“Those ears of rice that bear the most grain (people in high positions) should be the ones that bow lowest”
This is a kotowaza.. Heard it used (sarcastically) today about an 偉そうな guy at work, who is supposedly a head of a division, but in fact often is found boasting to his subordinates about how many airline miles he earned on his 6 last business class work trips to the US, and how he often gets upgraded to first class because of how often he uses business class. In this sense, he should be the last person in the company to be saying anything to subordinates (who rarely get to go anywhere, let alone by business class) about how much of a “VIP of the sky” he is.
A conclusion or statement that does not logically follow from the previous argument or statement.
Politicians, and people trying to avoid the main subject commonly use non sequiturs.
Latin: literally ‘it does not follow.’
Example: “Is XYZ constitutional?” and the answer is “Well, polls show that most people favor XYZ. In a recent study, in fact, 87% of respondents support XYZ.”
“do something in an angry state” (not sure about this… some Japanese person, please leave a comment?)
子どもが親に怒って庭で力任せにボールを蹴り続けていました
The kid was angry with his parents, and just kicked the ball for hours in the garden.
This article is reproduced from the discontinued, but much loved Mainichi Waiwai column by Ryann Connell (article below by Masuo Kamiyama). Read more about this at the bottom of this article.
It is a well known fact that “Dutch Wives” — the Japanese term for silicone females used as sex substitutes — sell by the thousands in Japan. Some deluxe models even go for several hundred thousand yen.
What is less known, reports Uramono Japan (June), is that a counterparts of these dolls, equipped with male appendages, are available for women. And the magazine is eager to become the first to break the news about the existence of these toy boys, in an article entitled “Josei-yo dattchi dooru wa watashi wo mitashite kurureru kashira” (I wonder if a female-use Dutch doll can satisfy me).
1. intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or interest : esoteric SAP methodology debates.
1. clever or skillful in using the hands or mind : he was adroit at tax avoidance.
Steve Jobs most adroit move was convincing Mac users that OS X would still be a Mac.
1. render obscure, unclear, or unintelligible : the spelling changes will deform some familiar words and obfuscate their etymological origins.
2. bewilder (someone) : it is more likely to obfuscate people than enlighten them.
– The obfuscation of the plain truth is often justified by asserting that the lie is serving a greater good.
1. Deceit used in order to achieve one’s goal
A “trick,” of course, implies some level of subterfuge, spin that people wouldn’t accept if the facts were plainly laid out to them.
“token” “fake” (used for when someone does something, without really meaning it, or for ulterior motives)
形ばかりのお礼
slight token of gratitude, very small token of gratitude
形ばかりのもてなし
reception given for form’s sake
形ばかりの抵抗を見せる
put up only a token resistance
例(cchi)：昨晩遅かった事をカタチばかり文句言ってみたら 今日は早く帰るって言って朝出ていった。