英語單詞多種用途

2024年3月30日發(作者：天街小雨潤如酥)

英語單詞多種用途

Someone ‘s Leg = fool someone完全沒有中文抱大腿、溜須拍馬或扯后腿

在英語里，有許多常用俚語是由身體部位字眼構成。Session I: The Body 的意思，本短語在美語里是愚弄某人的意思。范例對話:A: Hey, Al.I was

Has Many Us(身體的多種用途）1. Get in Someone ‘s Hair = bother invited to be a judge for the Miss America Beauty Pageant!B: Oh, really?

someone可以用 get in someone ‘s hair來表達麻煩某人意思，就象鉆到

某人的頭發里，讓人厭煩一樣。范例對話:A: Children! Would you plea

stop making so much noi! And for heaven ‘s sake, pick up your clothes

and toys! It ‘s hard enough trying to keep this hou clean without

your throwing your things all over the place!B: Clara, I know that

the children get in your hair, but you should try not to let it upt

you so much.A: Listen, Jim. I can ‘t help it. The children bother

me and make me very angry when they ‘re so noisy and messy.2.

Tongue-In-Cheek = not rious舌頭沒有放正，表示某人不是認真的。范

例對話:A: Why were you teasing Sonia about her new hairdo? She really

took offen 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 rious. She had no idea that you were just saying that as

a joke.B: I ‘m really sorry. I suppo I owe her an apology.3. Pull

Come on, you ‘re pulling my leg!A: No, honestly. Do you really think

that I ‘m trying to fool you with a ridiculous story?B: Well, you

‘ve told me foolish stories before.A: I can assure you that this one

is for real.4. Stick Out One ‘s Neck = take a risk把脖子伸出去，

在美語中是去冒險的意思。范例對話:A: How come they ‘re asking me to

act as their guide through the jungle?B: Evidently they think you ‘re

the only one who can lead them to the lost temple.A: That jungle has

danger lurking around every corner. Why should I stick my neck out

for them? They didn ‘t pay me for my rvices.B: They know that you

would be taking a great risk and could possibly get hurt, but you ‘re

the only one with enough knowledge to take them to their destination.

I ‘m sure you ‘ll be amply rewarded.5. Get Off Someone ‘s Back =

stop bothering someone從某人的背上下來，表示停止麻煩某人。范例對話:A:

Hey, John. I ‘m bored. Come on, let ‘s go out and do something.B:

Sorry, I ‘m right in the middle of studying for a physics exam. I

won ‘t be able to make it tonight.A: You ‘ve been studying for a

long time. Why don ‘t you take a break? Come on! Let ‘s go! Forget

studying for a while!B: Look! Get off my back!I can ‘t go anywhere!A:

OK. I ‘ll stop bothering you only if you promi to let me know the

minute you ‘re finished.人靠衣裝SessionII : Clothes Make the Man(and

Women)(人靠衣裝）1. Dress to Kill = wear one ‘s finest clothing衣

服漂亮得電死人。范例短文:The reception for the new Swedish ambassador

at the Jennison ‘s was quite lavish. Naturally, everybody was dresd

to kill. Since it was a formal occasion, everyone was dresd in their

finiest, most elegant clothes.2. Knock Someone ‘s Socks Off = enthu

and excite讓人興奮得連襪子都掉了。范例對話:A:Hi, John. What ‘s new?B:

Oh, nothing too much with me, but you ought to e Alfredo ‘s new

car. It ‘ll knock your socks off!A: So, he finally got that Italian

sports car he ‘s been dreaming about.B: He sure did! When you e

all the custom features that it has, you ‘ll get so enthud and

excited you won ‘t know what to do!A: Boy, I can hardly wait to go

for a ride in it!3. Lo One ‘s Shirt = lo a great deal of money

連襯衫都輸掉了，表示輸了很多錢。范例對話:A: I happened to bump into

Doug at lunch yesterday afternoon.B: What ‘s new with Doug the

days?A: He wasn ‘t doing so well. For one thing, he told me he lost

his shirt at the races.B: Doug has always liked to bet on the hors.

I ‘m not surprid that he lost a great deal of money.A: Yeah. At

this rate he ‘ll never have a penny to his name!4. Wet Blanket = dull

or boring person who spoils the happiness of others蓋濕毯子當然不

舒服，象濕毯子一樣的人，一定是令人厭煩、倒人胃口的人。范例短文:James

was not invited to go on the outing with the rest of the group becau

he ‘s such a web blanket. On many previous occasions he has kept others

from enjoying themlves by his pessimism and lack of enthusiasm. It

‘s understandable that no one wants him around.5. Dress to the Teeth

= dresd elegantly跟中國成語武裝到牙齒有異曲同工之妙，表示某人費

盡心機著裝打扮。范例對話:A: Did you e Hilda at the party last night?B:

Yes, I did. She was really dresd to the teeth!A: Well, she had on

her finest, most elegant clothing becau she was out to make a good

impression on Bill.人會做很奇怪的事Session III: People Do the

Strangest Things(人會做很奇怪的事）1. Shoot the Breeze = chat

informally人把無目的的閑聊比作是向微風射擊，打風。范例對話:A: What

are you going to be doing this afternoon?B: Oh, I don ‘t have anything

in particular in mind.A: Why don ‘t you come over to my place? We

can listen to some records and shoot the breeze.B: That sounds OK to

me. I ‘d like to relax listening to music and visit and chat informally

until my folks get back from shopping.2. Bite the Dust = go down in

defeat人把輸了比作是頭朝下啃泥土。范例短文:Andy did exceptionally

well in all of the track events, but bit the dust in the high jump

competition. Much to the disappointment of his fans, he went down in

defeat, losing to a competitor from the visiting team.3. Bend Over

Backward = try very hard人認為向后傾是要花很大力氣才能做到的事。Bend

over backward 表示非常努力去做某事。范例短文:When Joan first started

teaching she was afraid that she would have a lot of trouble getting

ud to the kids and to the faculty. Her fears turned out to be

unfounded. Since everybody bent over backwards to help her. Everyone

tried very hard to help her feel comfortable and adjust to the school.4.

Scratch Someone ‘s Back = return a favor人認為幫別人撓背就是還禮，

對別人恩惠地交換。范例對話:A: Hey, Bea. I need some help stacking

the boxes. Would you plea give me a hand?B: OK. And I need some

help tidying up the hou. How about your helping me out after that?A:

OK. If you scratch my back, I ‘ll scratch yours.B: I know you don

‘t like doing houwork, but I ‘ll help you with the boxes if you

promi to return the favor.A: No problem. I ‘ll even do the windows.5.

Turn Someone Off = disgust someoneturn off 表示把電源斷掉。Turn

someone off 表示讓別人一下子沒了興趣。范例對話:A: How was your date

with Marty last night?B: Well, it started off OK, but he really turned

me off when we went for a snack after the movies.A: Did he say or do

something to annoy you?B: Frankly, he disgusted me when he tried to

talk with his mouth full.A: I don ‘t blame you. That would have really

bothered me too.6. Kick the Bucket = die死蹺蹺了。范例短文:It ‘s been

said that the old man knew of a buried treasure, but he kicked the

bucketbefore telling anyone where it was. If the treasure exists, the

old man unfortunately took the cret of its location with him when

he died.真不夠哥們來看看人認為做哪些事是不地道的，令人生厭的。

Session V: That ‘s Not Nice(真不夠哥們）1. Drive Someone Up a Wall

= annoy someone greatly可以用 drive someone up a wall 來表達惹惱某

人，就象把某人趕上墻一樣。范例對話:A: Wow! What a great t of drums!B:

Yeah, they ‘re great, but I can ‘t play on them when my folks are But he left me high and dry.A: Where did he go?B: Well, he got a call

at home. They say I drive them up a wall with all the loud banging.A: from some of his pals at work to go bowling, and he left me alone to

I get the same thing at home. My folks tell me that I annoy them and do all this work without any help at all!5. Spill the Beans = reveal

get them really angry whenever I turn up the volume on my stereo.2. a cret泄密。范例對話:A: Did you know that Harry was going to take

String Someone Along = lead someone on dishonestly帶欺騙性質地

某人，就像用繩釣魚一樣。。范例短文:Liz had high hopes of marrying Dean.

When he ran off with another woman, she realized that he was just string

her along. She had felt very strongly about him and was really hurt

to e that he was deceiving her and had no intentions of ever marrying

her.3. Sell Someone Down the River = betray someone出賣某人給警察。

范例對話:A: I heard that poor Jud Landed up in jaid.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.4. Leave Someone High and Dry =

abandon someone把某人丟在一邊不管。范例對話:A: Say, Jill. I thought

that John was going to help you do the dishes tonight.B: So did I.

Kathy on a Caribbean crui?B: Yes, I did. He was planning on

surprising her with the tickets for their anniversary, but someone

spilled the beans.A: What a shame! That was suppod to have been a

surpri.B: Yes, it ‘s too bad that someone told her about the trip

beforehand and ruined Harry ‘s surpri.A: That ‘s OK. Her

enthusiasm was not dampened in the least!真象個動物園在英語里，有

許多常用俚語是由動物字眼構成的，相當的生動、形象。掌握它們，會你的

口語和作文更地道，更生色！Session IV: It ‘s a Zoo Out There(真象

個動物園）1. Smell a Rat = feel that something is wrong可以用 I smell

a rat 來表達自己感覺什么事情不正常、奇怪、不對頭的意思，就象聞到死

老鼠的味道一樣。范例對話:A: How come the front door is open? Didn ‘t

you clo 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.2. Fishy = strange and suspicious同 smell a rat 意思相近，uninteresting and meaningless.5. Straight From the Hor ‘s Mouth

也表示感覺奇怪和懷疑，就象聞到魚的腥臭味一樣。范例短文:When the = from a reliable source說話者本人的原話，或從可靠、權威人士處得來

curity guard（保安）saw a light in the store after closing hours, 的信息。人在這里把說話的人比作大馬了。范例對話:A: How did you find

it emed to him that there was something fishy going on. He called out that Jill was engaged?B: I got the information from a very reliable

the central office and explained to his superior（上級） that he thought

something strange and suspicious（令人懷疑的） was occuring.3. Take

the Bull by the Horns = take decisive action in a difficult situation

在困難的條件下作出決定性的動作，或不計安危，勇敢面對，直接面對，就

象擒牛從牛角入手的方法。范例短文:Julie has always felt that she was

missing out on a lot of fun becau of her clumsiness（笨拙） on the

dance floor. She had been putting off taking lessions, 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.4. For the Birds = uninteresting， meaningless,

boring and silly無聊、無趣，愚蠢的，只是為鳥兒們準備的。范例短文: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（中間休息） becau they found the reading totally

source.A: You mean Jill told you so herlf?B: That ‘s right. I got

it straight from the hor ‘s mouth!英語俚語中的動物動物是人類的

朋友，它們都和人類共同生活在地球上，所以在人類語言中有很多是動物有

關的，請你們看一看這些有趣的句子吧！1. What a stupid man（驢）!真

是個傻瓜！2. Kate is busy as a bee（蜜蜂）.凱特是個大忙人。3. You dirty

rat（老鼠）!你這卑鄙的小人！4. I ‘m hungry as a wolf!我要餓死了！

5. What a turkey!真是個草包！