down the pan

Haruki Murakamiの小説 "South of the Border, West of the Sun" を読んでいます。

"Consider yourself lucky. Me and companies don't get along. I don't think you'd find it any different. Eight years working there convinced me. Eight years down the pan. My twenties - the best years of all. Sometimes I wonder how I put up with it for so long.

"down the pan" の意味を調べます。

・Farlex Dictionary of Idioms: Completely and irreversibly wasted, lost, or destroyed. Primarily heard in UK.: In an instant, we saw all our hopes for our business go down the pan.
・Wiktionary: (idiomatic, UK slang) Synonym of down the toilet: wasted; irretrievable.
・Phrase Finder: If something has gone ‘down the pan’ it is wasted and unrecoverable.: The pan is the lavatory pan. This phrase is of UK origin and is fairly recent. The first record of it in print is in the 1961 edition of Eric Partridge’s A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English.

イギリス英語のスラングでした。

hell on wheels

Haruki Murakamiの小説 "South of the Border, West of the Sun" を読んでいます。

He was a pleasant sort, never pushy. An altogether nice guy. He was in the football team and had been big to begin with, but now he'd put on weight: a double chin, his three-piece suit straining at the seams. Due to entertaining clients all the time, he explained. Big companies are hell on wheels, he said.

"hell on wheels" を調べます。

・Farlex Dictionary of Idioms: Extremely difficult, unpleasant, or aggressive.: That woman is hell on wheels when she's angry, so don't let her into my office.
・The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms: Tough, aggressive, wild, or mean, as in Watch out for the boss-he's hell on wheels this week.
・Urban Dictionary: Used to describe someone or something (maybe a pet) that is tough, aggressive and hard to handle.: My 17 year old daughter is hell on wheels - she comes and goes without permission.

on the blink

Haruki Murakamiの小説 "South of the Border, West of the Sun" を読んでいます。

If I hadn't met my father-in-law, I'd still be editing textbooks. Still living in a lousy little flat in Nishiogikubo, still driving a used Toyota Corona with an air conditioner on the blink. Now, though, in a short space of time I found myself the owner of two bars in one of the smartest parts of town, employing more than thirty people and making more money than I'd ever made in my life - or ever dreamed of making.

"on the blink" を調べます。

・Collins Dictionary: If a machine goes on the blink, it stops working properly.: [informal]...an old TV that's on the blink.
・Cambridge English Dictionary: When a machine is on the blink, it is not working correctly.: The DVD player is on the blink again.

up to scratch

Haruki Murakamiの小説 "South of the Border, West of the Sun" を読んでいます。

During the day I'd take care of all sorts of chores, then at night I'd make the rounds of my two bars, checking out the cocktails to see that they tasted right, watching the customers' reactions, making sure my employees wore up to scratch. And I listened to the music.

"up to scratch" は従業員の着ている服装についてのことですが、意味を調べます。

・Collins Dictionary: If you say that someone or something is not up to scratch, you mean that they are not good enough.: My mother always made me feel I wasn't coming up to scratch.
・Cambridge English Dictionary: reaching an acceptable standard: come up to scratch Your last essay wasn't up to scratch/didn't come up to scratch.
・Oxford English Dictionary: sufficient; adequate; of acceptable or satisfactory quality: They decided that his performance was not up to scratch.

"from scratch" はよく聞きますが、"up to scratch" でこの様な意味になるのが不思議で語源を調べるとMerriam-Websterに次の説明がありました。

Incidentally, the phrase "up to scratch," which means "of a satisfactory condition, level, or performance," is several decades newer than "up to snuff," and has its origin in pugilism: at the beginning of the match and each round, boxers were required to stand with their toes against the scratch, a line drawn across the prize ring. A boxer who could not do so was unable to come up to scratch, and therefore not up to snuff.

この説明に出てくる "up to snuff" は8/9/2013に取り上げていました。

catch

Haruki Murakamiの小説 "South of the Border, West of the Sun" を読んでいます。

Still, I was impressed by his unique outlook on life. I'd never met anybody like him. He drove around Tokyo in a chuffeur-driven Mercedes but he was never snobbish. When I went to see him to ask for his daughter's hand in marriage, he just said, "You're not children any more, so if you like each other it's up to you." I wasn't much of a catch, a nothing employee of a nothing company, but that din't faze him.

自分は "catch" では無いと言っていますが、その意味を辞書で調べます。

・Oxford English Dictionary: a person that other people see as a good person to marry, employ, etc.: He’s a good catch.
・Collins Dictionary: If you describe someone as a good catch, you mean that they have lots of good qualities and you think their partner is very lucky to have found them.: I was so in love with him and all my friends said what a good catch he was.
・Cambridge English Dictionary: a person who is considered to be very suitable as a romantic or marriage partner: Her new boyfriend's not much of a catch really, is he?

キャッチコピーは和製英語で、英語では "catchphrase" と言うと読んだ事がありますが、小説に出てきた "catch" は人間に使うのですね。

bowl me over

Haruki Murakamiの小説 "South of the Border, West of the Sun" を読み始めました。

Not that I was attracted to her. I wasn't. She was nice and I enjoyed our time together. She was a pretty girl and, as my friend said, quite pleasant. But all these good points aside when I asked myself if there was something in her that would bowl me over, that would zoom straight to my heart, the answer was no. Nothing.

"bowl me over" は文脈からすると何か強い印象を与える意味のようですが、英英辞書で確認します。
・Collins Dictionary: If you are bowled over by something, you are very impressed or surprised by it.: ...a man who bowled her over with his humour and charm.
・Cambridge English Dictionary: to surprise and please someone a lot: She was bowled over when she heard she'd won the competition.
・The American Herritage Dictionary: To make a powerful impression on someone; astound someone: She bowled over everyone at the meeting with her amazing presentation.

make of

Osam Dazaiの小説 "The Setting Sun" の(Donald Keen訳)、最後から一つ前の章、遺書（英語ではThe Testamentと訳されています）からの引用です。

Kazuko.
I have no room for hope. Good-bye.
In the last analysis my death is a natural one--man cannot live exclusively for principles. I have one request to make of you, which embarrasses me very much. You remember the hemp kimono of Mother's which you altered so that I could wear it next summer? Please put it in my coffin. I wanted to wear it.
The night has dawned. I have made you suffer a long time.
Good-bye.

今日取り上げるのも駆動詞で、"make of" の意味と用法です。 "make of" で調べると次の説明しか見つかりません。

・Collins Dictionary: If you ask a person what they make of something, you want to know what their impression, opinion, or understanding of it is.: Well, what did you make of her
・Merriam-Webster: to have or form an opinion about (something or someone): What do you make of this message?
・Wiktionary: To form an opinion about (someone or something); to appraise (a person, idea or situation).: What do you make of the new guy?

小説での意味はこれではありませんね。単に何かをお願いしているだけなので。
そこで久しぶりにChatGPTに質問して見ました。

ChatGPT: In the sentence "I have one request to make of you," the phrase "to make of you" is indeed different from the expression "What do you make of something?" which you found in the dictionary. Let's break it down grammatically.

1. "Make of" in Context:
• "Make of" (asking for an opinion or impression): As you pointed out, this usage is about asking someone's opinion or understanding of something. For example, "What do you make of the situation?" Here, "make of" means "interpret" or "think of."
• "Make of" in the Sentence from The Setting Sun: In this case, "make of" is not being used to ask for an opinion or interpretation. Instead, it functions differently.
2. Grammatical Breakdown:
• "To make a request of someone": In the sentence "I have one request to make of you," the phrase "to make of you" should be understood as "to direct toward you" or "to ask of you."
• Subject + Verb + Object + Prepositional Phrase: Here’s how the sentence is structured:
o Subject: "I"
o Verb: "have"
o Object: "one request"
o Prepositional Phrase: "to make of you" (which modifies the verb "make")
In this structure, "of you" specifies who the request is directed toward. It implies that the speaker has a request to direct at "you."

3. Rephrasing:
• If you were to rephrase it for clarity, you might say: "I have one request to ask of you," or simply, "I have a request for you."

4. Meaning in Context:
• The speaker is embarrassed to ask, but is essentially saying, "I have a request that I want you to fulfill."
In summary, in the context of The Setting Sun, "to make of you" grammatically means "to ask of you" or "to request from you," which is different from the "make of" expression meaning "to interpret."

どうも私は駆動詞としての "make of" の意味にこだわり過ぎたのですね。単純に "ask of you" と同じ意味でした。　それにしても丁寧な説明が一瞬に戻ってくるとはAI (ChatGPT)の威力には感服です。

take to

Osam Dazaiの小説 "The Setting Sun" (Donald Keen訳)を読んでいます。

She spoke with a genuinely unself-conscious smile. Behind her stood a thin little girl of about twelve with big eyes and a manner which suggested that she did not often take to people. I did not actually consider them my enemies, but I could be quite sure that one day this woman and child would think of me in those terms and hate me.

簡単な動詞で作られる駆動詞が私にとっては難しい。　上の文にある "take to" の意味をしらべます。

・Oxford English Dictionary: to start liking somebody/something: He hasn't taken to his new school.
・Collins Dictionary: If you take to someone or something, you like them, especially after knowing them or thinking about them for only a short time.: Did the children take to him?

人見知りする子なのですね。

camphor injection

Osam Dazaiの小説 "The Setting Sun" (Donald Keen訳)を読んでいます。

The old doctor, who normally gave forth nothing but jokes, rushed this time into the sickroom in a kind of rage and at once began his examination. This concluded, he muttered to no one in particular, "She's grown weaker." He gave Mother a camphor injection.

"camphor injection" の "camphor" は楠木から作られる樟脳ですが、樟脳から何かの注射液ができるのでしょうか？

・Collins Dictionary: a whitish, translucent, crystalline, pleasant-odored terpene ketone, C10H16O, obtained from the camphor tree, used chiefly in the manufacture of celluloid and in medicine as a counter-irritant for infections and in the treatment of pain and itching
・Cambridge English Dictionary: a white substance with a strong smell which is used in medicine and to keep moths (= flying insects) away from clothes that are stored

樟脳から何等かの薬品も作られるのでしょうね。もしかして、カンフル剤と言う言葉を聞いたことがありますが、このカンフルってcamphorから来たのでしょうか？　カンフルを調べると、心臓の働きを活発にして、血圧を上昇させる目的で注射されていたものが、いわゆる「カンフル剤」とありました。（https://ishikawa-mental.com/mt/archives/000106.html）

valerian, burnet and timothy

Osam Dazaiの小説 "The Setting Sun" (Donald Keen訳)を読んでいます。

"Well, then, since summer has passed, that means we're over the hump of your danger period, doesn't it? Mother, the bush clover is in bloom in the garden. And valerian, burnet, bellflowers, timothy--the whole garden reeks of autumn. I am sure that once it's October your temperature will go down."

花木の名前がいっぱい出てきました。見慣れない名前は "valerian"、"burnet"、"timothy" の三つですが、英英辞書でそれらの日本語名が当てられるか見ましたが、難しいですね。

"valerian" は次の辞書に写真も載っていました。
・Cambridge English Dictionary: a plant with small white or pink flowers and a root that is used in medicines, especially as a sedative (= drug to calm you or make you sleep)　valerian
野原で見かける花ですが、名前は知りません。
他の植物は写真を載せている辞書は見つからないのでGoogle検索で結果を画像で見ると、次の様な写真がみつかります。

Naturescape: burnet
これはワレモコウでしょう。
Great Basin Seed: timothy
これは正式名は分かりませんが、いわゆるネコジャラシに見えます。