英语俚语选[5]

 

[本站整理 2007-10-14]

 

1. pull somebody's leg
作弄某人, 拖后腿。

 

2. bell the cat
不惧危险, 挺身而出。
它来自《Aesop's Fables》中的《The Mice in Council》。寓言讲的是一群老鼠在鼠洞里举行会议, 讨论如何对付凶狠的猫。白胡须老鼠提出在猫的脖子上挂一个铃。这样, 猫一走动铃就响, 我们就可以闻铃声而逃避了。 群鼠一致同意这个建议, 欢呼：“That's a capital idea.We will bell the cat! No more fear of the cat!” 但是, 谁去给猫挂铃铛呢？没有一只老鼠敢去, 一个个都溜掉了。后引伸为不惧危险，挺身而出。
eg: We didn't know who would put him this delicate question when my friend offered to bell the cat.

 

3. cry wolf
虚发警报；慌报险情；危言耸听。
它来自《Aesop's Fables》中的《The Shepherdboy and the wolf》寓言说，有个牧童在离村子不远的山坡上放羊, 有一次, 他为了开心作乐, 突然大喊：“Help! Help! The wolf!”全村的人都闻声跑来援助他时, 才知道这只是开玩笑。如此恶作剧搞了两三次。后来, 狼真的来了, 那个牧童再呼号求救时, 谁也不理会他了。于是, 狼把他的羊吃了。这篇寓言的意义很清楚：爱说谎话的人, 即或在他说真话时, 也没人相信他。这个成语相当于汉语中出自《东周列国志》的典故“烽火戏诸侯”。周幽王为博得宠妃褒姒一笑, 竟然把军国大事当儿戏, 烽火报警戏诸侯, 使各路诸侯仓促发兵, 驰援京师, 结果受到嘲笑。后来犬戎进犯, 幽王再举烽火调兵, 谁也不来了, 结果周幽王遭到杀身亡国之祸。
eg: Is she really sick or is she just crying wolf?

 

4. fish in troubled waters
浑水摸鱼；趁火打劫；陷于混乱。
出自《伊索寓言·渔夫》。寓言说：有个渔夫在河里张网捕鱼, 他把鱼网横栏在河道里, 然后拿了一条缚着石块的绳子, 不停的拍击河水, 使泥沙泛起, 河水浑浊, 鱼儿在慌乱中纷纷自投罗网, 渔夫用这个方法捕得了好多鱼。在英语中, to fish in troubled waters 也可写成to fish in the muddy waters, 而且water必须做waters。
eg: Those who made large profits out of illegally selling rationed goods during World War II were fishing in troubled waters.

 

5. cat's paw
被他人利用的人；受人愚弄者。
cat's paw 也写作cat's-paw或catspaw, 字面意思“猫爪子”, 出自17世纪法国寓言作家拉·封丹的《猴子与猫》。 讲的是狡猾的猴子哄骗头脑简单的猫儿, 替它从炉火中取出烤熟的栗子来。猫儿应命去做, 结果猫爪子被火烧伤了, 而取出的栗子却被猴子吃光了。按其内涵, 这个成语与汉语成语“为虎作伥”所比喻的意义相似, 仅是动物的形象不同。cat's paw除了单独做复合名词使用外, 还构成to make a cat's paw of sb (利用某人做为工具或爪牙)
eg: It is easy for him to be used as a cat's paw of evil-doing.
I am afraid that he is making a cat's paw of you.

 

6. pull the chestnuts out of the fire
火中取栗；替别人冒险。(说明同第5条) 这个成语也作to pull sb's chestnuts,或者to put the chestnuts for sb.
eg: I had pulled the chestnuts out of the fire for him on several occasions and was unwilling to do it again.
They are pulling chestnuts out of the fire for the imperialists without knowing it

 

7. Attic salt
优雅的俏皮话；妙语。attica 是希腊东南部的一个州, 其首府是雅典。阿提卡州是个半岛, 工商业发达, 特别盛产海盐。相传, 阿提卡州的盐比希腊其他地方出产的盐精细有味, 深受欢迎。阿提卡人机智风趣, 善于说俏皮话, 以幽雅的诙谐著称于世。这个成语出自古罗马著名的作家和演说家西塞罗 (Marcus Tullius Cicero,公元前106-前43)。公元前55年, 西塞罗以文艺对话形式写的主要著作《辩论》(De oratore), 探讨了演讲艺术中的诙谐问题。他说, 妙语应当含有“盐味”, 象“阿提卡的盐”那样有味。在现代英语中, salt一词含有“风趣”, “兴味”等转义。成语Attic salt常用来表示poignant delicate wit; wit of a refined quality。因此也可写Attic wit.
eg:
Yesterday Mrs Williams gave a talk to the Women's Institute on her travels in Asia. It was full of Attic Salt.
They are in the habit of speaking with attic wit.

 

8. one's pound of flesh
残酷榨取；割肉还债。
相信大家都看过莎士比亚的《威尼斯商人》。这里就不加以介绍。one's pound of flesh比喻to insist cruelly on repayment of what was borrowed, 常用在have,demand,exact,want,ask for 等之后。
eg:
If you borrow from the scoundrel, you may be sure he'll demand his pound of flesh.
Their boss pays the highest wages, but he wants his pound of flesh in return and makes them work very hard.

 

9. John bull(s)
约翰牛；英国佬
“约翰牛”是英国人的绰号, 意义是English nation, the typical Englishmen.这个雅号是英国人自己取的, 出自16世纪英国著名作家兼宫廷御医约翰·阿布斯诺特(John Arbuthnot,1667--1735)的政治讽刺作品。阿布斯诺特在1712年写了一本讽刺小说, 名叫《约翰牛的生平》(The History of John
Bull), 该书的主人公约翰牛, 是个英国自由民, 为人粗暴冷酷, 桀骜不逊, 颇有些牛劲。他盛气凌人、欺辱弱者, 如果谁流露出对他稍微表示不满的反抗情绪, 他立即摆出一副格斗的架势。作者通过这个赳赳武夫的形象, 暗喻当年英国的专横跋扈, 抨击民权党(英国自由党的前身)的好战策略。显然, 这个绰号最初含贬斥色彩。随着时间的推移, 约翰牛的形象发生了耐人寻味的变化, 约翰牛逐渐变成了一位饱经事故的实干家形象, 他的行为成了英国的人的标准行为。这样一来, John bull这个成语就成了英国人或者英国的代名词了；而与之相关的John bullism 就指英国精神、英国习气或英国的典型性格, John bullist则常指英国迷。
eg: By some he is called..."a thoroughbred Englishman",by some,"a genuine john bull"...

 

10. grin like a Cheshire cat
咧嘴傻笑；露齿嬉笑。
这个成语也可写成 to wear/have a grin like a Cheshire cat,或to smile like a Cheshire cat。英国《朗曼英国成语词典》等辞书, 认为这个成语源自维多利亚女王时代(1835--1901), 英国数学家和童话作家刘易斯·卡洛尔(Lewis Carroll,1832--1898)在他所写的童话《Alice's Adventures in Wonderland》中详细的描述了公爵夫人家中的一只柴郡猫。童话通过虚幻离奇的情节, 嘲讽了19世纪后半期英国的社会现象。此书在1865年7月问世后, 轰动了全英国，作者由此一举成名。to grin like a Cheshire cat 随着该书的风行而被广泛使用。
eg:
Poor little Hans only grinned like a Cheshire cat when he was scolded.
Mamma is smiling with all her might. In fact Mr. Newcome says..."that woman grins like a Cheshire cat." Who was the naturalist of the cats in Cheshire?

 

11. A storm in a teacup
杯水风波；小题大做；大惊小怪
美国英语为“a tempest in a teapot/barrel”, 也作tea-pot tempest. 据说出自18世纪法国哲学家和思想家孟德斯鸠的名言。
eg. The people next door are continually quarreling ,but it is usually a storm in a teacup.
What is it all about? Nothing serious, just a tempest in a teapot.

 

12. a tower of ivory / an ivory tower
象牙之塔； 脱离现实生活的小天地
常用来比喻一种与世隔绝的梦幻境地, 即the place of seclusion or retreat from realisties of life.
eg. She lives in a tower of ivory apart from her friends.
eg. They view college as an ivory tower.

 

13. have an axe to grind
别有用心；另有企图；怀有私心
据英国《朗曼英国成语词典》等记述，这个成语出自美国著名的政治家、科学家本杰明·富兰克林(Benjamin Franklin,1706--1790) 所写的一则故事。富兰克林幼年时, 在院子里遇到一个带有斧头的陌生人, 那人称赞院子里那个磨石(grindstone)很好, 想看看它好不好使, 便花言巧语的让他转动磨石, 而那人就在上面磨利自己的斧头。这个故事的寓意是防止他人用恭维的话来达到个人目的, 人们不要上当受骗。
eg. He may offer you a post in his firm ,but he has an axe to grind, he wants to stand well with your father.
eg. His interest in our venture cannot be sincere, because I knew he has an axe to grind.
eg. In the first place, let me assure you, gentlemen, that I have not an axe to grind.

 

14. broken record
反复讲同样的话
原意为"坏了的唱片"。
eg. Please stop talking about your problems. You sound like a broken record.

 

15. The shoe is on the other foot.
形势已经完全不同了。
eg.
Back in school we made fun of Jones because we thought he spent too much time studying instead of having fun. Now the shoe is on the other foot -- he's made lots of money and the rest of us are
just barely making enough to feed our families."
eg.
For the last ten years the Tigers have been the worst team in the league: we've finished down at the bottom. But now the shoe is on the other foot: we have all these good young players and we're beating everybody else in the whole league.