Tooth & Nail
                    by Ian Rankin

リーバス警部3作目.いきなりキングズクロス駅に向かう電車の中.Kingscrossからエジンバラへ行った身としては大変な親近感.第1作の連続殺人を解決したことを聞き及んだロンドン市警が連続殺人事件解決のためリーバスの応援を頼む,という設定.スコットランド対イングランドといった対決の図式があり,さらにロンドン観光地めぐり(大英博物館−ピカデリーサーカスーコベントガーデン−トラファルガー広場−ナショナル・ミュージアム)あり,ロンドンを訪れた人や訪れようとしている人にはかなり楽しめる作品です.元題はWolfmanだったそうですが,Tooth & Nailに変更.Rankinのタイトルが比較的2語のものが多いこと.それから話の内容からすれば,現在のタイトルの方がぴったりだと思います.
 ちなみに,tooth and nailは「fight tooth and nail 死力[手段]を尽くして戦う」といった成句のようですが,物語とも大いに関係があります.
 相棒は変わる,恋人も変わる,そして事件は複数抱える,といったところがRebusものの特徴のようです.

Lea Bridge Road modus operandi
Dr Finlay's Casebook sartorial
teaching my granny FYTP
cheek by jowl a tinker’s cuss
identikit Hampton
ilk Mr Hyde
Whistle and flute a red herring
a certain Liaison Officer bawbees
snout Cluedo
Roy Scheider Lapsang Souchong
Hawksmoor Eysenck
warily colons
Hackney; Nag aggro
over the moon scarper
Flower of Scotland Get this
Japanese Pontius Pilate


Lea Bridge Road

She worked in an off-licence on Lea Bridge Road, and finished work at seven.

off-licenceは「酒類小売店」だそうです.場所はイギリスやアメリカであれば,地図でほぼ100%確認できるようになりました!

modus operandi

The police doctor arrived, to be met by detectives from Stoke Newington police station, who, recognising the modus operandi, contacted Flight.

modus operandi「犯罪の手口」MOはこの種の英文を読むときには欠かせないはずですが…私のコーパス(?!)では,Minette WaltersJames Ellroyで各1回ずつ.ところが,Ian Rankinでは,Kots&crossesで2回,この本で4回と集中して登場しました.

 

Dr Finlay's Casebook

He(=Rebus) looked like something out of Dr Finlay's Casebook.

1962年から1971年までBBCで放映された人気のテレビ番組のようです.邦題は「フェンレイ医師の診療記」で文庫本もあるようです.

 

sartorial

A long time before, Rebus had graded CID men into three sartorial groups: the leather-and-denim brigade, who wanted to look as tough as they felt; the suit-and-tie dapper merchants, who were looking for promotion and respect (not necessarily in that order); and the nondescripts, men who wore anything that came to hand of a morning, their year's fashions usually the result of an hour's shopping in a big-name department store.

sartorial衣服の」は難しい単語? リーバスが服装別に人物を分類.(1)ジーンズに革ジャン(タフにみせたい) (2)背広にネクタイ(昇進か,立派に見られたい) (3)分類不能:手に届くものを着る(有名デパートでの1時間での買い物ですませている)

 

teaching my granny

'Sorry,' said Rebus. 'A severe case of teaching my granny to suck eggs.'

こういった表現はことわざ辞典を引くことになります.研究社・活用英和にも出ていました.

teach one's grandmother (how) to suck eggs 「《口語》 (祖母に卵の吸い方を教える, の意から)なんでも知っている人に物を教える; 釈迦(しゃか)に説法する.

 

 

FYTP

Over the years, those four words had become his mantra. Fuck you, too, pal. FYTP.

このFYTPはこの小説ではキーワードのようで,最後のページにも一杯出てきます.ちなみに登場回数は14回!!

 

cheek by jowl

A street of extraordinarily grand houses would suddenly give way to a squalid, rubbish-strewn road with boarded-up windows and bench-bound tramps, the wealthy and the poor living almost cheek by jowl.

squalid「汚らしい」 cheek by jowlで「密接して」は意外とわかりやすい表現です.

 

a tinker’s cuss

'She was five feet seven and her hair was brown. As to who found her, I don't give a tinker’s cuss.'

ランダムハウスが一番詳しく載せてあります.「not care [or give] a (tinker's) cuss 少しも構わない

 

identikit

'A psychological profile. Like an identikit, but building up a picture of the mind rather than the face. I've been doing some research on criminal profiling and I think I can use similar criteria to help you come to a clearer understanding of the killer.'

identikitはごく一般的な単語のようです.《英》《商標》アイデンティキット:警察で用いる似顔絵合成装置(プログレシブ英和)

モンタージュ写真を簡単に作るサイトがありました.http://www.whom.co.uk/idk/idkhuman.html

 

Hampton

'And shortcuts seldom work. I'm saying don't let your Hampton do your thinking for you.' Rebus thought about protesting, but realised he wasn't exactly sure what Flight meant. Flight smiled.

'Rhyming slang,' he explained. 'Hampton Wick, prick. Or maybe it's dick. Anyway, I'm just warning you not to let a good looking woman interfere with your professional judgment.'

今回コンビを組むのはロンドンの警部Flight. Rebusとの文化衝突が一つのテーマで私たちには及びもしない反目というか,お互いに敵対心というか,異文化が存在しているようで.Hamptonという表現もロンドンで通じても,エジンバラではダメなよう.Flightの説明は日本の大辞典で確認できる説明と同じです.

 

ilk

'Not necessarily. It's only the really greedy bastards who go in for City work. Besides, this sort of stuff is like a drug to Chambers and his ilk. They're actors, bloody good ones at that.'

ilk「同類」

 

Mr Hyde

'Looks like my idea of Mr Hyde,' commented Flight.

Don't mention Hyde to me, Rebus thought to himself.

これは第2作 Hide&Seekを読んでいないと理解できない部分.

そして,ここでもその理由を明かすわけにはいきません.邦訳が出る予定はまずないHide & Seekならいいきもしますが…

 

Whistle and flute

'What did you expect?' Flight asked. 'A chimpanzee in a whistle? I'm a good copper, John. I may be no expert, but I'd never claim to be.'

Rebus was about to remonstrate, then frowned. 'What's a whistle?' he said.

Flight threw back his head and laughed. 'A suit, you plonker. Whistle and flute, suit. Rhyming slang. God sakes, John, we're going to have to educate you. Tell you what, why don't we go out for a meal ourselves tonight?

これまたロンドン方言のようです.

whistle(())スーツ《◆ suit 押韻俗語;〜 and flute ともいう》」.

押韻俗語はrhyming slangのそのままの訳です.

http://www.uknow.or.jp/uknow/about/100faqs/qa06.htm#q6が参考になります!

 

a red herring

She blew on her tea, cooling it. 'Maybe,' she said, 'the teeth are a - what do you call it - a red herring?'

「人の注意を他にそらすもの《◆猟犬の訓練にニシンを使うことから》」(ジーニアス大英和:これしか出ていない?)

 

a certain Liaison Officer

Once upon a time he'd made Rhona laugh too, and after Rhona a certain Liaison Officer back in Edinburgh. 'So what about policemen?' he asked, closing off the memory.

これも前作までを知っている必要があります.第1作の恋人,第2作の元恋人,そして3作目では「ある渉外担当官」になってしまいました.Gillで発音は「ジル」!

 

bawbees

'Good morning.' He saw they were standing by a stack of complimentary newspapers. Christ, he could have saved himself a few bawbees.

ボービー《スコットランドの古い銀貨》→「小銭」

文脈がないので理解しにくいですが,リーバスは自分で新聞を買って国内線(グラスゴー行き)に乗ったのですが,その搭乗口で,サービスの新聞を見て思ったことです.

 

snout

Chambers was prosecuting counsel in a case involving one of Flight's snouts. The snout had been incredibly stupid, had been caught red-handed.

snout「鼻」→「警察への密告屋」はわかりやすい類推ですが,何回か登場しました.

 

Cluedo

The mohicans had opened a game of Cluedo.

'Hey, pal,' they called to the stall-holder, 'there's nae weapons here. Where's the dagger an' the gun an' that?'

mohicansは「モヒカン頭の(男)たち」Cluedoは知る人ぞ知るボードゲーム?

1946年にリーズにあるWaddigntons Games Ltdに持ち込まれたゲーム.ボードゲームで事件解決のための手がかりを集める.Cluedoはラテン語のLudo=I playから取られた.」とあります.

 

Roy Scheider

He looked up, hardly recognising himself in the wall-mounted mirror, sighed and spread his hands either side of his face, the way he'd seen Roy Scheider do once in a film.

'It's showtime.'

Roy Scheiderは見ればすぐわかる何本もの映画に出演している俳優ですね.「ジョーズ」等.”It’s showtime”も誰かのセリフで有名になった気がするのですが…

 

 

Lapsang Souchong

They drank Lapsang Souchong, which he said reminded him of bacon butties, and she put on some music, something soft and classical, and they ended up somehow sitting next to one another on the Indian carpet, their backs against the sofa, shoulders, arms and legs touching.


 

 

 

これまで読んでいたParkerLehaneでは,飲み物といえばビールかウィスキー,ワインでしたが,さすがにイギリス.紅茶の銘柄でした.中国・福建州の産だそうです.

 

Hawksmoor

He couldn't honestly remember, with the exception of the book he'd started reading in the taxi.  Hawksmoor.

これは著者名だと思っていましたが,作品名でした.『ホークスムア』Hawksmoor,1985 邦訳=新潮社『魔の聖堂』(Peter Ackroyd)だそうで,当時のベストセラーというには古すぎるかもしれません.Rebusは読書家のようであり,そうでもないようですが,本の衝動買いはするようで,他の場面では,買うだけで未読の本が山のようになっている,とありました.

 

 

Eysenck

'Well!' she said, lifting one of the paperbacks from the bag. 'Eysenck.'

こちらは著者名.「アイゼンク」と読むようです.代表作は「犯罪とパーソテリナィ」とあれば,ぴったりです.今回の女性の相手役は犯罪心理学を研究するLisa Frazer.彼女を探しに本屋へ行って,その心理学関連の本を思わず衝動買い.

warily

Rebus moved outside again, but more warily now, and craned his neck.

warywearyを混同していました.wearyは「疲れきった」で,まぁ知っている単語.それだとばかり思っていたらwaryは「用心深い・慎重な」これでは,意味がずいぶん違ってきます!

 

colons

'Well, Rhona, my ex-wife, she's a teacher. I remember she used to tell me how frustrating it was that nowadays no one in schools bothered to teach basic grammar and punctuation. She said that kids were growing up now with no need for things like colons and semi-colons and no idea at all of how to use them. So I'd say we're dealing either with someone who has been well educated, or with someone in middle age, educated at a time when punctuation was still taught in every school.'

ここは個人的に興味をひいた部分.英作文をしていて何が違うといって,colon(:)やセミコロン(;)の使い方ですね.自分でもほとんど使えません.いつか自分で書いた英文を英文学専攻のアメリカ人に添削してもらったことがあったのですが,その時コロンやらセミコロンを使うように直されましたが,使い方はもう一息,それは外国人のみならず英語を母国語としている人も同じだと知ってホッとしました.それにコロンを使い分けられるのは「教養・教育」のある証拠だということで…

 

 

Hackney; Nag

'And you got those for your pains?' Flight was nodding towards the bruises. Rebus shrugged. 'Serves you right. Someone once told me hackney's French for a nag. Doesn't sound French, does it? But I suppose it would explain the hackney carriage.'  Hackney. Nag. That horse in the British Museum, no bite. Rebus had to talk to Morrison about the bite marks.

 

 

aggro

Lamb has just heard that there isn't going to be a retrial. We don't know why yet. Maybe the judge didn't think the charges were worth all the aggro and told the CPS so.'

'Assault on a woman not worth the aggro?' All thought of Philip Cousins vanished from Rebus's mind.

aggro「もめごと・けんか」

 

over the moon

But one person would be happy at least, Rebus was thinking: Kenny Watkiss. He'd be over the moon.

イディオム集か何かで取り上げられそうな典型的な表現.「((英略式))〔…で〕大喜びして, 有頂天になって」

 

scarper

'He's scarpered under mysterious circumstances. Good riddance, I'd say, but it's left Sammy in a bit of a state. I said we'd do what we could.'

scarper「ずらかる」

 

Flower ofScotland

The same emotion that made grown men cry at football matches when Flower of Scotland was played as the Scots national anthem.

これがスコットランドの国歌(?)

歌詞は確認できますが,歌の方はNapstarがなくなってからはむずかしいですね.

 

Get this

Get this. It did have a transatlantic ring to it, didn't it? A curious way altogether of starting a letter. Get this. Be warned, watch out. There were several ways of starting a letter so that the reader knew he was to pay particular attention to it. But get this?

これは脅迫状の冒頭の表現について言及したものです.Get thisがアメリカ表現(transatlantic)のにおいがする,と言っています.You get this in your nut! よく頭にたたき込んでおきなさい.(ランダムハウス)からきているようです.

 

Japanese

Students or tourists. Japanese. Grins and cameras. Four of them, two men, two young women. Rebus stuck his head into the back of the cab, where two of them were already seated.

'Out!' he yelled, jerking a thumb towards the pavement.

'Oi, mate, what's your game?' The driver was so fat he could barely turn in his seat.

ずっとミステリーを読んできましたが,Japaneseという単語が登場しても日本人そのものが登場するのは珍しい.相変わらず大英博物館を訪れる観光客で,「ニコニコ顔にカメラ」Oi, mateは「おい.待て!」とも読めますが,これはタクシーの運転手の発言.「おい,あんた」というところでしょうか.

 

Pontius Pilate

'Like Pontius Pilate,' he mumbled to himself as he made for the main road.

英米の方なら常識ですね. ピラトゥス・ピラト《キリストを処刑したローマの Judea 総督 (A.D. 26-?36); 処刑判決に際しみずからに責任のないしるしとして手を洗ったとされる; Matt 27:19, 24-25