常時英心:言葉の森から 1.0

約10年間,はてなダイアリーで英語表現の落穂拾いを行ってきました。現在はAmeba Blogに2.0を開設し,継続中です。こちらはしばらくアーカイブとして維持します。

ご指名質問回答: harry

ご指名をいただきましたので、お答えさせていただきます。harry - 田邉祐司ゼミ 常時英心:言葉の森から

China relentlessly harries Japan in island dispute


Chinese patrol boats have harried the Japanese Coast Guard many times a week for more than a month in an unusually relentless response to their latest maritime spat.
 
Four Chinese craft typically push to within hailing distance of Japan’s ships.

They flash illuminated signs in Japanese to press Beijing’s argument that it has ancient claims to a set of tiny East China Sea islands now controlled by Tokyo. China says its craft have tried to chase the Japanese away at least once, although Japan denies any of its ships fled.
 
The huge uptick in incidents has brought the two sides into dangerously close proximity, reflecting a campaign by Beijing to wear down Japanese resolve with low-level, non-military maneuvers but also boosting the risk of a clash.
 


Although China wields a formidable arsenal, it has yet to deploy military assets in such encounters. Instead, Beijing has dispatched ships from government maritime agencies _ only one of which is armed—to keep a lid on gunfire. Those agencies are now receiving added attention, with new ships on order and a national call going out for recruits.


Old HarryはLDOCEではold-fashionedな言い回しで " the devil " とありました。つまり、「悪魔」という意味です。「イングランド南部に「オールド・ハリーロックス(Old Harry Rocks)」と言われる海食柱(Sea stack)があります。「悪魔が眠っている」伝説があります。そしてplay the devil with〜には「〜をめちゃくちゃにする」という意味(『ジーニアス英和辞典』(第4版、大修館書店))があります。
そのため、play Old Harry with〜は「悪さをして(make mischief)〜をめちゃくちゃにする」という意味があるのですね。(EnDough)