2023年12月27日星期三

undercurrent, sitting president, an undercurrent of emotion bred of deep acquaintance

"There is an undercurrent of emotion bred of deep acquaintance that can take a landscape and its inhabitants to a set of wordless symbols effortlessly shared." John Updike

The New York Times says that if the "subplot of the Democratic convention in Denver was the lingering resentment between Mr. Obama and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, the undercurrent here is the longstanding tension" between Bush and McCain. Yesterday, Bush became the first sitting president not to attend his party's convention since 1968. And while the president avoided mentioning Obama by name, Lieberman, a Democrat turned independent, had no such qualms.

undercurrent Show phonetics
noun [C]
an emotion, belief, or characteristic of a situation that is hidden and usually negative or dangerous but that has an indirect effect:
undercurrents of racism/anxiety/violence
Beneath the smooth surface of day-to-day political life, one senses powerful and dangerous undercurrents.

under・current

━━ n. 底流, 暗流; 表面に現れない傾向［動き］.

sit (BE A MEMBER) Show phonetics
verb [I] sitting, sat, sat
to be a member of an official group:
I'm going to be sitting on the committee for one more year.
Our member of Congress has sat for (= represented) this town for years.
US All of the federal judges currently sitting (= in office) in Maryland hail from Baltimore.

sitting member noun [C] UK FORMAL

the person who is the Member of Parliament for an area at the present time

qualm Show phonetics
noun [C usually plural]
an uncomfortable feeling of doubt about whether you are doing the right thing:
She had no qualms about lying to the police.