Harry washed his hands and bolted down his pitiful supper.
(ハリーは手を洗い、みじめな食事を掻き込んだ。)
『Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets』(ハリーポッターと秘密の部屋)より。大切なお客様を迎える準備に大わらわなダズリー一家。「まともじゃない」ハリーの存在をひた隠しにするため、ペチュニアおばさんはハリーに、早く食事を済ませて2階で息をひそめているように、と命令する。
- "bolt down" には言葉通りの「ボルトをしっかり締める」という意味もあるけれど、ここでは「(食べ物・飲み物を)急いで飲み込む、掻き込む」という意味。ネジ(ボルト)がぐりぐり口の中に沈み込んでいくようで、ビジュアル的にイメージしやすい。(to eat something too rapidly/to eat very quickly/to eat (food) quickly )
- Don't bolt your food down.
- She bolted down her dinner and ran out to play.
- He bolted down his breakfast.
- Mom told my brother not to bolt his food.
- He bolted down his dinner and rushed out the door.
- Don't bolt your food like that - you'll get indigestion. ※indigestion:消化不良
- "gulp down" もほぼ同じ意味。
- She gulped down her breakfast and ran for the bus.
- He gulped his coffee down and left.
- He gulped down his coffee.
- Don't gulp down your dinner like that.
- "gobble down/up" "wolf down" とすると、同じ意味でも impolite で greedy な響きが入る。(Longman オンライン辞書より)
- He gobbled down a sandwich.
- The dog gobbled the meat down in seconds.
- The cat gobbled down the sardines. ※sardine:イワシ
- The children are afraid that monsters will gobble them up.
- The wolf said that he was going to gobble the little girl up.
- She wolfed down her breakfast.
- The teenager wolfed down the pizza.
- Don't wolf your food down!
- Liz would never wolf down her food.
- ちなみに一気飲みのかけ声「イッキ!イッキ!」は"Chug it! Chug it!"(09/6/16)っていうのを前にエントリしたけど、これはアメリカ英語。イギリス英語ではどうなんだろう、と軽く調べると、"Down it!"っていうのが何件かヒットした。…でも一気飲みって今でもあるのかな?
(左がUS版、右がUK版。私的には電子書籍版がおすすめ。)