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2008年8月第1週分 Lesson 10  No Laughing Matter (1)

《ディクテーション・ノート》

● 今日のテーマ

Shiga and his colleagues discuss the role humor plays in US workshops.

● "the lawyers really knew what they were talking about."  「自分が言っていることがわかっている」

This sentence might be a little bit confusing, if you think of it literally. It’s difficult to talk about something you don’t know about. But it’s usually used to say that the person speaking is a very good  expert on the matter that he is talking about. The opposite is "talking through one’s hat." You could say, "He’s talking as if he’s an expert, but he has no idea what he’s talking about. He’s just talking through his hat."

・ know what you’re talking about <informal>  正確な知識を持っている，専門家である to have knowledge about sth from your own experience  (OALD)

・ be talking through your hat    <British English>    <informal>    おおぼらを吹く，知ったかぶりをする if someone is talking through their hat, they say stupid things about something that they do not understand (LDOCE)

・ He likes to hear himself speak.

And that phrase also includes the idea that he’s talking too long and far too much detail. Nobody else cares about what he’s saying.

● アメリカ人にとっての lawyer

I think you could say that Americans have sort of love-hate relationship with lawyers. On the one hand, it is a very prestigious profession. There are many excellent lawyers, honest, help a lot of people. But also there’re lawyers with reputations for just barely staying on the right side of the law. They know all the details of the law and they use it as much as possible for gain. There are many people would consider going a bit too far, even if it is technically legal.

・ be on the right side of the law  適法である ←→ be on the wrong side of the law 違法である

● "Do you know how many lawyer jokes there are?"

This is very interesting. If you put lawyer jokes into Google and find out how many hits you get, it’s around half a million. And those are only web sites with lawyer jokes on them. That’s not including the number of actual jokes that exit.

● Gotcha! ひっかかりましたね

"Gotcha!" is short for "I got you" or "I’ve got you." The phrase "Gotcha" — if you write it, it spells G-O-T-C-H-A, but it’s very informal. It’s used maybe only in comics, or maybe private letters with friends or family. But in spoken English, it’s used quite a bit. It means "I tricked you," "I fooled you." You can also use it to mean "I understand you." You can also use it to mean, "I’ll help you," "I’ll support you."

・ gotcha 

1. a word meaning ‘I’ve got you’ used when you catch someone or trick them in some way
2    a word meaning ‘I understand’: ‘Yeah, 5 o’clock, gotcha.’

● Jokes are out of place in a (Japanese) workplace.

Hmm, that might be sort of a difference between the U.S. and Japan. I think in the U.S., in most situations, if they’re tasteful, it’s okay to tell a joke or even more than tell a joke, it’s acceptable to say something humorously rather than just straight and seriously. But it does depend on the situation, somewhat. And it is my impression that in Japan there are fewer situations where humor is acceptable.

● wisecrack  冗談

Wisecracks are kind of humor, though, that you have to be a little careful with, because they tend to be a bit flippant or ironic. They’re usually very witty, so people can enjoy the wit. But you do have to be a little careful with wisecracking type of humor, because if the people around you don’t agree with them, you could offend them.

・ wisecrack  = a clever and funny remark or reply [= joke]

● lift someone’s spirits 気分を高揚させる，元気づける

・ raise/lift somebody’s spirits =make someone happier

● tickle someone’s funny bone 笑わせる

・ funny bone ユーモアを解する心

● no laughing matter 笑い事ではない

Usually the phrase "no laughing matter" is used when people aren’t taking something seriously enough, so you tell them, "Wait a minute. Pay attention. This is no laughing matter. This is serious."

・ no laughing matter    <informal >   something serious that should not be joked about: It’s no laughing matter having to walk by a group of rowdy drunks every night just to get home.  (LDOCE)

● perk up 元気づける

・ perk up to become more cheerful, active, and interested in what is happening around you, or to make someone feel this way: She seemed kind of tired, but she perked up when Helen came over. (LDOCE)

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