方針転換 ― take a different tack

9月13日付のComputer World誌の記事で、マイクロソフト社のWindows 8のプレビューがリリースされるというニュースが取り上げられています。


Microsoft opens Windows 8 preview to all
Anyone can download an early look at the next-generation OS

Computerworld - Taking a different tack than it did three years ago, Microsoft has made a preview of Windows 8 available to anyone who takes the time to download it.

Windows 8 Developer Preview, as Microsoft called the pre-beta build, was posted to a company website shortly after 8 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday.

The downloads, which range from 2.8GB to 4.8GB in size, come with no restrictions, a company spokeswoman confirmed earlier in the day.
(Gregg Keizer. Computerworld. September 13, 2011.)


記事の冒頭で、"taking a different tack..."という表現が使われています。"tack"とは何のことでしょうか？

辞書で"tack"を引くと複数のエントリがありますが、最も身近なのは”画鋲”の意味で用いられる"tack"ではないでしょうか。"taking a different tack"の"tack"もこの、画鋲という意味の"tack"なのですが、"tack"には画鋲以外にも様々な意味があるようです。

いわゆるズボンの”タック”もそうなのですが、"tack"には留めるとか仮縫いするとかいう意味があります。またそこから発展したのだと思われますが、結合する、つなぐ、付け加える、といった意味が派生したようです。

戻って、"taking a different tack"ですが、これは以前とは異なった方針を取る、という場合に使われる慣用的な表現です。

この意味の発展については上記のような"tack"が元々もっている意味から何となく想像できなくもありませんが、いわゆる慣用句として覚えてしまった方が簡単かもしれません。

実例をもう1つ挙げます。


While Fox has built a wall around its content, and ABC is considering doing the same, Comcast's (Nasdaq: CMCSA) NBCUniversal has taken a different tack, last week making more of its content available in full to iPad users. And the move, said BTIG Research analyst Richard Greenfield, makes the sale of Hulu more difficult.
(Jim O'Neil. NBC's new flood of content for iPad throws a wrench into Hulu auction. FierceIPTV. September 13, 2011.)


競合他社とは違ったことをやる、というコンテクストですね。

ところで、"tack"を修飾するのは"different"に限りません。"taking a similar tack"であれば、同じような路線を取って、という意味になります。


SINCE the financial crisis began, millions of wealthy consumers have decided to play down the joy of accumulating things in favor of the pleasure of accumulating experiences. As a result, purveyors of premium-priced products and services are embracing the notion that they provide customers with moments to remember rather than with more stuff that needs dusting (by the help, most likely).

A case in point is the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company division of Marriott International, which is expressing that sentiment as the theme of a campaign scheduled to begin on Thursday: “Let us stay with you.”

（中略）

Another upscale lodging chain, Orient-Express Hotels, is taking a similar tack in a campaign that is to begin on Monday, which carries the theme “Embark on a journey like no other.” The campaign is centered on video clips of a fictional family whose name, the Astorbilts, evokes wealth of yore but whose behavior is contemporary, valuing experiences over material possessions.
(Stuart Elliott. Luxury Hotels Market the Memories They Can Make. The New York Times. September 13, 2011.)


こちらは競合相手と同じ路線を歩むということで、"a similar tack"という訳です。

"different tack"とほぼ同様の意味ですが、"opposite tack"という用例もあります。


Hyatt Hotels & Resorts is eliminating stocked minibars from some of its convention hotels, leaving empty refrigerators for guests to use for their own items. It is adding stores selling snacks and fresh foods in many lobbies. Hilton and Omni are making similar moves.

Other hotels—especially luxury spots—are taking the opposite tack, throwing in free minibar goodies. The Ocean House in Westerly, R.I., stocks its rooms with nonalcoholic drinks and glass jars filled with trail mix, malted-milk balls and mixed nuts.
(Andrea Petersen. Cracking Open the Hotel Minibar. The Wall Street Journal. September 14, 2011.)


ここ数日の記事で、"tack"の用例は枚挙にいとまがありません。慣用句だと言っていいでしょう。