English Collection

日頃目に付いた覚えたい英単語、慣用句などの表現についてのメモです。

starry-eyed

2020年10月06日 | 英単語
角田光代の "Woman on the Other Shore" を読んでいると目につく表現がありました。
"Don't be silly. The only reason you say that is because you know you'll be leaving soon. If I visited your town, I'd probably go starry-eyed and say I wanted to stay there forever, too."
"starry-eyed" は漫画の描写で眼の回りに星が付いている顔を連想させます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: Naively enthusiastic or idealistic; failing to recognize the practical realities of a situation.: ‘starry-eyed romantics’

・Collins Dictionary: If you say that someone is starry-eyed, you mean that they have such a positive or hopeful view of a situation that they do not see what it is really like.: I'm not starry-eyed about Europe.

・Cambridge English Dictionary: If you are starry-eyed, you have a lot of thoughts and opinions that are unreasonably positive, so you do not understand things as they really are: It's easy to be starry-eyed about a place you've never been to.
夢見心地だけれど現実的ではないのですね。
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bust our tails

2020年10月05日 | 英単語
角田光代の "Woman on the Other Shore" を読んでいます。
Yeah, it was fun, Aoi agreed, but she could no longer find the strength to open her mouth. It feels weird sleeping in a strange house, doesn't it? You know what, Nanako, we'll probably have to bust our tails again tomorrow, but I don't mind a bit because I'm with you.
慣用句の様な表現 "bust our tails" を辞書で調べましたが、どの辞書にも見当たりません。
しかしながら、辞書に下記の説明のある "bust one's ass" が関係あると推測できます。
・American Heritage Dictionary: bust (one's) ass/balls/butt Vulgar Slang; To make a strenuous effort; work very hard.
・Your Dictionary: SLANG to make great efforts; try very hard, also bust one's ass (a somewhat vulgar variant): To work really hard on something.: Dude, you'd better bust ass if you wanna finish that on time!
・Farlex Dictionary of Idioms: rude slang To exert a significant amount of energy or work very hard to do, accomplish, or complete something.: I've been busting my ass all night long to get this presentation ready for tomorrow's meeting.
下品な表現なので "ass" を "tail" に置き換えて若干下品さを減らしたのだと思います。
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We share everything

2020年10月04日 | 英単語
Reader's Digest 7/8月合併号のジョーク特集から
Old Age
An elderly couple go to Burger King, when they carefully split a burger and fries. A trucker takes pity on them and offers to buy the wife her own meal.
"It's all right," says the husband. "We share everything."
A few minutes later, the trucker notices that the wife hasn't taken a bite. "I really wouldn't mind buying her her own meal," he insists.
"She'll eat," the husband assures him. "We share everything."
Unconvinced, the trucke asks the wife, "Why won't you eat?"
The wife snaps, "Because I'm waiting for the teeth!"
なるほど、二人とも仲良く "dentures" も共用しているのですか? "Yuck!"
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surfactant

2020年10月01日 | 英単語
角田光代の "Woman on the Other Shore" を読んでいます。
"Lime scale forms when calcium and magnesium salts react with the air and precipitate to form a film on surfaces in contact with water. Agents for removing the scale contain abrasives, surfactants, acids, alkalis, and solvents."
今日は上に出てきた "surfactants" を覚えたい。
・Oxford English Dictionary: A substance which tends to reduce the surface tension of a liquid in which it is dissolved.: The primary conditioning ingredients are cationic surfactants, silicones, and polymers.

・Collins Dictionary: Also called: surface-active agent: a substance, such as a detergent, that can reduce the surface tension of a liquid and thus allow it to foam or penetrate solids; a wetting agent: A surfactant is a substance which is added to a process to reduce the surface tension of one or more components.

・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: a surface-active substance (such as a detergent): My formula is 1 gallon of 8% to 10% (100 grain) white vinegar, 1 ounce of orange oil (D-limonene), and 1 teaspoon of liquid soap or other surfactant.
"surfactants" は "surface-active agent" と分かれば容易に覚えられます。日本語で言う界面活性剤ですね。
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