"Clapped" is "clapped." It's not a tap, and not a smack, but somewhere in between and just loud enough to make a noise. Hence the name. As for whether it's what the original Japanese
meant, well, that might be a different story. But it fits Taniguchi's character, so I think it's probably right.
As for "blazer," that's exactly the correct word. That's what the style of jackets are called that the male students at Kyon's North High wear (and at a number of other uniformed schools both in anime/manga and in real life, inside and outside of Japan). Won't need to check the translation for that one.
Omio wrote:...but I'm thinking maybe a different word will do better in case others think of the car.
You
are kidding, right? I respect why you might want to use more common language, but this isn't a kiddie book. We should use vocabulary the target audience
should know, not necessarily what we
expect them to know. Let's not start dumbing down the vocabulary just so the Naruto crowd will understand what is going on. Let whoever ends up licensing the novels do that.
Besides, does Chevy even
make the Blazer anymore?
Anyway, keep trying, but while I doubt that Volume 1 is
100% perfect, it's bound to be pretty close by now. Keep in mind that this volume has been done for over a year now, so those bones have been picked pretty clean.