Indiscriminate murder would be one thing if with 〜ならともかく
Grammar Explanation: It might be one thing if with 〜ならともかく
Sonoko is invited to a band’s after party. During the get-together, the band’s singer Tatsuya eats a rice ball only to collapse and die. The police are called in, and Inspector Megure discovers the victim was poisoned. He accuses the man who prepared the food, but Conan bites into a rice ball to show it’s safe. The victim’s manager, Mari, agrees.
- 麻理:
- 「無差別殺人ならともかく、たまたま達也が食べたオニギリだけに、あらかじめ毒を仕込むのは不可能じゃありません？」
- “If it were indiscriminate murder, that's one thing but since it was just the rice ball Tatsuya happened to eat, wouldn't it be impossible to poison it beforehand?”
- Literal: “If it were indiscriminate murder, that would be one thing, but isn't it impossible to plant poison beforehand only in the rice ball Tatsuya happened to eat?”
- “If it were indiscriminate murder, that's one thing but since it was just the rice ball Tatsuya happened to eat, wouldn't it be impossible to poison it beforehand?”
- 目暮:
- 「た、確かにそうだが…」
- “Th-that's true.”
Key Points
- Megure is an authority figure, so Mari uses a polite way of speaking toward him.
- Mari presents one scenario as imaginable and contrasts it with the actual case.
- Here it means “if it were indiscriminate murder, that would be one thing…”
- オニギリだけに means “in just that one rice ball”.
- That makes the method sound implausibly precise for a pre-planted poisoning.
Vocabulary
不可能 (Impossible)
不可能 means that doing or achieving something is completely out of reach, or describes a state where something cannot be done.
無差別 (Indiscriminate)
無差別 means treating all targets equally without making any distinctions or discrimination. It is often used in serious contexts such as attacks, violence, or mass actions that do not distinguish among victims.
殺人 (Murder)
殺人 refers to the act of intentionally taking another person’s life with one’s own will and premeditation.
See Also
- External: Past tense with 〜た・〜だ
- Grammar: Polite style with です and ます
- Grammar: Marking the topic with は and も
- Grammar: If that's the case with なら
- Kanji: Ability and capability with 能
- Kanji: Absence and nothingness with 無
- Kanji: Negation and lack with 不
- Kanji: People and persons with 人