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。

better the devil you know

日本人として、今回のオバマ大統領の再選について考えてみたいと思いました。タイトルのthe devil they knowは、おそらくbetter the devil you knowという諺をもじったのだと考えられます。これは本来、Better the devil you know than the devil you don't knowを短くしたもので、意味は日本語の「知らぬ神より馴染みの鬼」が合っているかと思います。(Othello)
What does 'Better the devil you know' mean? - Idiom Definition - UsingEnglish.com

The devil they know - Asia and the Obama victory

AT THE “Singapore Summit”, a gathering of Asia’s great and good held back in September, a speaker asked the audience of several hundred for a show of hands by those who thought Mitt Romney would win the American presidency. If a solitary palm reached for the sky, Banyan missed it. The almost unanimous expectation of Barack Obama’s re-election in part reflected the opinion polls at the time. But there was perhaps also an element of wishful thinking. If it had a vote in this election, much of Asia, though dissatisfied with many American policies of the past four years, would, like The Economist, have plumped for the devil they knew.
(中略)
In Asia’s second-largest economy, Japan, there was probably also some relief at Mr Obama’s victory. At a time of great tension with China over the disputed Senkaku (Diaoyu) islands, “the security environment in East Asia is severe,” according to Osamu Fujimura, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, so the alliance with America is even more important. Japan will welcome continuity.
(後略)