■NHKラジオ 実践ビジネス英語 Death of the Power Lunch (6) 9/18 2009
■意味を考えてみよう。今日取り上げる単語が含まれています。
I thought I'd met some chintzy cheapskates in my time,
but this takes the cake.
There are plenty of cost-conscious but cool alternatives
to meeting in a swanky eatery.
We're just one of many companies that are forgoing splashy,
lavish events as the recession bites into our profits.
It seems it's not just a question of belt-tightening -
there's a public image issue involved here as well.
We have to strike just the right note when it comes to
showing people that we're a company that knows how to
adapt and keep abreast of the prevailing social mood.
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take the cake, 最低だ、最悪だ
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Death of the Power Lunch (1)より。
If you say that someone or something takes the cake, you are
expressing surprise or anger at their extreme behaviour or
qualities. Take the biscuit means the same.
ex) With his one good arm the driver tore off his oxygen
mask and reached through the wreckage to answer his mobile
phone. Officers say they get to see some pretty odd things
at times but that one just about takes the cake.
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swanky eatery, おしゃれなレストラン
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Death of the Power Lunch (2)より。
If you describe something as swanky, you mean that it is
fashionable and expensive. [INFORMAL]
ex) one of the swanky hotels that line the Pacific shore
at Acapulco.
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splashy, 派手な、人目を引く
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Death of the Power Lunch (4)より。
[ODE]
<informal> attracting a great deal of attention;
ex) I don't care for splashy Hollywood parties.
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belt-tightening, 緊縮（政策）
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Death of the Power Lunch (4)より。
If you need to do some belt-tightening, you must spend less
money and manage without things because you have less money
than you used to have.
ex) The Bangladeshi government has called for severe
belt-tightening.
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strike the right note, 適切なことをする [言う]、（人に）いい
印象を与える
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Death of the Power Lunch (4)より。
If someone or something strikes a particular note or sounds
a particular note, they create a particular feeling,
impression, or atmosphere.
ex) Plants growing out of cracks in paving strike the right
note up a cottage-garden path.
