A：「山を切り崩して、住宅地にするんですか。市長は環境問題について、どう考えているんでしょうか
市長：「ええとですね。それは‥‥」
A：「環境問題になると、市長はいつも、しどろもどろですね」
Shidoro-modoro
A: Yama wo kirikuzushite, juutakuchi ni suru'n desu ka. Shichoo wa kankyoo mondai ni tsuite, doo kangaete iru'n deshoo ka.
Shicho: Eeto desu ne. Sore wa...
A: Kankyoo mondai ni naru to, shicho wa itsumo, shidoro-modoro desu ne.
A: So you're planning to level the moun-tain to make way for a housing
development? Has the mayor considered the environmental problems involved?
Mayor: Uhh, I think, uh, that's, uuhh...
A: I see. Whenever the discussion turns to environmental issues, the mayor's explanations, as usual, are incoherent.
Shidoro-modoro na means faltering, disordered, inconsistent, incoherent; shidoro-modoro ni naru means to be thrown into confusion, to flounder in a morass of contradictions.
With Tokyo's suburbs continuing to expand and develop, it's clear the Metropolitian Government needs to do some long-term city-planning in order to avoid a continued concentration of people in the surrounding areas. At this rate, the populations of Saitama, Chiba, and Kanagawa can only increase.
This will lead to further destruction of the environment. No wonder people who are to lose neighborhood parks and forests are up in arms. When questioned by these people the mayor's answers, however, are inconsistent and disordered (shicho no kotae ga shidoro-modoro ni naru.) Perhaps this is inevitable, though - the mayor, after all, wants his city to develop. He also wants to preserve its beauty.
"Jibun no kotae ga shidoro-modoro na no wa shitte imasu ("I know my answers are inconsistent.) But I have nt solutions. Is there anyone here who has any good ideas? " This past February I visited the Olympic Stadium under construction in Athens, Greece; the city hopes to host the 1996 Olympics and the officials I met were very enthusiastic. I found out that even though there's but one subway line in Athens, the city is building the Olympic Center right above the station. I also found out, however, that the site used to be a park. When I asked them what they thought about losing the park the officials shidoro-modoro de wa naku, totemo hakkiri to kotaete kureta (didn't beat around the bush at all and answered very straightforwardly. )
"Yes, it was a park. But in order not to damage the looks of our historic city, we're building the center half underground. The building above ground will thus be quite low." They had no need to stammer and flounder (shidoro-modoro ni naru hitsuyo wa nakatta.)
A decision is scheduled to be made this September ' in Tokyo about which country - Greece, Australia or Canada - will host the next Summer Olympics.