idioms

n.慣用語；成語；方言；風格（idiom的復數）

Idiom

Meanina

Ifapersondoessomethingwhichisaboveand

beyondthe

callofduty,theyshowagreaterdegreeofcourage

Aboveandbeyondthecalloreffort

A

ofdutythanisusuallyrequiredorexpectedintheirjob.

"Thefire-fighterreceivedamedalforhisactionwhich

went

aboveandbeyondthecallofduty

Ifyouhaveanaceupyoursleeve,itmeansthatyou

Haveanaceupyourhave

sleeve.somethinginreservewithwhichyoucangainan

advantage.

Apersonwhoholdsalltheacesisinaverystrong

position

becausetheyhavemoreadvantagesthananyone

Holdalltheaceselse.

"Giventhehighunemploymentfiguresinsome

countries,

employersholdalltheaces.”

Torefertosomethingastheacidtestmeansthatit

willprove

howeffectiveorusefulsomethingis.

Acidtest

"Thetrainingcoursewasveryinterestingbuttheacid

testwillcome

when1startmynewjob."

Thistermreferstoanaturaleventoraccident,

forwhichnopersonis

responsible(suchasanearthquake,lightningand

ActofGodsimilaractsofnature).

"Theinsurancecompanyrefusedtopayforthe

damagebecause

itwascausedbyanactofGod."

Ifyoutellsomeonetogettheiracttogether,you

mean

Getyouracttogether!thattheyneedtoorganizetheiraffairs

moreeffectively

inordertobemoresuccessful.

Ifyouaddfueltotheflames,yousaysomething

thatmakesa

Addfueltotheflamesdifficultsituationworse.

"Heforgottheirweddinganniversary,andhis

apologiesonly

addedfueltotheflames."

Ifpeoplemake"muchadoaboutnothing",they

Muchadoaboutnothing.make

alotoffussaboutsomethingwhichisnotimportant.

Apersonwhoisafraidoftheirownshadowisvery

nervous

Afraidofone*sownoreasilyfrightened.

shadow'Tveneverseenanyonesoeasilyscared-she's

afraidofher

ownshadow."

Ifsomethingisdoneafterthefact,itistoolate,after

something

hasactuallyhappened,particularlyacrimeoran

Afterthefactaccident.

“Hesaidherealizedhehadputpeopleindanger,but

thatwasof

nohelpafterthefact."

Ifyoudosomethingagainsttheclock,youare

rushedandhave

verylittletimetodoit.

Againsttheclock

"Theyareworkingagainsttheclocktohavethe

presentationready

forMonday."

Tosaythatyouareallearsmeansthatyouare

listeningvery

Allears

attentively.

"Ofcourse1wanttoknow-I'mallears!"

Tosaythatallhellbrokeloosemeansthatthere

wasasudden

angry,noisyreactiontosomething.

Allhellbrokeloose

"Allhellbrokeloosewhenitwasannouncedthatthe

plantwasgoing

toclosedown."

Thisexpressionreferstoaprobablesituationif

inallotherways

All(other)thingsbeingtheconditionsremainunchangedorequal.

equal“All(other)thingsbeingequal,areductionin

thecostof

transportshouldenableustolowerourprices.zz

Whensomethingisalltherage,ithasbecomevery

Alltheragepopularor

trendy.

"Twitteringtextmessagesisalltheragethesedays,

bothamong

individualsandcompanies."

Someoneorsomethingthatturnsouttobe

disappointing,aftera

promotionalcampaignormarketingoperationwhich

ledustoexpect

Allsizzleandnosteaksomethingbetter,iscalledallsizzleandnosteak.

"Becauseofalltheelectoralpromiseshemade,

whichsofarhehasfailed

tokeep,manypeoplecallthenewpresident"all

sizzleandnosteak**.

Ifyouareallfingersandthumbs,youareawkward

andclumsyand

Allthumbs/allfingersand

dothingsincorrectly.

thumbs

"Wouldyoumindwrappingthisforme?I'mallfingers

andthumbs!"

Thetermalterego,whichinLatinmeans'otherself,

Alteregoreferstoaverycloseandtrustedfriendwhoisvery

likeyourself.

Thistermsreferstoalawyerwhofindsworkby

persuadingpeople

injuredinaccidentstoclaimmoneyfromtheperson

whocaused

Ambulancechaser

theaccident.

"Peterson&Scottarewell-knownambulance

chasers-that'show

theymaketheirmoney!"

Ifsomeonehastoanswerforsomething,theyhave

toaccept

Answerfor

responsibilityfortheiractions.

"Hew川havetoanswerforhisdishonesty."

Peoplewhohaveantsintheirpantsarevery

restlessorexcitedabout

Antsinone'spantssomething

'1wishhe'drelax.He'sgotantsinhispantsabout

somethingtoday!"

Whenyouhavenochoice,anyportinastorm

referstoasolution

youaccept,whichinnormalcircumstancesyou

Anyportinastormwouldfindunacceptable.

"Thehotelwassubstandard,butitwasacaseofany

portinastorm;

alltheotherswerefull.'1

Ifsomebodyistheappleofyoureye,thismeans

thatyoulike

Theappleofyoureye.

themverymuch:

"Mygrandsonistheappleofmyeye".

Toupset(ortooverturn)theapplecartmeansto

spoilasatisfactory

Toupsettheapplecartplanorsituation

"1hopeJuliedoesn'tattendthemeeting;shecould

upsettheapplecart!',

Ifonepersonistiedtoanother'sapronstrings,they

remaindependent

atanagewhentheyshouldbeindependent.

Apronstrings

**AIIhisdecisionsareinfluencedbyhismother.He's

stilltiedtoher

apronstrings.',

Ifyouarguethetoss,youdisputeadecisionor

choicewhichhas

Arquethetossalreadybeenmade.

"Thefinalchoicewasmadeyesterday,sodon'targue

thetossnow!"

Thisexpressionreferstotheextenttowhichthe

authorityorpowerof

Armofthelawthelawextends.

"HefledtoSouthAmericahopingtoescapethearm

ofthelaw.0

Ifyousay'Tdgivemyrightarmforthat**,youmean

thatyou

Giveyourrightarmwantitalotandwoulddoalmostanythingtoobtainit.

,TdgivemyrightarmtohaveaapartmentonCentral

Park."

Ifsomethingcostsanarmandaleg,itisvery

expensive!

Costanarmandaleg

"Thehousecostusanarmandaleg,butwehaveno

regrets."

Ifyouareupinarmsaboutsomething,youarevery

angry.

Tobeupinarms

"Thepopulationwasupinarmsoverthedemolition

oftheoldtheatre."

Ifyoukeepsomeoneatarm'slength,youdonot

allowyourself

Keepsomeoneatarm'stobecometoofriendlywiththem.

length"It'snoteasytobecomefriendswithSophie;she

tendstokeep

everyoneatarm'slength."

Anarmchaircriticissomeonewhogivesadvice

basedontheory

Armchaircriticratherthanpractice.

"Thatguyissuchanarmchaircritic,noexperiencebut

plentyofadvice!"

Someonewhoisaskingfortroubleisbehaving

stupidlyandislikely

Askin。fortroubletohaveproblems.

"Drivingfastontheseroadsisreallyaskingfor

trouble!"

Ifyouaredeterminedtoobtainorachievesomething

atallcosts,

youwantitregardlessoftheexpense,effortor

Atallcostssacrificeinvolved.

"Thejournalistwasdeterminedatallcoststogeta

reportfromthe

warzone."

Somethingwhichisofnoavailisnotatallhelpfulor

useful.

Ofnoavail“Thecoffeemachinewouldn'tworkandthe

nstructionleafletwas

ofnoavail.*'

Ifyougetarudeawakening,youareforcedto

Arudeawakeninaaccept

theunpleasanttruth.

Ifyouhaveanaxetogrind,youhavepersonal

reasonsfor

becominginvolvedinsomethingoradoptinga

particularattitude.

Haveanaxetogrind

"Itwasdecidedthatthebestcandidateswouldbe

selectedby

arecruitmentagencywhohadnoaxetogrindwithin

thecompany."

IdiomMeanina

Ifsomeoneisleftholdingthebaby,theyaremade

responsiblefor

Leavesomebodyholdingaproblemthatothersdon'twanttodealwith.

B

thebaby"Whentheangrycustomerstartedtocomplain,

mycolleaguedisappearedandleftmeholdingthe

baby."

Ifyoubackorbetonthewronghorse,forexample

theloserin

acontest,matchorelection,yousupportthewrong

Backorbetonthewrong

person.

horse

"When1votedforhim,1wasconvincedhewouldwin,

but1backed

thewronghorse!"

Ifyoutellsomebodytogetoffyourback,youask

Getoffmyback!themtostop

findingfaultsorcriticizingyou.

Thisexpressionisusedtodescribeanisolatedplace

located

Inthebackofbeyondfarfromanytown.

"IttookushourstofindJack'shouse.

Helivesinthebackofbeyond!H

Ifyouputaprojectorissueonthebackburner,you

decide

todealwithitatalaterdatebecauseyoudonot

considerit

Onthebackburner

tobethaturgentorimportant.

uWhenJuliewasofferedapromotion,sheputher

MBAplans

onthebackburner."

Tosaythatsomeoneisbacktosquareone,means

thattheyhave

notsucceeded

inwhattheyweretryingtodo,andsotheyhaveto

Backtosquareone

startagain.

"Whentheplanswererefused,itwasbacktosquare

oneforthe

architect.*'

Aremarkthatappearstoexpressadmirationbut

couldalsobe

interpretedasaninsultiscalledabackhanded

Backhandedcompliment

compliment.

"Hesaidmypresentationwas'surprisinglyclear'-

how'sthatforabackhandedcompliment!"

Thisexpressionreferstoquickapproximate

calculationdone

Back?of?the?envelope

informally,asonthebackofanenvelope.

calculation

“1don'tneedtheexactamount.

Justgivemeaback-of-the-envelopecalculation."

Thistermreferstopeoplewhodoimportantworkbut

havenocontact

withthepublic.

Backroomboys

'Back-roomboysdon'talwaysreceivethecredit

theydeservefortheir

work."

Abackseatdriverisapassengerinacarwhogives

unwanted

Backseatdriver

advicetothedriver.

"1can'tstandbackseatdriverslikemymother-in-law!"

Torefertosomeoneasabadeggmeansthatthey

cannotbetrusted.

Abadegg

"1don*twantmysontobefriendswithBobbySmith.

Bobby'sabadegg."

Originatingasahumorouscommentaboutone'shair

being

unmanageable,thistermhasbroadenedtomean'a

Abadhairdaydaywhen

everythingseemstogowrong'.

"What'swrongwithJenny?Isshehavingabadhair

day?*'

Apersonwhoisinbadshapeisinpoorphysical

condition.

Inbadshape

"1reallyaminbadshape.1needtogetsome

exercise."

Ifyoubadgersomeoneintodoingsomething,you

Badaersomeoneintopersistently

doingnagorpesterthemuntilyouobtainwhatyouwant.

something"Sophiebadgeredherparentsintobuyingheranew

computer.',

Tosaythatsomeoneisabagofbonesmeansthat

theyare

Baaofbonesextremelythin.

"Whenhecamehomefromthewarhewasabagof

bones.”

Ifyouuseyour(whole)bagoftrickstodo

something,youtry

(all)theclevermethodsyouknowinorderto

(Whole)baaoftrickssucceed.

"Let'scallonGeorgeandhisbagoftricks;maybehe

canhelpus

solvetheproblem."

Ifyouthinksomethingisinthebag,youarealmost

certain

itwillbeachieved.

Inthebaa

"Anhourbeforethepollingstationsclosed,victory

seemedinthebag

fortheConservativecandidate."

Thistermreferstoadeceptivecommercial

practiceofadvertisinga

low-priceditemtoattractcustomers,then

Baitandswitchtellingthemthattheproduct

isoutofstockandpersuadingthemtobuyamore

expensivearticle.

"Thisstoreisfamousforitsbaitandswitchtactics."

Ifsomethingisinthebalance,itmeansthesituation

isuncertain

anditisnotclearwhatisgoingtohappen.

Inthebalance

"Thefutureofthecompanyisinthebalancewhilethe

takeoverbid

isbeingexamined.'*

Ifyouareontheball,youareawareofwhatis

Beontheballhappening

andareabletoreacttothesituationquickly.

Ifyouhaveaball,youenjoyyourself.

Haveaball

"Thepartywasgreat.Wehadaball."

Ifyouareontheball,youareawareofwhatis

happening

andareabletodealwiththingsquicklyand

Ontheballintelligently.

"Weneedsomeonewho'sreallyontheballtohead

thefund-raising

campaign.',

Ifyoustarttheballrolling,youstartanactivityin

which

Starttheballrollingotherpeoplewilljoin.

“Let'sstarttheballrollingbycallingonourfirst

speaker.'*

Iftheballisinyourcourt,itisyourturntospeakor

actnext.

TheballisinyourcourtuWegavethemanageralistofcomplaints,sothe

ballisin

hiscourtnow.*'

Ifapersonororganizationjumpsonthe

bandwagon,

theydecidetodosomethingwhenitisalready

successfulor

Jumponthebandwagon

fashionable.

"Whenorganicfoodbecamepopular,certainstores

werequick

tojumponthebandwagonandpromoteit."

Tosaythatsomethingisthebaneofyourlifemeans

thatitis

thecauseofyourproblemsoryourunhappiness.

Bannofone*slife

"Theheatingsystemisalwaysbreakingdown.It'sthe

baneof

mylife!1'

Ifyoubangyourheadagainstabrickwall,you

continuevainlyto

tryandachievesomethinginspiteofseveral

Banayourheadagainsta

unsuccessfulattempts.

brickwall

'Tvebeenbangingmyheadagainstabrickwall

tryingtoexplainthe

internettomygrandmother."

Abarflyreferstosomeonewhospendsalotoftime

drinkingin

Barflybarsandpubs.

"YoullfindJohnnydownatthepub-he'sarealbar

fly!"

Ifyoubareyourheartorsoultosomeone,you

revealyour

innermostthoughtsandfeelingstothem.

Bareone'sheart(orsoul)

“Johncouldn'tkeepthingstohimselfanylonger.He

decidedto

barehissoultohisbestfriend."

Someonewholieseasily,withatotallackofshame,

iscalleda

Barefacedliar

barefacedliar.

“Thatbarefacedliarstolemywatchandsaidhe'd

foundit!"

Thisexpressionisusedtorefertoapersonwho

soundsmuch

Hisbarkisworsethanhis

moresevereorangrythantheyreallyare.

bite

"Don'tbeafraidofhim-hisbarkisworsethanhis

bite.''

Apersonwhobarksupthewrongtreeisdoingthe

wrongthing,

Barkupthewrongtree

becausetheirbeliefsorideasareincorrector

mistaken.

Ifyouwaitforsomethingwithbatedbreath,youare

bothanxious

Batedbreath

andexcitedaboutanimminentevent.

"Wewaitedwithbatedbreathforthewinnertobe

announced."

Ifyousaythatsomebodyhasbatsinthebelfry,you

Havebatsinthebelfryaresayingthat

theirideasarecompletelymad.

Thisexpressionisusedtosaythatopposinggroups

arereadyto

defendthereasonbehindtheconflict.

Thebattlelinesaredrawn"Thebattlelineshavebeendrawnbetweenthose

whoacceptthe

changesandthosewhoareagainsttheproposed

reforms.,1

Aconflict,argumentorstrugglewherebothsides

aredeterminedtowin

isdescribedasabattleofwills.

Battleofwills

“Whentheyseparated,neitherpartywouldmake

concessions-itwas

abattleofwills."

Tosaythatsomethingisnotthebe-allandend-all

meansthatitis

(Notthe)be-allandend-allnotwhatmattersmost.

"Goodschoolresultsarenotthebe-allandend-allof

educatingachild."

Apersonwhoisfullofbeansislively,activeand

Befullofbeans

healthy.

Thisexpressionmeansthatwhatthespeakersays

maybetruebut

itwillnotchangethesituation.

Bethatasitmay

"OK.Fewerpeoplemaycomebecauseofthebad

weather,butbe

thatasitmay,it'stoolatetocanceltheshow."

Apersonwhobearsthebruntofsomethingisthe

onewhosuffers

Bearthebrunt(of

themostwhensomethingbadorunpleasant

something)

happens.

"Whenthingsgowrong,hisassistantalwayshasto

bearthebrunt

ofhisanger."

Ifsomeoneasksyoutobearsomethinginmind,

theyaretelling

Bearsomethinginmindyoutorememberitbecauseitisimportant.

"Youmustbearinmindthatthecostoflivingishigher

inNewYork.',

Ifsomeoneisbehavinglikeabearwithasore

head,theyare

Likeabearwithasore

veryirritableandbad-tempered.

head

"Whenhisteamlostthematch,Bradwaslikeabear