“衣”言“裳”語

Have you ever considered all the English expressions that include words about clothes？ Lets see if I can name a few off the cuff—or without any preparation.

People wear pants to cover the lower part of their bodies. We sometimes say that people who are restless or nervous have ants in their pants. They might also fly by the seat of their pants—they use their natural sense to do something instead of their learned knowledge. Sometimes， people may get caught with their pants down—they are found doing something they should not be doing. And， in every family， one person takes control. Sometimes a wife tells her husband what to do. Then we say “she wears the pants in the family.”

Pants usually have pockets to hold things. Money that is likely to be spent quickly can burn a hole in your pocket. Sometimes you need a belt to hold up your pants. If you have less money than usual， you may have to tighten your belt—you may have to live on less money and spend your money carefully. But once you have succeeded in budgeting your money， you will have that skill under your belt.

I always praise people who can save their money and not spend too much. I really take my hat off to them. Yet， when it comes to my own money， I spend it at the drop of a hat—immediately， without waiting. And sadly， you cannot pull money out of a hat—you cannot get money by inventing or imagining it.

Boots are a heavy or strong shoes. People who are too big for their boots think they are more important than they really are. I dislike such people. I really do. You can bet your boots on that！ Yet， truly important people are hard to replace. Rarely can you fill their shoes—or replace them with someone equally effective.

My father is an important person. He runs a big company. He wears a suit and tie and a shirt with sleeves that cover his arms. Some people who do not know him well think he is too firm and severe. They think he is a real stuffed shirt. But I know that my father wears his heart on his sleeve—he shows his feelings openly. And， he knows how to keep his shirt on—he stays calm and never gets angry or too excited.

Also， my father has never lost his shirt in a business deal—he is too smart to lose all or most of his money. This is because my father rolls up his sleeves—and prepares to work hard. He often has a special plan or answer to a problem that he can use if he needs it. He is like a person who does magic tricks. We say “he has a card up his sleeve.”

cuff是襯衫的袖口，“off the cuff”意思是“即興的，隨意的，自發的，臨時想起的”。當你回答一個問題，而對答案又不太肯定時，也可以用這個短語。

“ants in ones pants”從字面上翻譯過來是“褲子里有螞蟻”，實際上是“熱鍋上的螞蟻，坐立不安”的意思。關于出處，有一種說法是，以前到荒山野嶺探險的人們，為了防備猛獸的襲擊會作好各種準備，比如帶上防身的武器等。但他們沒有料到，猛獸對他們的威脅并不大，因為對于這些不速之客，猛獸心懷畏懼，早就不見蹤影，倒是草叢里的小昆蟲、螞蟻毫無顧忌地鉆進他們的褲腳，在他們的身上亂爬，使他們坐立不安、無所適從。

在使用無線電電波、雷達和空中交通管制系統以前，飛行員只能根據地面的鐵路、河流和諸如水塔之類的標記來決定他們的航向。要是一個飛行員不得不在云層里飛，或是在天氣不好的情況下飛行的話，那他只能靠自己的猜測來決定方向了，因此就有了“fly by the seat of ones pants”，最初就是指的這種情況，飛行員“跟著自己感覺走”，現在引申為“在做某件事的時候，沒有明確的指導，缺乏足夠的知識”。

“get caught with ones pants down”從字面上解釋就是一個人在褲子掉下來的時候被人抓到的尷尬場景。這個短語很常見，是“一個人正在做壞事或做可恥的事情時正好被人逮個正著”。

“wear the pants”可不是字面上“穿褲子”的意思那么簡單。這個短語非常古老，起源于大概400多年前，按當時的民俗，穿褲子的都是男人，婦女得穿裙子，而養家糊口、當家作主的多是男性。當然有的家庭里，女人必須擔當起男人的責任，這時人們就會說她“wear the pants”，因為她承擔了男人的權利和義務，逐漸人們就用這個短語來指當家人。如今，“wear the pants”不光指替代丈夫當家作主的女性了，也可以用來表示主管事務的男性。

“burn a hole in ones pocket”正如字面上所能理解到的那樣，口袋燒出一個洞，口袋里的錢自然掉光了，形容“花錢如流水，存不住錢”。

“tighten ones belt”是“勒緊褲腰帶”的意思，引申為“節省開支，勤儉過日”。

“under ones belt”的來源與吃有關，吃飽喝足，在腰帶下的腰腹會鼓鼓的，如今引申為“達成某些事項；掌握某些特長”的意思。

“take ones hat off to”指的是向某人脫帽致敬。

“at the drop of a hat”從字面上看是“帽子一落地”的意思，這其實是一個信號，來源于以前的決斗，裁判員舉著帽子，然后突然將它往地上一扔，作為決斗雙方可以開槍的信號。如今，“at the drop of a hat”指的是“必要的時候立即行動”，也可以指“脾氣暴躁的人”。

“put sth. out of a hat”字面解釋是“從個帽子里拿出某些東西來”。魔術師們會變這樣一個戲法，從一個看似什么都沒有的空帽子里面變出讓人意想不到的東西來，而“put sth. out of a hat”由此引申為“找到一個意想不到的方法來解決面臨的困境”。

“too big for ones boots”指的是“自恃過高，把自己當成很重要的人”。

“bet ones boots”指的是“敢拿一切來打賭”，以前人們好不容易才能得到一雙靴子，這對他們來說是很寶貴的東西，因此打賭的人必定是有把握才會這么做。

“fill ones shoes”指的是“代替某人的地位”。

“a stuffed shirt”的意思是“愛擺架子，表現得神氣十足的人”。他們既傲慢，又頑固，自以為了不起，參加任何社交活動都屬于不受歡迎的一類人。

“wear ones heart on ones sleeve”起源于中世紀，騎士們將愛慕的女士送給他們的緞帶系在袖子上，這是“十分坦率，勇敢流露自己的情感”的意思。

“keep ones shirt on”的意思是勸告別人要有耐心，別太過于緊張。在更多的場合中，這個短語指的是“保持冷靜，在對情況有足夠了解以前不要發火”。

“lose ones shirt”并不是指某人丟失了襯衣，而是指“某人失去了他所有的一切”。

“roll up ones sleeves”指的是“卷起袖子，作好準備開始努力工作”。

“have a card up sleeve”比喻“手中握有王牌、解救危機的好辦法”。這個短語起源于16世紀，那時候人們的衣服沒有口袋，就把東西放在袖子里，而賭徒會把王牌藏在袖子里作弊。后來這個短語的貶義色彩逐漸消退，有了“錦囊妙計” 的意思。