IhadonlyrecentlyseenJohninarestaurant.Thenewsofhisdeathcameasaboltfrom
theblue
Shefoundthekeysshehadlostlastmonth,whichwaslikeaboltfromtheblue
Aboltfromtheblue
Meaning:Acompletesurprise,likeaboltoflightningfromabluesky.
Origin:ThishasthefeelofaShakespearianorBiblicalphrase,butitisn'tasoldasitsounds.Thereareseveralformsofit:'outoftheblue','aboltoutoftheblue',etc.
TheearliestcitationisThomasCarlyle,inTheFrenchRevolution,1837:"Arrestment,suddenreallyasaboltoutoftheBlue,hashitstrangevictims."
Itisunpleasanttohearhimspeakonnationaltopics,forheisabirdofillomen.
叫他谈论国事是不愉快的,因为他常出不吉之言。
abirdofillomen
中国有句老话:“夜猫子进宅,无事不来”,可见猫头鹰是种不吉利的象征。它往往和黑暗、神秘甚至死亡联系起来。然而在日本,猫头鹰却是吉利和幸福的代表。
奥运会的吉祥物
雕像、挂钟、水壶、牙签盒,甚至还有女士佩戴的胸针
Theywereonlycryingcrocodiletearsattheoldman'sfuneralbecausenobodyhadreallylikedhim.
在老人的葬礼上,他们在假装慈悲,因为他们之中没有谁喜欢过他。
Weneednothopeforlowertaxesinthefuture─thatwouldbecryingforthemoon.
我们不应抱任何希望将来会降低税收,这是根本不可能的事。
“不可能”,“没门”的译法
Noway/Thereisnoway!
Impossible!
Outofthequestion/That'soutofthequestion!
Notachance!
Hopeless!
Pigsmightfly!
Thesunmightriseinthewest!
Never/Nevereverever!
Youarecryingforthemoon!
StreetArabsareproducedbyslumsandnotbyoriginalsin.
流浪儿是贫民窟的产物,而不是原始罪恶的产物。
Johnisashamedofhishumblebackground.ThatishisAchilles'heel.
约翰因出身卑贱而自惭形秽,这是他的致命弱点。
Everyatomofyourfleshisasdeartomeasmyown;inpainandsicknessitwouldstillbedear.
在我看来,你身上的每一个细胞都像我自己的细胞一样亲,即使你痛苦你有病,也还是一样亲。
I'llplayoldGooseberrywiththeoffice,andmakeyougladtobuymeoutatagoodhighfigure.
我要在工作上故意捣蛋,使你不得不付出高价收买我。
playgooseberry(Britishhumorous)
tobewithtwopeoplewhoarehavingaromanticrelationshipandwhowouldprefertobealone.“Bestbeofftobed,myboy─ho,ho!”“No,no.Weknowatrickworthtwoofthat.Wewon’tgohometillmorning,tilldaylightdoesappear!”
“孩子,最好上床睡吧——嗬,嗬!”“不,不,你不必跟我们玩那一套。不到明天,不到天大亮我们不归家。
knowatrickworthtwoofthat:有更好的办法
Whatyousuggestisverygood.Butlistentome.Iknowatrickworthtwoofthat.
Whenthewell'sdry,weknowtheworthofwater.
We'llneverknowtheworthofwatertillthewellgodry.
Weneverknowtheworthofwatertillthewellisdry.
Shegaveherhearttoonewhocouldnotknowitsworth.
Nooneknowtheworthofwoman'slovetillhesueforalienation.
Youknowatrickortwoaftertwentyyearsinbusiness.
Yourclassmadehimmonitor,whichamountstosettingthefoxtokeepthegeese.
你们班推选他当班长,这等于是引狼人室
setafoxtokeepone'sgeese:引狼人室
Yes,Iwenttherethenightbeforelast,butshewasquiteonthehighropesaboutsomething,andwassograndandmysteriousthatIcouldn’tmakeanythingofher.
不错,前天晚上我到那儿去过,也不知道她为何异常得意洋洋,又威风又神秘,弄得我莫名其妙
beonthehighropes:兴高采烈,得意
TheSquirebrokein,“Don’tthinkthatI’llhaveanyhumblepieeatentothatfellowBellew!"乡绅插嘴道:“别以为我会向贝鲁这种人低声下气。”
Eathumblepie(British,American&Australian)alsoeatcrow(American):Actsubmissivelyandapologetically,especiallyinadmittinganerror.忍气吞生,赔礼道歉
我们原打算在妈妈生日那天给她意外惊喜,可他却泄露了秘密。
WehadplannedtogiveMumapleasantsurpriseonherbirthday,butletthecatoutofthebag
Tolooklikethecatthatatethecanary形容一个人显得非常满足的样子。
raincatsanddogs倾盆大雨
Allcatsare(或look)black(或gray)inthedark./Weareinthesameboat.
五十步笑百步或乌鸦笑猪黑。
西方人也喜欢猫,并将猫养为宠物。但是黑猫却让西方人心生恐惧,尤其是英国人,他们将黑猫
与女巫联系在上起。如果是漆黑的星期五晚上碰上一只黑猫,便预示着此人会遭厄运。在英国古
代的传说中,人们认为妖魔常变成黑色的动物,尤其是黑猫,还有人说黑猫就是巫婆变的。黑猫
有九命,巫婆有变九次的魔法。杀死一只黑猫,她还可以再变八次。所以英语的猫还含有"心地恶毒的女人,爱说人坏话的女人"等意思。
Sheisacat(她是个包藏祸心的女人)
MrsSmithisaperfectcat(史密斯太太是个地地道道的长舌妇)
Themanandhiswifeliveacatanddoglife,andbotharemiserable(他们夫妻俩经常吵架,两人都感到痛苦)
It‘sdifficulttogetamantobellthecat(敢于在危险中挺身而出的人不容易找到)
Acathasninelives(猫有九命/自有天相)
Catshidetheirclaws(猫总是藏起自己的爪子/知人知面不知心)
Allcatsaregreyinthedark(黑暗处的猫都是灰色的/人未出名时看起来都差不多)
Aglovedcatcatchesnomice(戴手套的猫抓不到老鼠/不愿吃苦的人成不了大事业)
Thecatshutsitseyeswhenstealingcream(掩耳盗铃,自欺欺人)
There‘smorewaysthanonetokillacat(有的是办法)
likeacatonhotbricks(焦躁不安,如热锅上的蚂蚁)
他决定不了究竟是上大学还是去找工作,可事实上他只能干一件,两者不能兼得。
Hecan’tmakeuphismindwhethertogotocollegeorgetajob.Youcan'teatyourcakeandhaveit,too.