"L"は何の略？ ー take the "L"

まずは記事の引用からどうぞ。


The standoff between Uber and the California Department of Motor Vehicles over self-driving cars in San Francisco mercifully came to an end last Wednesday, with Uber taking the “L” and removing its cars from San Francisco streets. Now that Uber’s short-lived rebellion is over, spectators are left asking questions like: “What was that all about?”

In a year that government and tech butted heads on many issues and regulations, Uber v. DMV felt extremely unnecessary and petulant. The stake during this weeklong standoff was $150 for a state permit to driving self-driving cars. Uber can afford a trillion state permits, but instead, it went to the barricades, lecturing journalists about how one doesn’t need to wear a belt and suspenders when wearing a dress.
(Seung Y Lee. What was Uber’s endgame in the first place? SAN Francisco Examiner. December 26, 2016.)


ウーバーというタクシーの会社がアメリカ・カリフォルニア州で自動運転車の導入の是非を巡って規制当局と色々と遣り合っていたようですが、最終的にウーバー側が折れて、導入を断念したという内容の記事です。

引用の中に、


taking the "L"


という表現が出てきますね。

この表現を見るのは初めてだったのですが、引用符で囲んだ"L"が何を指すのかご存知でしょうか？

ここで、"L"は"loss"、つまり「負け、敗北」のことなのです。面白いですね。

いわゆる俗語、口語表現の類となり、普通の！？辞書には載っていないかもしれませんが、結構よく使われる表現のようです。

例えば、以下のような記事もあります。



The New York Knicks receive the L for Christmas

It’s Christmas time! What a wonderful time of year for basketball. The first game of the Christmas Day was the Boston Celtics vs the New York Knicks. In a hard fought game, the Knicks fell 114-119. It was an up and down game for New York and in the end, it was defensive woes and forced offense that doomed the Knicks.
(iSportsweb. December 26, 2016.)