throw on
アメリカのニューヨークは厳しい暑さに見舞われています。
New York Today: Subway Sizzle
Good morning on this patchy Thursday.
It’s still hot.
Or “unseasonably warm,” as our friends at the National Weather Service like to say.
As the streets begin sizzling during the morning commute — it could feel like 84 degrees by 9 a.m. — New York is firing up its underground ovens.
We’re talking about subway platforms.
This week, we decided to conduct an unscientific experiment: We grabbed a digital thermometer, threw on some shorts and descended to some of the city’s busiest subway stations.
It wasn’t long before we were dripping in sweat.
With a temperature of 88 degrees above ground, Union Square station was a balmy 96.5.
That was warmer than the relatively pleasant 93 recorded on the 7 train platform at Grand Central-42nd Street.
And it was mild compared with the scorching N, Q, R, platform at the 34th Street-Herald Square station, which we recorded at a suffocating 108.8.
The deepest station in the system, 191st Street on the 1 line, was a sultry but not unbearable 93.3.
During our experiment, we also stumbled on a few train cars without air-conditioning, including a southbound 1 train (a feverish 99.1).
Esther Phillips, 65, was flustered when she boarded the car at the 110th Street station (94.1 degrees).
“Even the seats are hot,” she said to no one in particular. “I think I’m going to get heat stroke.”
We feel you.
So does the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. If you walk into one of these roving saunas, send the car number to the authority via Twitter so it can be fixed.
今回取り上げる表現は、“throw on”です。“throw”というと「投げる」という意味がよく知られていますが、今回は異なります。『ウィズダム英和辞典』(第３版、三省堂)を引いたところ、“throw A on [on A]”で「A〈服など〉をあわてて着る」という意味が載っていました。
LDOCEでは、“to put on a piece of clothing quickly and carelessly”と定義されていました。“put on”で「着る」という動作を表現することはよく知られていますが、“throw on”を使うことによって「さっと[素早く]着る」というような動作を表現することができます。
“throw A off [off A]”で、「脱ぐ」という反対の動作を表現することができます。こちらもただの「脱ぐ」ではなく、「A〈服など〉をあわてて脱ぐ、脱ぎ捨てる」という意味になります(『ウィズダム英和辞典』)。(Blue Sky)
cf. slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen, and slap on a hat - 田邉祐司ゼミ 常時英心：言葉の森から
