29987
I've been trying to understand lyrics of a j-pop song by Utada Hikaru. It's
your typical pop fare, with a healthy dose of unrequited love and self-
affirmation. At one point in lyrics, however, the story takes a weird turn:

```

    幸せになろう
    言い訳は無用
    遠回りしてでも…(ヲー!)
    待ち合わせしよう
    跳び箱の向こう
    両手でしっかりと…
    
```

What is that _vaulting horse_ doing there?! The naive interpretation is that
the whole story is happening in a school setting, and it's a literal
reference. I'm guessing that 跳び箱 might have been used to mean an
obstacle/hurdle to overcome - together with subsequent practical advice on how
to vault it. I just haven't met any idiom like this before. Is it an actual
phrase/idiom, or just _licentia poetica_? :)

Full lyrics are [here](http://j-lyric.net/artist/a001c7c/l0017d5.html) if you
need more context.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-22T00:35:26.387
29986
2015-12-22T01:12:21.153
1550
question
translation song-lyrics
跳び箱 as a synonym for a obstacle?
I do not know this song, but from reading the lyrics, I agree that the 跳び箱
(the vault used in gymnastics) is used metaphorically to refer to an obstacle.
As far as I know, 跳び箱 is not commonly used figuratively to mean obstacles, but
lyrics are not restricted to use only established expressions. Moreover, if it
were used literally, it would mean that the speaker specifies “behind the
vault” as a meeting place, which sounds quite odd to me.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-22T01:12:21.153
29987
2015-12-22T01:12:21.153
15
29986
answer