英語成語園地-常用中文成語英譯(1~10畫)

這裡所提供的中文成語的英文翻譯都是既有的、道地的英文成語，我們不會去創造意思跟中文成語相近的英文翻譯 。

所以，有些常見的中文成語在此並未列出，原因是截至目前 ... 常用中文成語英譯 BacktotheGardenofEnglishIdioms   說明 這裡所提供的中文成語的英文翻譯都是既有的、道地的英文成語，我們不會去創造意思跟中文成語相近的英文翻譯 。

所以，有些常見的中文成語在此並未列出，原因是截至目前還找不到意思對應的英文成語，或我們才疏學淺，還不知道有對應的英文成語存在。

1畫 2畫 3畫 4畫 5畫 6畫 7畫 8畫 9畫 10畫 11~20畫及以上 　一畫 一不做，二不休 infora penny,inforapound Hewasfound stealingmoneyfromhislandladybyherdaughter."Inforapenny,infora pound,"hemutteredtohimselfandthenkilledthelittlegirl.   一文不名；一貧如洗 nothave(or without)apennytoone'sname;nothavetwohalfpenniestorubtogether; (as)poorasachurchmouse;nothaveabean;nothave(orwithout)a redcent WhenIgot marriedIdidn'thaveapennytomyname. Thatfamilyneverseemtohavetwohalfpenniestorubtogether. Iamsorry,Ican'tlendyouanything--Ihaven'tgotaredcent.   一石二鳥；一箭雙雕；一舉兩得 killtwo birdswithonestone SinceBenjamin, oneofmyclassmatesinuniversity,livesnearmymother,I'llcallinon himaswellandkilltwobirdswithonestone.   一帆風順 plainsailing Thesecurity situationintheTaiwanStraitisfarfrombeingplainsailing.   一見如故 getonlikea houseonfire(英)/getalonglikeahouseonfire(美) Iftwopeople geton/alonglikeahouseonfire,theylikeeachotherverymuchandbecome friendsveryquickly. Iwasworriedthattheywouldn'tlikeeachother,butinfactthey're gettingon/alonglikeahouseonfire.   一文不值 notwortha damn Hispromise isn'tworthadamn.   一針見血；一語中的 hitthenail onthehead Hehithenail ontheheadwhenhementionedcasualsexasbeingthecauseofhercoming downwithAIDS.   一言以蔽之 inanutshell There'salotI couldsayaboutmyboss'sspeechbuttoputitinanutshell,itwas terrible.   一命嗚呼 turnupone's toes Ihopetotakea triptotheUnitedStatesbeforeIturnupmytoes.   一絲不苟 dotone's/the i'sandcrossone's/thet's You'dbetter makesureyoudotyouri'sandcrossyourt'sifyouwanttoworkatthat company.They'reverykeenondetails. 一絲不掛 inastateof nature;inthealtogether;inthebuff;nothaveastitchon(or withoutastitchon) Ihadjustgot outofthebathandstillwasinthebuff(orinthealtogether/inastate ofnature)whenthemaidwalkedinwithoutknocking. IhadjustgotoutofthebathwhenheknockedatthedoorandIdidn't haveastitchon.   一模一樣 aslikeas twopeas(inapod) Iftwobrothers ortwosistersareverymuchalike,youcansaytheyareaslikeastwopeas inapod.   一鳴驚人；一舉成名；不同凡響 setthe Thamesonfire(英)/settheworldonfire(美) Marymaysetthe Thamesonfirewithherpianoplaying. Hisgreatinventionsettheworldonfire.   一籌莫展 upthecreek(withoutapaddle) Hewasreallyup thecreekwhenhiswifelefthim.   一丘之貉；物以類聚 birdsofa feather(flocktogether);betarredwiththesamebrush Weallthought thatheandhisgirlfriendwerebirdsofafeather. Idislikepoliticiansofallpartiesbecausethey'realltarredwiththe samebrush.   一箭之遙；近在咫尺 astone's throw Myhouseisonly astone'sthrowfromtheschool.   一意孤行；我行我素；獨斷獨行 go/takeone's ownway Iwarnedhimnot tomarrythatgirl,buthewasdeterminedtogohisownway.   一知半解 alittle knowledge Alittleknowledgeisadangerousthing. (這一句是頗有名的諺語，意為「一知半解最危險；半瓶子醋害死人」)   一見鍾情 fallinlove (withsomeone)atfirstsight;loveatfirstsight (這裡"love"為名詞) Theyfellinlovewitheachotheratfirst sight. Theyfellinloveatonce;itwasloveatfirstsight.   一清二楚 (as)clearas crystal;(as)clearasabell Idon'tknowwhyyoucan'tunderstandthe instructions;they'reasclearascrystaltome. Thewholethingwasasclearasabelltome.Iknewwhattodo.   一竅不通 beallGreek tosomeone Hetriedtoexplainhowthecomputerworked, butitwasallGreektome.   一白遮三醜 Awhite complexionispowerfulenoughtohidesevenfaults. Awhitecomplexionispowerfulenoughto hidesevenfaults.   一朝被蛇咬，十年怕草繩；上一次當，學一次乖 oncebitten, twiceshy Hehascheated anddeceivedmeononeoccasion,soIdon'ttrusthim.Oncebitten,twice shy.   一臣不事二君；一女不事二夫；一僕不事二主 nomancan servetwomasters Weall knowthatnomancanservetwomasters,soyoucannotworkfortwocompeting companiesatthesametime.(我們都知道，一臣不事二君，所以你不可能同時為兩家相互競爭的公司工作) Danieltriedgoingtoschoolandworking,bothfull-time,butsoon discoveredthathecouldnotservetwomasters. (丹尼爾嘗試同時全職地兼顧學業與工作，但不久就發現到魚與熊掌無法兼得)   一閒生百邪；無聊起壞心 thedevil findsworkforidlehands "The devilfindsworkforidlehands"iswhatyourmothersaystoyouwhenshe findsyouwatchingtelevision,ratherthandoingyourhomework! (當你母親發現你在看電視而不做功課時，她就會對你說「一閒生百邪」) WhenPaulwasyounghisparentswarnedhimthatthedevilfindsworkfor idlehands.(保羅年輕時，他父母親就告誡他，一閒生百邪，無聊起壞心)   一燕不成夏；一事成功並非萬事大吉 (喻勿以偏概全) oneswallow doesn'tmakeasummer Whenyousay thatoneswallowdoesnotmakeasummer,whatyoumeanisthatjustbecause somethinggoodhashappened,itdoesn'tmeangoodthingswillcontinueto happen. (當你說「一燕不成夏」時，你的意思就是一事成功並非萬事大吉)   一笑祛百病；一笑解百愁 laughteristhe bestmedicine  Itseemsthat theoldadageistrue －laughter isthebestmedicine.(「一笑祛百病」這句古諺似乎屢試不爽)   一個巴掌拍不響；一 個銅板敲不響 ittakestwoto tango  She blamesAmyforstealingherhusband.Well,ittakestwototango. (她指責艾美偷了她的丈夫。

啊，一個巴掌拍不響) Student:"Hehitmefirst;itwasn'tmyfault!"(學生：「他先打我；那不是我的錯」) Teacher:"Ittakestwototango."(老師：「一個銅板敲不響」) 二畫 九牛一毛；滄海一粟；杯水車薪 adropinthe ocean/bucket Themoneywe collectedforthevictimsoftheIndianOceantsunamidisasterisreally justadropintheocean.   入不敷出 livebeyond one'smeans Myfatheralways toldmenottolivebeyondmymeans.(家父總是叮嚀我別入不敷出)   入境隨俗 wheninRome, doastheRomansdo Alotofpeople oftensay"wheninRome,doastheRomansdo."   十之八九 ninetimes outoften Whenmywife comeshomefromwork,ninetimesoutoftenshebuysmeanevening newspaper.   十拿九穩；穩操勝券 beinthebag We'resureto win.Thematchisinthebag.   力不從心；心餘力絀；心有餘而力不足 thespiritis willing,butthefleshisweak(這兩句的上半句"thespiritiswilling"和下半句"the fleshisweak"常被分開單獨使用) WhenIaskedhim forhelpyesterday,hesaid"myspiritiswilling,butmyfleshisweak."   人面獸心；口蜜腹劍；笑裡藏刀 (披著羊皮的狼) awolfin sheep'sclothing Marytrusted Jackuntilonedayshewascheatedbyhim,andrealizedthat hewasawolfinsheep'sclothing.   人不可貌相 appearancesare oftendeceptive  "Appearancesare oftendeceptive"isacommonlyusedidiom,meaningthingsarenotalways whattheyseemtobe.   人在屋簷下，不得不低頭；情勢所逼，不得不然 needsmustwhen thedevildrives  Youcansay "Needsmustwhenthedevildrives"whenyoumustactinacertainwayordo aparticularthing(becauseitcannotbeavoided).   人在屋簷下，不得不低頭；飢不擇食 beggarscan'tbe choosers  IaskedTomto lendmehisbicycle,andhesentmethisold,rustyone.Butbeggarscan't bechoosers.(我要湯姆將他的腳踏車借給我，而他卻送來這台老舊又生鏽的腳踏車。

沒辦法，人在屋簷下，不得不低頭。

) Mary:Letmewearyourgreendress;Idon'tliketheblueoneyoulentme. Alice:Beggarscan'tbechoosers. (瑪麗：我要穿妳的綠色洋裝；我不喜歡妳借我的那件藍色的。

愛麗絲：人在屋簷下，不得不低頭。

) 註：Beggarscan't bechoosers.有「人在屋簷下，不得不低頭」和「飢不擇食」這兩個意思，所以翻譯時端賴上下文的意思而定。

  人多勢眾；人多膽壯；人多保險 there'ssafety innumbers  Wedecidedtogo toseethebosstogether;there'ssafetyinnumbers.(我們決定一起去找老板，人多膽壯。

) Workingontheprinciplethatthere'ssafetyinnumbers,wedecidedwe shouldallgoandcomplaintogether.(基於人多勢眾的原理，我們決定應該一起去投訴。

)   人去樓空；逃之夭夭 thebirdhas flown  Paulowedmea lotofmoney.WhenIwenttohishouseyesterday,hopingtogetmymoney back,thebirdhadflown.(保羅欠我很多錢。

昨天當我去他家，希望要回我的錢時，他早已人去樓空) It'snousesearchinganymore.Thebirdhasflown.(搜索沒有用了。

嫌犯已逃之夭夭) 三畫 三心兩意 intwominds Mywifethinks weshouldgotoSouthKoreaforourholiday,butI'mstillintwominds aboutit.   三番兩次 againand again;overandover(again);timeand(time)again;timeaftertime I'vetoldmysonagainandagainnottorun aredlight. (torunaredlight：闖紅燈)   三緘其口 holdone's peace/tongue Inspiteofthe factthathemadeprovocativeremarks,Iheldmypeace/tongue.   三思而後行 lookbefore youleap Lookbeforeyou leapwhendoingbusinessontheWeb.   三句不離本行；說行話；談論工作上的事情(這成語通常帶有貶義，暗示這些關於工作的言談讓人覺得很無聊) (to)talk shop Theydidnothing buttalkedshop,andIcamehomeearlybecauseitwassoboring.   三個臭皮匠勝過一個諸葛亮 twoheadsare betterthanone Twoheadsare betterthanone.   大同小異；半斤八兩 (very)much ofamuchness Thetwoarticles areverymuchofamuchness.   大相逕庭 polesapart Theyarepoles apartintheirpoliticalattitudes.   千方百計 byhookorby crook;leavenostoneunturned(ornostonebeleftunturned) Iknowthiswork looksdifficult,butI'llfinishitbyhookorbycrook. ThepoliceleftnostoneunturnedtocatchTaiwan'smostwantedfugitive ChangHsi-ming(張錫銘)andtheysucceeded. Hepromisednostonewouldbeleftunturnedtogethiswifeback.   千載難逢 onceina bluemoon MywifeandI rarely,ifever,eatout.So,whenItoldherlastnight"let'seatoutand gotoseeamovie",shewasverysurprisedandsaidthat'sreallyonceina bluemoon.   寸步不離 atone's elbow Hiswifewas alwaysathiselbowwheneveranimportantdecisionhadtobetaken.   (像)大海撈針 (like) looking/searchingforaneedleinahaystack Tryingtofinda bookwewantinsomanybooksisjustlikelookingforaneedleina haystack.   口是心非；言不由衷 withone's tongueinone'scheek(adv.);tongueincheek(adv.); tongue-in-check(adj.) Hedescribedme asanexcellentteacher,buthesaidittongueincheek/withhistonguein hischeek. That'satongue-in-cheekremark/reply.   大驚小怪；小題大作 makea mountainoutofamolehill Don'tmakeamountainoutofamolehillwhen youknowIlookabouttenyearsyoungerthanIreallyam. (Ilookabout tenyearsyoungerthanIreallyam.我看起來比實際年齡年輕大約10歲)   小題大作；殺雞用牛刀 breaka butterflyona/thewheel(「小題大作」亦可用"makeamealoutof"和"makeamountain outofamolehill"來表示) IknowwhatI've doneiswrong,butthere'snoneedtobreakabutterflyonawheel/tomakea mealoutofit.   大發雷霆 doone'snut WhenItoldhim whatshehadsaidabouthim,hedidhisnut.   大獲全勝；所向披靡 sweepthe board;carry(orsweep) all/everythingbeforeone Isweptthe boardatthecasinolastnight. AlthoughIhadn'tdonewellathighschool,Icarriedallbeforemeat university.   亡羊補牢 lockthe stabledoorafterthehorsehasbolted Itisnevertoo latetolockthestabledoorafterthehorsehasbolted.   小洞不補，大洞吃苦 astitchin timesavesnine(經常略為"astitchintime") Youshouldtry andrepairyourcarbeforeitbecomesworse.Remember,astitchintime savesnine.   凡事豫則立，不豫則廢 forewarnedis forearmed Letmeknowwhen theDepartmentRequiredTest(DRT)isgiven;forewarnedisforearmed. (通知我什麼時候舉行指考；凡事豫則立) Checkthetemperaturebeforeyougooutside.Forewarnedisforearmed. (外出前要看看氣溫。

預先知道，才能有準備。

)   三三兩兩；零零碎碎；點點滴滴 in/bydribs anddrabs Theguests arrivedindribsanddrabs.(賓客三三兩兩地到來) Theworkhadbeencominginbydribsanddrabsforseveralyears. (幾年來，接到的活兒都是零零碎碎的)   小別勝新婚； 人不在，情更深；眼不見，心更念 absencemakes theheartgrowfonder EversinceAmy's husbandwentonabusinesstrip,shecan'tstopthinkingabouthim.Absence makestheheartgrowfonder.(艾美在她先生出差後就不停地想他。

小別勝新婚) A:Itis mucheasiertogetalongwithyourparentswhenyouliveawayfromhome.You missthemsomuchandaregladwhenyouseethem. (當你住在外面時，你會更容易跟父母相處。

你會很想念他們，每當看到他們都會很高興) B:It'strue.Absencemakestheheartgrowfonder.(的確如此。

眼不見，心更念)   土生土長；生於斯長於斯 bornandbred Hewasbornand bredinPescadoresbutnowlivesinKaohsiung.(他是土生土長的澎湖人，但現在住在高雄) Jack'saLondonerbornandbred.(傑克是土生土長的倫敦人)   己所不欲，勿施於人 doasyou wouldbedoneby Theage-old wisdomof"doasyouwouldbedoneby"doesn'tseemtoapplyinbusiness. (「己所不欲，勿施於人」這古諺似乎不適用於商界) Iwillendeavorto"doasyouwouldbedoneby."(我會努力做到「己所不欲，勿施於人」) [BacktoTop] 四畫 井井有條；井然有序 inapple-pie order Mywifelikesto keepeverythinginapple-pieorder.   少年老成；老成持重 haveanold headonyoungshoulders Michaelhasan oldheadonyoungshouldersandhandleshisbusinessverywell.   手足無措 (或窘得不知如何是好) notknow wheretoputoneself/one'sface WhenItold Lindaalmosteveryoneatherdepartmenthadseenthephotoofherhugging andkissingherboyfriendaffectionatelyinthestreet,shewasso embarrassedshedidn'tknowwheretoputherself/herface.   日復一日(或一連數天) dayafter day;dayindayout(這亦可寫成"dayin,dayout") Itwentonrainingdayafterday. Ifwedothesamethingsdayindayout,itisn'tsurprisingwegetbored. 附註：關於 "dayafterday"，其他表示時間的詞也可以這樣用，如"yearafteryear"，"monthaftermonth"和 "nightafternight"；至於"dayindayout"，其他表示時間的詞，尤其是表示較長時間的詞，也可以這樣用，如"year inyearout"(這亦可寫成"yearin,yearout"，以下亦同)，"monthinmonthout"，"weekin weekout"和"nightinnightout"，但hours,minutes和seconds則不可以這樣用。

  日以繼夜；夜以繼日 dayand night;nightandday Hethoughtof herwifedayandnightwhenshewentonbusinesstripabroadlastyear.   日薄西山(或好景不長) someone's daysarenumbered Nowheknowshis daysarenumbered.   五十步笑百步 thepot callingthekettleblack Shewas criticizingmefornotlookingforanewjobbutthatislikethepot callingthekettleblack.Sheisn'tlookingforanewjobeither.   太歲頭上動土 beardthe lioninhisden(這裡"beard"為動詞) Myboss'sinhis office,solet'sbeardthelioninhisdenandaskforapayraise.   中飽私囊 lineone's (own)pocket/purse(with+money/profits) Thepresident's lackofoversighthasallowedsomeoftheCabinetmemberstolinetheir pocketswithhundredsofmillionsofdollars.   心不在焉 here/therein body,butnotinspirit;someone'sheartisnotin Ididn't understandveryclearlywhatyousaid,becauseIwashereinbody,butnot inspiritatthetime. Johnshouldtrytofindanotherjobbecausehisheartisalwaysnotinhis workatall.   心滿意足；痛痛快快 toone's heart'scontent(這個字的重音在第二音節) It'sweekend,so youcansleeptoyourheart'scontent.   心曠神怡 feelontop oftheworld Ifhealthhas beenaproblem,don'tworry.You'llfeelontopoftheworldfromnowon.   火上加油(或煽動情緒) addfuelto theflames/fire;fantheflames/fire Theworkers weren'tsatisfiedwiththeirwages,sowhentheywereaskedtoworklonger hours,itaddedfueltotheflames.   火中取栗 (意為替別人冒險) pull the/someone'schestnutsoutofthefire Ihadpulledthe chestnutsoutofthefireforhimonseveraloccasionsandwasunwillingto doitagain.   方柄圓鑿；格格不入 asquarepeg inaroundhole Ifyougoto university,youwillbeasquarepeginaroundholetherebecauseyoujust havenodesiretostudy.   互相殘殺；互相傾軋 cuteach other'sthroats Forabagof goldcoinstheywouldcuteachother'sthroatswithouthesitation.   天涯海角 theendsof theearth "Ohdear,asyou know,Iwouldtakeyoutotheendsoftheearthatanytime."   天壤之別；天懸地隔 beworlds apart Ourwaysoflife areworldsapart. GeorgeandMarydecidedtogetmarriedeventhoughtheirfamilieswere worldsapart.   今日事今日畢 neverputoff tilltomorrowwhatyoucandotoday(亦寫成"neverputofftilltomorrowwhat may/canbedonetoday"，但較少人使用) Itshouldbe borneinmindthatneverputofftilltomorrowwhatyoucandotoday.   不自量力(貪多嚼不爛) biteoffmore thanonecanchew Itoldhimhe wouldbebitingoffmorethanhecouldchewifhetriedtoget950pointsin theTOEICtest.   不言而喻 (或不用說)；不辯自明 gowithout saying;speakforitself/themselves Itgoeswithout sayingthatIwillneverlove her. Thecompanyhashadaverysuccessfulyear;thefiguresspeakfor themselves.   不念舊惡；寬大為懷 forgiveand forget Wehatedeach otherinTaiwan;wemetagainintheUnitedStateslastyearanddecidedto forgiveandforget.Nowwehavebecomeveryfriendly.   不相上下；半斤八兩；銖兩悉稱 sixofone andhalfadozenoftheother VotingforaDPP oraKMTcandidateisacaseofsixofoneandhalfadozenoftheother.   不動聲色；泰然自若 keepone's countenance;playitcool Mostpeople couldhardlykeeptheircountenanceinthefaceofdeath. Theyexpectedustobeangry,butwehaddecidedtoplayitverycool.   不知所措；暈頭轉向 ataloss; loseone'sbearings;notknowwhetheroneis(standing)onone'sheador one'sheels WhensheaskedmeifIhadeverdivorcedany women,Iwasatalossforwords. (atalossforwords：無言以對) InallthismassofdetailsI'mafraidI've ratherlostmybearings. Whenhisshopwasverybusyyesterdaymorning,thepoorshopkeeperdidn't knowwhetherhewasonhisheadorhisheels.   不屈不撓 (keepone's) chinup He'shavinga prettydifficulttimebutheseemstobekeepinghischinup.   不合時宜；不妥當 outofjoint Don'tmention hisname!Nooneherelikeshim,anditwouldbeveryoutofjointifyou talkabouthim.   不倫不類；非驢非馬 neitherfish norfowl;neitherfishnorflesh;neitherfish,flesh,norfowl Theyfelthewas neitherfishnorfowl--notqualifiedtoleadthedepartment,yetnot appropriatetoworkasastaffmembereither.   不遺餘力；竭盡全力 fallallover oneself;falloverbackwards;bendoverbackwards Theyfellall overthemselvestobehelpful,butonlygotintheway. Shefelloverbackwardstryingtopleaseherboss,butitgothernowhere.   不擇手段；千方百計 byhookorby crook;stopatnothing(todosomething) Davidistrying togetthatpromotionbyhookorbycrook;heevenspreadrumorssmearing theothercandidates. Theyoungmanwantedtoberichandwouldstopatnothingtogetmoremoney forhimself.   不入虎穴，焉得虎子 nothing venture,nothinggain/win/have(or"nothingventured,nothing gained") "Nothing venture,nothinggain",asthesayinggoes.   內神通外鬼 aninsidejob Thebankrobbery wasaninsidejob.(這起銀行搶案是內神通外鬼) Thereis agrowingnumberofAmericanswhobelieve9/11wasaninsidejob. (越來越多的美國人認為911恐怖攻擊事件是內神通外鬼)   文勝於武；筆勝於劍；筆桿子比槍桿子更厲害；筆端千鈞力，刀槍也難敵 thepenis mightierthanthesword Whynotgiveup swordandtakeuppen?Thepenismightierthantheswordformanytimes. (為什麼不「投戎從筆」呢?文字的力量可是勝於武力好多倍啊!) Whoever saidthepenismightierthantheswordobviouslyneverencountered automaticweapons.(不管誰說筆桿子比槍桿子更厲害，他肯定沒遭遇過自動武器) --GeneralDouglasMacArthur(麥克阿瑟將軍)   心急水不開(或心急水不沸) awatchedpot neverboils Don'tjustsit therewaiting foryourgirlfriendtocall.Awatchedpotneverboils. (別只是坐在那裡等著你女朋友打電話來。

心急水不開啊!)   比上不足，比下有餘 inthe countryoftheblind,theone-eyedmanisking John:Howon earthdidMichaelgetpromotedtobeheadofhisdepartment?He'ssucha blunderer!(約翰：麥可到底是怎樣升到該部門主管的呢?他真的是個粗心大意、常犯錯的人啊!) Mary:Inthecountryoftheblind,theone-eyedmanisking. (瑪麗：比上不足，比下有餘) － 亦即該部門其他人比他更粗心大意、更常犯錯。

  及時行樂 eat,drink, andbemerry(,fortomorrowwedie) Bill:Nocake forme,thankyou.I'monadiet.Amy:But,Bill,thisisabirthdayparty. Eat,drink,andbemerry.(比爾：我不要蛋糕，謝謝。

我正在節食。

艾美：但是，比爾，這是生日派對。

及時行樂吧) Ninaencouragedallhergueststoeat,drink,andbemerry,fortomorrowwe die.(妮娜鼓勵她的所有客人要及時行樂，因為我們明天就死了)   木已成舟 what'sdone cannotbeundone Kelly:IwishI hadn'tinsultedMaria.Laura:What'sdonecannotbeundone. (凱莉：但願我沒有羞辱瑪麗亞。

蘿拉：木已成舟) WendysoonregrettedtellingDavidthatshelovedhim,butsheknewthat what'sdonecannotbeundone.(溫蒂很快就後悔對大衛說，她愛他，但她知道木已成舟)   太陽底下沒有新鮮事 thereis nothingnewunderthesun John:The newspapertodayisshocking.Threeprominentpoliticianshavebeenconvicted offraud.(今天報紙的新聞令人震驚。

有三個赫赫有名的政治人物因詐欺被判有罪) Mary:That'snotshocking.Itonlyprovesthatthere'snothingnewunderthe sun.(那不令人震驚。

那只是證明了太陽底下沒有新鮮事)   毛骨悚然；背脊發涼；倒抽一口涼氣 a chill/shiverruns/goesdownone'sspine Ifeltachill runningdownmyspine.(我感到毛骨悚然) 附註：本成語還有其他形式，而且比較常見，那就是 "sendchills/shivers(orachill/ashiver)up/downone'sspine" (使人毛骨悚然；使人背脊發涼；使人倒抽一口涼氣)。

例如： Thenewsoftheaccidentsentchillsdownhisspine.(聽到意外事故的消息，他倒抽一口涼氣) Thewayhelookedatmesentshiversdownmyspine.(他看我的方式使我打了個冷顫)   天妒英才；好人不長命 Thosewhom thegodslovedieyoung./Whomthegodslovedieyoung. Somany brilliantauthorsandartistsdiedbeforetheageoffiftythatit'seasyto believethatwhomthegodslovedieyoung. (許多傑出的作家和藝術家不到五十歲就撒手人寰了，讓人不由得地相信天妒英才) A:Mr.Whitediedofaheartattacklastnight.(懷特先生昨晚心臟病發作與世長辭了) B:I'msosorrytohearthat.He'soneofthegreatestphilanthropistsin theworld.(我聽了這消息很難過。

他是全世界最偉大的慈善家之一) A:He'sjustforty-sixyearsold.(他才四十六歲) B:Thosewhomthegodslovedieyoung.(好人不長命)   水落石出； 真相大白 comeoutin thewash Therealreasons forMegan'sresignationwillcomeoutinthewash.(梅根辭職的真正原因將會水落石出) Wedon'twantthepolicetoinvestigate,becausewe'reafraidofwhatmight comeoutinthewash. (我們不想要警方進行調查，因為我們怕事情可能真相大白) 附註：本成語原指衣服等上面的髒東西被洗掉。

除「水落石出；真相大白」外，它還意為「(問題或憂慮的原因) 獲得圓滿解決」，如Don'tworryaboutthatproblem.It'llallcomeoutinthewash. (別擔心那個問題。

它會獲得圓滿解決的)。

  心廣體胖 fatandhappy Sallyandher sisterslookfatandhappy.(莎莉和她的姊妹們看起來都心廣體胖) Sincealltheemployeeswerefatandhappy,theyhadlittleincentiveto improveproductivity.(由於所有員工個個心廣體胖，他們缺乏改善生產力的誘因)   以毒攻毒 likecures like Homeopathyis basedontheideaof"LikeCuresLike,"thatistosay,ifasubstancecan causeanillness,thentakingasmallamountofthatsubstancecanhelpheal theillness.(順勢療法係植基於「以毒攻毒」的概念，也就是說，如果某種物質可能致病，那麼服用少量的該物質可能有助於治療它造成的疾病) 五畫 白手起家；從頭做起 fromscratch; start(again)fromscratch He'sa successfulentrepreneurwhostartedfromscratch.   白紙黑字 inblackand white Idon'twantto hearyoupromisetopayme.Iwantyourpromiseinblackandwhite.   本末倒置 put/setthe cartbeforethehorse You'reputting thecartbeforethehorsebybuyingallthisfurniturebeforeyou'vegotthe house.   生龍活虎；生氣勃勃 aliveand kicking Myfatheris82 yearsoldbutheisstillverymuchaliveandkicking.   生殺大權 the power/rightoflifeand/ordeath Theancient kingsofthiscountryheldthepoweroflifeanddeathoveralltheir servants.   功敗垂成；功虧一簣 (there's many)asliptwixt(the)cupand(the)lip;pippedatthepost Ihavetotellyouthatyourplanisaslip twixtthecupandthelip. Wethoughttheownerwouldagreetosellusthehousebutwewerepippedat thepostbyamoregenerousofferfromsomeoneelse. 附註：1. twixt或betwixt是"between"的舊式拼法。

2.在賽馬中，一匹馬快到終點時突然被另一匹馬超越稱之為 "pipped"；現今，無論在任何比賽、競爭或選舉中，只要在最後關頭或最後一刻被擊敗或被超越時就可使用這成語來形容，如例句所言，眼看要成交時，有人卻出更高的價錢把房子買走了。

  左右為難；進退兩難 onthehorns ofadilemma Iwasonthe hornsofadilemmawhenIwasofferedanotherjobbecauseIstillhad/felta greatdealofloyaltytomyboss.   左右逢源 butterboth sidesofone'sbread She'sbuttering bothsidesofherbread--sheworksforourcompanyduringthedayandhas anotherjobduringtheevening.   四面八方 onevery hand;onallhands;inalldirections Oneveryhand wasacharmingviewofrockybuttressesandwoodedheights.   打鐵趁熱 strikewhile theironishot;makehay whilethesunshines Johnmayaswell makehaywhilethesunshines,becauseheisyoungandhealthyandableto earnalotofmoney.   半途而廢 fallbythe wayside;witheronthevine How'sthatbook youwereworkingon? --Oh,I'mafraidit'sfallenbythewayside. Mywifewhowas tryingtoloseweighthadalreadywitheredonthevinebyeatingcream cakes.   失之東隅，收之桑榆 (即得失相當；損益相抵) Whatyoulose ontheswingsyougainontheroundabouts(常縮寫為"swingsandroundabouts") It'sabitofa swings-and-roundaboutssituation.(aswings-and-roundabouts situation：得失相當的情況)   未雨綢繆；以備不時之需 forarainy day You'dbetter savesomemoneyforarainyday.   出人頭地；功成名就 make one's/itsmark Afterhaving beenworkingforthecompanyformorethan15years,hefinallymadehis mark.   以升容斗；以小容大；做明知辦不到的事 putaquart intoapintpot(通常用於否定句) Manynewpeople havemovedintothissmalltownandtheyhavenowheretolive.Youcan'tput aquartintoapintpot.   以怨報德；恩將仇報 bitethehand thatfeedsone Themanhad workedforthecompanyforseveralyears.Whenhewascaughtstealing,his employerfeltthathehadbittenthehandthatfedhim.   以眼還眼，以牙還牙 aneyeforan eye(andatoothforatooth) Ididn'tbelieve inthedeathpenalty--aneyeforaneye--buthowelsecanwestopthis sortofthing?   以其人之道還治其人之身 paysomeone backintheirowncoin II decidedtopayherbackinherowncoinandrefusetohelpher.   生死存亡；成敗攸關 sinkorswim Hehasrefused togiveusanymorehelp,andhasleftustosinkorswimbyourown efforts.(他拒絕再給我們任何幫助，讓我們自找生路) Hewasleftbyhisfamilytosinkorswimbyhimself.(他遭家人遺棄，生死存亡一切得靠自己)   以毒攻毒；以賊捉賊 setathief tocatchathief Thegovernment setathieftocatchathief,hiringastockbrokerconvictedoffraudulent practicestoentrapthestockbrokertheywereinvestigatingforfraud. (政府以毒攻毒，雇用了一名曾因詐欺被判刑的股票經紀人來誘使那位涉嫌詐欺、正受到調查的股票經紀人自投羅網)   兄弟鬩牆；同室操戈；自相殘殺 creationsof Cadmus Icannever imaginethatthesonsanddaughterswouldattackoneanotherlikethe creationsofCadmusinthepresenceoftheirdyingfather. (我無法想像這些兒女們竟在他們那垂死的父親面前互相攻擊，兄弟鬩牆) 六畫 行將就木；奄奄一息；生命垂危 atdeath's door Wewerevery surprisedtohearthatourfavoriteteacherwasatdeath'sdoor.   老調重彈 harponone(or thesame)string I'vealready toldyoumanytimesthatIhavenomoneytolendyou.Iwishyou'dstop harpingonthesamestring.   多此一舉；徒勞無益 carrycoals toNewcastle Toofferhim moneyistocarrycoalstoNewcastle,forheisverywealthy. (給他錢就多此一舉了，因為他非常富有)   妄自尊大；自以為了不起 toobigfor one'sboots Johnistoobig forhisboots;that'shistrouble.   守口如瓶 keepa quiet/stilltongue(inone'shead) You'llkeepa quiettongueinyourhead,willyou?   充耳不聞 stopone's ears;turnadeafear Hestoppedhis earstobadnews. Thepresidentalwaysturnsadeafeartopeople'scomplaints.   光陰似箭；歲月易逝 timeflies Scientistsprove timeflieswhenyou'rebusy.   先發制人；比...搶先一步 stealamarch on(someone) Thecompany planstostealamarchonitscompetitorsbyofferingthesamecomputerata lowerprice.   夸夸其談；信口開河；信口雌黃 shootoff one'smouth Itseemslike everyseniorofficialintheadministrationisfreetoshootoffhismouth onanysubjectsatanytime.   血濃於水 bloodis thickerthanwater Hegavehis brotheragoodjobbecausebloodisthickerthanwater.   江山易改，本性難移 aleopard doesn't/can'tchangeitsspots;aleopardneverchangesitsspots Idoubtvery muchthatmarriagewillchangeEdwardforthebetter.Aleoparddoesn't changeitsspots.(我非常懷疑婚姻會使愛德華變好。

江山易改，本性難移) It'snotsurprisingthathewassentencedtofiveyearsinprisonagain, becausealeopardneverchangesitsspots.(他再度被判入獄五年並不令人驚訝，因為江山易改，本性難移)   百聞不如一見；眼見為憑 toseeisto believe;seeingisbelieving Toseeisto believe?No,eyescanbeeasilydeceived.   全力以赴 doone's levelbest;goallout;gogreatguns;pulloutallthestops;putone's bestfootforward Ididmylevel besttohelphim. Iwillgogreatgunsfortheteam. Don'tworrytoomuchabouttheTOEFLiBTtest.Justputyourbestfoot forwardanddowhatyoucan!   早起的鳥兒有蟲吃 theearly birdcatchestheworm Remember,it's theearlybirdcatchestheworm-youshouldtrytogettoitearly.   有志者事竟成 wherethere isawillthereisaway Inthewriting test,Johnconcludedhisessaybywriting"wherethereisawillthereisa way."   有其父必有其子 like father/mother,likeson/daughter Agoodexample of"likefather,likeson"isGeorgeBushandGeorgeW.Bush.   安如磐石；十分平穩 (as)steady asarock Asheaimedthe gun,hishandwasassteadyasarock.   安然無恙 safeand sound Allhissonsreturnedsafeandsoundfrom thewar. 附註："safe andsound"的發音並不是一個字一個字唸，而是將and中的"d"不發音，並將"an"與其前面的子音(在此為safe中的 "f")連音，所以實際的讀音是"sa-fan-sound"。

英文有不少類似"safeandsound" 這種使用兩個詞性相同的字、中間用and連接起來的固定搭配，它們有些有連字號，有些沒有，但不管有無連字號，它們實際的讀音大多如上述，如 "cloak-and-dagger"、"hard-and-fast"、"insandouts"、"upand about"、"spick-and-span"等等；當然啦，如果"and" 前面那個字的字尾是母音，那麼就不會有這種連音的情況發生。

讀者若能把握這原則，並勤加練習，對於聽力的提升也會有所助益的。

這種固定搭配在英文中叫做 "binomial"。

  名副其實 worth(or worthyof)thename Nopoliceman worththenameshouldeverletacriminalescapesoeasily.   如坐針氈；坐立不安；焦躁不安；如熱鍋上的螞蟻 likeacaton hotbricks(英)/likeacatonahottinroof(美);onpinsandneedles Marianwaslike acatonhotbricksbeforeherweddingceremony.(婚禮前瑪麗安焦躁不安，像熱鍋上的螞蟻) What'sthematterwithKelly?She'slikeacatonahottinroofthis morning.(凱莉怎麼啦？她今天早上坐立難安，像熱鍋上的螞蟻)   如意算盤；痴心妄想；一廂情願 wishful thinking Theirhopesofa peacesettlementarenothingmorethanwishfulthinking.   因小失大 spoilthe shipforaha'portho'tar I'mgoingtobuysomenewpaintbrushes-- alltheoldoneshavegonestiff.I'vepaidalotforthepaintandIdon't wanttospoiltheshipforaha'portho'tar. 附註：這句成語中，ha'porth =halfpennyworth，o'tar=oftar。

它原來是寫成"spoilthesheepforaha'porthof tar"，即「不願花半便士買焦油醫治羊傷而導致羊死亡」。

有些地方將sheep的音發成ship。

  自吹自擂；自我吹噓 blowone's owntrumpet/horn She'sverygood atblowing herowntrumpet.   自取滅亡；自掘墳墓；咎由自取；自食其果 signone's owndeathwarrant;digone'sowngrave;stewinone'sownjuice You'rejust diggingyourowngraveifyougoonsmokingsoheavily.   自作自受； 自食其果；自尋死路；作法自斃 cut/slit one's(own)throat;havemadeone'sbedandmust(orhaveto)lie in/onit;stewinone'sownjuice You'vemadeyour bedandyoumustlieonit. IwouldjustbecuttingmyownthroatifIstoppedworknow.   自討苦吃；自找麻煩 makearod forone'sownback I'vejustmadea rodformyownbackbyworkingforthatcompany,becausetheyalwaysexpect onetoworkmanyhourswithoutpay.   自高自大；自命不凡 be/get/rise aboveoneself Don'tbegetting faraboveyourself;youarenomorethanasecretary.   自斷後路；破釜沈舟 burnone's boats/bridges(behindone) Nowwe'veburned ourbridgesbehindusandwehavenooptionbuttogoforwardwiththe project.   劣幣驅逐良幣 badmoney drivesoutgood "Badmoney drivesoutgood"isaproverbandalsoaneconomicprinciple.   有失才有得；有得必有失 one/youcan't (orcannot)makeanomelet(oromelette)withoutbreakingeggs Twentyjobswill havetobecutifthecompany'sgoingtobemademoreefficient.Butyou can'tmakeanomelettewithoutbreakingeggs.(如果這家公司要更有效率，那麼它必須裁員20 人。

但有失才有得)   光說不練；只會坐而言，不會起而行 beallmouth andtrousers;beallmouthandnotrousers;beallmouth(語氣較弱) Theytalkedall nightabouthowtosolvetheproblems,butwouldn'tdoanythingtohelp. Theirtroublewasthattheywereallmouthandtrousers. (他們整晚都在談論該如何解決這些問題，但就是不肯動手幫忙。

他們的毛病就是光說不練) Wedidnotvoteforhimbecausehewasknowntobeallmouthandno trousers.(我們沒有投票給他，因為大家都知道他只會坐而言，不會起而行)   死不瞑目 turn/roll (over)inone'sgrave If yourpoorfatherheardyousaythat,he'dturnoverinhisgrave. (如果你可憐的父親聽到你那樣說，他會死不瞑目的) She'dturninhergraveifsheknewwhathewasspendinghisinheritanceon.(如果她知道他將他繼承的遺產花在什麼地方，她會死不瞑目的)   死人不會告密 deadmentell notales Theclubmembers likedtoholdtheirsecretmeetingsinagraveyard,sincedeadmentellno tales.(會社成員喜歡在墓地舉行秘密會議，因為死人不會告密) Boss:Allenisgoingtotellthepolicethatwerobbedthebank.Howcanwe stophim?(角頭老大：艾倫將要告訴賊頭我們搶銀行。

我們要怎樣才能制止他?)Gangster:Deadmentellnotales. (黑幫份子：死人不會告密) 附註：這成語是小說、電影中罪犯殺人滅口時的常用語。

  各有所好 oneman's meatisanotherman'spoison John:Idon't understandwhyBendoesn'tliketoreadsciencefiction.It'sthemost interestingthingtoread.Mary:Oneman'smeatisanotherman'spoison.(約翰：我不懂班為何不喜歡看科幻小說。

那是最有趣的讀物。

瑪麗：人各有所好) Idon'twanttodoherjob,butsheseemstoloveitverymuch.Ohwell,one man'smeatisanotherman'spoison.(我不想做她的工作，但她似乎非常喜歡。

啊，人真是各有所好)   老年吃嫩草 robthe cradle Man,David's girlfriendisonly14,he'srobbingthecradle!(老兄，大衛的女友只有14歲，他老牛吃嫩草!) You'rekindofrobbingthecradle,man.(老兄，你有點老牛吃嫩草) 附註：至於吃嫩草的「老牛」則叫做cradlerobber。

  自欺欺人；鴕鳥心態 bury/hide one'sheadinthesand Stopburying yourheadinthesand.Lookatthestatisticsonsmokingandcancer. (別再自欺欺人了。

看看這些有關抽菸與癌症的統計數字吧) Parentssaidbullyingwasbeingignored,andaccusedtheheadmasterof buryinghisheadinthesand.(家長表示，霸凌問題遭到漠視，並譴責校長採取鴕鳥心態)   自言自語 thinkout loud Marythinksout loudoccasionally. (瑪麗偶爾會自言自語) Bensonjuststoodthereandthoughtoutloudwhenheheardthebadnews.(班森聽到這壞消息後就站在那裡自言自語)   血流如注 bleedlikea stuckpig Paulgothit hardwiththatbaseball!Hewasbleedinglikeastuckpig!(保羅被那個棒球狠狠擊中! 他血流如注!) IbledlikeastuckpigwhenIcutmyself.(我割傷自己後血流如注)   有過之而無不及 inspades Hecomplained thatAllenhadstolensomeofhisideas,butRandydidn'tmentionthathe haddonethesameinspades.(他抱怨艾倫竊取了他的一些構想，但蘭迪並未提及他也竊取別人的構想，有過之而無不及) Alltheworkersmaythinktheoldbosswasbad-tempered,butthenewoneis thesame–inspades!(所有員工可能都認為舊老闆脾氣暴躁，但新老闆的脾氣也一樣，有過之而無不及!)   汗流浹背；揮汗如雨；滿身大汗；大汗淋漓 sweatlikea pig;sweatbullets Thatwasreally goodexercise.I'msweatinglikeapig!(那真是不錯的運動。

我已經汗流浹背了!) Kellywassonervousthatshewassweatinglikeapig.(凱莉緊張得大汗淋漓) Jerrywassweatingbulletsbythetimethepolicehadfinishedquestioning him.(到了警方完成對他的偵訊時，傑瑞已經揮汗如雨了)   如簧之舌；鼓舌如簧；能言善道 a silvertongue Ihopeyou've notallowedyourselftobepersuadedbyRachel'ssilvertongue.(我希望你沒被瑞秋的如簧之舌所說動) Jimmyhasaslivertongue.(吉米能言善道)   安分守己(自知身份或地位低而安分守己) knowone'splace Studentsshould knowtheirplaceandneverspeakrudelytotheirteachers. (學生理應自知分寸，絕不可對老師出言不遜) Mostwomenknewtheirplacethen,whichwastotakecareofthekidsand cookthemeals.(當時大多數婦女都安分守己，在家帶小孩煮飯) Iknowmyplace,soIwon'tspeakunlessspokento. (我知道自己地位比較低，所以除非有人跟我說話，否則我就不說話)   夷為平地 razesomething totheground Thecouncil decidedtorazetheoldcityhalltotheground.(市議會決定將舊市政廳夷為平地) Thisapartmentbuildingistoberazedtotheground.(這棟公寓大樓將被夷為平地) [BacktoTop] 七畫 赤手空拳 (one's)bare hands Ikilledthe tigerwithmybarehands.   作威作福；盛氣凌人；頤指氣使 lordit(over someone) Sinceshegot thehighestmarkinthefinalmathexam,shehaslordeditovertheother studentsinherclassasifshekneweverythingaboutmath.   防患未然 (在萌芽時就將其消滅，或一開始時就加以制止) nip (something)inthebud Therearea coupleofthingsbotheringmeverymuchthatIwanttonipinthebud.   身強力壯；非常健康 (as)fitasa fiddle/flea Hewasfitasa fiddlewhenhewasatlawcollege.   (尤指因缺乏社交技巧而) 局促不安；不自在的 illatease Heisalwaysill ateaseatparties.   忍氣吞聲 swallowone's pride Iwasforcedto swallowmyprideandapologizetomybossforhisfault.   每況愈下 godownhill; godowntheSwanee;gofrombadtoworse;ontheslide;onthewane I'mgoingtoleavethecountry.Sincethe presentgovernmentcameintopower,thewholesituationofpeople'slives hasbeengoingdowntheSwanee. 附註："Swanee" 是美國一條河流的名稱，因史蒂芬˙佛斯特(StephenFoster,1825-1864)1851年的民歌"OldFolksatHome" (家鄉老友--有人譯為「老鄉親」)而出名，歌詞開頭是"WaydownupontheSwaneeRiver"。

  坐失良機 misstheboat Shemissedthe boatwhenshesaidnotothatdeal.Itturnedouttobeworthmillions.   言出必行；言行一致；說到做到 suit/fitthe actiontotheword Hesuitedthe actiontothewordandmarriedherlastyear.   言多必失 thelesssaid thebetter Itisbestto saynothingatallwhenyouareinanunfamiliarenvironmentbecause"the lesssaidthebetter."   言歸於好 (尤指長期不和後) burythe hatchet;makeone'speace Johnandhis wifewhowenttocourtyesterdaytofightabouttheirmarriagehavedecided toburythehatchet.   否極泰來；苦盡甘來；雨過天晴 afterastorm comesacalm;afterthestormcomesacalm;thecalmafterastorm Don'tworry again,Tom,afterastormcomesacalm.Allbadthingsaregone,and everythingwillgetbetterandbetter. (湯姆，別再擔心了，否極泰來。

所有不好的事情都已過去，未來一切將會越來越好) John:Ican'tbelievehowpeacefultheofficeistoday,whenyesterday everyonewasthreateningtoquit.Jane:Afterastormcomesacalm. (約翰：我不敢相信今天辦公室會這麼平靜，昨天大家不是還揚言要辭職嗎!珍：雨過天晴)   拋磚引玉；吃小虧佔大便宜；以小魚釣大魚；用小本賺大錢 (throw)a sprattocatchamackerel/whale Thepolicyaims mainlytothrowasprattocatchamackerel.(這項政策旨在拋磚引玉) EveryweekIinvestonehundredNTdollarsonthelotterytickets.It'sa sprattocatchamackerelbecauseonedayIcouldwinonehundredmillion. (我每個禮拜都花一百元買樂透彩，這完全是一種小冒險求大利的行動，因為有一天我可能會中1億元)   投鼠忌器；自己有過勿道他人之短 people/those wholiveinglasshousesshouldnotthrowstones "Peoplewholive inglasshousesshouldnotthrowstones"isasaying,meaningpeoplewith faultsoftheirownshouldtakecarenottoattackthefaultsofothers. (Peoplewholiveinglasshousesshouldnotthrowstones 是句諺語，意為「自己有缺點就別揭人家短處」) MarysaysthatAmyisselfish,butMaryismoreselfishherself.Peoplewho liveinglasshousesshouldnotthrowstones. (瑪麗說艾美自私自利，但她自己更自私自利。

自己有同樣缺點的人最好不要說別人)   佛要金裝，人要衣裝 clothesmake theman Clothesmakethe man,dressedtothenines.(佛要金裝，人要衣裝，盛裝赴會) Somewomenhaveused"Clothesmakethewoman"tomeanthesamethingas "Clothesmaketheman"becauseoftheirbeliefthatthisisgenderequality. (一些女性使用"Clothesmakethewoman"來表示"Clothesmaketheman" 的意思，因為她們認為這是性別平等)   快刀斬亂麻；大刀闊斧 cutthe Gordianknot Itappearsthat evenPresidentBarackObama,aleaderuponwhomtheexpectationsofthe worldawait,hasbeenunabletocuttheGordianknot. (似乎就連歐巴馬這位全球寄予厚望的領導人也不能快刀斬亂麻) Thenewmanagerfoundthatnoneofthestafflikedhim,buthesooncutthe Gordianknotbydismissingthemall.(新上任的經理發現職員都不喜歡他，於是就快刀斬亂麻，把他們全部給辭退了)   忍俊不禁(忍不住笑出來) (have...)in stitches Hisjokeshadus institches.(他的笑話讓我們忍不住捧腹大笑) Shehadeveryoneinstitches.(她把每個人都逗得忍不住哈哈大笑)。

  見樹不見林 notseethe wood/forestforthetrees Somepeople oftencannotseethewoodforthetrees.(有些人經常見樹不見林) TheinformationpresentedinthistextbookissodisorganizedthatIcan't seethewoodforthetrees.(這本教科書所提供的資訊雜亂無章，致使我見樹不見林) Thepolitician'sopponentsclaimedthatshecouldn'tseetheforestforthe trees,becauseshespentsomuchtimetryingtosolveminorproblems.(這位政治人物的對手宣稱，她 見樹不見林，因為她花太多時間在解決不重要的問題上) 附註：not seethewoodforthetrees的前面通常用can,could或beable，即 cannot/can't/couldn't/benotabletoseethewoodforthetrees。

  見錢眼開；財迷心竅 havean itchingpalm;haveitchingpalms Hehasan itchingpalmandwillcertainlyacceptthemoney.(他見錢眼開，肯定會把錢收下的) Don'ttrustthem.Theyhaveitchingpalmsandwillcertainlytrytocheat yououtofyourprizemoney.(別相信他們。

他們都財迷心竅，一定會想辦法騙走你的獎金) 附註：這成語原指從前人們相信手癢是進財之兆，它亦經常以當副詞用的介系詞片語 withanitchingpalm型態出現，如Myunclewasbornwithanitchingpalm. (我伯父天生貪財)。

  坐而言不如起而行；聽其言不如觀其行 actionsspeak louderthanwords Youkeepsaying thatyou'lldoyourbesttocleanthebedroom.Rememberthatactionsspeak louderthanwords.(你不斷說你會盡全力打掃臥房。

記得：坐而言不如起而行) Ofcoursethegovernmenthavemadeallsortsofpromisesbutasweallknow, actionsspeaklouderthanwords.(當然了，政府已經做了各種承諾，但眾所周知，聽其言不如觀其行)   杞人憂天；自尋煩惱 crossone's bridgesbeforeonecomestothem(orcrossabridgebeforeonecomestoit) Mary'salways crossingherbridgesbeforecomingtothem.Sheneedstolearntorelax. (瑪麗老是杞人憂天。

她必須學會放鬆自己) Sometimeswehavetofacethereality,butdon'tcrossabridgebeforeyou cometoit.(有時我們必須面對現實，但也別杞人憂天、自尋煩惱) 附註：這成語字面的意思是「未到橋頭先著急」，即「事未臨頭先發愁」。

  佔著茅坑不拉屎 adoginthe manger Don'tbesucha doginthemanger!Ifyoudon'twantthatBarbiedoll,giveittoAmy. (不要這樣佔著茅坑不拉屎!如果妳不玩那個芭比娃娃，就送給艾美吧) Cindyborrowedalotofbooksfromthelibrarybutshedidn'treadanyof them.Shewasreallyadoginthemanger.(辛蒂從圖書館借了很多書，但一本也沒有看過，真是佔著茅坑不拉屎) 附註：Manger 意為「馬槽」，這個成語源自《伊索寓言》(Aesop)，字面意思為「狗佔馬槽」，指狗本身不吃為馬準備的草料，卻又佔著馬槽不讓馬吃。

所以，adogin themanger是諷刺那些自私的人佔有某些東西，卻不使用，又不肯與人分享。

  投桃報李 Youscratch mybackandI'llscratchyours./Ifyouscratchmyback,I'llscratch yours./I'llscratchyourbackifyouscratchmine. I'llgrabthe boxonthetopshelfifyouwillcreepunderthetableandpickupmypen. Youscratchmyback,andI'llscratchyours. (如果你願意爬到桌子下面撿我的筆，我也願意把架子最上面的箱子拿下來。

你幫我，我也幫你，投桃報李) Idohavesomeinformationyoumightbeinterestedin,butwhatcanyou offermeinreturn?YouscratchmybackandI'llscratchyours. (我真的有一些你可能感興趣的資訊，但你要拿什麼來回報呢？投桃報李啊！)   別有用心；圖謀私利 haveanaxe togrind Hemayofferyou apostinhisfirm,buthehasanaxetogrind,hewantstogooutwithyour sister.(他可能讓你到他的公司任職，但他別有用心，他想跟你妹妹交往) IhaveknownPeterforalongtimeandcansaywithcertaintythatheisa fairmanwhohasnoaxetogrind.(我認識彼得已久，可以肯定地說，他是個沒有私心的正人君子)   束手無策；無計可施；黔驢技窮 atone's wits'end I'matmywits' endwiththisproblem.(我對這問題無計可施) Ihaveaproblemthathasmeatwits'end,andI'mhopingyoucanhelp. (我有個問題使我束手無策，我期望你能幫忙)   更上一層樓 takeitupa notch Thisprojectis alreadyquiteamazing,butlet'stakeitupanotchandmakeitperfect. (這項企畫案已經很棒了，但我們可以更上一層樓，使它更完美) Avawasenjoyinghercarefreesinglelifebutdecidedto"takeitupa notch"andhireapersontohelpwithanyheavyhousework. (艾娃喜歡無憂無慮的單身生活，但她決定「更上一層樓」，雇人來幫忙做粗重的家事)   投機取巧 wheeland deal(v.);wheelinganddealing(n.) Harveyspends histimewheelinganddealingonthestockexchange.(哈維把時間都用於從事投機的股票交易) Marklovestowheelanddealinthemoneymarkets.(馬克熱愛在貨幣市場做投機生意) Noonewillvoteforapoliticianwhowheelsanddealsandhasnothingelse. (沒有人會投票給除了胡作非為沒有其他本事的政客) It'sabookaboutallthewheelinganddealingthatgoesoninfinancial markets.(那是一本有關金融市場各種投機取巧伎倆的書) Scottgottiredofallthewheelinganddealingofbigbusinessandquithis jobresolutelyanddeterminedlytorunacoffeeshopinthecountry. (史考特厭倦了大財團的一切投機取巧行徑，因此毅然決然辭職，到鄉下開了一間咖啡館) 附註：這成語尤指商業或政治上的投機取巧、胡作非為。

  束之高閣 putin mothballs Thedirectors haveputtheplansforanewsubsidiaryinmothballs.(董事們已將成立一家新子公司的計畫束之高閣) Theproposalforanewlibrarywasputinmothballsbythemayor. (設立新圖書館的方案已被市長束之高閣) 八畫 金科玉律 goldenrule Ihaveone goldenrulethatanyonecanputintopractice:eatinglessmakesyou healthier.   空中樓閣 castlesin theair Yourplantorun forthepresidentismerelyacastleintheair.   知足常樂；足食猶如盛宴 enoughisas goodasafeast Theoldproverb "enoughisasgoodasafeast"doesn'tapplytoher.   長話短說；簡而言之 cut/makealongstoryshort Tocutalongstoryshort,thefactisthat youarenotwelcomehere.   來日方長 tomorrowisanotherday AfterhehadfailedtheGEPT,Itoldhim that"Don'tbetoosad.Tomorrowisanotherday."   卑躬屈膝；畢恭畢敬；點頭哈腰 bowandscrape Fromtheway she'sbowingandscrapinginfrontoftheboss,you'llknowwhatsortof personsheis.   事後諸葛；事後聰明 wiseaftertheevent Ifwehadwaitedanotherweekwecouldhave boughtthecarmorecheaply.Well,it'seasytobewiseaftertheevent.   直言不諱 callaspadeaspade;speakone's(own) mind Ilikethisguybecausehealwayscallsa spadeaspade. I'mfuriousaboutit,andIintendtospeakmymindtomyboss.   枉費心機(或白費心機)；徒勞無功；狂犬吠月 bay(at)themoon Thiscompanyhasspent alotofmoneyonadvertisingitsnewimprovedtypeofCDplayer.Butit's bayingatthemoon.WhowantsaCDplayerwhenDVDplayersarenowcheaper? 附註：bay 在此當動詞用，意為「(獵犬)不斷地吠叫」。

  孤注一擲 putallone'seggsin/intoonebasket; putone'sshirton When thecompanyshehadinvestedallhermoneyinwentbankrupt,shewishedshe hadn'tputallhereggsinonebasket. IthinkI'veaverygoodchanceofgettingthatjob,butIwouldn'tputmy shirtonit.   乳臭未乾 (still)wetbehindtheears Hemadealotofmistakes,backwhenhewas stillwetbehindtheears.   屈指可數；寥寥無幾 can(orbeableto)countonone's fingers He'stoostingy,sohecancounthisgood friendsonhisfingers.   迎頭趕上(或擺脫困境；挽回損失) makeupleeway Despitethefactthat Johnhaspoorperformancesinexams,theteacherhasdecidedtogivehima chancetomakeupleeway.   奄奄一息；半死不活 (to)withinaninchofone'slife Herhusbandbeathertowithinaninchof herlifeinadomesticviolence.(她丈夫對她家暴，把她打得奄奄一息/半死不活) 附註：這成語的基本型式為"withinaninchof"(=verynear,veryclose to：差一點，險些兒)，如："Wecamewithinaninchofdeath."(我們險些兒喪命)。

  明珠暗投；對牛彈琴 castpearlsbeforeswine ItriedtoexplainthebeautyofChinese characterstomyforeignfriendsbutitwasjustcastingpearlsbefore swine.   怏怏不樂(情緒或心情不佳) outofhumor(inabadtemper;moody) Heseemsoutofhumor.Hehasbeenshouting ateverybodyalldaylong.   昂首(或抬頭)挺胸；趾高氣揚 holdone'sheadhigh;withone'shead heldhigh Ihaveboastedinmy youthandheldmyheadhighandgoneonmywaycarelessofconsequences. (EvelynWaugh)--伊利文渥夫為英國作家，生前著有「一掬塵土」(A HandfulofDust)等作品。

Itisimportanttowalkwithyourheadheld hightokeepyourbodyshape.   近廟欺神；親暱生狎侮；過度親密，易生侮慢之心 familiaritybreedscontempt Themoviestardoesn't letanyonegettoknowhim,becauseheknowsthatfamiliaritybreeds contempt.(這位電影明星不讓任何人跟他混得太熟，因為他知道過度親密，易生侮慢之心) Youtwoaregoingtofinditdifficultliving andworkingtogether.Familiaritybreedscontempt,youknow. (你們兩人將會發現生活和工作都在一起是有困難的。

親暱生狎侮嗎!)   拖拖拉拉；磨磨蹭蹭 letthegrassgrowunderone'sfeet Thatmanisnever contenttoletthegrassgrowunderhisfeet.(那名男子做事不喜歡拖拖拉拉、浪費時間) Iwantthisworkdonequickly,sodon'tletthe grassgrowunderyourfeet!(我要你快點把工作做好，別磨磨蹭蹭!)   拆東牆補西牆；以債養債 robPetertopay Paul It'sveryunwiseto robPetertopayPaul.(拆東牆補西牆是非常不明智的) RobbingPetertopayPaulisquitecommon duringeconomicdownturn.(經濟衰退期間，以債養債的情況頗為普遍)   姑息養奸；護惡養奸 nurseaviperin one'sbosom The leadersofthatpoliticalpartywillsoonbeforcedtoadmitthattheyhave beennursingvipersintheirbosom─thatman'sideascouldlosethemalotof publicsupport.(那個政黨的領導人不久將不得不承認他們一直在姑息養奸--那個人的主意可能使他們失去許多民眾的支持) Yourbrotherisadrugaddict,andyouhavenursedaviperinyourbosom. (你哥哥是個毒蟲，而你卻一直護惡養奸)   兩人成伴，三人不歡 two'scompany, three'sacrowd Ifyour girlfriend'scomingwithus,I'llthinkofsomeexcusetocomehomeearly. Two'scompany,three'sacrowd.(如果你女友要跟我們一起去，我就找個藉口早點回家。

兩人成伴，三人不歡) 附註：這成語常略作two'scompany，大多用在情侶關係上，兩人世界多甜蜜，當有第三者或電燈泡(athirdwheel) 出現時，誰還會高興呢!   怕熱就別進廚房 ifyoucan't stand/taketheheat,getoutofthekitchen It'lltakealot ofweekendovertimetofinish,soifyoucan'tstandtheheat,getoutof thekitchen.(週末需花許多時間加班才能完成工作，所以怕熱就別進廚房) 附註：據稱，這一俗諺的始作俑者是美國已故總統杜魯門 (HarryS.Truman)。

他在總統任內的1949年告誡他的幕僚，別在乎外界對他們任命的批評。

當時他說："I'llstandby [you]butifyoucan'ttaketheheat,getoutofthekitchen."(我會挺 [你們]，但怕熱就別進廚房)。

不過，根據愛達荷州的SodaSpringsSun報引述杜魯門的話所做的報導，他早在還未當上總統的1942 年就已說過類似的話："Ifyoudon'tliketheheat,getoutofthekitchen."。

  法網恢恢 thelongarmof thelaw Thelongarmof thelawisgoingtotapyouontheshouldersomeday,George. (喬治，總有一天你會受到法律制裁) Thelongarmofthelawfinallycaughtupwiththedrugbaron.(法網恢恢，那位毒梟終於落網)   易如反掌 (as)easyas pie;(as)easy/simpleasfallingoffalog Myphysicsexam wasaseasyaspie. (我的物理考試易如反掌) Annie'sjobisaseasyasfallingoffalog.(安妮的工作真是易如反掌) 附註：英文中還有兩個形義相近的成語亦很常用，那就是 (as)easyas1-2-3和(as)easyasA,B,C。

  狗急跳牆；忍耐總有限度 evenawormwill turn You'dbetter stopmaltreatingNina.She'samild-manneredwoman,butevenawormwill turn.(你最好停止虐待妮娜。

她是個溫文爾雅的女性，但忍耐總有限度) Evenawormwillturn;youhadbettergiveherawayout. (人急造反，狗急跳牆；你最好給她一條出路－別逼人太甚)   明褒暗貶 damn somebody/somethingwithfaintpraise Mrs.Wangis veryproudofherdaughter'sachievements,butdamnsherson'swithfaint praise.(王太太對她女兒的成就深感驕傲，但對她兒子的成就明褒暗貶) AmydamnedPeterwithfaintpraise,callinghimoneofthebestimitatorsin theworld.(艾美對彼得明褒暗貶，稱他是世上最優秀的模仿者之一)   味如嚼蠟；枯燥乏味 (as)dryasdust Thebreadisas dryasdust.(這麵包味如嚼蠟) Thosebooksareallasdryasdust.(那些書全都枯燥乏味)   枕邊細語 pillowtalk Ilovehaving pillowtalkbecausewecansayanything.(我喜歡枕邊細語，因為我們可以無所不談) Shetiptoedoutofthebedroomafterthepillowtalkwasover. (枕邊細語結束後，她躡手躡腳地走出臥室)   事過境遷；時移物換 Alotofwater hasflowed/passed/goneunderthebridge;waterunderthebridge Ishould probablyhaveaskedformoremoneywhenIwasofferedthejob,buthey, that'swaterunderthebridgenow.(在我獲得這份工作的時候，或許我應該要求更高的薪資，但喂，那已事過境遷) Alotofwaterhadflowed/passed/goneunderthebridgesincewelastvisited Pescadores,andmanyoldbuildingsnownolongerexisted. (自從我們上次到澎湖遊覽之後，時移物換，許多舊建築物已不復存在) 附註：這成語有許多變化型式，包括將 alotof換成plentyof，動詞可以使用flow,pass或go，以及使用比較簡潔的形式"waterunderthe bridge"；再者，這成語後面往往接since子句。

  兩害相權取其輕 thelesserof twoevils Ididn'tlike eithercandidate,soIvotedforthelesseroftwoevils. (兩個候選人我都不喜歡，所以我把票投給比較不爛的那個，兩害相權取其輕嘛！) GiventheoptionsofgoingoutwithsomeoneIdon'tlikeandstayinghome andwatchingaboringtelevisionprogram,Ichosethelesserofthetwo evilsandwatchedtelevision. (若要在跟我不喜歡的人外出以及留在家裡看無聊的電視節目之間作一抉擇，兩害相權取其輕，我選擇留在家裡看電視) 九畫 赴湯蹈火 gothroughfireandwater Iwillgothroughfireandwatertohelpmy relativesandfriends.   風平浪靜；水平如鏡 (as)calmasamillpond;likeamillpond TheDeadSeaisnormallyascalmasa millpond./TheDeadSeaisnormallylikeamillpond.   既往不咎(過去的事就讓它過去吧；盡棄前嫌) letbygonesbebygones Despitethefactthatherfathertreatsher verybadly,shehasdecidedtoletbygonesbebygonesandtakecareofhim whenheistooold.(儘管她父親對她很不好，但她已決定過去的事就讓它過去，在他垂垂老矣時照顧他) Fionaheldagrudgeagainstherteacherforalongtime,butshefinally decidedtoletbygonesbebygones.(費歐娜對她老師懷恨已久，但她最後決定盡棄前嫌)   怒氣衝天；大發雷霆 goupintheair(參見「大發雷霆」--doone's nut) MygirlfriendwentupintheairbecauseI hadadatewithanothergirl.   美中不足 a/theflyintheointment I'vebeenofferedawonderfuljob,butthe onlyflyintheointmentisthatthepayisnottoogood.   洗心革面；改過自新；重新做人 turnoveranewleaf I'vedecidedtoturnoveranewleafand findagoodjob.   省吃儉用 pinchandscrape Ihavetopinchandscrapeinordertosave enoughmoneytovisitmyparentsinJapannextyear.   信口開河；胡說八道 talkthroughone'shat Hesaysheknowsgeneticsverywell,but he'stalkingthroughhishat!   英雄所見略同 greatmindsthinkalike A:"Iwasjustthinkingtocallyou,then thephoneranganditwasyoucallingme." B:"Greatmindsthinkalike." A:"ThissummerI'vedecidedtotakescubadivinglessons." B:"Really?Metoo.Ihavealreadypaidforthecourse." A:"Greatmindsthinkalike."   首屈一指；獨占鼇頭；出類拔萃 bear(orcarryoff)thepalm Studentsofthisuniversitybearthepalmin theinternationallandscapedesigningcontest.   神色自若；泰然自若；不動聲色 notturnahair Whensomeonewefearpassesnear,itmakes ourhairstandonend,nomatterhowmuchwetrynottoturnahair.   恨之入骨 hatelikepoison Theyhateeachotherlikepoison. Theteacherwashatedlikepoisonbyallhisstudents.   飛黃騰達 makeitbig;flyhigh "Believeme!Iamgoingtomakeitbig myselfoneday." Hebeganflyinghighwhenhegotmarriedtohiswealthywife.   指名道姓(說出做壞事者或違法者的姓名) namenames Sheswearsshewillnevernamenames,even ifshewereofferedareward.   胡說八道 stuffandnonsense! Stuffandnonsense!Ineversaidthatsort ofthing.   怒目而視 lookdaggersat Isuddenlynoticedmywifelookingdaggers atmeandthoughtI'dbettershutup.   屏息以待(或屏住呼吸) holdone'sbreath Iheldmybreathandwaitedtoseeifmy namehadbeencalledforaninterviewwiththemoviecompany. Themoviewassohorriblethateverybodyheldhisbreath.   厚此薄彼 makefishofoneandfleshofanother Don'tmakefishofoneandfleshofanother intreatingyourchildren.   咬牙切齒 gnashone'steeth Themangnashedhisteethwhenhesawhis wifegoingonadatewithanotherman.   咬緊牙關 gritone'steeth Onehastogritone'steethduringdifficult times.   秘而不宣；守口如瓶 keepone's(own)counsel;play/keep/hold one'scardsclosetoone's/thechest(參見「守口如瓶」-- keepaquiet/stilltongue) he'sknowntokeephiscounselandnot prematurelyrevealhispositiononsomesensitiveissues. Withreferencetothereasonsforhisunexpectedpromotion,healwaysplays hiscardsclosetohischest.   挑三揀四；挑挑揀揀 pickandchoose(注意：pick和choose 的順序不可對調) Therearejusttoomanynewhousesinthe cityforustopickandchoose.   挑燈夜戰；開夜車 burnthe midnightoil Thesemesterisalmostoverandwe'reall burningthemidnightoilbeforeexams.   為所欲為 getawaywith(blue)murder Somewell-placedpeopleinTaiwancanindeed getawaywithbluemurder!   活到老學到老 liveandlearn "Liveandlearn"isanidiommeaningit's nevertoolatetolearn.(Liveandlearn是句成語，意為「活到老學到老」) Ihadnoideathatshewasasoldasthat.Well,you/weliveandlearn. (我沒想到她年紀這麼大了。

真是活到老學到老)   若要人不知，除非己莫為 murderwillout Your extramaritalaffairscan'tbekeptsecretforever,becausemurderwillout. (你的婚外情不可能永遠保密，因為若要人不知，除非己莫為) ThePresidentthoughtnoonewouldeverdiscoverhiscrime,butmurderwill out.(總統以為沒有人會發現他的罪行，但若要人不知，除非己莫為)   垂頭喪氣；夾著尾巴 withone'stail betweenone'slegs Heleft themeetingwithhistailbetweenhislegsafterhewascriticizedbythe president.(他遭到董事長斥責後垂頭喪氣地離席) Thesalesmanwasforcedtoleavetheoffice withhistailbetweenhislegsafterheadmittedtellingalieabouthis salesfigures.(那位銷售員在承認謊報銷售數據後被迫夾著尾巴離職)   要某人好看；叫某人吃不了(或吃不完)兜著走；給某人顏色瞧瞧 (will)have someone'sgutsforgarters IfIcatch yousmokingagainI'llhaveyourgutsforgarters.(如果我再抓到你抽煙，我會叫你吃不完兜著走) ThestudentshadtofinishtheirEnglishassignmentbeforelunchtimeorelse theteacherwouldhavetheirgutsforgarters. (學生必須在午飯前完成他們的英文作業，否則老師就會給他們顏色瞧瞧)   風燭殘年；行將就木 have onefootinthegrave Iwasso sick,IfeltasifIhadonefootinthegrave.(我病得這麼重，我覺得好像行將就木) Mygrandpais98yearsoldand hasonefootinthegrave.(我祖父98  歲了，已經風燭殘年) 附註：這成語字面的意思為一腳已踏進墳墓(或棺材)，即離死不遠了。

  風水輪流轉 everydoghas its/hisday Don't worry,you'llgetchosenforthevolleyballteam.Everydoghasitsday. (別擔心，你會獲選加入排球隊。

風水輪流轉) Youmaybecomefamoussomeday.Everydoghashisday.(有朝一日你可能會出名。

風水輪流轉)   急不可待 champ/chompat thebit Thekids werechampingatthebittogetintotheswimmingpool. (孩子們急不可待地要進入泳池) Harrywaschompingatthebit,eagertoleave.(哈利急不可待，急切地要離開)   前途無量 goplaces Thefirst timewewatchedJeremyLinplaybasketballonTV,weknewhewouldgo places.(我們第一次在電視上看林書豪打籃球，就知道他前途無量) MelissaissuchagiftedmusicianthatIalwaysbelieveshe'sgoingplaces. (馬莉莎是位極有天賦的音樂家，我一直相信她前途無量)   風雨無阻 (come)rainor shine Don't worry.I'llbetherecomerainorshine.(別擔心。

我會到那裡，風雨無阻) Ijogeverymorning,rainorshine.(我每天早晨慢跑，風雨無阻)   前不著村，後不著店 (out)inthe middleofnowhere Wespenta wonderfulyearlivingonafarminthemiddleofnowhere. (我們在一處前不著村，後不著店的農場過了一年美好的時光) I'llneedamaptofindthatpub-it'soutinthemiddleofnowhere, apparently.(我需要一份地圖來尋找那家夜店－顯然地，它地處偏僻，前不著村，後不著店) Wefoundaniceplacetoeat,butit'soutinthemiddleofnowhere. (我們發現一處用餐的好地方，但它前不著村，後不著店)   活蹦亂跳 aliveand well/kicking Mygrandfather is85yearsoldbutheisstillaliveandwell.(我爺爺現在85歲，但依然活蹦亂跳) Johnwasfoundaliveandkickingafterfivedays. (五天後約翰被人找到時還活蹦亂跳的)   背水一戰；負隅頑抗 haveone'sback against/tothewall(亦寫成withone'sbackagainst/tothewall或one'sbackis against/tothewall) Withrising labourcosts,industryhasitsbackagainstthewall.(隨著勞動成本日益升高，企業不得不背水一戰) Whenwehadourbackstothewallduringthebattle,everyonehadtofight together.(當我們在該戰役中不得不背水一戰時，所有人都必須一起奮戰)   相形見絀；黯然失色 put/throw someone/somethingin/intotheshade Peter'ssudden successandfamethrewallofusintotheshade.(彼得一舉功成名就使我們都相形見絀了) IthoughtI'ddonequitewell,butAllen'sexamresultsputmineinthe shade.(我認為我已考得很好，但艾倫的成績讓我的成績黯然失色)   首當其衝 bear/takethe bruntof Theoldestparts ofthecapitalborethebruntofthemissileattacks.(首都舊城區在飛彈攻擊中首當其衝/ 首都舊城區在飛彈攻擊中災情最為慘重) Itwasthetownthattookthebruntoftherecentflooding.(該鎮在最近的澇災中首當其衝/ 該鎮在最近的澇災中災情最為慘重) 附註：Thebrunt意為「受害最嚴重的部分」。

[BacktoTop] 十畫 旁敲側擊；拐彎抹角 beatabout/aroundthebush Whyshouldyoubeataroundthebushwhen askingforhigherwages?Youdeservemoremoney.   茶杯裡的風暴；茶壺裡的風暴；小題大作；大驚小怪 astorminateacup;atempestina teapot AlthoughMr.andMrs.Wanghadanargument lastnight,Itwasjustastorminateacup.   害群之馬(團體中的敗類) a/thebad/rottenapple;blacksheep(如果是 "theblacksheepofthefamily"，則意為「家庭中的不肖子」) Moststudentsintheclassstudyhardbut thereareafewrotten/badapples.(班上大多數學生都很用功，但有少數害群之馬) TherearequiteafewblacksheepintheLegislativeYuan.(立法院中有不少敗類)   酒肉朋友 afair-weatherfriend Icannot believethatJohnwasafair-weatherfriendofmine,becausehehaspromised tohelpmewhenevernecessary.   借酒澆愁 drownone'ssorrows IfIfailmyexaminations,I'llgoanddrown mysorrows.   骨瘦如柴(瘦得皮包骨) (as)thinasarake/lath/stick Hehadbeenillforseveralmonths,and lookedasthinasastick.   家醜外揚 washone'sdirtylineninpublic Don'twashyourdirtylineninpublic. (家醜不可外揚)   海底撈針 look/search/huntforaneedleina haystack It'sprettymuchlikelookingforaneedle inahaystackbecausethesefishareextremelyhardtofind.   差之毫釐，失之千里 Amissisasgoodasamile I'vetriedtoreassurehimthatheonly failedbythreepercentbutthewayheseesit,amissisasgoodasamile.   留得青山在，不怕沒柴燒 while/wherethere'slifethere'shope Thecompanyhassurvivedprevious recessions;whilethere'slifethere'shope.   破口大罵 swearlikeatrooper "Ifyouaregoingtoswearlikeatrooper,I amgoingaway."   乘人之危；落井下石 hitaman(orsomeone)whenhe's down Neverhitamanwhenhe'sdown.Hemayget backupagain.   栩栩如生；維妙維肖 tothelife Shepaintedmetothelife. Theportraitisdrawntothelife.   唇槍舌劍 cutandthrust Therewasarealcutandthrustbetweenthem aboutthegame.   班門弄斧 teachone'sgrandmothertosuckeggs Heisalwaystellingthedirectorhowtorun thebusiness;that'sliketeachinghisgrandmothertosuckeggs.   殊途同歸；條條大路通羅馬 allroadsleadtoRome HelenwascriticizingthewayJillwas plantingtheflowers.Jillsaid,nevermind,Helen.AllroadsleadtoRome. AllroadsleadtoRome.Ibelievewewillfindawayout.   挨家挨戶 (from)doortodoor Hesellsdusters(from)doortodoor.   胸懷大志； 抱負遠大 hitchone'swagontoastar(or thestars) Allen'shitchinghiswagontoastar--he planstobeanentrepreneurbyagethirty.   臭氣熏天 stink/smelltohighheaven Thatfishmustbeacoupleofdaysold.It stinkstohighheaven.   泰然自若 (as)coolasacucumber DespitethemishapMargaretwascoolasa cucumber.   挺直腰桿；理直氣壯；昂首闊步 walktall Ifyoudepend toomuchuponothersyouwillneverbeabletowalktall. (如果你過份依賴別人，你就永遠挺不起腰桿來) Wewalktallandthevoiceismorepowerful.(我們理直氣壯，聲音更強有力)   害人害己；作繭自縛；作法自斃；自食惡果 behoistwith one'sownpetard Thecriminalwas hoistwithhisownpetardwhenhetriedtokillhiswife,becausehe accidentlydrankthepoisonthatheintendedtogivetoher. (這個罪犯想謀殺他的妻子，但害人反害已，因為他誤喝了他打算給妻子喝的毒藥) Themostenjoyablemomentinanyactionfilmoccurswhenthevillainis hoistwithhisownpetard.(動作片中最令人雀躍的時刻就是壞人自食惡果的時候)   酒好客自來(貨好無須做廣告) goodwineneeds nobush Ifitbetrue thatgoodwineneedsnobush,it'struethatagoodplayneedsnoepilogue. (好酒無須掛招牌，好戲不必收場白)   時光倒流：開倒車 turntheclock back;turnbacktheclock Youareafraid tofaceuptothefuture.Youaretryingtoturntheclockbacktoatime whenyouweremorecomfortable. (你不敢面對未來。

你試圖使時光倒流，回到你比較風光的時候) Youcanneverturntheclockback.(時光不能倒流)   俯首帖耳；卑躬屈膝 bow/bendthe knee Theauthorities haven'tbowedthekneetothekidnappers.(當局對綁匪一直未俯首帖耳) TheUnitedStateswillneverbendthekneetotheterrorists. (美國絕不會對恐怖份子卑躬屈膝)   袖手旁觀；按兵不動；無動於衷 sitonone's hands WhenIneeded helpfromHelen,shejustsatonherhands.(當我需要海倫的幫忙時，她只是袖手旁觀) Weneedthecooperationofeveryone.Youcan'tsitonyourhands! (我們需要每個人的合作。

你們不能袖手旁觀、坐視不管啊!)   馬耳東風；左耳進右耳出 goinoneear andouttheother EverythingIsay toyouseemstogoinoneearandouttheother.Whydon'tyoupay attention?(我對你說的每件事似乎都是馬耳東風。

你為什麼都心不在焉呢?) Thingsmywifesaystomejustgoinoneearandouttheother. (我太太對我說的事情都是左耳進右耳出)   逆來順受 grinandbearit Ireallydon't wanttospendthewholeweekendworkingbutIguessI'lljusthavetogrin andbearit.(我真的不想把整個週末都花在工作上，但也沒有什麼辦法，只好逆來順受) Badthingskeephappeningandyoujusthavetolearntogrinandbearit. (壞事不斷發生，你只得學著逆來順受) [BacktoTop] [回到英語成語園地]