tipping point

New York Today: The Tipping Point

Good morning on this autumnal Monday.

New York City restaurants have long paid heed to the gastronomic trends set by Danny Meyer. And with the news last week that Mr. Meyer would be eliminating tipping in many of his establishments, diners have been left to wonder whether the days of post-dessert mathematics are numbered.
For many, it would be a welcome, if overdue, change. The politics of tipping has inspired debate ever since American aristocrats imported the custom from Europe.

In 1897, The Times called tipping “downright blackmail,” comparing it to “evil insects and weeds.” Several states even enacted antitipping laws in the early 20th century.

今回は、見出しの“tipping point”を取り上げます。記事では、レストランでのチップについて書かれています。この“tipping point”を辞書で調べてみると、「大きな転換点」(『ジーニアス英和辞典』大修館書店)、“the moment when one particular result of a process becomes the most likely one, after a period when the result is not sure”（LDOCE）とありました。同じスペルの“tip”という単語に目をつけて、複数の意味をかけてあるのはすごく興味深いと思いました。(Green)

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/19/nyregion/new-york-today-the-tipping-point.html?_r=0