English Dictionary

conversation piece

名詞

An unusual item, such as a painting, or a tabletop knick-knack which encourages comment from visitors, and so helps to break the ice.

日本語の意味

来客の会話を促すための、珍しく個性的な品物（例：絵画や小型の装飾品）。 / 部屋の雰囲気を和ませ、会話のきっかけとなる特異なインテリアアイテム。

The whimsical sculpture in the corner quickly became a conversation piece when guests began arriving.

隅にある風変わりな彫刻は、客が到着し始めるとすぐに会話のきっかけになった。

意味（1）

An unusual item, such as a painting, or a tabletop knick-knack which encourages comment from visitors, and so helps to break the ice.

And Dwayne again carried on a wry talk with the Creator of the Universe, using a robot as an unfeeling conversation piece. A lot of people in Midland City put useless objects from Hawaii or Mexico or someplace like that on their coffee tables or their livingroom end tables or on what-not shelves—and such an object was called a conversation piece.

意味（2）

(painting) A painting of a group of people engaged in conversation or some other activity, popular in 18th century.

Hogarth's enlargement of painting's scope was based on the conversation piece, which was to prove one of the most flexible and adaptable of genres. The idea of an informal group was not in itself new, nor the invention of Hogarth alone.

conversation pieces （ plural ）