self-indulgent, stoicism, overindulge, epicure

I am sure Kyoto is not the only place where people have kept their traditional family recipes for "dishes made with discards." But come to think of it, we Japanese have wasted and trashed tremendous volumes of food over the last few years, overindulging ourselves foolishly like misguided epicures. It worries me that those frugal dishes may already be on the verge of extinction.




STOICISM is something the British are world-famous for. They carry on; they make do; they seldom complain, but form an orderly line to take whatever Fate may throw at them. At very bad moments—the Blitz, for example—they laugh and tell jokes against the enemy. Modern Britons are by and large a feebler and non-queuing race, as hedonistic, wasteful and complaining as anyone else; but the stereotype persists, and a moment of crisis is sure to bring it out again. For the British are subject to two utterly random forces that regularly test their stoicism and their patience: the weather and the buses.



As our sand-castle economy washes away under the tide of bad gambles and debts, this most self-indulgent society lurches toward stoicism (even bankrupt Iceland gives us the cold shoulder and turns to a solvent superpower). It’s going to require more than giving up constant infusions of stocks, Starbucks and Botox.

Definition

stoicism

n.

1. Indifference to pleasure or pain; impassiveness.
2. Stoicism The doctrines or philosophy of the Stoics

Sto・ic









━━ n. （アテネの）ストア哲学者; （s-） 禁欲主義者.

━━ a. ストア学派の; （s-） ＝stoical.
sto・i・cal　━━ a. 禁欲［克己］の.
Sto・i・cism　━━ n. ストア哲学 ((Zenoの創始)); （s-） 禁欲主義.

lurch Show phonetics
verb
1 [I] to move in an irregular way, especially making sudden movements backwards or forwards or from side to side:
The train lurched forward and some of the people standing fell over.

2 [I + adverb or preposition] to act or continue in an irregular and uncontrolled way, often with sudden changes:
We seem to lurch from crisis to crisis.
She just lurches from one bad relationship to another.

lurch Show phonetics
noun [C]
The truck gave a sudden lurch as it was hit by a strong gust of wind.
The party's lurch (= sudden change) to the left will lose it a lot of support.


overindulge
verb [I or T]
to allow yourself or someone else to have too much of something enjoyable, especially food or drink:
I wish I hadn't overindulged so much (= had so much to eat and drink) last night.
It's not good for children to be overindulged (= always given what they want).

overindulgence
noun [U]
For many Americans, Thanksgiving is a time of overindulgence (= eating and drinking too much).

self-indulgent Show phonetics
adjective
allowing yourself to have or do anything that you enjoy:
I know it's self-indulgent of me, but I'll just have another chocolate.

self-indulgence Show phonetics
noun [S or U]