鋭く生きる

[deramoz]

A while ago I was looking through some older BBS post where people were naming their favorite kanji and reasons for it: http://bbs.chibicon.net/bbs/t11-11637.html

One fellow mentions,

好きな漢字は『牙』です。
理由は、
男なら牙のように鋭く生きるが僕の道だからです。

I haven't been able to pin down what it mean to 鋭く生きる, 牙のように or not. My first thought was that it was something like "living on the edge," or "living dangerously". This seems to be reinforced by the fact that the thread creator replies with a "格好いい（笑）". A different search result (http://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/jirojirojirodan/diary/200610160000/), however, seems to suggest just the opposite:

もう少し鋭く生きるために、ちょっと経済のお勉強も必要かと。

That suggests to me that in order to live more 鋭く, the blogger is studying economics in order to better maintain her household finances. It sounds here like 鋭く生きる is referring to responsible living.

Could it have multiple meanings depending on what it's referring to, or am I just interpreting it incorrectly? Help please!

[keatonatron]

Maybe it's not just "living on the edge," but rather "living on the cutting edge"?

If you want to be on the cutting edge, you need money, which is why your finances need to be in order

[AJBryant]

Actually, that's living on the edge.

The "cutting edge" is like the line between the present and the future (usually used in terms of technology or general "stuff"). Living on the edge would imply that there are money problems or the person is an adrenaline junkie or something, and always just a heartbeat away from things going horribly wrong.


Tony

[deramoz]

Awesome, I think it makes sense now. So 鋭く生きる is sort of like, "living on the cutting edge, keeping ahead of the Joneses, staying ahead of the pack"? That seems to fit both cases

[two_heads_talking]

Awesome, I think it makes sense now. So 鋭く生きる is sort of like, "living on the cutting edge, keeping ahead of the Joneses, staying ahead of the pack"? That seems to fit both cases

I'm with Tony on this one.. LIving on the edge.. Living without a safety net, living without a parachute. There's really nothing cutting edge about finances..

[keatonatron]

I've never heard that phrase used before, so I was just making a guess!

I think what Tony was trying to say is that it is "living on the edge", but not in the sense that the person is seeking thrills; they are just in a dangerous situation financially (not by choice!).

[inuinu]

あくまでも、私が個人的に感じたニュアンスです。

好きな漢字は『牙』です。
理由は、
男なら牙のように鋭く生きるが僕の道だからです。

こちらは、言い換えるとしたら以下のようなニュアンス。

・とんがった生き方（俺に触るとケガするぜ/俺は危険な男だぜ）
・逃げずに噛み付いていくような生き方
（神経を鋭く研ぎ澄ませて、筋の通らないことを見逃さない/難敵に対して歯向かっていく/難しいことに挑戦する）

もう少し鋭く生きるために、ちょっと経済のお勉強も必要かと。

こちらは、文脈から考えるとlooseやlazyの対義だと思います。
要は「なまくら主婦」という自称の、「なまくら」にかけた表現でしょう。
家計に関して敏感ではなかった自分のなまくらな思考をもっとsharpにして、
きちんと計算しながらactiveに生きようという感じ。
"living on the edge"の感覚とは逆で、あまり危機感がありません。
「のほほん」とした感じです。
「まぁ、別にお金に困ってはいないけど、本も読んだことだし、ちょっとやってみようかなぁ」
という程度の感じがします。
まぁ、どんな環境にいる人なのか、記事だけでは実際のところはわかりませんけど。

[deramoz]

Thanks everyone for your continued input.

inuinu, I can't believe I didn't recognize that なまくら ↔ 鋭い connection! I tried to consider 鋭く being used in two different ways, but I couldn't see exactly how that exact wording really fits with the second text, until now. Thank you for pointing it out!