妙趣橫生的英語習(xí)語集錦

英語中有一些獨(dú)特的習(xí)慣用語或俗語，鮮活生動(dòng)，多姿多彩。

一、常見習(xí)慣用語

a mixed blessing憂喜參半的事

eg：Working in a big city is a mixed blessing.It is so convenient and comfortable there，but noise pollution and traffic congestion are two big headaches.

a narrow escape九死一生

eg：The residents ran out of the burning building in time，but it was a narrow escape.

plain sailing一帆風(fēng)順

eg：With the major obstacle removed，we should experience plain sailing from now on.

don’t put on airs別擺架子

what is done is done木已成舟

kicking a man when he is down打落水狗

pull out the evil by the roots斬草除根

bad news travels fast惡事傳千里

bad workman always blames his tools技術(shù)差的工人埋怨工具不好

east or west，home is best沒有任何地方比家好

easy come，easy go來得快，去得也快

beaten road is the safest多人走過的路最安全

二、動(dòng)物有關(guān)的慣用語

let the cat out of the bag暴露秘密

eg：David was planning a surprise birthday party for Mary，but his new secretary let the cat out of the bag.

a dark horse實(shí)力難測(cè)的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)者

eg：No one expected Jimmy to win，but he did win.He was a dark horse.

the rat race激烈的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)

eg：In the rat race of today’s world，only the fittest survives.

top dog處支配地位者

a busy bee忙碌的人

a cold fish冷漠無情的人

an early bird早起的人

三、與五官相關(guān)的習(xí)語

父母親常教導(dǎo)孩子，要多聽：“to be all ears”，要多看：“to be all eyes”，要守口如瓶：“keep one’s mouth shut”，一個(gè)人受人控制時(shí)，就是被牽著鼻子走：“l(fā)ead by the nose”。有些人自視甚高，難免鼻子朝天：“turn their noses up”。有些人喜歡打聽人家的秘密，愛“nose into others’ affairs”。如果學(xué)生不聽教誨，老師會(huì)說他左耳進(jìn)右耳出：“in at one ear and out at the other”。一個(gè)有鑒賞音樂能力的人，可以形容他為“a person who has a good ear for music”。債臺(tái)高筑時(shí)：“over head and ears in debt”。掉入情網(wǎng)，難分難舍時(shí)，可形容為：“head over heels in love with him or her”。報(bào)仇是“an eye for an eye”，方法之一是“give him a black eye”（打得眼圈發(fā)青）。

四、與日、夜相關(guān)的習(xí)語

every dog has its day凡人都有得意日

what is done by night appears by day若要人不知，除非己莫為

one’s days are numbered末日將臨

for a rainy day為困難的日子作準(zhǔn)備

五、與時(shí)間相關(guān)的習(xí)語

pressed for time時(shí)間不足

eg：I must hurry up.I am pressed for time at the moment.

buy time爭(zhēng)取時(shí)間

eg：There are ten seconds left，but Jordan carried the ball steadily to buy time instead of passing it out.

kill time消磨時(shí)間

in no time很快地

time and again屢次

time’s up時(shí)間到了

at the best of times當(dāng)情況最佳

behind the times過時(shí)的

move/Keep up with the times趕上時(shí)代

六、中文里與顏色有關(guān)的慣用語較特殊，英語也如此

in the black盈利

eg：Having paid off all the debts，the company is now in the black.

in the red虧損；負(fù)債

eg：Some financial companies are in the red，because of mismanagement and some unexpected bad debts.

black and blue青一塊紫一塊

eg：The shop-keeper quarrelled with a customer and was beaten black and blue.

the black sheep of the family敗家子

eg：Among Mr Brown’s children，Alex did not behave himself and eventually became a social outcast.He was the black sheep of the family.

in black and white寫出或印出

eg：I don’t want a verbal promise but an agreement in black and white.

not so/as black as one is painted不如所形容的壞

eg：Many people complained about Daniel’s behaviour，but he was not as black as he was painted.

in a blue funk驚恐萬分

eg：Jenny has been in a blue funk since she failed in her first job interview.

one in a blue moon偶爾為之

eg：For lack of leisure，some working people went shopping once in a blue moon.

green with envy非常妒忌

eg：On hearing about Cathy’s promotion，Jane is green with envy.

catch red-handed當(dāng)場(chǎng)被捕

eg：The shop-lifter stole something valuable and was caught red-handed.

roll out the red carpet熱烈歡迎

eg：When a foreign dignitary comes to visit the country，the government often rolls out the red carpet for him.

cut the red tape取消繁文縟節(jié)

eg:If the local government can cut the red tape，a lot of work can be more quickly done.

see red突然發(fā)怒

eg：When Mrs Lin entered the guest room，it was in a mess；She saw red and scolded the maid for not tidying it up.

turn as white as a sheet臉色變得很蒼白

eg：When the car driver received a traffic police’s summons，he turned as white as a sheet.

a white lie善意的謊言

eg：As I did not want to go to Tom’s party，I told him that I was busy.Such a white lie is better than hurting his feelings in other ways.

a white-collar worker白領(lǐng)工人

eg：A secretary is a white-collar worker，while road repairing is a blue-collar worker.?蕁