続 今日の英語

はてなダイアリーで地味に続けていた「今日の英語」の続き。日常出会った気になる英語表現を、オンライン辞書の例文などとともにメモしています。

He's got fingers in everything--communications, transportation, you name it...

(彼はすべてを手にしている---通信も、交通も、すべてをだ。)
 ルパン三世「ルパン対複製人間」の英語版より。マモーの正体は世界一の大金持ちハワード・ロックウッドに違いない、という次元のセリフ。

  • 先日、you name itという表現を使おうと思って使用法を再確認しようと思ったら、メモしてると思ってたこの表現がメモしてなかったので改めてしてみた。
  • you name it=その他何でも(something that you say which means anything you say or choose/used after a list of things to mean that there are many more you could mention)
  • etcとかと違うのは、you name itの前にはある程度具体的な例が列挙されているということ。だからyou name itと言った時には、他にどのようなものをさすのか聞き手が想像することができる。
    • I've tried just about every diet there is going, you name it and I've done it.
    • What would you like? Gin, vodka, lager, wine? You name it, we've got it.
    • There's plenty to do here – you can hike, bike, camp, canoe, you name it.
    • As a messenger I've delivered classified documents, videotapes, bottles of liquor, candy, coffee makers, you name it.
    • Clothes, books - you name it, they sell it!
  • have/get a finger in every pie/have one's finger in too many pies=「あちこちに手を出す/関わっている/顔が広い」(be involved in a large and varied number of activities or enterprises/to be involved in many activities and to have influence over a lot of people, used especially when you think someone has too much influence/ to be involved in too many things/to have too many tasks going to be able to do any of them well)という表現もある。
  • have a finger in the pieと、pieが単数形なら「〜に関与している」となる。
    • I'm too busy. I have my finger in too many pies.
    • She never gets anything done because she has her finger in too many pies.
    • Tess wants to have a finger in the pie. She doesn't think we can do it by ourselves.
    • Sally always wants to have a finger in the pie.