现代英语口语表示法2

· keep one‘s fingers crossed祈求成功
The leader was guilty of a serious dereliction of duty. He kept his fingers crossed that he could escape severe punishment.
· let something slip through one‘s fingers眼睁睁地看着……跑掉
The lawyer studied the case very carefully. He wouldn‘t let something slip through his fingers.
· build a fire under someone紧催促某人……
That guy is a slowpoke. I wish there were some way to build a fire under him.
put a fire under someone其主语一般是物，而不是人。
· have other fish to fry有其他要紧事要做
Come on out! Forget about the exam, You‘re got other fish to fry.
· a flash in the pan昙花一现
He used to be called a young entrepreneur. But soon he was forgotten by the public. He was a flash in the pan.
· a fly in the ointment美中不足
Mobile phone are quite popular nowadays, but they ring at any time in the public areas. It is a fly in the ointment.
· be nobody‘s fool不傻，精明
You can not easily take him in. It is obvious that he is nobody‘s fool.
· get off on the right foot开门红
Everything will go smoothly if we get off on the right foot.
· put one‘s foot down气愤的表示反对
The boy wanted to quit school, but his father put his foot down.
· play footsy with……与……调情
Jack was so in love with Mary that he couldn‘t help playing footsies with her while having dinner.
· marry a fortune嫁给了有钱人
Scariet was in trouble, She wanted to marry a fortune and save the whole family.
· as sly as a fox非常狡猾
Though the suspect was as sly as fox, he had to admit his crime in front of solid evidence.
· a dime a dozen数不清，很多
Pagers were rare ten years ago. Now they are a dime a dozen.
· make free with……擅自使用……
Do you think I‘m a millionaire? Don‘t make free with my things.
· a freeloader白吃白喝，爱占便宜的人
In America, even if you live with your relative, you can‘t be a freeloader.
· a fair-weather friend不能同患难的朋友
I have searched my conscience, and believe I have never mistreated you. But you turned out to be a fair-weather friend.
· get stage fright怯场，紧张
The student got stage fright when he stepped into exam room.
· add fuel to the flames火上浇油
The boy refused to make an apology to his father, which added fuel to the flames.
· have a barrel of fun极开心
Children had a barrel of fun in the masquerade.
· make fun of someone取笑某人
It is not right to make fun of the disabled.
· play to the gallery哗众取宠，收买人心
He‘s so good at playing to the gallery, especially in front of girls.
· gang up on someone结伙对付某人
The local ruffians ganged up on the policemen.
· be in high gear全力进行，快速进行
Construction on the subway is in high gear.
· get away with……逃脱惩罚
Law offenders can‘t get away with their offence.
· have the gimmies患伸手病（来自小孩子give me的说法，后来就说成gimmies）
Don‘t you know you have grown up? How shameful of you7 to have the gimmes.
· give as good as one gets不服输，不示弱
He is a small boy, but he gives as good as he gets in chess match.
· fit like a glove恰倒好处，非常适合
A: How do you like the frame? B: It fits like a glove. It well matches with the room decoration.
· handle……with kid gloves小心，谨慎对待……
The antique is very precious. You‘d better handle it with kid gloves.
· get someone‘s goat使人恼怒，惹人生气
The way he boasted that he was an authority got my goat.
· for good永远地
I hope war will disappear for good in the world.
· be too good to be true好的令人难以置信
Yesterday Joe received a letter saying that the company decides to offer her a job with a salary which was too good to be true.
· have the goods on someone有某人犯罪的证据
Fred was sure that he would win the case. He had the goods on the culprit.
· goof off偷懒耍滑
Williams has been goofing off at school and his report card shows it.
· through the grapevine道听途说，小道消息
I hear through the grapevine that Jim has been dismissed from his post.
· The grass is always greener on the other hill这山望着那山高
He wrote to his brother, persuading him to keep his mind on his work and not to think the grass is always greener on the other hill.
· use elbow grease费很大的劲头
How long haven‘t you cleaned your kitchen? It‘ll use elbow grease to get it shine again.
elbow-grease常指“费劲儿的体力活儿”
You have to use a bit of elbow-grease to clean all windows.
· get the green light得到批准
We‘re got the green light from our dean that we can have some changes on teaching curriculum.
give the green light给予批准，准许某人干……
The employees can have a day off. The director has given them the green light.
· grin and bear it一笑忍之，相当于汉语的“逆来顺受”
You have had enough insults from your boss. How can you grin and bear it?
· catch someone off guard乘虚而入
Within three days, the run-away was exhausted. He fell asleep in a basement. The police caught him off guard.
· hate somebody‘s guts恨之入骨
He dismissed my for no reason at all. I hate his guts.
· kick the habit戒除恶习
You are doomed to be broke one day if you don‘t kick the drug habit.
· get in somebody‘s hair苦恼某人
Every day, salesmen come to my door. I can‘t concentrate on studied. They do get in my hair.
· let one‘s hair down无拘无束
Our supervisor is a stone-faced young lady. In front of her, you can‘t let your hair down and do what you desire.
· without turning a hair保持冷静的态度，不动声色
The president talked about the international situation without turning a hair.
· a half-wit弱智者
Do you think it is a good idea to send a half-wit to a normal school?
· bite the hand that feeds one恩将仇报
Sorry, I can tell you nothing about my master. Otherwise, I will be biting the hand that feeds me.
· gain the upper hand占上风
In strength, their team gain the upper hand; but in skill, we can have a chip on our shoulder.
· have someone eating out of one‘s hand使人完全服从某人的摆布
Money can let him eating out of your hand.
· live from hand to mouth勉强糊口
With three children to support, the window had to live from hand to mouth.
· overplay one‘s hand做的过火了，做得过头了
We may have overplayed our hand by urging him to give us an early reply.
· tip one‘s hand无意中亮底
Our rival was drunk. He tipped his hand by murmuring that his company will cut down the price of its products.
· try one‘s hand at……试着干……
Michael Jordan is a great basketball player, and he has ever tried his hand at baseball.
· fly off the handle大发雷霆
It‘s no use flying off the handle. You can reason with us.
· play into someone‘s hand正中某人下怀
Think it over. If we reduce the price, I‘m sure we‘re playing into his hand.
· wash one‘s hands off something洗手不干某事
Mr. Butcher, with a long family history of gambling, decided to wash his hand off gambling.
· get the hang of something掌握某事的窍门
I‘ve got the hang of the new computer system pretty soon.
· go haywire乱了套
The computer opposes me. Everything goes haywire when I use it.
· bury one‘s head in the sand逃避现实
The environmental pollution is getting worse and worse. We can‘t bury our head in the sand, or the nature will punish us.
· make neither head nor tail of……对……摸不着头脑
Tim scribbled a note to me during the lecture. But I couldn‘t make head or tail of it.
· have one‘s head in the clouds满脑子幻想
I know you have been dreaming of becoming a professor. But you shouldn‘t have you head in the clouds all the time. Settle down and do something.
· turn one‘s head使某人满意
Sara is a successful woman, but she never allows her achievements to turn her head.