dilly
すごいもの
解説 Definition
Dilly は、口語で「すごいもの、際立ってよいもの」という意味です。Dilly は人名や地名として使われることもありますが、ここでは小文字の一般語として、珍しいものや見事なものを軽くほめる時に使います。
Dilly is an old-fashioned informal term used in expressions such as a dilly or a real dilly for a person or thing that is remarkable, unusually impressive, or notably difficult. Its exact positive or negative coloring depends on the context.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
口語の a dilly／a real dilly で「際立ったもの、たいしたもの」。例文のように be a dilly の形で、人目を引く車、難しい質問、見事な料理などを評します。良い意味が多い一方、驚くほど厄介なものにも使えるので、単なる excellent より「並外れて目立つ」という核で覚えましょう。
Remember dilly through the fixed conversational pattern “That is a real dilly.” It points to something that stands out from the ordinary: an eye-catching old car, an excellent dessert, or even an unusually difficult question. The word is informal and now rather old-fashioned, so it often gives a sentence a playful tone. Do not treat it as a general replacement for very or excellent. Its central idea is a remarkable specimen—something noteworthy enough to make people stop, look, or comment.
例文
That old car is a Dilly, and everyone stops to look at it.
あの古い車はすごいもので、誰もが足を止めて眺めます。
Her final question was a real Dilly.
彼女の最後の質問は本当にすごいものでした。
The chef served a dessert that was a Dilly.
シェフは見事なデザートを出しました。
dilly の類義語・関連語
dilly の語源・成り立ち Etymology
19世紀アメリカ英語のスラングで、daffodil（ラッパズイセン）の愛称形 daffodilly が短縮された説が有力。「花のように目を引く素敵なもの」から「すごいもの・逸品」の意に転じた。口語表現 it's a dilly（たいしたものだ）として定着。関連語は dilly-dally。
Dilly appeared in nineteenth-century American informal English as a term for something remarkable or excellent. It is commonly explained as a shortening of daffodilly, a variant or playful form of daffodil, although the precise development is not completely certain. The word became established in expressions such as “it’s a dilly” and “a real dilly.” It should not be historically connected with dilly-dally merely because the two forms share the sound dilly.
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