憂いなければ・・・ ― sinecure

私のようなサラリーマンに限らず、仕事というものは辛い側面を伴ってこそ、というところがあると思います。

ところが、世の中には、大してしんどい仕事でもないのに、たいそうな給料を貰える身分の人も居ます。実際そうなのか知る由もありませんが、天下りする役人の達の仕事を指すのにぴったりな表現だろうと思います。

sinecure


ずばり、"sine" (=without) プラス "cure" (=care, cure)、つまり、何の心配、心労も無い、というラテン語から来る単語です。


The concern seems to be that if professors are forced to teach, the school will no longer attract the most prestigious professors. If I remember what I was taught by full professors at CU some years ago, the purpose of tenure is to allow teachers to teach freely, without worrying about current intellectual fads and politically correct views. If this is true, tenure isn't needed by those who don't teach but only do research. If tenure is just a sinecure, to be enjoyed while one enjoys the intellectual pleasures of research, it is being misused. Tenure should be taken away from these positions, and the people (formerly professors) who do the research should be free to compete for funds and employment with the researchers in other industries.
(Denver Post. 1996.)