英语俚语大全（二）

 　　put the squeeze on someone对某人施加压力

　　The new situation is putting the squeeze on all companies engaged in this business.

　　· stand up to someone与某人大胆对抗

　　The soldier stood up to the officer and was place in confinement¹.

　　· thank one's lucky stars感到万幸

　　I should thank your lucky stars that you missed the plane which crashed into the sea.

　　· get off to a flying start来了开门红

　　Our kindergarten got off to a flying start by having 100 children to sign up in the first month.

　　· go steady with someone 与异性稳步发展关系

　　Mary and Tim got married after going steady with each other for two years.

　　· watch one's step当心

　　You're better watch your step when you go out with John. He is a trouble-maker.

　　· a stick-in the-mud老古董

　　He is a stick=in-the-mud and will never invest his money in stock.

　　· be a stickler²吹毛皮的人

　　I don't like to go to her home. She is a stickler for neatness.

　　· turn someone's stomach令人作呕

　　Her sweet voice turned my stomach.

　　· fall between two stools鸡飞蛋打

　　Tying to straddle two boats, he took up two jobs with two salaries. At last, unable to do either well.

　　· weather the storm度过难关

　　The wooden house weathered the storm.

　　· harp³ on the same old string老调重弹

　　He really gets on my nerves. He always harps⁴ on the same old string by promising⁵ us a paid holiday., but he never keeps it.

　　· give someone the cold shoulder冷待某人

　　I hate going to expensive hotels. The receptionist always gives me the cold shoulder when she sees my plain clothes.

　　· steal the show喧宾夺主

　　Cinderalla stole the show in the Prince's party.

　　· side with someone与某人站在一起，支持某人

　　I'm your friend, but I'm afraid I won't side with you on that issue.

　　· have a memory like a sieve⁶记性太差

　　I think a computer notebook will be of great help for me, since I've got a memory like a sieve.

　　· out of clear blue sky意料不到

　　Yesterday, out of a clear blue sky, My landlady⁷ gave me a one-day notice, asking me to move out.

　　· make a slip of the tongue说走嘴

　　The class burst into laughter when the teacher made a slip of the tongue. He meant to say "Good morning" to students, but he said "Good afternoon".

　　· be on the sly办事狡猾

　　The boy was smoking in the corner when his father caught him on the sly.

　　for a song以级低的价钱，廉价地

　　I got the rare edition of the book for a song in the flea⁸ market.

　　· sound someone out试探某人的意见

　　Have you sounded the principal out on postponing⁹ the final examination?

　　· call a spade a spade有什么就说什么

　　We are good friends. Call a spade a spade. Don't tell me in a round-about way.

　　· spick and span干干净净

　　The housewife always keeps her kitchen spick and span.

　　· go for a spin出去兜风

　　The city dwellers¹⁰ like going for a spin to the country on weekends.

　　· spine-chilling令人毛骨悚然

　　He likes horrible films. Those spine-chilling pictures to us are pleasant to his eyes.

　　· The spirit is willing; but the flesh is weak.心有余而力不足

　　A: How many times have you tried quitting smoking? B: It's not that the spirit is not willing, but that the flesh is weak.

　　· put out a feeler to do...试探……的反应

　　The chairman put out a feeler to see people's reactions to his election speech.

　　· be dead on one's feet筋疲力尽

　　Our boss regards us his slaves. Everyday after work.

　　· land on one's feet安全摆脱困境

　　With the loan from the bank, the company landed on its feet.

　　· stand on one's feet自食其力

　　The Chinese Communist Party decided¹¹ to stand on their feet during the Liberation Campaign. People in Naniwan were called upon to develop agriculture.

　　· sit on the fence保持中立

　　Who would you vote for? You bet I won't vote for him. He likes sitting on the fence on important issues.

　　· play the field不正经干

　　He is really a playboy, He likes to play the field and is never serious with any one girl.

　　· burn one's fingers因管闲事而吃苦头

　　I always tell you to keep away from the scoundrels. Now you are burning your fingers.

　　· have sticky fingers手不老实。有小偷小摸的陋习

　　The old lady fired the maid because she had sticky fingers.

　　· the black sheep of the family有辱门楣的人

　　He lost everything in gabling and was called the black sheep of the family by this relatives.

　　· take a shine to someone一见就中意

　　She is an animal-lover. She takes a shine to whatever animal she meets.

　　· give someone the shirt off one's back为某人慷慨解囊，毫不吝啬的接济某人

　　He works in the charity organization and strongly believes that he who gives others the shirt off his back will be blessed by the God.

　　· lose one's shirt输得精光

　　The man didn't leave Las Vegas until he lost his shirt.

　　· know where the shoe pinches知道问题所在

　　A wise leader should be one who knows where the shoe pinches and knows what to do with it.

　　· a shot in the dark瞎猜

　　I didn't know which button was for TV. I pushed one, and TV was turned on. It was mere¹² a shot in the dark.

　　· a poor apology for...蹩脚货，名不副实

　　That travel agency was first-class, but it offered a poor apology for its service

1 confinement   

n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限

参考例句：

• He spent eleven years in solitary confinement.他度过了11年的单独监禁。
• The date for my wife's confinement was approaching closer and closer.妻子分娩的日子越来越近了。

2 stickler   

n.坚持细节之人

参考例句：

• She's a real stickler for etiquette,so you'd better ask her advice.她非常讲求礼节，所以你最好问她的意见。
• You will find Mrs. Carboy a stickler about trifles.您会发现卡博太太是个拘泥小节的人。

3 harp   

n.竖琴；天琴座

参考例句：

• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。
• He played an Irish melody on the harp.他用竖琴演奏了一首爱尔兰曲调。

4 harps   

abbr.harpsichord 拨弦古钢琴n.竖琴( harp的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She continually harps on lack of money. 她总唠叨说缺钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He could turn on the harps of the blessed. 他能召来天使的竖琴为他奏乐。 来自辞典例句

5 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

6 sieve   

n.筛，滤器，漏勺

参考例句：

• We often shake flour through a sieve.我们经常用筛子筛面粉。
• Finally,it is like drawing water with a sieve.到头来，竹篮打水一场空。

7 landlady   

n.女房东，女地主

参考例句：

• I heard my landlady creeping stealthily up to my door.我听到我的女房东偷偷地来到我的门前。
• The landlady came over to serve me.女店主过来接待我。

8 flea   

n.跳蚤

参考例句：

• I'll put a flea in his ear if he bothers me once more.如果他再来打扰的话，我就要对他不客气了。
• Hunter has an interest in prowling around a flea market.亨特对逛跳蚤市场很感兴趣。

9 postponing   

v.延期，推迟( postpone的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He tried to gain time by postponing his decision. 他想以迟迟不作决定的手段来争取时间。 来自辞典例句
• I don't hold with the idea of postponing further discussion of the matter. 我不赞成推迟进一步讨论这件事的想法。 来自辞典例句

10 dwellers   

n.居民，居住者( dweller的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes. 城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They have transformed themselves into permanent city dwellers. 他们已成为永久的城市居民。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

12 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。