与月亮有关的英语词汇和短语

moon away 虚度时光

Dont't moon away the Mid-autumn Festival.找点事儿做吧，不要虚度了中秋佳节哦。

over the moon 欣喜若狂

She is over the moon about the two holidays.连着两个节假日，她高兴极了。（呵呵，的确让人感到over the moon呢。）

aim/level at the moon 想入非非, 野心太大

脚踏实地，Don's aim at the moon哦~

as changeable as the moon 象月亮一样善变，反复无常

Exactly！用月亮来比喻善变还真是贴切呢。

What can I do with her? She is as changeable as the moon.她反复无常，我真拿她没办法。

bark/bay at the moon/bay the moon 空嚷嚷，徒劳，枉费心机

狗有时会对着月亮吠叫，借以吓唬月亮，可是无论它再怎么凶猛咆哮都只是白费力气而已。后来人们就用bay the moon或bark at the moon来比喻“空嚷，徒劳，无事空扰”。
 
boast above/beyond the moon 捧上天, 海阔天空地吹牛

对着月亮叫（bark at the moon）都是枉费心机了，boast above the moon更是吹大牛了。
 
cast beyond the moon 痴心妄想; 胡乱猜测, 想入非非

cover oneself with the moon 露宿(指流浪汉与失业者)

这句英语谚语与中文中的“以天为被，以地为席”有异曲同工之妙呢，都是指“露宿”。

cry/ask/wish for the moon 想做办不到的事情, 想要得不到的东西

不要向你的男朋友ask for the moon了，有些幼稚了啊。

dark of the moon 月黑时

full of the moon 月圆; 满月时

(make) believe/think that the moon is made of green cheese

(要人)相信最荒唐的事; 愚蠢到极点, 愚弄人

old moon in new moon's arms 新月抱残月（指上弦月出现时，另外半边受地球的反光，隐隐显出圆月的轮廓）

once in a blue moon 极少; 千载难逢

“blue moon”本意指“一个月中的第二次满月”,据推算,这种天文现象至少要相隔32个月才会出现一次,也算很罕见了。因而日常生活中,人们常用“once in a blue moon”来形容机会难得,千载难逢。
 
pay/offer the moon 支付一大笔款项

月亮本是可望而不可得的，竟想要买下来，那岂不是要“天价”！

praise above/beyond the moon 过分颂扬; 捧天上

promise sb. the moon 对某人作无法兑现的许诺

shoot the moon (为避债)乘黑夜搬家

the man in the moon 月中人(指月面的黑斑); 假想的人

The moon does not heed the barking of dogs. (=Does the moon care for the barking of a dog?)

“月亮不理狗的狂吠”; 对无稽责难置之不理。

这句与上面的“bark at the moon徒劳，枉费心机”对应。

The moon is a moon still, whether it shines or not.

不管显露不显露, 月亮总是月亮。

The moon is not seen where the sun shines.

太阳一出,月亮失色;小巫见大巫。

表示能力与智慧的短语

海量 have a hollow leg

Want to drink him under the table? Well…you can never do. He got a hollow leg, you know.

你想灌醉他？他可是海量，从来没有醉过。

略胜一筹 be a notch above

In oil painting, Mr Zhang paints better than Mr.Li. But when it comes to water colors, Mr.Liu appears to be a notch above Mr Zhang.

论油画，张先生比刘先生画得好。但是，谈到水彩画，刘先生可就比张先生略胜一筹了。

有头脑 be a brain

He's a brain, who wouldn't be fooled into believing your babbling.

他可是个有头脑的人，决不会相信你的那一套。

很能干 to have a lot on the ball

I know Li Ming has a lot on the ball. But I'm not sure if he likes to work here.

我知道李明很能干，但我怀疑他是否真的愿意到我们这儿来工作。

有名无实 a poor apology

The man you've just mentioned is but a poor apology for a writer. His writings are tedious.

你刚才提到的那个作家不过是个有名无实的人。他的作品太没意思了。

绞尽脑汁 to rack one's brain

He had racked his brain, but hadn't been able to work out the answer to the problem.

他已经绞尽脑汁了，可是仍未找到问题的答案。

没骨气 have no guts

I'm surprised to learn that she had married the man who had once done her father in. She really has no guts.

真没想到她那么没骨气，竟然嫁给了坑害过她父亲的人。

真了不起 really something

He overwhelmed so many of his opponents alone. He's really something.

他真了不起，竟然一个人对付了那么多的对手。

昙花一现 a flash in the pan

That singer was only a flash in the pan. He disappeared into the air after having made one or two records.

那个歌星也只是昙花一现，出了几张唱片就销声匿迹了。

寡不敌众 be outnumbered

The girl was brave enough, but as being outnumbered, she was finally knocked into the middle of next week by the gang.

她很勇敢，但终因寡不敌众，被那帮人打晕过去。

单枪匹马 play a lone hand

When investing in a business, he always likes to play a lone hand.

在投资时，他总喜欢单枪匹马的去干。

出师不利 get off one the wrong foot

His idea was good, but he got off on the wrong foot when he started doing it.

他的主意不错，可一开始就出师不利。

口才 the gift of gab

Seldom have I met a girl who's had such a gift of gab like Lee Lee's.

我几乎没见过像莉莉这样有口才的女孩子。

还嫩点儿 still wet behind the ears

Attempt to do me in? You are still wet behind the ears.

想陷害我？你还嫩点儿！

糊涂虫 a nitwit

You're a real nitwit. Why should you badmouth his girlfriend in his face?

你真是个糊涂虫，怎么能当他的面讲他女朋友的坏话那？

饭量小 eat like a bird

She eats like a bird. A small piece of bread will be enough for her.

她的饭量特别小，吃一小块面包就够了。

痛失良机 Let something slip through one's fingers.

You can't be more stupid! How could you let such a golden opportunity to make big money slip through your fingers? It was an opportunity that comes once in a blue moon.

你真蠢！这样一个发大财的机会千载难逢，你怎能眼睁睁的让他跑掉那？

抓住机会 jump at the chance

You should have jump at such a good chance.

这样的好机会，你应该抓住。

嘴硬 never say uncle

That boy never says uncle. He wouldn't admit he's wrong for the life of him.

那个孩子的嘴特别硬，打死他都不肯认错。

有门道 have the means of

Mr Zhang has always had the means of making money.

在挣钱方面，张先生可有门道了。

语言系统紊乱症——这是神马症状？话说这种在全国高校大规模蔓延的综合症中，以TOEFL以及GRE综合症最为普遍。下面咱来看看具体病例：

病例分析：正常人与患者要求将一句中文翻译成英语。

你是猪。

正常：You are a pig.

TOEFL症：You are certainly no more than a pig.

（你也不比猪好多少。）

GRE症前期：It would not be unjustifiable to claim that you resemble a pig not only superficially but also intrinsically.

（声称你不论表面还是内在都与猪有相似之处，这绝非空穴来风。）

GRE症后期：You are porcine/swinish/hoggish.

（豕者，乃之类也。）

你脑子是不是坏了？

正常：Are you crazy or what?

TOEFL症：It’s a question whether or not you are crazy.

（脑残还是不脑残，这是个问题。）

GRE症前期：Query whether or not the brain of you is still performing its function as normally as one would expect it to be.

（我现质疑你的大脑是否如预期般处于正常运行中。）

GRE症后期：Are you asinine/obtuse/vacuous/fatuous/lunatic/frantic/frenetic/paranoid?

（汝失心矣！）

我爱你

正常：I love you

TOEFL症患者：I can’t stop loving you.

（我无法停止爱你。）

GRE症前期：I would wager that no one all over the world could honestly claim that they feel a stronger affinity towards you than I do.

（我打赌，这世上无人敢用真心保证，他对你的眷恋会比我对你更深刻。）

GRE症后期：I woo/dote/adore/coddle/cosset/spoil you.

（私心慕之）

你扯淡!

正常：Bullshit!

TOEFL症患者：You are talking absolute nonsense.

你说的完全没有意义。）

GRE症前期：What you are talking about rests on myriadsof unsubstantiated assumptions, which render it ridiculous as it stands.

（你的言论纯粹是建立在一堆抽象而荒谬的臆想之上。）

GRE症后期：You prate/waffle/babble/prattle/piffle!

（甚矣 汝之不惠！）

分析总评：TOEFL患者的典型症状是一句简单的话一定要绕个弯表达；GRE前期患者的典型症状是句子结构复杂化，语言风格华丽化，有政客演讲的风格；GRE后期患者的典型症状是回归古典，语句精炼，用词晦涩，高深莫测。

Goose bumps

每当我们觉得身上发冷或者发麻的时候，皮肤上就会起一层鸡皮疙瘩。英语里鸡皮疙瘩叫： goose bumps。Goose就是鹅，bumps就是疙瘩。至于为什么中国人说鸡皮疙瘩，而美国人却说鹅皮疙瘩就不得而知了。

例句：

I know that most snakes are harmless, but I can't help it--every time I see a snake, even in a zoo, I get goose bumps all over！

我知道大多数的蛇是不咬人的，但是每当我看到蛇，我全身就会起鸡皮疙瘩，哪怕是在动物园里看到蛇也是如此，真是没办法。

当某些事物使我们突然感到热情洋溢，或产生敬仰心情的时候，我们也会起鸡皮疙瘩。下面说话的人在告诉他的朋友他是多么喜欢女歌星 Madonna。Madonna不但令许多美国人陶醉，她还演过几部电影。但是，她的歌喉和演技并不是吸引广大观众的主要因素，她之所以在一些美国人心目中特别红主要还靠她的姿色和大胆卖弄风情的表演。

Do you know, I have seen every movie with Madonna in it at least five times. Just seeing her picture in a magazine gives me goose bumps--she's such a beautiful woman！

你知道，Madonna演的电影每部我都至少看五遍。即便在杂志里看到她的照片都会让我起鸡皮疙瘩。她真是太漂亮了。

sitting duck

Duck就是鸭子。我们不容易打到一只正在飞的鸭子，不过一只浮在水面上的鸭子却是一个很容易击中的目标。Sitting duck 从字面上解释就是：一只坐着的鸭子。当然，sitting duck 是一个俗语，它的意思是：很容易上当受害的人。

例句：

Sure. My friend Joe is a sitting duck for any phony offer that promises to make him rich in a hurry. Anytime a fast-talking salesman comes along with a promise to make Joe a millionaire overnight, Joe will hand over his money. And, of course, he'll never see it again.

我的朋友乔伊对任何说是能让他很快发财的骗局都相信。只要那些滔滔不绝的推销员向他保证他们能够一夜间使他成为百万富翁，不管是谁，他都会把钱交给他们。当然，这些钱他是再也见不到了。

大家一定都很熟悉二次世界大战时发生的珍珠港事件。那是在1941年十二月七号凌晨，日本人在没有宣战的情况下突然偷袭珍珠港，美国太平洋舰队遭到毁灭性的打击。第二天，美国向日本宣战，从而爆发了太平洋战争。下面这个例句就是在讲珍珠港事件：

It was early on a Sunday morning and the Americans had no warning. So the battleships and destroyers were sitting ducks when the Japanese bombers swept in from the sea.

那是一个星期天的清晨，美国人根本没有得到警告。所以当日本轰炸机从海上飞来的时候，那些战舰和驱逐舰只能束手待毙。

chicken feed

鸡是一种很小的家禽，它的胃当然也很小，吃不了太多东西。Feed 在这儿的意思就是喂鸡的饲料。Chicken feed 作为俗语，它的意思就是：很小数量的钱，少得像喂鸡的饲料一样。

例句：

I turned down the job at the hamburger restaurant. They only pay chicken feed--not even enough money to pay my rent.

我没有接受那个汉堡包店的工作。他们付的工资实在太少，还不够我付房租呢。

美国社会发展变化得非常快。有的人说现在比过去强，但是也有不少人存在今非昔比的想法。正因为如此，有的人经常在谈话时流露出怀旧的心情。下面这个例句就是一个人在把现在的物价和五十年以前的物价做对比。

My grandfather says that 50 years ago a salary of $5,000 a year meant you could live very comfortably. But these days $5,000 is just chicken feed; you'd have a tough time just surviving on it.

我祖父说，五十年前，一年五千美元的工资意味着你可以生活的非常舒服。可是，现在五千美元年薪真是微不足道，难以维持生活。

turkey farm

Turkey 是火鸡，farm就是农场。但是，turkey farm合在一起作为俗语却和农场毫无关系。那么，什么是turkey farm 呢？在每个政府机构或者私营公司里总会有一些工作能力低或者是不愿勤恳工作的人；但是，由于种种原因，领导又没有办法解雇这些人。为了使工作不受影响，这些机构的领导往往把这些人调到一个地方，就像打入冷宫一样。实际上也就是把他们养在那里，而这种地方就叫作 turkey farm。

例句：

The man is so incompetent we'd like to fire him. But he has good political connections so we sent him to our turkey farm out in Denver where he can't cause much damage.

那个人实在无能，我们很想解雇他。但是他和一些政界人物关系很好，所以我们就把他送到丹佛那个机构里去，那样他就不能再起多大破坏作用了。

从这句话里我们可以看出，在美国靠关系来办事也不是罕见的事。但是，和有些国家不同的是，美国的法律很严格，加上各机构都具有很大的独立性，因此这种靠关系来为私利服务的事也只能在一定程度上可行，超越了规章制度和法律所允许的范围那就危险了。一旦被揭露，当事人就有被控告和判罪的可能。我们从每天报纸上就经常能看到这种事。

例句：

There is a secretary in my office who tries to do as little as possible. I have warned her several times. If she continues to behave that way, one day I am going to send her to the turkey farm.

我办公室里的一个秘书总是设法干得越少越好。我已经警告她好几回了。要是她继续这样下去的话，总有一天我要把她送到那个全是废物的部门去。