本日取り上げるのは、tub /tʌb/ です。
People in Japan are demonstrating their skills at a competition to see who can catch the most goldfish using a fragile paper scoop.
Yamatokoriyama City in Nara Prefecture has been hosting the event since 1995 to boost its profile as a major goldfish farming town.
The 29th annual competition was held on Sunday in the city, with over 1,700 contestants participating from across the country.
Armed with fragile paper scoops, the competitors try to capture as many goldfish as possible in three minutes from tubs containing about 1,000 fish each.
A total of 181 groups took part in the team scooping competition in the morning.
A member of a local team of women in their 50s said their hard practice paid off.
A first-time entrant said her team scooped only one and she felt that the event is not for amateur scoopers.
Twenty-five teams competed in the finals after getting through an elimination round. The winner scooped a total of 79 goldfish.
『ジーニアス英和辞典』には「名１［しばしば複合語で］おけ，たらい ２（バター・ラードなどの）容器，入れ物 ３｟主に米略式｠ふろおけ，浴槽（bathtub） ４ おけ［たらい，容器］１杯（tubful） ５｟侮辱｠（背が低い）でぶ ６｟英略式｠のろくて不格好な船 動他１･･･をおけに入れる，おけに入れて保存する ２｟英略式｠入浴する（take a bath）」と記載されています。
LDOCE では "１ CONTAINER a) a small container made of paper or plastic with a lid, in which food is bought or stored b) an open container that is usually round, used for washing, storing things in etc ２ AMOUNT（also tubful）the amount of liquid, food etc that a tub can contain ３ BATH AmE a large container in which you sit to wash yourself ４ BOAT BrE informal an old boat that travels slowly ５ PERSON tub of lard informal not polite someone who is short and fat" と定義されています。
tub に「｟侮辱｠（背が低い）でぶ」のような意味があることを初めて知りました。辞書を引いて最初に出てきた意味だけで満足するのでは出会うことができない意味を知ることができました。（emu）