gin up
２０世紀で最も偉大なスポーツアナウンサーと言われるビン・スカリーについて述べられています。
Baseball will never have another Vin Scully
He sounds friendly, genial in the way Ronald Reagan did, and quietly brilliant, in the way of your favorite teacher. His voice — a blend of his street-smart native New York and the unhurried Southern California of the region’s long-lost languid past — carries no edge. Compared with other sportscasters, he comes off as a bit proper. But he is no stuffed shirt. He describes baseball games and tells stories as if he’s settled in with you on the porch for a long evening when there might be surprises and the man who will understand them best is sitting right next to you.
He did not question plays or players just to gin up a reaction. He didn’t utter undeserved accolades or excuses for the home team just because he was its employee. He didn’t engage in hype or hopped-up controversy. He trusted that his audience would appreciate an intelligent, measured account of the game, laced with knowledgeable analysis and a never-saccharine icing of erudition. When appropriate, he might even quote a Greek classic or a bit of the Bard.
今回取り上げる表現は，“gin up”です。“gin”というと，「を綿操り機にかいて種を取る」や「をわなで捕える」などの意味があります。では，“up”と共起することでどのような意味になるのでしょうか。
『英辞郎on the web』を見てみると，「〜をかき立てる」や「〜を活気づける」，「〔経済などを〕刺激する」とあります。さらにOxford Dictionaryを確認してみると，“gin something up”で“Generate or increase something, especially by dubious or dishonest means.”と定義されていました。疑いやごまかしなどのニュアンスが含まれていることが分かります。(Nao)
