1. curry favour
討好,奉承,拍馬屁(curry是咖喱)
He's always trying to curry favour with the boss.
他總是想方設(shè)法拍老板馬屁。
2. be in apple-pie order
井然有序;整齊;井井有條(apple-pie是蘋果派)
Their house is always in apple-pie order.
他們家總是收拾得井井有條。
3. jam tomorrow
許而不予的好東西,可望不可及的東西(jam是果醬)
As children we were always being promised jam tomorrow, if only we would be patient.
孩提時大人總是許諾只要我們耐心點兒就會給我們好東西。
4. (as) cool as a cucumber
鎮(zhèn)靜,冷靜,泰然自若(cucumber是黃瓜)
She walked in as cool as a cucumber, as if nothing had happened.
她泰然自若地走進(jìn)來,好像什么事也沒發(fā)生過。
5. be like chalk and cheese
截然不同;迥異(chalk是粉筆,cheese是奶酪)
My brother and I are like chalk and cheese.
我哥哥和我截然不同。
6. like two peas in a pod
(尤指外觀)非常相像(pea是豌豆)
The twins are like two peas in a pod.
那對雙胞胎長得極像。
7. bean counter
(尤指大公司的)會計師(bean是豆類)
It looked like the project was going to be approved, but the bean counters said it wasn't cost-effective.
眼看這個項目就要獲批準(zhǔn)了,但會計師們認(rèn)為它不劃算。
8. bring home the bacon
養(yǎng)家糊口(bacon是培根)
I can't sit around all day - someone's got to bring home the bacon.
我不能整天坐著無所事事——家里總得有個養(yǎng)家糊口的人。
9. chew the cud
深思,反復(fù)思考(cud是咀嚼物)
He sat for a moment chewing the cud before he spoke.
他坐著沉思了片刻才開口說話。
10. eat crow / eat humble pie
認(rèn)錯;道歉(pie是餡餅)
After boasting that his company could outperform the industry's best, he's been forced to eat humble pie.
他吹噓他的公司可以壓倒業(yè)內(nèi)最好的企業(yè),但之后,他就不得不承認(rèn)言過其實了。
11. sour grapes
酸葡萄(指由于得不到而貶低某物,grape是葡萄)
I don't think it's such a great job - and that's not just sour grapes because I didn't get it.
我認(rèn)為這份工作不怎么樣——我可不是因為吃不著葡萄說葡萄酸。
12. spill the beans
泄露秘密(bean是豆類)
So who spilled the beans about her affair with David?
所以到底是誰把她和大衛(wèi)的私情泄露出去的?