egg somebody on
昨日のroundhouse kickと同じソースですが（http://d.hatena.ne.jp/A30/20121004/1349335685）、ジャッキーのこの発言に「失望した」との声も上がっているようです。その真意を確かめる術はないのでしょうか。
Who doesn’t love Jackie Chan? His movies are entertaining, he does his own stunts, he’s a great role model and he’s got a smile that could tame a lion. The 58-year-old entertainer is one of the most well-known and well-loved stars in the world, and Japan is no exception.
Which is why it must have felt like a roundhouse kick to the face when he officially threw his weight behind the home team regarding the Senkaku Island dispute this week.
“The Diaoyu Islands (Chinese name for Senkaku Islands) definitely belong to China,” said Chan, who was in Taiwan to film scenes for his upcoming film “Chinese Zodiac.
He added, “The Diaoyu Islands belong to China, but what I say doesn’t count. It is up to the government to deal with it; I wish I was Superman, so I could pull the islands closer.“
Chan was asked for his opinion by Taiwanese media, who egged him on by suggesting that the theme of Chinese Zodiac, recovering treasures stolen from China by foreigners, fit perfectly with Chinese public sentiment over the ongoing territorial dispute.
この記事のeggは動詞で使われています。LDOCEではegg somebody onで"to encourage someone to do something, especially something that they do not want to do or should not do"とあります。『ジーニアス英和辞典 第４版』（大修館）には「〈人・物・事〉を扇動する・励ます」と載っていますが、その背景には「本当はやりたくない、すべきではない」という気持ちがあるのでしょう。
「卵」を表すegg品詞転換なのかと思い、色々調べて見ましたが、どうやら中期英語の「焚きつける」という意味があるeggから来ているそうです。(weblioより)
ちなみに、ジャッキーの新しい映画のタイトルにもなっていますが、the Chinese zodiacは「[中国の暦法での]十二支」のことなので、併せておさえておきたいです。(Minnesota)
