. A repo agent had followed him to the store and repossessed the auto while he was inisde. Police arrested the thief fleeing on foot.
状況からして "repo agent" はここでは万引きなどを監視する警備員のようですね。
"repo" を辞書で調べます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: Repossess (a car or other item) when a buyer defaults on payments.: Operator: ‘It says here you're in arrears on your car payments, so your car got repo'd.’
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: of, relating to, or being in the business of repossessing property (such as a car) from buyers who have defaulted on payments ·a repo company
"repo" だと動詞か名詞で上記のような意味になりますが、Reader's Digestの記事の様に "repo" が形容詞で使われる "repo man(repo agent)" の説明も載っていました。
・Wiktionary: (US) A man employed by a finance company or similar lender to repossess property which is the security for a loan or subject of a lease and where payments have not been made by the borrower/lessor at agreed times (i.e. one that is in default).
"repo agent" は万引の監視人ではありませんでした。どうやら記事の男は万引きをする前から、車のローンの支払いを滞っていたので "repo agent" に尾行され、万引きしている間に車を "repossessed " された話でした。

You're a model?

Reader's Digest 4月号の記事 'Life in these United States' からの引用です。
I was at the hardware store to get a duplicate of my car key made when the store clerk asked, "You're a model?" It was exactly what a woman in her mid 30s wanted to hear.
"Well, no, I'm not," I said, blushing. "But I'm very flattered that--"
He stopped me right there, pointed to my car keys, and repeated slowly, "Year... and ... model?"

hearing aid

Reader's Digest 4月号の記事 'Life in these United States' からの引用です。
Soon after the offering plate had been passed around, a parishioner announced that someone had accidently dropped in his or her hearing aid.
There was a period of silence, followed by a congregant suggesting, "Maybe you should say that a little louder."
犯人が分かりましたね。

tentative teen

Reader's Digest 4月号の記事 'Everyday Heroes Basketball Cop' からの引用です。
"I could tell he was like, 'Great, the cops are here. How's this gonna go?'" says White, now 48. To put him at ease, White said, "Can you believe that someone's calling about kids playing basketball?" Then he put his hand out for the ball. The tentative teen gave it to him. White turned toward the basket and clanked a shot off the rim.
"tentative" は「仮の」とか「一次的な」の意味でビジネスでよく使う単語ですが、"tentative teen" の様に人に使う場合の意味は知りません。辞書を見ます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: Done without confidence; hesitant.: he eventually tried a few tentative steps round his hospital room
・Collins Dictionary: If someone is tentative, they are cautious and not very confident because they are uncertain or afraid.: My first attempts at complaining were rather tentative.
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: hesitant, uncertain ·a tentative smile
なるほど、不安や用心深さからためらいがちになるのですね。

tack on

Miyuki MiyabeのCrossfireを読んでいます。
"pyorokinesis" の能力を持つJunkoのところに見知らぬ人から電話がありました。
"Who are you?"
There was a moment's pause before he answered.
"A Guardian."
"A what?"
"Guardian. As in 'protector.'" With another teasing laugh, he continued. "It's okay, you don't have to understand. You will soon enough. I just wanted to let you know that we're impressed with the way you work." Almost as an afterthought he cheerfully tacked on, "And that you're very pretty. Okay, bye!"
The connection was cut and Junko was left, astounded and alone.
この意味の "tack" は知りません。辞書を見ます。
・Macmillan Dictionary: to add something extra, especially something that does not seem to belong to the rest: It’s a violent movie with a happy ending tacked on.
・Farlex Dictionary of Idioms: To add something on to something else. A noun or pronoun can be used between "tack" or "on." Miss, can I tack a side of bacon onto my order? If you kids keep talking, I'll tack another essay onto your homework.
・American Heritage Dictionary: To add or append something additional: The hotel tacked on a five percent service fee. I read my essay again and tacked an introduction on.

rode on the coattail of evil

Miyuki MiyabeのCrossfireを読んでいます。

But the brand of evil exemplified by Asaba's mother and the gun dealer was another matter altogether. They rode on the coattails of evil--they were willing accessories to it. They brought immeasurable harm to society with their negligence and avarice. They were not purely evil like Asaba; they didn't have it in them to act independently. They were secondary evils, sticking to their primary source as long as it carried them along.
"rode on the coattails" はFlowers for Algernonを読んだ時に出てた表現で「虎の威を借る狐」と覚えたのですが、"rode on the coattails of evil" の場合ちょっと合わない気がします。再度辞書を見ます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: Benefit from the success of (another), sometimes undeservedly.: the film could ride the coattails of the hottest show on Broadway: the band is riding on the coattails of the garage-rock revival

・American Heritage Dictionary: Immediately following or as a direct result of: resigned on the coattails of the scandal.
ネガティブなことにも使われる様だがどう訳せば良いのか分からない。クロスファイヤの原文で確認した方が良さそうだ。

best

The Japan Times Online May 21の見出しです。
Harry bests brother as over 29 million watch royal wedding in U.S.: Nielsen

"bests" は動詞ですね。本文を読みます。
The estimated 29.2 million viewers for Saturday’s ceremony exceed the number for the 2011 wedding of Harry’s brother, Prince William, to Kate Middleton, which was watched by 22.8 million people.
ハリーの結婚式の方がウィリアムの結婚式の時より視聴者の数が上回ったと云う事ですね。
"best" の動詞用法を辞書で確認します。
・Oxford English Dictionary: Outwit or get the better of (someone): she refused to allow herself to be bested
・Cambridge English Dictionary: to defeat someone in a fight or competition: He bested his opponent in just two rounds.
・Collins Dictionary: to gain an advantage over or defeat an opponent: The Chinese pair bested the Swedes 3–1.

dug in her heels

Miyuki MiyabeのCrossfireを読んでいます。
Chikako smiled brightly, doing her utmost to stay in cheerful, chatty matron mode. "Yes, you did. But since I'm lucky enough to be here now and have the chance to meet Ms. Eguchi, who's in charge of taking care of everything here, I'd like to hear about them from her directly."
Michiko dug in her heels. "The most recent fire did not take place here. It occurred in the school classroom."

"dug in her heels" はこれまでに2度（7/5/2013、6/30/2014）取り上げましたが、意味が直ぐに出てこないので復習です。
・Oxford Dictionary: Resist stubbornly; refuse to give in.: he has dug in his heels and refuses to leave
・Farlex Dictionary of Idioms: To cling stubbornly to one's beliefs or wishes. Please let me tell my side of the story before you dig in your heels on this, OK?

"heel" を含む慣用句は沢山あり、これまでに取り上げた慣用句を下記に示します。
"on the heels of": https://blog.goo.ne.jp/k_akabane/e/345ca5b53905c7ea1cd3ed3d47671429
"heel in": https://blog.goo.ne.jp/k_akabane/e/ffe39f7b5b2396fbe5650ab5de5bde45
"head over heels": https://blog.goo.ne.jp/k_akabane/e/0f44bd52b6ff413abbcdb32619627ecf