To put something on ice means to delay something until some point in the future. To postpone something. Usuall, this refers to something you have to do. Often, this is something that that you are currently doing or something you had planned to do now but, for some reason, you aren't able to finish it now or it would make more sense to do it later. A husband might say to his wife something like, "Sorry, Honey. Something came up at work, so we'll have to put our plans for the weekend on ice." In this case, the husband and wife had planned to do something, but will have to postpone it till some other time. In the following example, a group of employees has been meeting for some time, but is getting nowhere. They decide to stop for now and resume at a later date when the people might have some fresh ideas.

Mr. Drake: So, does anyone have any other ideas? We've been talking about this for four hours now.
Robert: Sorry, sir. My brain isn't functioning any more.
Mr. Drake: Alright, people. Let's put this on ice for now and meet again next week. In the meantime, be sure to think of some new ideas. 

This phrase come from the fact that, if you weren't going to eat something right away, you could put it on a block of ice (in the icebox or ice house–Nowadays you would use the refridgerator or freezer) and save it for later.  

The phrase, "for the record," means something like, "This is what I'm saying. Let me make myself clear. You can quote me on this." It is used often when there are different versions of a story or issue and you want to make it clear that this is what you said so everyone will be clear about where you stand. For example, if people are arguing about what should be done and you want it to be clear where you stand you can say something like, "For the record, I think we should do…." You would say this when you really want other people to take note of what your position is. You would say this especially if you thought what everybody else said was wrong and you wanted to make sure everyone knew you thogught differently. You can also use it in the past tense. It is often used in the past tense when something went wrong beause of what was done and you want it made clear that you had nothing to do with it. If the current public official isn't doing a good job you could say something like, "Just for the record, I didn't vote for him." Or if a proposal was implemented and it didn't work out you could say, "Just for the record, I thought we should have done…." Mr. Frost: How's development on our new product coming along. Bob: Well, sir, it is progressing, but there are still some bugs in it. Mr. Frost: Don't forget, we have to ship it by next week. Make sure it is packaged and ready to go. Bob: For the record, sir, I really think we should work out the problems before we ship it. Mr. Frost: Noted. However, we need to ship it by next week or we will lose the contract. The "record" in this phrase is any description of what you said, whether it is someone telling someone else what you said or some record of what you said in written (newspapers, magazines, etc.) or broadcast (TV, radio, etc.) media. Thus, this phrase is often used when reporters are asking someone a question about something important and the person wants to make sure they get what he said right and don't make a mistake in quoting him. It might also be used when there is a meeting where minutes are being recorded and someone wants to make sure the person taking the minutes gets what he said correct. There are other expressions that use the word, "record" in this way. "Let me set the record straight," means, "There is some confusion over what I said or meant; this is what I really said or meant." You can also use the phrase "off the record," meaning, "I'm going to say this but I don't want you to write it down or tell anybody I said it."

The phrase, out of the blue, means that something happened suddenly that was totally unexpected and without warning. It could be that it just happened unexpectedly. It could also be that someone said something that was off the subject of what was being talked about or didn't have any relation to anything that anybody else was saying. I If someone does something unexpected and without any warning, you could say that he did it "out of the blue." Someone you haven't seen for a while can suddenly show up "out of the blue." John: What happened to you? I haven't seen you for a while. Dan: I was transferred to another project. John: What? I thought you were working on Project X. Dan: I was. The project manager showed up one day, out of the blue, and told me I was being reassigned to Project A. John: Well, I guess they needed a good man for the job. This expression seems to refer to it starting to rain unexpectedly, even though the sky was blue. There was no warning like gray clouds. It just happened "out of the blue." An older form of this expression is, "out of the clear blue sky," though this is not used much any more.

誰しも他の人から酷評されることは気分の良いものではありません今回は、そんな状況にまつわる表現をみてみましょう。

"to measure up"です。
これは、「一定の基準にかなう、期待に添う」という意味です。

この表現は、しばしば否定的な形で使われます。単に、"he/she/it doesn't measure up." と言った場合には、「（一定の基準に満たず）満足していない、期待に沿っていない」ということであり、"he/she/it doesn't measure up to…" といった場合、「・・・何かと比較して、それには及ばない」という意味になります。下の例で、トムとビルは、新しい上司について噂しています。彼は有能だと思うけれど、前任者のジョンには及ばないという訳です。しかし、ジョンは、退職するまでの２０年間、会社に勤続し十分な経験を持つのだから仕方がない。今、しばし、様子を見ていこうということになりました。

4/15/2007

（イーストウエストジャーナル連載）

最近のように変化のスピードが早く、また、いろいろな価値観が錯綜する時代に生きていますと、成功するためには回りで起こるさまざまな出来事をしっかり見定めていく必要があります。そうでないと機会を取り逃がすことになりますし、挫折を味わうことになります。今回は、そんな状況にまつわる表現をみてみましょう。

「Keep your eye on the ball」です。
これは、「ボールをよく見ろ、目を離すな・・・自分の目的実現にかかわる重要な出来事から目をそらすな」ということです。

この表現は、スポーツの世界からきていますが、仕事にかかわること、私的なこと、いろいろな場面で使われます。下の例で、トムの会社では、CD開発のために多くの投資を続けてきましたが、世の中では、音楽を聞くのにCDではなく、mp3を使うようになっていました。トムは、「訳がわからない」とぼやいています。ビルは、世の中の動向や技術の方向に注目していないと取り残されてしまうよと助言します。

3/4/2007

（イーストウエストジャーナル連載）