plough through
苦労して進む
解説 Definition
大量の仕事や資料などを苦労しながら最後までやり通すこと。困難を押して進む様子を表す。
To plough through something means to continue working through it with a lot of effort, especially when it is difficult, boring, or takes a long time. It is often used for books, reports, paperwork, or heavy tasks. The phrase emphasizes determination despite difficulty.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
このエントリでは、plough through を文章を読む意味ではなく、雪・泥・人混み・困難な状況などを力ずくで前へ進む感覚として覚えます。plough は本来、すきで固い土を押し切って進む動作なので、進みにくいものを押し分ける映像が核です。through は障害の中を抜ける向き。push through よりも、重く遅く、抵抗がある中で進む感じが出ます。基本義の「苦労して読み進める」とは別に、物理的・状況的な前進として整理すると混同しにくいです。
The key is "through": it suggests pushing all the way to the end. "Plough through" is for heavy, tiring tasks such as paperwork, a textbook, or a long report. It feels harder and slower than just "finish" or "get through," and in American English it is often spelled "plow through."
例文
She ploughed through a stack of reports before the meeting.
彼女は会議の前に山積みの報告書を苦労して読み進めた。
He ploughed through the dense textbook over the weekend.
彼は週末に難解な教科書を苦労して読み通した。
The team ploughed through months of data to find the pattern.
チームはパターンを見つけるために何ヶ月分のデータを苦労して調べ上げた。
読み進める
(意味 2)解説 Definition
長い本、報告書、資料などを、難しい・退屈・量が多いと感じながらも最後まで読み進める意味です。速く楽に読むのではなく、集中力や忍耐を使って一つずつ処理していく場面で使います。
To plough through something means to keep reading a long, difficult, or boring book, report, or set of documents until you finish it. It suggests that the reading is not easy or enjoyable, and that you need effort, focus, and patience. People use it when they deal with a lot of written material little by little rather than reading quickly.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
plough は「すきで固い土を耕す」動作です。そこから、文字がびっしり詰まった本や報告書を、土を押し分けるように少しずつ進むイメージで覚えます。through は「最後まで通り抜ける」感覚なので、plough through a report / a textbook / emails のように目的語には長い文章や資料がよく来ます。skim はざっと読む、read は中立的に読むですが、plough through は量や難しさに手こずる感じが強い表現です。
Think of a plough cutting through hard earth little by little. In the same way, you plough through a report, textbook, or emails when the text feels heavy and you have to push on until the end. Unlike skim, which is quick, plough through gives a strong feeling of effort and patience.
例文
I had to plough through a 200-page report before the meeting.
会議の前に、200ページの報告書を最後まで読み進めなければならなかった。
She spent the whole evening ploughing through her emails after coming back from holiday.
休暇から戻ったあと、彼女は一晩中メールを読み進めていた。
Even though the textbook was dense and technical, he ploughed through it chapter by chapter.
その教科書は難しくて専門的だったが、彼は章ごとに読み進めた。
plough through の語源・成り立ち Etymology
plough は古英語 plōh「すき」、through は古英語 þurh「突き抜けて」から来た句動詞です。固い土をすきで切り開く絵から、「本や仕事を苦労して進める」と広がり、ploughman や thorough に同じ根が見えます。
`Plough` comes from Old English `ploh`, meaning a farming tool for cutting the soil, and `through` comes from Old English `thurh`, meaning "through" or "across." The phrase originally suggests forcing a plough through heavy ground. From that picture, it came to mean pushing through difficult reading, work, or other effort with determination.
外部辞書で調べる
この単語を英単語クイズで覚えよう