Hot Words No.57

Avalanche

発音：

[ǽvəlæ̀ntʃ]

意味：

殺到

A sudden arrival of a large quantity of things or people

例文1：

An avalanche of bargain hunters stormed into the newly opened mall.

例文2：

Since his spectacular performance, the actor has been buried by an avalanche of fan letters.

Blaze

発音：

[bléiz]

意味：

勢いよく燃える、ギラギラと輝く、注目を集めるような書き方をする

To burn robustly; to shine brightly; to write in an attention-grabbing way

例文1：

We sat around the blazing camp fire and talked through the night.

例文2：

The hikers kept on walking under the blazing sun.

例文3：

The presidential candidate’s latest blunder was blazed all over the newspapers.

Comb

発音：

[kóum]

意味：

くまなく探す

To search thoroughly

例文1：

I went through the whole article, carefully combing every paragraph for the word.

例文2：

Police combed the streets and alleys in search of the terrorist.

Dominoes (the plural of domino)

発音：

[dάmənòuz]

意味：

ドミノ倒しのように次々に物事が発生すること

A series of events happening one after another

例文1：

The debt crisis may set off political dominoes throughout the world.

例文2：

The popular protest movement had a domino effect, spreading from one country to the next throughout the region.

Foil

発音：

[fɔ́il]

意味：

他のものの方が優れていることを自身との比較対照で立証するもの

Something that shows the superior qualities of another by contrasting itself to the latter

例文1：

The failed economy of the socialist countries serves as a natural foil for capitalism.

例文2：

By stressing his commitment to a more equitable society, the president invoked a silent foil against his opponent, distinguishing himself from the latter’s wealthy life style.

Grip

発音：

[ɡríp]

意味：

掴み、理解、支配・コントロール

A tight hold; comprehension; control

例文1：

Don’t loosen your grip on the handles.

例文2：

I spent 3 hours trying to get a grip on this complicated issue.

例文3：

Homeless people are dying in the severe winter’s grip.

Holdover

発音：

[hòuldóuvər]

意味：

過去からの残留物

A remnant from the past

例文1：

Her deep suspicion of authority figures is a holdover from her childhood problems with her father.

例文2：

My grandmother is a holdover from the previous era.

Inundate

発音：

[ínəndèit]

意味：

殺到する

To give too much of something to deal with

例文1：

Letters of protest inundated the commentator in the wake of his anti-gay remark on TV.

例文2：

After that spectacular performance, the singer is inundated with (or by) requests for more shows.