'Tis the season to be loli jolly. 😅

Yup, saw that coming.

I'm a little stumped on how to translate the title. これは時代のせい means "This is the fault of the times," but then it follows with これは時代のせ, and I'm not sure how to parse のせ. It isn't simply cutting off のせい, as there's no ellipsis or hyphen to indicate that. I don't know if it's meant to be tied in with the verb 乗せる/載せる, if せ is meant to be a word by itself, or if the phrase just means something in slang that I'm unaware of, with no kanji substitution required.

Moonspeaker said:

I'm a little stumped on how to translate the title. これは時代のせい means "This is the fault of the times," but then it follows with これは時代のせ, and I'm not sure how to parse のせ. It isn't simply cutting off のせい, as there's no ellipsis or hyphen to indicate that. I don't know if it's meant to be tied in with the verb 乗せる/載せる, if せ is meant to be a word by itself, or if the phrase just means something in slang that I'm unaware of, with no kanji substitution required.

Maybe she's talking about a different thing instead? There's a definition of せ which is (人や動物の胸・腹の反対側、すなわち首から尻(しり)までの部分。) (背中。)

So combined the sentence could be something like "This is because of this era. This is the end of times." which signifies that the tradition of delivering presents via chimney would end because she doesn't fit in anymore, or just a wordplay that signifies her frustation.

Rathurue said:

Maybe she's talking about a different thing instead? There's a definition of せ which is (人や動物の胸・腹の反対側、すなわち首から尻(しり)までの部分。) (背中。)

So combined the sentence could be something like "This is because of this era. This is the end of times." which signifies that the tradition of delivering presents via chimney would end because she doesn't fit in anymore, or just a wordplay that signifies her frustation.

I considered it, but the exact phrase with that kanji gets no usage examples, at least in isolation. It's part of larger phrases and sentences, such as 時代の背を向けた ("Turned one's back on the times"), but doesn't seem to have any common meaning on its own.

I'd also considered "時代の狭," since 狭 means "narrow/cramped," but in that phrasing, it appears to be pronounced as せま, so the pun would be lost. On top of that, the phrase doesn't appear to be so much a specific term as a general expression of a turning point between eras, so it doesn't even retain the right meaning.

Or Himura could've accidentally dropped the い in the repetition. That's the more likely explanation, especially given that they've made similar mistakes before on occasion (I remember in particular that one they messed up writing 月曜日).

MarqFJA87 said:

Or Himura could've accidentally dropped the い in the repetition. That's the more likely explanation, especially given that they've made similar mistakes before on occasion (I remember in particular that one they messed up writing 月曜日).

I didn't want to assume it was a mere typo when Himura-san is usually fairly clear, especially when employing wordplay, but then again, I've not been around for previous slips like the one you mention. If that's all it is, so be it.

Moonspeaker said:

I didn't want to assume it was a mere typo when Himura-san is usually fairly clear, especially when employing wordplay, but then again, I've not been around for previous slips like the one you mention. If that's all it is, so be it.

I'm fairly sure that the example I mentioned (which, to be specific, involved dropping the third kanji altogether) happened within the last two years.

Memo to all girls with cup sizes larger than B: Don't climb down chimneys at christmas (or any other time of the year)!