curfew - 常時英心：言葉の森から 1.0

イギリス開かれたブルース・スプリングスティーンのコンサートに、元ビートルズのポール・マッカートニーが特別ゲストとして出演しました。ところが２人が熱唱している最中に、主催者が時間切れを理由に音源をストップ。公演は中断を余儀なくされ、出演者や６万５０００人の聴衆から怒りや失望の声が出ています。

Springsteen and McCartney cut off by curfew London

London (CNN) -- Bruce Springsteen had been waiting for this moment for a long time. "I gotta tell you," he said to the 76,000-strong crowd, "I've been trying to do this for 50 years." For the finale of his headline slot in London's Hyde Park on Saturday, he'd arranged a very special treat: An onstage collaboration with Beatles legend Paul McCartney.
But the rock megastar hadn't banked on the local London council deciding to show him who was boss.
At the climax of his three-hour set, Springsteen and McCartney, backed by the E Street Band and Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, played a storming rendition of "I Saw Her Standing There" to a rapturous crowd. Springsteen's delight was palpable: He grinned throughout, his face lit up like a child with a super-sized Christmas gift.
The supergroup then segued into a sizzling version of "Twist and Shout" -- but as the night peaked against a backdrop of fireworks, a drably dressed man with sensible hair could be seen waving frantically at the back of the stage, indicating the rock legends' time was drawing to a close.
Rare look at rocker Bruce Springsteen Bruce Springsteen and the working man
Then, at 10:40 p.m. local time, as Springsteen and McCartney were winding up the extended "Twist and Shout," the sound suddenly dampened, and went quiet.

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/14/showbiz/music/springsteen-mccartney-power-cut/index.html?hpt=hp_mid

今回はcurfewを取り上げます。この単語の語源は古フランス語のcovrefew(＝cover fire)が元となっています。つまり「火を覆う(消す)」＝明りとしての火を消すということでしょうか。中世フランスの時代、戒厳令が敷かれていた際には消灯令の時刻を市民に知らせる為に鐘を鳴らし、それが消灯の合図(weblio辞書)でした。
今では軍事用語として「夜間外出禁止令」という意味(『ジーニアス英和辞典』、第4版、大修館書店)でも使われますが、一般的に使う場合は、「外出禁止時刻、門限」「消灯時刻」(ibid)として使われます。自分が親になった時や合宿や修学旅行等の時に使いたい単語ですね。(EnDough)