《英語詞匯背后的故事》筆記

1、英語詞匯背后的故事筆記AA-1兩個(gè)“第一”，表示“第一流的”、“頭等的”、“頂呱呱的”Hes an A-1 lawyer.Yesterday I was ill but today Im feeling A-1.a bakers dozen十三相傳英國古代買一打面包，面包師常給13個(gè)另外，a devils dozen, a printers dozen也表示“十三”Although we had ordered only twelve, the storekeeper gave us a bakers dozen.a blue streak一閃而過的東西，連珠炮似的講話指一個(gè)人話說的天花亂墜或

2、嘮叨不休，也可用talk off a donkeys (a dogs, a horses)hind leg把驢、狗或馬的后腿都講斷了；或用talk ones head off把某人的頭講斷，talk ones ears off說到煩死人，喋喋不休Once she starts talking, shes talk a blue streak. a bull in a china shop魯莽闖禍的人源于1816年英國到中國交涉貿(mào)易慘遭失敗She accidentally broke the coffee pot, she really is like a bull in a china sho

3、p.academy學(xué)院，研究院，學(xué)術(shù)協(xié)會(huì)Academus農(nóng)莊外的小樹林，后來柏拉圖講學(xué)的地方She was from the Royal Academy of Arts.皇家藝術(shù)學(xué)會(huì)according to Cocker正確可靠愛德華寇克(Edward Cocker,16311675)英國著名數(shù)學(xué)家。此短語意為：根據(jù)公認(rèn)的準(zhǔn)則、嚴(yán)格地、正確無誤地Its all right, according to Cocker.Achilles hell(The heel of Achilles)致命弱點(diǎn)阿基里斯之踵，典故出自荷馬史詩伊利亞德(Iliad)The enemys Achilles heel w

4、as his castle defenses.城堡防務(wù)Adams apple喉結(jié)亞當(dāng)(Adam)的蘋果Adams apple can be more clearly seen on men than womens throats.a feather in ones cap榮譽(yù)，值得驕傲的事在頭飾上插羽毛，以示夸耀，cap帽子It is no small feather in a mans cap if he is no worse than his friends.一個(gè)人如果不比朋友差，就是一件值得驕傲的事。a freedom of Pan逍遙自在潘(pan)是希臘神話中的一個(gè)牧羊神We fo

5、und a freedom of Pan in the great nature.after us the deluge身后之事，與我何關(guān)我們身后洪水泛濫，deluge n.洪水，泛濫Lets go for an outing. After us the deluge！快快活活玩玩吧Aladdins lamp阿拉丁神燈，能實(shí)現(xiàn)一切愿望的法寶Knowledge is the true Aladdins lamp to everyone.Althaeas brand風(fēng)云難測(cè)王后阿爾泰婭(Althaea)之子美爾利佳(Meleager)怒殺兩位舅舅。Meleager也指“行動(dòng)矯健的人”Althaea

6、s brand exists in the course of human life while mutability of weather the nature.天有不測(cè)風(fēng)云，人有旦夕禍福。Ambitious as Phaeton自命不凡，驕傲自大費(fèi)頓(Phaeton)是太陽神阿波羅與人間女子克里曼(Clymene)之子How can we trust a Paeton to do this?amuse娛樂，消遣，使發(fā)笑希臘神話中，掌管文藝、音樂、天文等的九位繆斯(Muses)女神，據(jù)說是記憶女神的女兒。She is amused at reading novels.an albatross

7、 round somebodys neck(The albatross about somebodys hang)引咎自責(zé)的警物出自英國詩人柯律芝（17721834）的老水手之歌，“把信天翁套在某人的脖子上”表示“提醒某人不要再犯錯(cuò)的警示”，有時(shí)也表示“把責(zé)任推到某人頭上”。The killer has an albatross round his neck for the rest of his life.這名兇手的下半輩子都難辭其咎an ass in a lions skin虎皮羊質(zhì)，外強(qiáng)中干，色厲內(nèi)荏出自伊索寓言兩則與驢有關(guān)的故事Everybody knows that he is an

8、 ass in a lions skin.Annie Oakley優(yōu)惠券，免費(fèi)入場(chǎng)券安妮奧克利(Annie Oakley)是美國著名神槍手菲比安妮奧克利摩西(Phoebe Annie Oakley Mozee,18601926)的藝名He gave me two annie oakleys to the concert.apple蘋果早先的歐洲人把所有的果實(shí)都稱為apple。pineapple（菠蘿）其實(shí)是the apple of pine;另外love apple指“番茄”。peach（桃子）是由Persian（波斯）傳入歐洲，即Persian apple。香蕉banana在阿拉伯語中是“手

9、指頭”，葡萄grape在法語中則是“一連串”An apple a day keeps the doctor away.apple of discord不和的種子，禍根希臘神話中引發(fā)“特洛伊戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)”(the Trojan War)的金蘋果He is an apple of discord wherever he appears.discord n.沖突apple pie order有條不紊，井然有序做事有條有理，制作蘋果餡餅(apple pie)時(shí)，都把蘋果片(apple slices)切得大小相當(dāng)The house was in apple pie order, ready for immedi

10、ate occupation.立即搬進(jìn)去住apple polishing(To polish the apple)送蘋果給老師的學(xué)生被稱為apple polisher，后來稱為送禮巴結(jié)、討好奉承的人也可說：to soft soap涂軟肥皂，討好巴結(jié)，to butter up涂上黃油，逢迎奉承Susan is the bosss pet because she always polishes the apple.polish n.&v.磨光，擦亮Ariadnes thread在困惑中得到指點(diǎn)阿里亞德妮的線，雅典王子賽修斯(Theseus)借此逃出迷宮We need an Ariadnes thr

11、ead to guide us through all these difficulties.thread n.線armed to the teeth武裝到牙齒，全副武裝They went into the examination room, armed to the teeth with pens, pencils, and rulers.as shy as Daphne羞羞答答愛神丘比特(Cupid)對(duì)太陽神阿波羅射了一只愛情神箭，卻對(duì)露水神黛芬妮(Daphne)射了一只拒絕愛情的鉛箭Would you please tell me the name of that girl who lo

12、oks as shy as Daphne?atmosphere空氣，大氣sphere是指球體，巖石圈(lithosphere)、水圈(hyrosphere)，在希臘語中atmos（蒸汽）加上sphereatom原子古希臘語中atomos代表“不可分”Attic salt典雅而意義深刻的妙語阿提卡(Attica)位于希臘半島東南部，此處產(chǎn)的鹽別具風(fēng)味。也可寫做Attic witMr.Marshalls writings were full of Attic wit.wit n.智慧，才智Bbank河岸，銀行bank源自拉丁語bancus，原指“平坦的東西”，平坦的木制長(zhǎng)凳叫bench，另外：bl

13、ood bank血庫，fishing bank漁場(chǎng) from bank to bank(礦工)從入坑到出坑(時(shí)間)bark at the moon(Bay the moon)枉費(fèi)心機(jī)“狂犬吠月”比喻徒勞無益I had rather be a dog, and bay the moon, than such a Roman.（莎士比亞戲劇尤里斯凱撒第四幕）We are baying at the moon.我們真是枉費(fèi)心機(jī)bark up the wrong tree看錯(cuò)目標(biāo)獵犬對(duì)著沒有獵物的樹亂叫，比喻“精力花在不該花的地方”、“找錯(cuò)地方”、“認(rèn)錯(cuò)人”、“看錯(cuò)目標(biāo)”等If he thinks h

14、e can fool me, he is barking up the wrong tree.Barmecide口惠而不實(shí)的人出自一千零一夜，吝嗇的巴格達(dá)王子巴梅塞(Barmecide)，巴梅塞宴會(huì)(Barmecides feast)表示“畫餅充饑的酒宴”、“虛假的殷勤”、“佯裝的好意”His boss is a Barmecide. She promised to raise his salary, but I think it was only a Barmecides feast.barnstorm各地巡回演出，四處游說過去的表演藝人在鄉(xiāng)村的谷倉進(jìn)行表演“大鬧谷倉” ，后比喻政客“四處游

15、說”be a Diana抱獨(dú)身主義的女子太陽神阿波羅的孿生妹妹月亮女神戴安娜(Diana)，是處女的保護(hù)神和狩獵女神。-Ive not seen her huaband although weve been colleagues for a long time.-Of course not!Dont you know she is a Diana?be a Jason負(fù)心漢，薄情郎希臘神話故事中，伊阿宋(Jason)奪得王位，卻忘恩負(fù)義拋棄美狄亞(Medea)公主Why can you fail in love with a Jason?bear a Bellerophon letter找死，

16、自尋死路源自希臘神話，貝洛方被陷害未成，a Bellerophon letter指“對(duì)送信人十分不利的信件”，引申為“自尋死路”Youre just bearing a Bellerophon letter if you do so.bell the cat采取冒險(xiǎn)行動(dòng)伊索寓言在貓的脖子上系鈴鐺(bell the cat)，比喻說得容易做來難(speaking is easier than doing)，后演變成“冒險(xiǎn)犯難”或“在危險(xiǎn)中挺身而出”bite on the bullet忍辱負(fù)重，忍氣吞聲戰(zhàn)場(chǎng)上受傷士兵咬住一顆子彈來減輕痛苦Bite on the bullet. Dont let t

17、hem think you are afraid.勇敢一點(diǎn)black黑色“物之相異如黑與白”(Things are as different as black and white.)，在古英語中，blaec指“黑”，blac指“白”，如：漂白bleach、蒼白的bleak、空白的blankblack dog沮喪歌德的浮士德中，魔鬼引誘浮士德時(shí)會(huì)化身為一只黑獅子犬“Shake the black dog from your back,” he told me.振作起來Black Friday黑色星期五比喻“倒霉的日子”，黑色星期一“Black Monday”也有此意。如果專指“耶穌受難日”寫作“

18、Good Friday”blackmail n.&v.敲詐，訛詐，勒索早期的蘇格蘭方言中，mail指“地租”或“租金”，今天在蘇格蘭語中“佃農(nóng)”仍然可稱為mailerSupposing he tried to blackmail you?black ox年紀(jì)衰老，噩運(yùn)當(dāng)頭 源自希臘羅馬神話，人們用黑色公牛(black ox)祭祀主宰冥王普魯托(Pluto)，后指“年老體衰”、“已近暮年”、“遭受不幸”The black ox has trampled on them. Two robbers killed all family members and ra away.trample v.踐踏，

19、蹂躪black sheep害群之馬，敗家子英國古代人們認(rèn)為養(yǎng)黑羊是一件倒霉的事She was the black sheep of the company.black swan鳳毛麟角黑天鵝稀有罕見，還可以表達(dá)為white crow白烏鴉He is a black swan, an honest lawyer!blow hot and cold拿不定主意出自伊索寓言：寒冷的旅行者一會(huì)兒吹吹(blow)熱(hot)湯，一會(huì)兒吹吹冰冷(cold)的手Mary blow hot and cold about her job; every day she changed her mind.瑪麗對(duì)于工作

20、的事情拿不定主意，她今天想這樣，明天又想那樣。blue law嚴(yán)格的法律清教徒法規(guī)bluestocking n.女學(xué)者，裝作有學(xué)問的女人18世紀(jì)，藍(lán)襪俱樂部(Bluestocking Club)bogus n.假幣&a.假的，偽造的1837年，美國西南部一個(gè)惡名昭彰的詐騙犯Bogueyser博蓋瑟bonanza n.帶來好運(yùn)之事，幸運(yùn)，富礦帶源自拉丁語bonus，意為“好的”(good)，后被西班牙水手改為bonanza。在美國西部發(fā)現(xiàn)了金礦，人們稱bonanza（好運(yùn)）bone to pick對(duì)某人不滿，與某人起爭(zhēng)端據(jù)說，上帝亞當(dāng)身上抽出一根肋骨變成夏娃，后婦女運(yùn)動(dòng)宣稱“要剔男人一根骨頭”(

21、to have a bone to pick with men)I have a bone to pick with you. Why didnt you return my money?Box and Cox輪流的，交替的19世紀(jì)英國劇作家莫頓在一部喜劇作品中塑造的兩個(gè)人物：Box和Cox，兩人同租一個(gè)屋子，一人白天上班，一人晚上上班They shared an apartment in a Box and Cox arrangement.boycott n.&vt.聯(lián)合抵制起源于人們聯(lián)合抵制為查理鮑伊科特(Charles Cunningham Boycott,18321897)工作brea

22、k the ice打破僵局，打破沉默，破冰She broke the ice by offering me a drink.buff n.淺黃色，愛好者，入迷者19世紀(jì)初期，義勇消防隊(duì)穿著buff（堅(jiān)韌柔軟的暗黃色皮革）上衣，人們稱之“fire buff”救火迷（不同于fire buff縱火狂）。另外：tennis buff網(wǎng)球迷、movie buff電影迷Many students are football buffs.buffalo把人弄得暈頭轉(zhuǎn)向，恐嚇野牛(buffalo)經(jīng)常把獵人弄得暈頭轉(zhuǎn)向bunk廢話，騙人的鬼話1820年，“I was talking to Buncombe邦克姆

23、郡.”于是就有了“說廢話”talking to Buncombe，后縮寫為bunk或bunkum，后衍生出debunk vt.揭穿David is talking bunk.burn ones boats破釜沉舟也可以說to burn ones bridgesbury the hatchet/tomahawk休戰(zhàn)，和解hatchet和tomahawk都是指“短柄小斧”印第安人雙方將小斧埋于地下以示和解，所以to dig up the hatchet/tomahawk就是“開戰(zhàn)”或“宣戰(zhàn)”After their long argument they have at last buried the

24、 hatchet.by the grapevine小道消息19世紀(jì)中期發(fā)明了有線電報(bào)，但電報(bào)線架設(shè)的想葡萄藤grapevineCcaesarean birth剖腹產(chǎn)凱撒時(shí)代Cesarean time剖腹產(chǎn)成為合法手術(shù)cesarean n.剖腹產(chǎn)的，凱撒的cain n.兇手，惡魔舊約圣經(jīng)創(chuàng)世紀(jì)：亞當(dāng)?shù)拈L(zhǎng)子該隱(Cain)因嫉恨殺死了弟弟亞伯(Abel)，所以與該隱有關(guān)的詞組都沒有好意思：pay the Cain交罰款，受處罰、what in Cain到底什么，究竟什么、raise Cain大吵大鬧，暴跳如雷What in Cain did you do yesterday?caffeine n.

25、咖啡因咖啡(coffee)源自埃塞俄比亞一個(gè)叫“咖法”(Kaffa)的地方Thursday, February 09, 2012candidate候選人，應(yīng)征者古羅馬時(shí)期，cadidatus原本指穿著白色衣服的人，而候選人為表現(xiàn)清白無私便穿白色寬袍。另外：candid a.公正的，率直的Bill was the strongest candidate for the job.canoe獨(dú)木舟來源于印第安詞匯，to paddle his own canoe表示“獨(dú)立謀生”Why dont you let the girl alone? Take my advice, and let her pa

26、ddle her own canoe.由她去吧cardigan羊毛衫，羊毛背心19世紀(jì)卡迪根(Cardigan)家族第七代伯爵贏得了巴拉克拉戰(zhàn)役，人們模仿他的穿著carry運(yùn)輸，傳送源自古法語carier（用大車運(yùn)送），詞組有：carry the election“選舉勝利”、carry on“繼續(xù)下去”、carry coals to Newcastle“多此一舉”（紐卡斯?fàn)柺怯饕漠a(chǎn)煤區(qū)），“把貓頭鷹送到雅典去”(carry owls to Athens)也是“多此一舉”，雅典盛產(chǎn)貓頭鷹The man who watered his flowers after a good rain i

27、s just carrying coals to Newcastle.cat貓?jiān)谟⒄Z中cat有著悲慘命運(yùn)如果你覺得擁擠不堪，沒有足夠的活動(dòng)空間，就可以說“我練過一只貓的地方都沒有”(I dont have enough room to swing a cat!)有一個(gè)古老的游戲讓袋子里的貓平靜下來to let the old cat die“平靜下來”、看貓往哪邊跳(to see which way the cat jumps)靜觀其變“放貓出袋”(to let the cat out of the bag)代表“泄露秘密”和“露出馬腳”Theres nothing for it but to

28、 wait and see how the cat jumps.眼前只有靜觀其變了catch-22(catch-22 situation)第二十二條軍規(guī)，進(jìn)退維谷，受騙者無法擺脫的圈套It was one of those catch-22 situations, youre damned if you do and youre damned if you dont.做也倒霉，不做也倒霉damned a.該死的，糟透的，可惡的cats paw(cats-paw)受別人利用的工具，爪牙伊索寓言猴子騙貓從火中取栗You are her cats paw, she wants you to win

29、the game for her.caucus干部會(huì)議，核心會(huì)議美國第二任總統(tǒng)約翰亞當(dāng)斯當(dāng)選前組織“考克斯俱樂部”(the Caucus Club)挑選各城市領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人cereal谷物古羅馬神話，宙斯的姐姐Ceres（克瑞斯）是谷物與收獲之神champion冠軍camp原指軍隊(duì)駐扎的曠野，“戰(zhàn)場(chǎng)”(campus)和“戰(zhàn)場(chǎng)上的斗士”(campion = fighter in the field)又衍生出“騎士”和“斗士”(champion)，在戰(zhàn)場(chǎng)上只有得勝才可生存change like Proteus千變?nèi)f化希臘神話中Proteus普魯特斯是海神Neptune納普頓的兒子，可隨時(shí)變化身份，不易被人

30、捉住Proteus n. 多變的人；普羅透斯（希臘海神）The protean changes of nature are very beautiful.chip碎片“老木頭上砍下來的碎片”(chip off the old block)用來形容“相貌酷似父母的兒子”或“性情像父母的兒子”（很少指女兒）chip in“捐助”、“湊錢”和“插嘴”，chip on ones shoulder“挑釁、傲慢的態(tài)度”Lets all chip in for a birthday present for Mary.cold shoulder冷淡，冷淡待人中古世紀(jì)英國常用一冰冷的羊肩肉來招待普通客人，后來c

31、old shoulder表示“冷冰冰的對(duì)待”，cold-shoulder可做動(dòng)詞用Its impolite and unkind to cold-shoulder others.Cordelias gift考狄利婭的禮物，女性溫柔的聲音出自莎士比亞四大悲劇之一的李爾王Creations of Cadmus自相殘殺，同室操戈卡德摩斯的創(chuàng)造物（卡德摩斯(Cadmus)是發(fā)明希臘字母的人），卡德摩斯將一個(gè)寶石戒指投向武士，致使武士相互爭(zhēng)奪殘殺crocodile tears鱷魚的眼淚，假慈悲They were only crying crocodile tears at the old mans fu

32、neral.cross the Rubicon下重大決心，采取斷然手段公元前49年，凱撒渡過Rubicon盧比孔河推翻龐培Let us cross the Rubicon to give them a warning.curious as Lots wife過分好奇圣經(jīng)創(chuàng)世紀(jì)羅德(Lot)的妻子因?yàn)楹闷婊仡^看時(shí)變成了鹽柱！Dont play the role of Lots wife.cut the Gordian knot快刀斬亂麻Gordian knot“戈?duì)柕现Y(jié)”，比喻“千頭萬緒，不知如何解決的問題”Lets cut the Gordian knot in doing with suc

33、h a complicated matter.DDamon and Pythias刎頸之交，生死之交戴蒙和皮西厄斯，公元前4世紀(jì)西西里的兩名生死之交dead死的英語中有很多有趣的詞匯：dead wood廢物、dead pan表情漠然的發(fā)動(dòng)不了汽車就說汽車“死得像門釘一樣”(dead as a doornail)，之后汽車把你拖進(jìn)了“死巷子”(dead end)，這時(shí)候你感覺自己“累死了”(dead tired)，回家后立即倒床“睡死”(dead sleep)derrick轉(zhuǎn)臂起重機(jī)，Derrick為17世紀(jì)初的劊子手，因起重機(jī)與絞刑架酷似the die is cast事已定局，不容反悔凱撒渡R

34、ubicon盧比孔河時(shí)說：“骰子已經(jīng)擲下去了the die is cast”來表示他的決心die n.骰子&v.死亡The die was cast, he could not go back.Friday, February 10, 2012D.J.(Disc jockey)唱片音樂節(jié)目主持人廣播電臺(tái)為與電視競(jìng)爭(zhēng)播放disc（唱片）或請(qǐng)幽默風(fēng)趣、有音樂素養(yǎng)的人，人們稱為“唱片騎士(disc jockey)”dog phrases與狗有關(guān)的詞匯伊索寓言中：霸著牛槽的狗the dog in the manger用來形容“占著茅坑不拉屎”的人manger n.牛槽，馬槽，擋水板going to t

35、he dogs口墮落，垮臺(tái)酗酒的人回家會(huì)被老婆“打入冷宮”(in the dog-house“失寵，挨罵”)。上班時(shí)八成會(huì)to dog it“偷懶”，這時(shí)你就let the sleeping dog lie“別惹麻煩”，讓老板發(fā)現(xiàn)，你會(huì)a dogs life“悲慘的生活”Don Juan唐璜，風(fēng)流浪子西班牙傳說，唐璜是一個(gè)放蕩的貴族，后用于形容專門玩弄女性的“風(fēng)流浪子”drawing room客廳，起居室，會(huì)客廳并沒有draw“繪畫”的意思，而是withdraw“撤退，離開”飯廳Eeat crow被迫認(rèn)錯(cuò)一間客?；锸硺O差，老板說自己什么都能吃，客人請(qǐng)他吃烏鴉后被迫認(rèn)錯(cuò)equator n.赤道赤

36、道平分地球南北半球，來源于拉丁語，意為“使雙方平等的人”eye眼睛ones eyes are what one is.人如其眼珠子眼(bead-eyed)指“目光貪婪”魚眼(fishy-eyed)指“狡猾的、可笑的”眼神玻璃眼(glassy-eyed)指“a.表情呆滯的”貓頭鷹眼(owl-eyed)指“因驚奇而睜大了眼睛”Fface the music面對(duì)困難，承擔(dān)責(zé)任演員面對(duì)臺(tái)下的樂隊(duì)容易緊張忘詞After he was caught with the stolen goods, he had to face the music.fish與魚無關(guān)的詞匯He is a cold fish.態(tài)度

37、冷淡He is an odd fish.莫名其妙的人There is something fishy in his offer.他的提議不可靠fishy是惹人猜疑的意思（a.魚的，猜疑的）a fish-wife粗野的女人fish in troubled waters(fish in the muddy waters)混水摸魚，趁火打劫出自伊索寓言Those who made large profits during wars were fishing in troubled waters.freshman/sophomore大學(xué)一年級(jí)學(xué)生/大學(xué)二年級(jí)學(xué)生大學(xué)一/二年級(jí)學(xué)生college stu

38、dent of Grade one/two“純真而新鮮”fresh的“成年人”man指大一學(xué)生。希臘語sophos（相當(dāng)于英語wise）和moros（相當(dāng)于英語foolish），即：自以為樣樣懂而實(shí)際上幼稚淺薄的人，兩者均男女適用He is in his sophomore year.Gget the drop on someone美俚搶先拔槍瞄準(zhǔn)（對(duì)手），先發(fā)制人get the sack被解雇，被拒絕古羅馬人把叛國者裝進(jìn)口袋中丟到河里“打發(fā)走”If youre late again, youll get the sack.give somebody the axe解雇某人，開除某人相傳印第安

39、人放逐某人時(shí)，酋長(zhǎng)會(huì)給他一把斧頭用于防身If the business is going worse, the boss will give him the axe.go dutch各自付賬，平攤費(fèi)用in dutch碰到麻煩，得罪某人They decided to go dutch.go haywire混亂的，瘋狂的haywire n.捆干草用的鐵絲，這種鐵絲易生銹，使環(huán)境凌亂不堪If you say that again, I shall go haywire.goldbrick n.懶漢，假金磚，贗品在鉛塊鍍上金粉的“假金磚”，一戰(zhàn)時(shí)指“逃避勤務(wù)的大兵”，二戰(zhàn)后指“懶漢”good sama

40、ritan慈善的撒馬利亞人；心地慈善的人；樂善好施的人出自新約路加福音，撒馬利亞人幫助一位受傷的路人go through fire and water赴湯蹈火古時(shí)光腳從火中走過或把手浸在沸水中的酷刑Hed go through fire and water for her.granite n.花崗巖，冷酷無情呈顆粒(grain)狀的石頭grain n.顆粒，糧食Greek gift害人的禮物“特洛伊戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)”希臘人(Greek)巧施“木馬計(jì)”，最終攻下特洛伊城Hhair of the dog醒酒液，借醉酒，以毒攻毒英國迷信，被狗咬了，拔下一根毛就可治好身上的病。同樣，喝醉了，再喝一杯就好了hand

41、writing on the wall兇兆圣經(jīng)故事，出現(xiàn)墻上的字之后不久國王戰(zhàn)敗身亡have an axe to grind另有打算，別有用心小富蘭克林給陌生人磨完斧頭之后，那人謝都沒謝就走了grind n.&v.磨have got out of bed on the wrong side心情不快，情緒不佳“下床下錯(cuò)了邊”多么的不順利啊have nine lives like a cat貓有九條命，富于生命力的人have somebody over a barrel完全支配某人，使某人身不由己早期人們將溺水者放在大木桶上面(over a barrel)搶救barrel n.桶，槍管heuris

42、tic a.啟發(fā)式的，探索的阿基米德發(fā)現(xiàn)怎么測(cè)皇冠重量時(shí)說：Eureke!（我發(fā)現(xiàn)了）hide/bury ones head in the sand把頭埋在沙子里，鴕鳥政策，自欺欺人Hobsons choice霍布森的選擇，別無選擇人們租霍布森的馬時(shí)，只能租最靠近馬廄門邊的馬horse of another color另一碼事兒，風(fēng)馬牛不相及出自莎士比亞查理三世，國王慌亂之中想要一匹馬，可騎馬的卻是死神Iin dog days大熱天，三伏天，淡季七月到九月，天狼星與太陽同升同落，氣候炎熱ivory tower象牙塔，脫離現(xiàn)實(shí)生活的小天地ivory n.象牙JJekyll and Hyde雙重人

43、格化身博士Kkeep the wolf from the door免于饑寒，勉強(qiáng)度日與狼相關(guān)的大多為貶義：“胃里有一匹狼”(have a wolf in the stomach)形容一個(gè)人狼吞虎咽的樣子，“狼在門口”(wolf at the door)表示“饑餓逼人”We were thankful if we could keep the wolf from the door.kill the fatted calf熱情款待新約路加福音calf n.小牛Llame duck不中用的人，即將下臺(tái)的官員land of promise上帝允諾之地，樂土，希望之鄉(xiāng)lay an egg完全失敗，下蛋得零分的人“抱一個(gè)鴨蛋”(make a ducks egg)lions share最大份額，獨(dú)攬一切，最大贏家伊索寓言獅子和驢合作覓食，獅子獨(dú)攬了一切獵物logroll v.協(xié)力使通過，互相標(biāo)榜，（合力）滾木材最早移民美洲時(shí)需伐木log造屋，木料滾動(dòng)roll運(yùn)輸，后來logroll表示“相互幫助，協(xié)力使通過”look a gift horse in the mouth對(duì)禮物吃毛求疵打開馬的嘴巴推測(cè)馬的年齡，這對(duì)送禮者是不尊重It would be silly to look a gift horse in the mouth.lov