larger-than-life figure #2

N.Y.’s feisty ex-Mayor Koch dies at 88

NEW YORK – Ed Koch, the tough, fast-talking mayor of New York in the turbulent 1970s and ’80s who is credited with rescuing the largest city in the United States from financial ruin, died Friday at age 88.

A witty and larger-than-life figure who remained a frequent public presence up to his final days, Koch been suffering heart and other health problems. His funeral is set to take place Monday in New York.

The city’s current mayor, Michael Bloomberg, praised Koch as a “tireless, fearless and guileless civic leader” for his role in pulling New York back from the brink of financial collapse in the late 1970s. “Ed helped lift the city out of its darkest days and set it on course for an incredible comeback,” Bloomberg said.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/02/03/world/n-y-s-feisty-ex-mayor-koch-dies-at-88/

larger-than-lifeは文字通り、「実際よりも大きい」、すなわち、「存在感のある、風格のある、英雄的な」という意味です。これはTVや映画の画面を通してその人の実際のサイズより大きくわれわれの印象に残るところからきた表現です。基本表現ですが、念のためです。以前、Steve Jobsが亡くなったときのeulogyにもあります。（"Steve was a larger-than-life personality."）
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/A30/20111006/1317895400（Minnesota）