HOT WORDS No. 61 (March 16, 2012)
Adjunct
Something that is added as a support or complement (サポートや補助の目的で付け足されたもの)
→“He started his career as an adjunct to the president and worked his way up to deputy president.”
→“Lobbyist groups act almost as adjuncts of political parties.”
Brook
To accept or tolerate(受諾または許容する)
→“She is hard to work with as she doesn’t brook any constructive criticism.”
→“The dictator brooks no dissent.”
Cut in on
To allow someone to participate in, or to make a profit from, something(参加させてやる、儲けさせてやる)
→“The school was nice enough to cut me in on the heath care plan.”
→“The lawmakers are trying to cut publishers in on their articles and book contents which are quoted in Internet search engines.”
Diffuse
Spread widely; unorganized and unfocused; verbose and unclear in meaning(幅広く広がった、構成力に欠ける、言葉多く意味が不明な)
→“Gradually, the Roman Empire grew diffuse.”
→“The mobs’ anger and resentment weren’t diffuse.”
→“This fat book I started reading is diffuse and disorganized.”
Ethos
A set of shared values or ethical standards(共有されている価値観や倫理規範)
→“He acted in adherence to the tenets of the samurai ethos.”
→“Their actions were much in the spirit of this ethos.”
Fleece
To defraud or overcharge(金を巻き上げる、オーバーチャージする)
→“He outsmarted the organization and exposed its plan to fleece the investors.”
→“The taxi driver tried to fleece me, but I didn’t let him.”
Gauge
To guess or estimate; to measure(推測する、計る)
→“Under the current circumstances, it’s hard to gauge what the beleaguered nation will do next.”
→“We can gauge his electoral prospects by how he performs in the next primary.”
Hard-wired
Naturally so and impossible to change(自然としてそうなっており変更不可能な)
→“Anxiousness and impatience seem hard-wired into my character.”
→“There is no point in reasoning with her. She is hard-wired to be loose with money.”
Liable
Likely to behave in a certain way; legally responsible(~しそうな又はしがちな、法的責任ある)
→“It made her so upset that she was liable to yell and throw things.”
→“My air conditioner is liable to malfunction after 5 hours of continuous use.”
→“You are more liable to catch a cold when you are sleep deprived.”
→“As a green card-holder, you are liable for all the taxes that the citizens pay.”
→“The policeman told him that he was liable to a $50 fine for walking a red light.”
Nail down
To successfully reach a final agreement or a definite decision; to compel someone to explicitly state something(最終的な同意や決定にこぎつける、何かをはっきり言わせる)
→“The president announced that our company had nailed down a landmark deal with a major client.”
→“For 30 minutes, I tried in vain to nail the salesman down to a concrete price.”
Oversight
A mistake of negligence; responsibility to supervise something(うっかりと見過ごしてしまうこと、監督・管轄する責任)
→“I am sorry, it was strictly an oversight on my part.”
→“The government just announced its plan to increase its oversight of the banking sector.”
Prevaricate
To refuse to answer a question directly(まっすぐな返事をしないでごまかす)
→“The talk radio host has a reputation for prevaricating after making controversial statements.”
→“You are prevaricating. Just answer my question in no uncertain terms.”
Rack up
To win a number or amount of something(スコアする、獲得する)
→“Jeremy Lin is expected to rack up at least 30 points in tonight’s game.”
→“The prime minister’s rivals are racking up parliamentary support.”