edict lookup methods, and a list of problematic RPG-item names

Most of the time, when I want to look up a Japanese term I don't
recognize but whose reading I know, I use kdrill, which provides an
interface to edict. It has the option of matching either "all results
containing the string anywhere" or "only results beginning with the
search string", which helps eliminate redundant results, but it is
limited to 200 total results and there is no way (short, I presume, of
re-ordering the edict file) to change which 200 will be displayed for
any given search.

At one point, I would sometimes also look things up using JEDI, the
Japanese-English Dictionary Interface. It supported only "all results
containing the search string anywhere", but had no limit on the number
of possible results; the combination of these tended to result in an
extensive morass of unrelated results which was very hard to narrow
down. In any case, JEDI has now been taken down.

So far as I know, my only other option if I want to look up a term for
which I know the reading but not the kanji is to enter that reading into
my input method (Anthy), put every possible result into a text file
(this requires entering the reading once per result, even assuming I
don't inadvertently get a duplicate because of the "smart" reordering of
the list of candidates), and look up that text file via (say) WWWJDIC.
This has the advantage of restricting the search to "only results
consisting exactly of the search string", but it is tedious, clunky,
awkward, and not remotely convenient.

The case at hand: I have a list of item names from a Japanese console
RPG, which I am retranslating primarily for my own edification (and
because the official English translation is frequently inaccurate),
which is written entirely in kana. One of the items is named simply as
ちょうのレイピア. In order to figure out what that means, I need to look
up all possible definitions of ちょう - which, as you can imagine, is a
very common prefix (not to mention substring) - and tie them in with the
possible context, not that there's very much of that.

Any suggestions for possible alternative, more powerful tools for
searching edict - and, specifically, for ways of looking up an exact
search term?



(Feel free to ignore the rest if you prefer. Note, please, that there is
at least a small chance that I've mis-entered any given kanji in the
below; I cannot easily check, because virtually all kanji are unreadable
in the font size used for composition in my news client.)

Not entirely related to the above, presented mostly because I feel like
it (and because it helps keep me in the right frame of mind to work on
the associated project), and around twice as long as the rest of the
post: more things from the same item list with which I am having
difficulty. I also need to figure out:

そりみのけん - I know けん is 剣 here, but I'm not finding any
possibilities at all for the rest.
かいらくレイピア - the possible meanings of かいらく listed in edict do
not seem compatible with the context at hand, "name of a weapon".
ピコピコハンマ - my best guess is "Tiny Hammer", but it is only a guess.
まふうじのゆみ - ゆみ is obviously 弓, but I'm having no luck with the
rest, aside from guesses like 魔封字 which could sort-of be parsed as
"evil seal rune" if one were willing to stretch far enough.
ウルブスキン - appears in a list of body armor; my best guess is
something like "Wolve Skin", but that's not exactly a good match.
ハリセンボン - appears in a list of body armor; I don't even know
offhand where to break this into component parts.
かめのて - appears in a list of shields, gloves, bracelets and other
arm/hand gear; the reading is in edict under 亀の手 "barnacle", but the
same kanji could also be translated "turtle hand", and neither seems
entirely appropriate for a piece of protective gear.
はちがね - a piece of headgear, translated in the official English
release only as "Visor"; I could have sworn I'd looked this up and foud
it once, but I'm turning up nothing now.
つのかぶと - is this 角兜, or <something>の兜? If the latter, which
seems likely because almost every other helm in the game is listed with
の in that patten, then what could the つ be? (Another place where
exact-search-string lookup would be handy.)
リフルエキス - a HP-restoring item, translated in the official English
release as "Cure". I have no idea what this could be trying to get at,
but it's probably not coming from English. See also below.
かいしんたん - a consumable item; used in battle, according to an online
guide consulted because I've not progressed far enough in my translation
to have gotten one, it translates into a single critical-hit attack.
None of the edict listings for either かいしん or しんたん seem
appropriate, and what the other component in either case would be I have
no idea.
かいしんせき - by the same online guide, has the same effect as the
previously listed item. The reuse of かいしん would seem to indicate
that it acts as a unit here, but again, none of its meanings seem
appropriate.
げんしにく - にく is 肉, obviously, but how to fit that with any of the
apparent standalone meanings of げんし is unclear.
リフラルエキス - a HP-restoring item, translated in the official English
release as "Cure2". See above. There seems to be some Japanese verb
conjugation going in in the first half of these two names, but what it
could be talking about I don't know.
しようとブナイくすり - I've just looked at this again and guessed
something about "Experimental and Dangerous Medicine", but given the
many possible meanings of しよう I'm not remotely sure about that.
みそのもと - permanently increases a character's "Wisdom", which is
either 賢さ or 知力 (both appear on the status screen, the one place in
the game which does use kanji). I believe もと is　源, but I'm not
seeing any possible meaning for みそ which would make sense given the
context.
うばわれほうのばしゃ - I think ばしゃ is 馬車 and うばわれ is 奪われ,
but the middle ほう I have no clue on. Again, "exact search string"
lookup would be helpful.
ラっきのえだ - permanently increases a character's "Luck", which is
either 運の良さ or 運勢. Although the choice of kana seems weird, ラっき
is obviously "luck" - but none of the listed meanings for えだ seem
appropriate.
ひでんのしょ - ひでん is probably 秘伝, but しょ is just too common to
readily identify without more experience than I have. Again, "exact
search string" lookup would be handy. (This is a plot-related item, not
equipment or a consumable.) The official English release translates it
as "Book".
いっかくはまち - appears in a list of fish, with names such as たんけに
わし and かぶとあじ and おおこがねだい. はまち is plainly "kingfish",
but none of the listed meanings for いっかく seem appropriate given the
context.
しょうばい - no clue whatsoever. For what it's worth, it appears in the
middle of a list of fishing rods.
つうこうしょ - translated in the official English release as "Pass".
Given that, つうこう could well be 通行, but once again I have no idea
about しょ.
わだヤシのみ - ヤシ is 椰, and み is (from context) obviously 実, but わ
だ I have no leads on.
オリザニン - translated in the official release as "Tonic". It's a
plot-related medicine which cures amnesia. Again, this plainly isn't
rooted in English, and my familiarity with other languages is not
sufficient to recognize what this is getting at.

Oddly enough, there are around a dozen or so different items which are
listed with the name はずれ. They all have different names in the
official English release, and I recognize some of them, but they do not
appear to have had distinct names in the original Japanese. Unless that
term happens to be unusually versatile, I'm not sure what could be going
on there.

--
The Wanderer

Warning: Simply because I argue an issue does not mean I agree with any
side of it.

Secrecy is the beginning of tyranny.
.

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