drag on
drag on は英検準1級・英検1級・TOEIC 730・TOEFL 60・IELTS 5.5レベルの英単語で、「長引く」という意味があります。発音記号は /ˈdræg ˈɑːn/ です。
長引く
解説 Definition
会議や問題などが必要以上に長引いて続くこと。
Drag on means to continue for longer than expected or desired. It is often used for meetings, problems, wars, or other situations that become tiring because they do not end soon. The phrase usually has a negative feeling.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
drag は「重くてスムーズに進まない」「引きずる感じ」のある基本語。drag on は、その重さを引きずったまま on「先へ先へ続く」イメージで、「会議・話し合い・問題がだらだら長引く」と覚えると残りやすい。The meeting dragged on. が典型。go on が中立的に「続く」なのに対し、drag on は「終わりそうで終わらず、少しうんざりするほど長い」という不満のニュアンスが強い。
`Drag` already suggests something heavy and slow. Add `on`, and you get the feeling of that slow movement continuing longer and longer. This is why `drag on` is perfect for meetings, talks, or problems that continue in a tiring way.
例文
The meeting dragged on for three hours without reaching a conclusion.
会議は結論に至らないまま3時間も長引いた。
The legal dispute has been dragging on for years.
その法的紛争は何年も長引いている。
The negotiations dragged on well past midnight.
交渉は真夜中を過ぎてもだらだらと長引いた。
drag on の類義語・関連語
drag on の語源・成り立ち Etymology
drag は古ノルド語 draga「引く」と同系で、on は古英語 on「先へ・続けて」。本来は「先へ引きずる」なので、物事がすっきり終わらず重たいまま長く続くのが drag on。関連語は draw, draft。
Drag comes from Old Norse draga, meaning "to pull," and is related to English words like draw and draft. On comes from Old English and adds the sense of continuing forward. So drag on literally suggests something being pulled along instead of ending cleanly. It came to mean that something continues slowly, heavily, and for too long.
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