『世にも不幸なできごと』の中の単語説明

ネットフリックスでやってる海外ドラマ「世にも不幸なできごと」では、番組中ところどころ難しい単語の説明が入ります。それはナレーション中で説明されたり、登場人物同士の会話の中だったり。これは他のドラマにはない特徴で、多分、元々の子供向け小説がそうなっていたんだと思います。

と、ここで思い出しました。この本、実は所有してるんです。読んだこと無いけど（笑）　いわゆる、英語にもなってる積読（tsundoku）ってやつですね。原作でもそうやって説明しているのかちょっと調べてみよう・・・

そこで、ダンボールの奥から頑張って探して来ました。

ただ、ここで困ったことが一つ。

紙の本だと検索（ctrl+F）ができないじゃん！（笑）

そうなんです。頭から読まないといけない。なんか自然とキーボードのctrl+Fを押そうとしてる自分がいて驚きました。

ということで、書籍でも同じような単語説明が入っているのかは定かではありませんが、まあ小説がそうなってるからドラマ化した際もそうなったと考えるのが自然ですかね。違っていたら教えて下さい。

閑話休題。

今回は趣向を変えて、海外ドラマ「世にも不幸なできごと」の中の単語説明の箇所をピックアップして、どのくらいのレベルなのかをチェックしてみたいと思います。なるべく出てくる順ですが、抜ける単語もあると思いますので、そこは実際の番組（小説）でご確認下さい。

Calamitous

ナレーター: This story will be dreadful, melancholy and calamitous, a word which here means "dreadful and melancholy." That is because not very many happy things happened in the lives of the Baudelaires.

A Series of Unfortunate Events/Season 1/Episode 1

Rickety

クラウス: I wonder why Mother and Father didn't want to come with us.

ヴァイオレット: Maybe they don't like this rickety trolley.

ナレーター "Rickety" is a word here which means "unsteady" or "likely to collapse at any moment."

A Series of Unfortunate Events/Season 1/Episode 1

Festive

車掌: Hey, kids! Aren't you going to the Festive Fun Fair, with all the jolly rides and games and snacks? "Festive" means "fun."

A Series of Unfortunate Events/Season 1/Episode 1

Infant

ナレーター: Sunny Baudelaire was an infant, a word which here means "a person of the age at which one mostly speaks in a series of unintelligible shrieks," so most people had trouble understanding what she was saying.

A Series of Unfortunate Events/Season 1/Episode 1

Perish

ポー: Your parents have perished in a terrible fire. They perished in a fire that destroyed your entire home. I'm very, very sorry to have to tell you this... my dears. "Perished" means "killed."

A Series of Unfortunate Events/Season 1/Episode 1

Blanched

ポーの妻: we have boiled potatoes and blanched string beans.

ポーの子ども: What does "blanched" mean?

クラウス: It means "boiled."

ポーの子ども: Nobody asked you.

A Series of Unfortunate Events/Season 1/Episode 1

Hasty

ポー: As a banker, I'm often very busy myself. Which is why this guardian drop-off is going to be a bit hasty. "Hasty" means "quickly," because I'm due at the bank soon.

A Series of Unfortunate Events/Season 1/Episode 1

Applaud

言葉での説明ではなく、Applaudを両鉤爪で実演します。

オラフ: as anyone in the theater knows, after a grand entrance, the audience is supposed to applaud.

鉤爪男: "Applaud" means go like this.

A Series of Unfortunate Events/Season 1/Episode 1

Standoffish

オラフ: I want you three children to feel more at home here, now that I am your father. As you know, I have been working hard with my theater troupe, and I'm afraid I may have acted a bit standoffish.

ナレーター: The word "standoffish" is a wonderful one, but it does not describe Count Olaf's behavior toward the children. "Standoffish" refers to a person who, for various reasons, is not associating with others. It is a word which might describe somebody who, during a party, might stand in a corner instead of talking to another person.

A Series of Unfortunate Events/Season 1/Episode 2

Figuratively and Literally

ナレーター: It is very useful, whether one is young or in late middle age, to know the difference between literally and figuratively. "Literally" is a word which here means that something is actually happening, whereas "figuratively" is a word which means it just feels like it's happening.

A Series of Unfortunate Events/Season 1/Episode 2

最後に

この記事書くためにエピソード２までを見直しましたが、想像以上にたくさん出てきたのでこの辺で。

セリフ内で説明があるので、日本語訳は敢えて付けませんでした。

ボキャブラリーレベルはどうなんでしょう？　英検準１級以上な感じ？　でも易しめなinfantがあったり、正直よく分かりませんね（笑）

このドラマはこんな感じなので、ボキャブラリーを増やしたい人にはおすすめかも。それでは〜

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