迷你对话
A: I feel that Bob’s father-in-law is a hard nut to crack.
我觉得鲍勃的岳父是个难对付的家伙。
B: You have taken words out of my mouth. He is a tough customer.
你说出了我要说的话。他是个倔强的家伙。
A: But his daughter is a very nice girl.
可是他的女儿是个不过的女孩。
对话精讲
第一、地道表达
【核心短语】a tough customer
【解词释义】tough的意思是“倔强的”，customer是“顾客”或“主顾”的意思，用于口语表示“家伙”。这两个词连起来构成的短语a tough customer的意思是“难对付的人”，“性格倔强的人”或“难斗的家伙”。
【典型范例1】Their new sales manager is a tough customer, so I was particularly pleased to negotiate such a favorable price.
他们新来的销售经理是个难打交道的人，因此能谈妥这样一个优惠价，我特别高兴。
【典型范例2】She is also a tough customer while showing.
购物的时候，她也是个难伺候的顾客。
第二 词海拾贝
a hard nut：难对付的人；难解之事；不易亲近或了解的人
【典型范例1】I never know Bill very well.He was not very communicative and always seemed to me a hard nut to crack.
我从来就不太了解比尔，他不太爱说话，我总觉得他这个人很难对付。
【典型范例2】The third question in the examination is a hard nut to crack.
考试的第三道题真是够难的。
【典型范例3】My manager is a hard nut to crack. He always shouts at me about what I have done.
经理是个很难对付的人，他总是对我做的事大吼大叫。
【典型范例4】Mind you, she is a hard nut to crack.
小心，这是个难对付的女人。
take words out of one’s mouth：抢先说出某人要说的话
【典型范例1】 Great! You take the words out of my mouth——I have set my mind to buy a new computer.
太好了，这正是我想说的，我决定买一台新电脑。 |