美国习语天天记 American English Idioms American, 美国, Idioms, English

Sylvia_scj

     Smell a Rat

feel that something is wrong
       感到不对劲儿

A: How come the front door is open? Didn't you close it before we went shopping?
B: I'm sure I did. I can't understand it.
A: Frankly, I smell a rat.
B: Me, too. I'm convinced that something is definitely wrong here.
A: We'd better call the police.

Sylvia_scj

Go to the Dogs

become run-down

A: Have you seen their house lately? It's really gone to the dogs.
B: It's true that it has become run-down and in serious need of repair, but I'm sure that it can be fixed up to look like new.
A: I guess with a little carpentry work and some paint it could look pretty decent.

Sylvia_scj

       Fishy

Strange and suspicious

When the security guard saw a light in the store after closing hours, it seemed to him that there was something fishy going on. He called the central office and explained to his superior that he thought something strange and suspicious was occurring.

Sylvia_scj

嘿嘿，是的，不过字数少不费啥劲。。。

Sylvia_scj

    Take the Bull by the Horns

   Take decisive action in a difficult situation

Julie had always felt that she was missing out on a lot of fun because of her clumsiness on the dance floor. She had been putting off taking lessons, but she finally took the bull by the horns and went to a professional dance studio for help. She was tired of feeling left out and acted decisively to correct the situation.

Sylvia_scj

  Horse of a Different Color

   Quite a different matter

Eric likes to play jokes on his friends, but he makes sure that nobody is hurt by any of his pranks. A prank that hurts someone is a horse of a different color! Being playful is one thing, but hurting someone by one’s prank is quite a different matter.

Sylvia_scj

     Let the Cat Out of the Bag


                Inform beforehand

Bob was going to retire from teaching in June, and the foreign language department was planning on presenting him with some luggage at his retirement dinner. He wasn’t supposed to know about it, but someone let the cat out of the bag. At the dinner Bob acted surprised, even though someone had told him what he was getting before the official presentation.

Sylvia_scj

         For the Birds

    uninteresting and meaningles
    毫无意义的；没趣的；乏味的

They went to a poetry reading, but they got bored and restless. As far as they were concerned, it was for the birds! They left during an intermission because they found the reading totally uninteresting and meaningless.

Sylvia_scj

Straight from the Horse's Mouth

from a reliable source
根据可靠的来源


A: How did you find out that Jill was engaged?

B: I got the information from a very reliable source.

A: You mean Jill told you so herself?

B: That's right. I got it straight from the horse's mouth!

[ 本帖最后由 Sylvia_scj 于 2008-4-20 01:03 AM 编辑 ]

Sylvia_scj

Horse Around

play around
玩一玩

A: Did you hear about Dave's back injury?
B: No. How did he get hurt?
A: Well, after the coach left the gym he decided to stay and horse around on the parallel bars. He somehow lost his grip and fell on his back.
B: That's too bad, but he shouldn't have been aimlessly playing around on the equipment without proper supervision.

parallel bars 双杠

Sylvia_scj

Cat Got Your Tongue?

Can't talk?
不会说话了吗？

A: Come on! Connie! Tell us what you think about our little ride down the rapids yesterday.
B: Well, uh...
A: Wasn't it exciting?
B: I, uh...
A: What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?
B: If you must know, I'm keeping quiet because I was scared out of my wits!

Sylvia_scj

Shoot Off One's Mouth

express one's opinions loudly
   信口开河；夸夸其谈

Jim doesn't play tennis very much, but he's always shooting off his mouth about how good he is. Yet he's fooling nobody. Jim is somewhat of a braggart and everyone knows that he gives opinions without knowing all the facts and talks as if he knew everything about the game.

Sylvia_scj

Tongue-In-Cheek

       not serious
不是认真的，开玩笑的

A: Why were you teasing Sonia about her new hairdo? She really took offense at what you said.
B: I didn't mean to offend her. I was simply making a tongue-in-cheek remark when I said that it was too elaborate for a girl of her young, tender age.
A: Well, she thought you were serious. She had no idea that you were just saying that as a joke.
B: I'm really sorry. I suppose I owe her an apology.

take offence at
因...而生气, 见怪

Sylvia_scj

Shake a Leg

Hurry!
赶快！

A: Mary, you always take such a long time to put on your makeup. Come on, shake a leg!
B: I'll be finished in a minute. Be patient.
A: You've got to hurry or else we won't arrive on time to see the last show.

Sylvia_scj

Not Have a Leg to Stand On

to have no good defense for one's opinions or actions
没有好的证据支持某人的言行

Tom maintains that the firm owes him some back wages for having worked overtime.
However, he won't have a leg to stand on unless he can prove that he put in all those extra hours. He doesn't stand a chance of getting his money without a strong foundation of facts to support his position.

back wages: 拖欠的工资

Sylvia_scj

String Someone Along

lead someone on dishonestly
愚弄某人，欺骗某人

Liz had high hopes of marrying Dean. When he ran off with another woman, she realized that he was just stringing her along. She had felt very strongly about him and was really hurt to see that he was deceiving her and had no intentions of ever marrying her.

Sylvia_scj

They are English idioms. So I don't think all the American people would use them. Just like in China, young people would say "酷毙了”, but not all Chinese people would use this expression.

Sylvia_scj

谢谢支持，但是这几天不知怎么回事，论坛老是打不开，或者编辑好的内容发不上来，总是会浪费很多时间在等待和重新编辑上，所以我想过段时间等速度快些再继续添加新内容。

Sylvia_scj

发现现在的速度很正常啦。呵呵。
不辛苦，，，，

Sylvia_scj

Sell Someone Down the River

betray someone
背叛某人

A: I heard that poor Jud landed up in jail.
B: Yeah. His so-called girlfriend sold him down the river and claimed the reward on him.
A: I can't understand that. I thought she was devoted to him.
B: She couldn't have been very devoted to him if she betrayed him and informed the police about his hiding place.
A: That just goes to show you what people will do for money.