quibble about twiddle one's thumbs heap on wreak havoc on burnish one's ego fiddling piddling neuroses overbearing wisecrack ego trip overseer fit due credit meddle
今回は難解な表現が多かったですね。
────────────────────────────── quibble about, …にけち（難癖）をつける ────────────────────────────── When people quibble over a small matter, they argue about it even though it is not important.
about/over/withが付くようです。
= find fault with, split airs
ex) Council members spent the day quibbling over the final wording of the resolution.
────────────────────────────── twiddle one's thumbs, 手持ちぶさたにする、ぶらぶらする ────────────────────────────── If you say that someone is twiddling their thumbs, you mean that they do not have anything to do and are waiting for something to happen.
twiddle = fiddle
twiddle one's thumbs = be idle, do nothing, have nothing to do
ex) We've been sitting here twiddling our thumbs all afternoon.
────────────────────────────── heap on, …を山積みにする ────────────────────────────── If you heap praise or criticism on or upon a person or thing, you praise or criticize them a lot. Heap upon is more formal.
ex) Film director Kenneth Loach heaped praise on the Young Socialists.
────────────────────────────── wreak havoc on, …をめちゃくちゃにする ────────────────────────────── If one thing plays havoc with another or wreaks havoc on it, it prevents it from continuing or functioning as normal, or damages it.
wreak havoc on = play havoc with = make havoc of
ex) Stress can wreak havoc on the immune system.
────────────────────────────── burnish one's ego, エゴを満足させる ────────────────────────────── To burnish the image of someone or something means to improve their image. [JOURNALISM]
burnish = polish 金属などを磨く、イメージをよくする
ex) The European Parliament badly needs a president who can burnish its image.
"NHKラジオ ビジネス英会話 Bosses and Bosses (3) 1/26-27 2007"
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