He’d just leave, fly off to China at a moment’s notice.
((デートの約束をしていても)出かけたと思ったらあっという間に中国へ行ってしまったり。)
BBCドラマ「SHERLOCK」エピソード2 "The Blind Banker" より。事件解決後、亡くなった銀行員エディ・ヴァンクーンについて話す、彼のかつての恋人だった女性秘書のセリフ。
- "at/on a moment's notice"で「即座に、すぐに」(with very little advance notice; with just a little bit of warning/almost immediately/immediately after you have been told about something/not long in advance; without warning or time for preparation)という意味。前にメモした「突然に」という、"on/at short notice (2010/1/12)"とだいたい同じ感じ。「(知らせもなしに)急に」っていうニュアンスと「今すぐ、即座に」っていう場合と、どちらにも使っているみたい。shortのほうが、前もっての知らせがなかった状況に対して使われてる例文が多いように感じるけど、辞書では同意表現として同じ項目で扱われているものが多い。
- They are always asking us to produce reports at a moment's notice.
- Everyone was packed and ready to leave at a moment's notice.
- We have to be ready to leave at a moment's notice.
- They're prepared to help us at a moment's notice. (=as soon as we tell them that we need their help)
- They can be ready to go at a moment's notice.
- You must be ready to leave at a moment's notice.
- She had to leave on a business trip on very short notice.
- This was the best room we could get on such short notice.