English Dictionary

backbench

名詞

ニュージーランド英語 イギリス英語 限定用法 頻度副詞

(politics, UK, New Zealand, often attributive) In a house of legislature following the model of the Westminster system (such as the UK House of Commons), any bench behind either of the front benches and occupied by rank-and-file members.

日本語の意味

ウエストミンスター制度を採用する議会において、前列に配置される主要議員（閣僚や党のリーダー）ではなく、議場の後部に座る一般議員（一般的なランクの議員）のこと。

During the heated debate, the backbench MPs refused to toe the party line and pressed for an independent inquiry.

白熱した討論の最中、無役議員たちは党の方針に従うことを拒み、独立調査を求めた。

意味（1）

(politics, UK, New Zealand, often attributive) In a house of legislature following the model of the Westminster system (such as the UK House of Commons), any bench behind either of the front benches and occupied by rank-and-file members.

His spacious quarters indicate his transition from backbench upstart to established member of the governing team.

意味（2）

The back row of a classroom.

The petitioner who was a student of Class X was in the backbench when a lady teacher was teaching there.

意味（3）

The back pew of a church.

Through this two-year, transcontinental colloquy, through this vast outpouring of personal sentiments and reactions from poor homes and rich, from backwoods cabins and metropolitan penthouses, from the young and old, from dubious backbench sitters and busy pillars of the congregations, from the bitter and the satisfied, each person telling it as he or she saw it.

意味（4）

A back bench in a courtroom.

Seated on the backbench of the courtroom, Emerald had mixed feelings.

意味（5）

The back seat of an automobile, van, or bus.

They scooted into a double seat near the rear and noticed that even with four people squeezed into the backbench, they had been lucky to find the last empty places.

意味（6）

A position of secondary importance.

Niger, as a country belongs to the backbench of African soccer.

意味（7）

(newspaper, publishing) A group of top-level journalists who jointly review submissions and decide on the layout and emphasis of the newspaper.

A good spread could be allotted on a news page if the dead person was deemed worthy by the powerful and sceptical members of the “backbench” of the senior sub-editors.

backbenches （ plural ）