get up on the wrong side of the bed

gets up on the wrong side of the bed
getting up on the wrong side of the bed
got up on the wrong side of the bed
got up on the wrong side of the bed
gotten up on the wrong side of the bed

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/en-au-get up on the wrong side of the bed.ogg

吃错药 （没有特别理由而心情差，烦躁）

I think my boss got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. He's been grumpy all day.

我觉得我老板吃错药了，整天都特别暴躁。


pussy-cat

He looks stern, but he's just a big pussy-cat really.

他看上去嚴厲，但實際上卻是個非常溫柔熱心的人。


narine

the narine membrane


essorant

an essorant lark

essorant spirits, essorant rhetoric


edit war

As with dinner-table discussions, it is best to avoid editing articles about politics or religion unless one wishes to become entrenched in a perpetual edit war.

和飯桌上的討論一樣，編者最好避免編輯有關政治和宗教的條目，除非其想在永無休止的編輯戰中更加堅信自己的想法。

An unproductive edit war results as editors change the page back and forth between two incompatible versions, without troubling to engage in discussions.

當編輯者們反覆將頁面在兩個不相兼容的版本回退，而不參與討論的時候，無益的編輯戰就產生了。

2008, Phoebe Ayers, Charles Matthews, Ben Yates, How Wikipedia Works: And How You Can Be a Part of It, No Starch Press, →ISBN，頁號 388:


edit war

When a dispute arises, it is common to see a page protected to avoid edit warring.

爭議出現時，我們經常能看到頁面會被保護起來，以避免編輯戰[的發生]。


to hell with

（表示对某人或物的强烈不满）

To hell with you!

"I don't want an elephant's soul, or any soul at all!" he said. For a few moments he sat despondently. Suddenly he jumped to his feet, with his eyes blazing and all the signs of intense cerebral excitement. "To hell with you and your souls!" he shouted. "Why do you plague me about souls? Haven't I got enough to worry, and pain, to distract me already, without thinking of souls?"

1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula, New York, N.Y.: Modern Library, →OCLC:

Yes, it would be dangerous to get too carried away but right here, right now, to hell with anyone who insists it is time for restraint.

2018年July3日, Daniel Taylor, “England knock Colombia out of World Cup in last-16 penalty shootout”, 出自 The Guardian:


see you

再會（加上表示下次見面的時間）

See you at the weekend!


own up

I'll own up: I glued your mouse to its mat.

我坦白：是我把你鼠标粘到垫子上的。

If you own up to breaking the glass, you'll be forgiven.

你承认是你打碎的玻璃就原谅你。


ligma

一种虚构出来的疾病，尤其用来吸引人询问其含义，然后用lick my balls回应来开玩笑。

"Hey, have you heard of ligma?" "What's ligma?" "Ligma balls!"

“嘿，你听说过‘ligma’吗？”“‘ligma’是什么？”“Ligma balls！”


formulaic

more formulaic (comparative)
most formulaic (superlative)

That TV series has become awfully formulaic in the last couple of seasons.

那部连续剧在最新那几季里变得特别俗套。


obstruent

more obstruent (comparative)
most obstruent (superlative)

an obstruent medicine


happy birthday

Happy Birthday, Joe! Have a fantastic day!

喬伊，生日快樂！祝你今天過得愉快。


blow-dry

用吹風機把頭髮烘乾的行為

She went to the hairdresser's for a haircut, shampooing and a blow-dry.

她去理髮店來了套洗剪吹。


/s

伪XML代码。XML中，元素的结尾使用斜杠表示（如</b>表示粗体元素块结束）。原作</sarcasm>（表示一条讽刺语句结束）（参见< >），之后简化为/sarcasm，最终进一步简化为/s。

表示前面的句子是讽刺。汉语近似等价词有狗頭等。

Wow, I never would have guessed /s

哇，我猜到死都猜不到呢 /s


catch up

The speaker wires have got caught up with the wires from the lights.

音响的线和照明的线缠起来了。

I hadn't seen her for so long. It was great to catch up.

我好久没见她了，很高兴能听到她近来的情况。

After Alice's vacation, her boss caught her up on policy changes.

Alice放假回来后，她的老板带她了解了新规定。

Rose was three seconds behind, but managed to catch up with the race leader and eventually won.

Rose本来落后3秒钟，但之后成功赶上了领跑人，最后夺冠。

I'll go ahead and you can catch me up later.

我先走了，你之后再赶上我吧。

But you run / And you run to catch up with the sun / But it's sinking

1973年March1日, Roger Waters （作曲作詞）, “Time”, 出自 The Dark Side of the Moon, 演出者 Pink Floyd:


riskless

more riskless (comparative)
most riskless (superlative)

Nothing is completely riskless—not even staying at home in bed.

沒有事情是完全無危險的——就連待在家裡躺床上也不是。


déjà vu

非同化借詞，源自法語 déjà vu。

/ˌdeɪ.ʒɑː ˈvuː/

Have I done this before? Talk about déjà vu.

我是不是以前做過了？說過的又說一遍。


ronnagram

The Earth now weighs 6 ronnagrams.

地球现在重6×10²⁷克。


shoulders

The responsibility for the job was placed on his shoulders.

這份工作的責任就落在了他的肩上。


milled

Coarsely milled maize is termed cornmeal, but when finely milled and sifted it is called corn flour.

玉米經過粗磨的產物，叫做 cornmeal（“玉米粉”），而經過細磨和篩分的產物，就叫做 corn flour（“玉米澱粉”）。


favoured

more favoured (comparative)
most favoured (superlative)

有著某種外貌或身體特徵的

ill-favoured; well-favoured; hard-favoured

其貌不揚的；貌美的；面貌嚴厲的

a white-favoured footman


move house

I haven’t got any mail since I(’ve) moved house.

自從搬家之後，我就沒收到過任何郵件。


at all

whatsoever

表示比零更大的程度、数量或频率：最小程度上、用任何方法、在任何时间或在任何情况下。

You mustn't speak to her at all.

Can you see anyone at all?

Are you at all bothered by the noise?

Let me know if you are at all concerned.

如果您有任何顧慮，請告訴我。

Were you angry that he was laughing too hard, or that he was laughing at all?

你是为他笑得太厉害而生气，还是就为他在笑而生气？

I'm glad that she didn't stay long, but sorry that she came at all.

我很高兴她没有呆很久，但对她的到来感到遗憾。

This is the only one of the issues for which I am at all responsible.

这是唯一一个由我负责的问题。


disagree with

disagrees with
disagreeing with
disagreed with

使...不舒服，使...恶心

The sausage I bought at the market is disagreeing with me.

我在菜市场买的香肠让我肚子不太舒服。


talk out of

talks out of
talking out of
talked out of

说服...放弃，说服...不做

My brother wanted a pet squirrel, but I talked him out of it.

我哥想养一只松鼠当宠物，但被我劝住了。


move on

After spending the night resting in an abandoned church, the group decided to move on in their quest.

在废弃教堂休息了一晚上后，这队人决定继续远征。

Moving on again, I catch another GWR Class 802 bound for Oxford via the Cotswold Line.

2020年December2日, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, 出自 Rail，頁號 67:

The best revenge is always to just happily move on and let karma do the rest.

最好的复仇就是不管，让报应收拾他们。


stagehand

舞臺、劇場後臺的工作人員；舞臺助手。

The actors get the glory, the spotlight and the name up in lights while it is the stagehands who point the spotlight, hang the name and change the light bulbs.

演員得到了名聲和聚光燈，名字在燈下閃閃發光，而點亮聚光燈、掛上名字、換好燈泡的，則是後臺的工作人員。


unbeknownst

He went home early, unbeknownst to his mother.

他在不让母亲知道的情况下提早回了家。

Theon’s redemption scene convincingly threatens to kill him right there on the beaches of Dragonstone, dying for a good cause unbeknownst to anyone but the rapscallions who watched him die, but at last it swerves into something genuinely heroic.

2017年August27日, Brandon Nowalk, “Game Of Thrones slows down for the longest, and best, episode of the season (newbies)”, 出自 The Onion AV Club:


butoh

源自日語 舞踏 (butō)。
詞尾的“h”用於表示其來自日語的發音；對比 bokeh。

She's a butoh dancer.


astronomically

more astronomically (comparative)
most astronomically (superlative)

The calculated answer was astronomically large.

計算出來的結果猶如天文數字。


sully

源自中古英語 sulen、sulien (“變髒；弄髒，弄污”)，源自古英語 sylian (“弄髒，弄污”)，源自原始日耳曼語 *suliwōną、*sulwōną、*sulwijaną (“弄髒，弄污”)，源自原始印歐語 *sūl- (“粘稠的液體，淤泥”)，可能與來自相同日耳曼語族源頭的古法語 souillier (“弄髒，弄污”)（現代法語 souiller）部分混合。與丹麥語 søle (“弄髒，弄污”)、荷蘭語 zaluwen (“弄髒，弄污”)（中古荷蘭語 saluwen (“弄髒，弄污”)）、德語 sühlen (“弄髒，弄污”)、古撒克遜語 sulian (“弄髒，弄污”)、瑞典語 söla (“弄髒，弄污”)同源。亦对比中古英語 sulpen (“弄髒，弄污”)、古英語 solian (“弄髒，弄污；變髒”)，參見 soil。

He did not wish to sully his hands with gardening.

THoſe Ills your Anceſtors have done, / Romans, are now become your own ; / And they will coſt you dear, / Unleſs you ſoon repair / The falling Temples which the Gods provoke, / And Statues ſully’d yet with Sacrilegious Smoke.

1672, The Earl of Roscommon [Wentworth Dillon, 4th Earl of Roscommon], “The Sixth Ode, of the Third Book of Horace”, 出自 Poems by the Earl of Roscomon, London: J[acob] Tonson, 出版於 1717，頁號 153，行號s 1–6:

She tried to sully her rival’s reputation with a suggestive comment.

她作出暗示性的評論，嘗試玷污競爭對手的名聲。


alight

源自中古英語 alighten (“（从某处）下来；下（车，马）；到达，停在；着陆；掉落；攻击；（雷，闪电）打，击；跳上（马背等）；（段位，官阶）下降；使...（的段位，官阶）下降；出现，涌现；减轻；（基督教，指基督，天使，圣灵，奇迹等）下凡，降临；下（地狱）；（某事）降临到，发生到”) [以及其他形式]，融合自：
* 古英語 ālīhtan (“下（车马）”)，源自ā- (“离，出，走”, 前缀) + līhtan、līehtan (“降临；使...变轻，减轻”)，最终源自原始印歐語 *h₁lengʷʰ- (“轻”)；和
* 古英語 ġelīhtan (“下（车马）；使...变轻，使...变简单；减轻”)，源自ġe- (程度增强前缀，接于动词表示完成，完满) + līhtan、līehtan（见上）。
英语中，作a- (表示“离，出，走”的前缀) + light (“使...简单，使...变轻；拿走；从...卸货；（古旧）降落，着陆；下（车马）”)分析。
同源词
* 中古低地德語 erlichten (“使...变轻”)
* 古高地德語 gilīhten (“使...变轻”)（中古高地德語 gelīhten）、古高地德語 irlīhten (“减轻”)（中古高地德語 erlīhten，现代德語 erleichten）

alighten

使...变轻 （质量，程度等）；减轻，缓解

alighten

（常与from或off连用）下 （车，马等）； 完成旅途，停下

light

（常与from或off连用）下 （车，马等）； 完成旅途，停下

disembark

（常与from或off连用）下 （车，马等）； 完成旅途，停下

debark

（常与from或off连用）下 （车，马等）； 完成旅途，停下

get off

（常与from或off连用）下 （车，马等）； 完成旅途，停下

get out

（常与from或off连用）下 （车，马等）； 完成旅途，停下

unlight

（常与from或off连用）下 （车，马等）； 完成旅途，停下

（常与from或off连用）下 （车，马等）； 完成旅途，停下

He alighted from his horse.

Passengers are alighting from the carriage.

Dashing back to my compartment, I grabbed my impedimenta—what my companion thought of the maniac who alighted at a station only half-way to the first booked stop I don't know!—got out, hurried under the subway, and was into my 10.45 comfortably before its departure.

1939 June, “Pertinent Paragraphs: A Surprise at Didcot”, 出自 The Railway Magazine, Westminster, London: IPC Transport Press, →ISSN, →OCLC，頁號 452:

That, combined with the fact that I alight with only four or five other passengers, is a sad reminder of how most people continue to choose to travel to this far-flung corner of the UK.

2021年November3日, Paul Stephen, “As Far North as You Can Go … to Thurso”, 出自 Rail, 期 943, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire: Bauer Media, →ISSN, →OCLC，頁號 49:

A flying bird alights upon a tree.

Snow alights on a roof.

His fearefull freends vveare out the vvofull night, / Ne dare to vveepe, nor ſeeme to vnderſtand / The heauie hap, vvhich on them is alight, / Affraid, leaſt to themſelues the like miſhappen might.

1590, 埃德蒙·斯宾塞, “Book I, Canto III”, 出自 仙后（The Faerie Qveene . […]）, London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 20，頁號 38:

Then from his loftie ſtand on that high Tree / Down he alights among the ſportful Herd / Of thoſe fourfooted kindes, himſelf now one, […]

1667, John Milton, “Book IV”, 出自 Paradise Lost. A Poem Written in Ten Books, London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], →OCLC; 再版為 Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC，行號s 395–397:

In 1851 the Great Northern Railway had reached London and began operating into a terminus at Maiden Lane, just north of the New Road [later renamed Euston Road]. In 1854 they moved up to the New Road itself, with the opening of King's Cross station, east of Euston. The railways were alighting on the New Road like birds perching on a branch (the Midland Railway would open St Pancras, between Euston and King's Cross in 1868), and [Charles] Pearson took note.

2012, Andrew Martin, “The World of Charles Pearson”, 出自 Underground Overground: A Passenger’s History of the Tube, paperback版, London: Profile Books, 出版於 2013, →ISBN，頁號 25:


alight

动词可能另派生自其他词：
* 源自中古英語 alighten (“点燃；开始燃烧；变明亮；激起，唤起；（比喻义）启迪，启发”) [以及其他形式]，源自古英語 ālīhtan、ālȳhtan (“点亮”)（可能仿拉丁語 illūmināre，illūminō (“照亮”)的现在主动不定式），源自ā- (表示“离，出，走”的前缀) + līhtan、līehtan (“闪亮，照耀；照亮”)（最终源自原始印歐語 *lewk- (“看；闪；亮”)）；和
* 源自中古英語 onlighten (“使...发光；（比喻义）启迪，启发”) [以及其他形式]，源自古英語 onlīhtan，inlīhtan (“照亮；使...发光；发光；（比喻义）使...醍醐灌顶，启发”)的一个变体，源自原始日耳曼語 *inliuhtijaną (“照亮”)，源自*in (“进”) + *liuhtijaną (“照亮”)（最终源自原始印歐語 *lewk-，见上）；和
* alight (形容词)的晚期用法。
英语中，作a- (表示“离，出，走”的前缀) + light (“点（火）；点燃；燃起来；照亮；照路”)分析。
形容词和副词派生自晚期中古英語 alight (形容词) [以及其他形式]，源自古英語 ālīht、ālȳht，古英語 ālīhtan、ālȳhtan (动词，见上)的过去分词形式；但随后亦被解读为a- (表示“到，上，于”的前缀，用来表示条件、状态或方式) + light (“明亮的，清晰的”)。
同源词
* 德語 erleuchten (“照亮”)

The burning embers and the dry wind quickly set the whole neighbourhood alight.

燃着的灰烬和干燥的风很快将附近的所有房子点燃了。

The sticks were damp and wouldn’t catch alight.

With a heavy load of 650 tons for Arras and Lille we started very quietly, with about a third of a glass of water, and the fire barely alight. This frightened me, but I had reckoned without the 4-6-4's American mechanical stoker.

1961 February, Balmore [pseudonym], “Driving and Firing Modern French Steam Locomotives – Part One”, 出自 Trains Illustrated, London: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC，頁號 110:

Her face was alight with happiness.


appellant

源自盎格魯-諾曼語，源自古法語 apelant。

The appellant made her submissions to the court.

上訴人向法院提交了陳詞。


necrophobia

死亡恐惧症 （对死亡或尸体的非理性恐惧）

Funerals are ten times worse with necrophobia in addition to grief.


slather

未知，自19世纪起可考，意为“滑动”。

I slathered jam on my toast.

在...上（厚厚地）涂抹均匀

I slathered my toast with jam.


toddle

源頭未知。可能與totter有關。

There he was, just toddling along.


isekai

借自日語 異世界 (isekai)。

The protagonist was isekai'd by Truck-kun.

主人公被卡车君传送到了异世界。


year-old

結合形 -year-old 可追溯到中古英語（ȝeer old(e)、yeer old(e)、yere old(e)）。

He bought a year-old car.


lowdown

由low + down构成的词义为“谦逊的”的形容词在16世纪40年代便有记载，在1888年又出现有“粗鄙的，低贱的”一意。在1915年记载有名词用法，指“秘密，内幕消息”等。

All the reporters hoped to be the first to get the lowdown on the celebrity's marriage plans.

所有记者都想第一个拿到那个明星婚姻安排的内幕消息。

here's the lowdown

to give somebody the lowdown


lowdown

more lowdown (comparative)
most lowdown (superlative)

lowdown tactics


that is to say

One of the best things about works of music is that they are repeatable, that is to say that one can listen to the same work over and over without becoming tired of it.

音乐作品最好的地方之一就是它们是可重复的，也就是说，人们可以一遍又一遍地听同一部作品而不会厌倦。


sit-up

Susan's doing sit-ups to strengthen her muscles.

蘇珊正在做仰臥起坐來加強肌肉。


sign in

In order to get into the office after hours, you'll have to sign in at the security desk.

下班后进办公室需要到保安服务台登记。


sign up

登记，记录，给...注册，给...报名

We signed up Bob for kitchen cleanup duty.

我们给Bob分了扫厨房的活。

Terry signed up for the soccer team.

After much deliberation we decided to sign up for satellite TV.

考虑了好久以后我们决定订卫星电视。


innit

用来代替任何否定的附加疑问句，无论人称、性数、或动词是什么。

You like listening to pop music, innit?

你喜欢听流行音乐，对吧？

You were dissing my girl, innit?

I like pop music innit


-ass

可能是-assed的简化或变体。

加拿大、美國，俚語，粗俗

That's a big-ass wrench you've got there.

Wilson: He's right. They endorse Royce, fine, 'the hell else they gonna do? But what they say and don't say from the pulpit the Sunday before the primary we still got a dog in that fight.
Carcetti: I do this right, they respect it.
Wilson: An' if they don't, at least they get to see a beggin’-ass white man on his knees. Always a feel-good moment for the folks.

2006 Oct. 1, Dennis Lehane, "Refugees", The Wire, 00:32:06:

I recognize that the council has made a decision, but given that it's a stupid-ass decision, I've elected to ignore it.

2012, Joss Whedon, The Avengers, Marvel Studios:

You've got to work with me
Now, I don't wanna see any fake-ass workers
I need real builders

2018, “Work It”, 出自 Working Class Woman, 演出者 Marie Davidson:

用来将形容词转换为指代拥有这种特征的人的名词。

Don't be such a broke-ass—you can afford a fast-food run today!

别一副好像很穷的样子，今天快餐总能吃得起吧！

That's some Nixon-ass shit he's pulling. (He is acting in a way that closely resembles Nixon's actions.)

他怎么一副Nixon的吊样啊！


raison d'être

raisons d'être (plural)
raison d'être (plural)
raison d'êtres (plural)

/ˌɹeɪzɒ̃ ˈdɛtɹə/

/ˌɹɛzɒ̃ ˈdɛtɹə/

Surfing became his raison d’être.

These raison d'etre and this evolution are not merely the achievement of men's conscious activity but are the unintentional results of their social activity.

1966, Maurice Godelier, Rationality and irrationality in economics, London, published by Francois Maspero, pg. 317 (quoted in Michael W. Coy, "Tugen Monopoly: Capitalism and Conflict in the Mountains of Kenya," Anthropology & Humanism Quarterly, Vol. 13, No. 2, 1988, pg. 41, Full article - .pdf):

It [Sacramento] is a town in which defense industry and its absentee owners are suddenly the most important facts; a town which has never had more people or more money, but has lost its raison d'être.

1968, Joan Didion, “Notes from a Native Daughter”, 出自 Slouching Towards Bethlehem:

One after another, styles supplant one another. The most enduring twentieth-century school, Abstract Expressionism, held sway for at most twenty years，源自1940 to 1960, then to be followed by a wild succession- "Pop" lasting perhaps five years, "Op" managing to grip the public's attention for two or three years, then the emergence, approximately enough, of 'Kinetic Art' whose very raison d’être is transience.

1970, Alvin Toffler, Future Shock, Bantam Books, pg. 174:

National development plans and programs are in particular under harsh discussions and criticism including these raison d'etre in some countries, for these plans and programs have supported construction of rather inefficient infrastructure in less-development area.

2003, Seta Fumihiko, Kim Chang-Gi, Lai Shen-Chiang and Onishi Takashi, Abstract for "A Study on the Transition of National Development Strategies in Korea, Taiwan and Japan, Characterized by Developmentalism" (「開発主義に特徴付けられた 日本・台湾・韓国の国土開発戦略の変遷についての一考察」), full paper is pp. 52-61 of "Proceedings", International Symposium on City Planning 2003, The City Planning Institute of Japan, Sapporo, Japan, Abstract:

With hindsight knowledge, it is interesting to note that these three raison d’etre and their ramifications were situated in a broader context of contestations over the whole enterprise of knowledge production and consumption.

2007, Chambi Chachage, "Bringing African Studies Back to Africa: Beyond the ‘African-Africanist’ Divides," paper prepared for the 2nd AEGIS Conference on African Studies (ECAS) at the African Studies Centre, Leiden, the Netherlands, 11-14th July, 2007 (Abstract, Full paper - .doc):

Of course, closure of the West station took away the hotel's raison d'être. In May 2012, the local newspaper reported that this historic hotel, by then rated the town's worst (exemplified by its final review: "Please avoid at all costs"), was to be converted into 31 first-time-buyer one-bedroom flats.

2021年December29日, Stephen Roberts, “Stories and facts behind railway plaques: Bournemouth (circa 1880)”, 出自 RAIL, 期 947，頁號 60:


supplant

源自古法語 supplanter，源自拉丁語 supplantō (“绊倒”)，源自sub (“下”) + planta (“脚底”)。

Will online dictionaries ever supplant paper dictionaries?

在线词典会取代纸质词典吗？


afoot

There's funny bussiness afoot.

In San Francisco and in New Jersey, to quote two other examples, plans are afoot to subsidise new commuter line construction or existing operations out of toll revenue from state highways or bridges.

1959 October, “Talking of Trains: Paying for the commuters”, 出自 Trains Illustrated，頁號 458:


no biggie

It's no biggie. It should only take five minutes to make a new one.

不要紧，做一个新的应该只要五分钟。

My teeth are, like, too small / But no biggie / It's so awesome

1982, Frank Zappa, Moon Zappa （作曲作詞）, “Valley Girl”, 出自 Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch:


biggy

比较大的东西，比较占地方的东西

The wardrobe is the biggy – we'd better move that first.

衣柜比较大，我们最好先搬衣柜。

There were four sizes of marbles and we called them boulders, biggies, regulars, and teenies.

2006, Carol Benson, The Old Lonesome，頁號 84:

Here's the biggy: she's only getting divorced!

重大消息：她只是想要离婚！

- Dude, I forgot to return your book!
- No biggie: I don't need it for another week.

- 兄弟，我忘记带要还给你的书了！
- 没事没事，我这周还不用。


stagnate

停止运动，停止进步 停止流动，阻滞

If the water stagnates, algae will grow.

停止运动，停止进步 闷，因不流动而不新鲜

Air stagnates in a closed room.


tongue-in-cheek

该短语暗指了将自己的舌头伸出搭到自己脸上的面部表情。首个书面引文见于1828年，但是已经不清楚它指的是字面意思还是现在的意思。较晚出现的Richard Barham的引文中的这个词的意思则很清楚。

more tongue-in-cheek (comparative)
most tongue-in-cheek (superlative)

不是认真的，开玩笑的，随便说说的

He gave a tongue-in-cheek explanation of why the sky was blue, offering a theory about some primordial discount on light blue paint.

他开玩笑解释为什么天空是蓝的，说什么开天辟地时天蓝色染料在打折。

It was in this era, too, that author and Scotland the Brave songwriter Cliff Hanley penned The Glasgow Underground, a tongue-in-cheek love letter to the Subway in song.

2021年December29日, Conrad Landin, “Glasgow Subway: a city institution”, 出自 RAIL, 期 947，頁號 45:


tongue-in-cheek

He portrayed them tongue-in-cheek as great lawgivers, as Solons.

他将他们讽刺性地刻画为伟大的法学家梭伦。


out and about

出门在外的，在日常活动的

He carried a cellular phone so that friends could reach him when he was out and about.

他带着手机，好让自己在外面时朋友能联系上他。

She had been in hospital, but now she is out and about again.

她之前住院，现在已经又可以出门了。


quake in one's boots

quakes in one's boots
quaking in one's boots
quaked in one's boots

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/En-au-quake in one's boots.ogg

The thought of climbing that high had him quaking in his boots.

想到爬到那么高的地方他就怕得不行。


of late

I have not visited them of late, but I hear they are doing well.

我最近没有去看他们，但是我听说他们过得挺好的。


make headway

makes headway
making headway
made headway

I worked on them all day, but barely made headway at all.

我做了他们一天的工作，但是几乎没有什么进展。


stake out

stake out land

to stake out a new road


row house

The walls in Eduardo's row house were so thin he could hear the neighbors two houses down.

Eduardo的联排房屋的墙太薄了，都可以听到旁边两个房子邻居的声音。


afresh

源自中古英語 a-fresche，等价于a- + fresh。对比古英語 afersċean (“使...清爽；变清爽”)。

more afresh (comparative)
most afresh (superlative)

We ditched the original design, and decided to start afresh.

我们放弃了原来的设计，决定从头开始。


pull out of one's ass

pulls out of one's ass
pulling out of one's ass
pulled out of one's ass

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/En-au-pull out of one's ass.ogg

Don says his community is 95% Caucasian, but I think he pulled that figure out of his ass.

Don说他的社区有95%的人是白种人，但我觉得那个数字是他胡诌的。


I'll be damned

I'll be hanged

表示自己不会允许某事发生的情绪激动的发言。

表示自己不会允许某事发生的情绪激动的发言。

I'll be damned if I'm having a thief like him stay in my house.

我绝对不会允许他那样的贼住在我家里。

My mechanisms / Of defense are down / And my resistance / Is out on the town / I was alarmed by your attack / This isn't a boxing match / But I'll be damned if I ever let you win

2011, Lenka and Ben H. Allen （作曲作詞）, “Roll with the Punches”, 出自 Two, 演出者 Lenka:


hoover up

Don't worry about the mess on the carpet - I'll hoover it up later.

别管地毯上那些脏东西，我过会用吸尘器清掉。

I'll hoover up after I've finished washing the dishes.

我洗完碗以后会用吸尘器打扫打扫。


butt heads

源自带角动物用角互相顶撞来争斗的习惯。

They always seem to butt heads when they end up talking about politics.

他们聊到政治的时候似乎老是吵起来。

"Eventually, I just pieced it together, figuring your butting heads could probably be explained by a break up. Years of anime shipping trained me for this."

2018年November21日, Jocelyn Samara D., Rain (webcomic), Comic 1101 - Rose:


hit it off

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/LL-Q1860 (eng)-Back ache-hit it off.wav

喜欢上 （尤指初次见面时）

I really hit it off with Jack, and hired him without needing an interview.

我很中意Jack，没有面试就直接把他录用了。

Those two are really hitting it off. I wouldn't be surprised if they started dating soon.

那两位很喜欢对方，我觉得他们要开始确立关系了。

“My profile said ‘Australian tennis player’ so I think Savannah had visions of me at Wimbledon,” he laughs. “In reality, I was paying for the opportunity to play at an academy.” Even so, they soon hit it off.

2023年February6日, Lizzie Cernik, “How we met: ‘He sent 40 Valentine’s cards with all the different things he loved about me’”, 出自 The Guardian, →ISSN:


leg it

After snatching my handbag he just legged it.

抢了我的包以后他逃走了。

As soon as I heard about the fire I legged it over here as fast as I could.

我听到火灾以后以最快速度跑了过来。


bite the dust

bites the dust
biting the dust
bit the dust
bitten the dust

London calling, now don't look to us / Phony Beatlemania has bitten the dust

My old backpack finally bit the dust the other day.

前几天我的旧背包终于坏了。


all the more

Lytle’s progress as a boxer is all the more remarkable when taking into account his unique circumstances.

考虑到他的特殊情况，Lytle在拳击手上的进步更加值得肯定。

I had to work all the harder with two people off sick.

两个人请了病假，我得干更多的活。

If your crush likes football, that's all the more reason for coming with us to the game tomorrow night!

你喜欢的人喜欢足球的话，你就更应该明晚跟我们去看比赛！

Stripped of all bravado, Cersei breaks, and shows the very scared, vulnerable woman who has kept her emotions at bay. “I don’t want to die,” she whimpers, “Not like this.” It’s all the more moving for coming from a character who built her identity on steely resolve and contempt for such hoary conceits as fear.

2019年May12日, Alex McLevy, “Westeros faces a disastrous final battle on the penultimate Game of Thrones (newbies)”, 出自 The A.V. Club:


snap out of

snaps out of
snapping out of
snapped out of

从...（突然）摆脱出来 （指摆脱某种感情）

I felt sad that he had left, but I had to snap out of it and get on with my life.

他离开了我很伤心，但是我必须振作起来继续我的生活。


bat an eyelid

源自bat (“震颤”)，约1900年。

bats an eyelid
batting an eyelid
batted an eyelid

flinch

关心，注意，有反应，理睬

关心，注意，有反应，理睬

When laptop computers first came out they were something of a novelty. These days, nobody bats an eyelid.

笔记本电脑刚问世的时候很新奇，现在大家都见怪不怪了。

[…]he got the drop on Cox, the only time I had seen or heard of its being done — had his pistol out and stuck in Cox's face before Cox could bat an eyelid.

1914, Edgar Beecher Bronson, The Vanguard，頁號 155:

If you were to walk into a salon in America after a few 10–12 hour days of sweaty, dusty travel with no shower, you'd probably be politely asked to leave and not return until you've cleaned up. But here in a land whose resources and infrastructure cannot sustain such frivolity, the barber doesn't even bat an eyelid.

2006, Pete Takeda, An Eye at the Top of the World，頁號 116:

Dublin's not a bad place to be gay. Most people wouldn't bat an eyelid at public displays of affection between same-sex couples[…]

2007, Fionn Davenport, Dublin Encounter，頁號 153:


do in

By the eighth mile, I was sure that finishing the 10-mile hike would do me in.

走了8英里以后，我觉得走完10英里的远足我就累死了。

We very nearly did in an entire keg of beer that weekend.

那个周末我们差点就干掉那一整桶啤酒了

Slasher fans rejoiced—for a couple years anyway, until the boom swiftly faded, done in by the same causes that fell so many other eruptions of a style or genre, of any medium: The host of imitators are never as good as what inspired the affection in the first place.

2017年October27日, Alex McLevy, “Making a Killing: The Brief Life and Bloody Death of the Post-Scream Slasher Revival”, 出自 The A.V. Club，於2018-03-05歸檔自原頁面:

使...累死，使...累坏，使...筋疲力竭

I’m off to bed. I’m completely done in.

I’m off work at the moment; I’ve done my back in.

我现在请假了，我把我的腰闪了。


ooh la la

表达惊叹，有时带有很强的性暗示。性暗示仅出现于英语中，不存在于法语原词内。

Ooh la la, monsieur, you do have big muscles after all.

啧啧啧，先生，您的肌肉好壮实呀。


rain or shine

无论如何；不管下不下雨，不管天气怎么样

同類詞：come what may、hell or high water、no matter what

The game will be held on Saturday rain or shine.

不管天气怎么样，比赛都会在周六举行。

He always showed up right on time, rain or shine.

无论如何他都总是按时到。

This very morning we begin rebuilding the windmill, and we will build all through the winter, rain or shine.

1945年August17日, George Orwell [筆名；本名 Eric Arthur Blair], 章號 6, 出自 Animal Farm […], London: Secker & Warburg, →OCLC:


pull out all the stops

暗指organ stop (“琴栓，音栓”)。在管风琴中，将琴栓拔出可以打开其一系列发声管，然后才能发出声音。将栓全部拔出后，其所有声音均能发出，也同时达到最大的音量。

pulls out all the stops
pulling out all the stops
pulled out all the stops

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/En-au-pull out all the stops.ogg

They pulled out all the stops for the gala wedding.

他们在婚宴上全力以赴[准备]了。


up to here

仅按字面意思，并无比喻或俗语义；参见up、to、here。（到这里为止）

Just fill the bucket with water up to here.

往桶里加水加到这里为止。

I have been up to here in paperwork all week.

They have their lives to live and I'm up to here in disgust with mine.

1953, Raymond Chandler, The Long Goodbye, chapter 12

I have had it up to here with his sarcasm.

我已经受不了他的讽刺挖苦了。

I am stuffed up to here with appetizers.

我开胃菜都已经吃得饱得不行了。


the long and short

The speech went on for hours, but the long and short of it is that not much has changed since last year.

演讲持续了几个小时，但是它的主题较去年没有多大变化。

Shepard: What's your relationship with Cerberus?
Zaeed: Easy. Cerberus is paying me a lot of money to help you on your mission. That's the long and short.

2010, BioWare, Mass Effect 2 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, 經由 PC, →OCLC，幕：Omega:


unfazed

more unfazed (comparative)
most unfazed (superlative)

不害怕的，不犹豫的，不动摇的，不惧的，无畏的

Say, but isn't Annie Watson a dandy witness? She testified as straight as a book. And she stood a hot cross-examination unphased.

1885年November9日, “They Talk About It”, 出自 St. Paul Daily Globe, St. Paul, MN，頁號 5:

The Johnnie O'Briens and the Barney O'Rourkes were there, too, apparently unfazed by the magnificence of the surroundings.

1889年March11日, “Social and Personal”, 出自 Washington Critic, Washington, DC，頁號 2:

Stu couldn't believe I was so unfazed by the whole incident, though inwardly I resolved that I wouldn't let this bastard have the last laugh.

2005, Sean Dooley, The Big Twitch, Sydney: Allen and Unwin，頁號 131:

After stumbling and landing on her face, the toddler picked herself up and continued unfazed.

跌倒摔到脸上以后，幼童爬起来，没有迟疑继续走。


veg out

vegs out
veges out
vegges out
veging out
vegging out
veged out
vegged out

After an exhausting day at work, I would veg out in front of the TV.

上了一天很累的班以后我就会瘫在电视机前。


sheepish

源自中古英語 schepische、shepisse、shepisshe，等价于sheep + -ish。

more sheepish (comparative)
most sheepish (superlative)

a sheepish girl

a sheepish grin


ascribe

源自中古英語 ascriben，源自古法語 ascrivre (“题写；归功；归咎”)，源自拉丁語 āscrībere (“以书面声明”)，等价于a- + scribe。

将...归因于，将...归咎于

One may ascribe these problems to the federal government; however, at this stage it is unclear what caused them.

这些问题可能可以说是联邦政府导致的，但目前还是不能确定原因。

将...归为...所著，将...归为...所创作

It is arguable as to whether we can truly ascribe this play to Shakespeare.

能否真的说这出戏剧是莎士比亚写的还有待商榷。

[…]and two enormous Scottish poems, the Buik of Alexander, which has been improbably ascribed to Barbour, and Sir Gilbert Hay's Buik of Alexander the Conquerour; one nearly complete Prose Life of Alexander and fragments of four others; a stanzaic translation of the Fuerres de Gadres which survives only in a fragment, the Romance of Cassamus, and three separate translations of the Secreta Secretorum.

2012, William Matthews, The Tragedy of Arthur, University of California Press，頁號 68:


smidgen

可能基于smiddum、smeddum (“细粉末”)的变体，受到了低地蘇格蘭語 smitch (“污渍；小点，污点；一点，一丝”)的影响。另，源自*smitching，smitch的指小形式。对比诺森布里亚方言英语smiddum (“铅矿的细小颗粒”)。 低地蘇格蘭語 smitch（亦作smutch），可能派生自英语方言词smit、smite (“一点，一丝”)、古英語 smytta、smitta (“污渍、斑点、污点”)，与古英語 smītan (“涂抹，弄脏”)有关；或者可能源自*smuddian, *smyddan, *smydecian, *smydegian (“弄脏，玷污”)，可能与中古低地德語 smudde (“肮脏的”)、smudden (“弄脏，玷污”)、中古高地德語 smotzen (“肮脏”)有关。若如此，则与smudge同源。
其他词源理论认为smidgeon与蘇格蘭蓋爾語 smidin (“小音节”)有关，但考虑到这样所必需的语义变迁，可能性极低。

Would you like some more cake? —I'll have a smidgen.

你还要再吃蛋糕么？——再来一点点就行。

Move it a smidgen to the right.

I could listen to forty million men like this candidate expound his views and it wouldn't alter me one smidgen in the belief that Carson Dwight has acted only as a true Christian would.

1907, Will N. Harben, 章號 XXXVII, 出自 Mam' Linda:

"You did! Aw right, you go right in and tell 'em the truth, all of it, every last smidgen."

1921, William Patterson White, 章號 XVIII, 出自 The Heart of the Range:


traipse

多半借自法語 trépasser (“穿过”)。

While you were traipsing round Africa, I had to take care of mum and dad!

你在非洲四处游走的时候，我在照顾爸妈！

So after all that work, I traipsed down to the shop to grab something to eat.

干完那堆活以后，我疲惫地走下去，到商店买了点东西吃。


traipse

多半借自法語 trépasser (“穿过”)。

It was a long traipse uphill all the way home.


rubbernecker

源自rubberneck (动词) + -er (表示做此动作的人或物，构成施动者名词)。

/ˈrʌbəˌnɛkə/

/ˈrʌbɚˌnɛkɚ/

The minor accident caused a traffic jam as rubberneckers slowed down to get a good view of the battered cars.

那起小事故因为一群围观的人放慢脚步来看撞坏的车，引起了堵车。

Gentlemen will leave their pocket flasks with the captain, and will limit themselves to two bunches of cigarettes each. Rubber neckers will be executed without trial. Glasses will be needed to protect the eyes from the dust, and you MUST "Keep off the grass."

1898, The Michigan School Moderator, 卷 18, Grand Rapids, Mich.: Michigan School Moderator, →OCLC，頁號 30，列號 3:

I suppose that fellow was a rubber-necker, and got killed peeping over the trenches.

1899, Stephen Bonsal, “Under the Mango-tree”, 出自 The Fight for Santiago: The Story of the Soldier in the Cuban Campaign, from Tampa to the Surrender, New York, N.Y.: Doubleday & McClure Co., →OCLC，頁號 283:

He is a great "rubber-necker." What he don't see aint worth looking at.

1899年March25日, “A Bobbin Boy’s Essay on His Boss”, 出自 Jos[eph] M. Wade 編, Fibre and Fabric: A Record of American Textile Industries in the Cotton and Woolen Trade, 卷 XXIX, 期 734, Boston, Mass.: Jos. M. Wade, →OCLC，頁號 63，列號 2:

We are taught the importance of hygiene of the mouth, of the body, and of the hair, but little concerning the nose, which is the "rubber-necker" which is expected to discover any laxity of cleanliness of other parts of the body or the air around us.

1899年November3日, W. Cheatham, “Hygiene of the Nose”, 出自 The American Practitioner and News, 卷 XXVIII, 期 12, Louisville, Ky.: John P. Morton & Company, 出版於 15 December 1899, →OCLC，頁號 441:

"The train's whistle was blowin' the whole time and, Lord, it sounded like a bomb had went off when they hit," said Patty Fay McNair, a waitress at the Torch, to a rubbernecker who'd asked if she'd seen what happened.

1991, Barry Gifford, “Consuelo’s Kiss”, 出自 Sailor’s Holiday: The Wild Life of Sailor and Lula, New York, N.Y.: Random House, →ISBN; quoted in Thomas A. McCarthy 編, The Rooster Trapped in the Reptile Room: A Barry Gifford Reader, New York, N.Y., Toronto, Ont.: Seven Stories Press, 2003, →ISBN，頁號 256:

A huge crowd of Muscovites had gathered around the distant approaches to the building, beyond the cordon of military and police. [...] Stray bullets flew in their direction, too, and several people were wounded. Some were even killed. Nevertheless the crowd of rubberneckers kept growing.

2000, Roy Medvedev, “Privatization, Government Crisis, and Elections (1993)”, 出自 George Shriver（譯者）, Post-Soviet Russia: A Journey through the Yeltsin Era, New York, N.Y.: Columbia University Press, →ISBN, part 1 (Myths and Realities of Capitalism in Russia)，頁號 125:

[...] Snake River breaching [...] will attract tourists, fly-rodders, kayakers, birders, botanists, Lewis and Clark buffs, and rubberneckers from all over the globe to ogle the mothballed dam remnants, study the returning plants, birds, and wildlife, [...]

2001, David James Duncan, “A Prayer for the Salmon’s Second Coming”, 出自 My Story as Told by Water […], 1st paperback版, San Francisco, Calif.: Sierra Club Books, →ISBN，頁號 212:

[...] Shane kept looking into the open box with the morbid curiosity of a freeway rubbernecker passing a fatal accident. All of his mid-nineties career pileups were collected there.

2001 January, Stephen J[oseph] Cannell, “The Tin Collectors”, 出自 Vertical Coffin; The Tin Collectors, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Griffin, 出版於 January 2004, →ISBN，頁號 156:

'A rubbernecker checking out where you lived.' / 'Why would anybody do that?' / 'I guess it kind of makes you a celebrity.'

2014, Christopher Fowler, Bryant & May: The Bleeding Heart, London: Bantam Books, 出版於 2015, →ISBN，頁號 133:

The new season is unrelentingly bleak – gone is [Margaret] Atwood's astute social commentary, turning the audience into rubberneckers peering at the carnage.

2018年June16日, Fiona Sturges, “Cattleprods! Severed tongues! Torture porn! Why I’ve stopped watching the Handmaid’s Tale”, 出自 Katharine Viner 編, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC，於2020-02-05歸檔自原頁面:


ambulate

源自拉丁語 ambulatus，ambulō (“我走”) 的過去分詞。amble的同源對似詞。

走；借助自己雙腿的力量移動

Peter slowly ambulated to the bathroom, favoring his strained knee.

彼得扶著他拉傷的膝蓋，慢慢走到浴室。


drive home

drives home
driving home
drove home
driven home

仅按字面意思，并无比喻或俗语义；参见drive、home：开车回家

He decided not to drive home right away.

He was afraid he would doze off on the long drive home.

他怕开车回家那么长的路上睡着了。


nigga

源自nigger，源自无r音的英语方言。

但在非洲裔美國人白話中常作爱称

I'd never betray you, cuz you muh nigga, man.

我永远不会背叛你，因为你是我哥们。

但在非洲裔美國人白話中无冒犯意

As soon as I walked into the class and saw that sea of white faces, I felt alone, so I sat next to the only other nigga there.

我走进教室，看到茫茫一片白人脸，感到很孤独，所以我坐到了除了我唯一另一个黑人旁。

"I mean, if you're not interested, it ain't nothing but a thang, baby girl. Just let a nigga know."

2010, Chunichi, The Return of a Gangster's Girl，頁號 26:

主要用於非洲裔美國人白話

White niggas be like, this is too spicy.

白人整天就说啥，“这个好辣啊！”

All these freshman niggas are so annoying.

These niggas out here bein' fake.


sell on

说服...接受，让...服气

I was opposed to his ideas, but he sold me on them.

我本来反对他的想法，但他说服我了。

I have indeed been sold on higher inductive types!


full of it

more full of it (comparative)
most full of it (superlative)

full of shit (“在撒谎的，在放屁的”)的碎誓形式。

Do you believe him? I think he's full of it.

你信他吗，我觉得他在放屁。


testy

中古英語 testif (“任性的”)，源自古法語 testu，源自teste (“头”) + -u。对比现代法語 tête (“头”)、têtu (“固执的”)。

testier (comparative)
testiest (superlative)

He made testy remarks.

Otherwise, we could end up with a repeat of what happened with social media companies after the 2016 election — a collision of Silicon Valley power and Washington ignorance, which resulted in nothing but gridlock and testy hearings.

2022年August24日, Kevin Roose, “We Need to Talk About How Good A.I. Is Getting”, 出自 The New York Times, →ISSN:


on the cheap

Well, if you buy things on the cheap what do you expect?

唉，你都想买东西省钱了，你还指望什么？


high-maintenance

根据Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang，比喻义经由1989年恋爱喜剧《当哈利碰上莎莉》（When Harry Met Sally...）普及开来。

more high-maintenance (comparative)
most high-maintenance (superlative)

让人操心的，让人放不下心的，让人费心的

There are two kinds of women: high maintenance and low maintenance.

1989, Nora Ephron, When Harry Met Sally... (motion picture), 角色 Harry Burns（Billy Crystal）:

He has this incredibly high-maintenance girlfriend; if he doesn't tell her that he loves her every five minutes, she tends to break down into hysterical depressive weepy fits.

他的女朋友很麻烦，如果他没有每五分钟告诉她他爱她，她就会歇斯底里痛不欲生地哭起来。


go potty

goes potty
going potty
went potty
gone potty

I simply came outside to go potty, and found myself abandoned, having to rely totally on my primal urges! ... Like the sudden urge to go potty again.

2000年October4日, Tom Armstrong, Marvin (comic):

I have to go potty!


scrounge

1915年，方言词scrunge (“偷偷找，翻找”, 1909年)的变换形式，其词源不详。可能源自方言词scringe (“打探，刺探”)，或可能与scrouge、scrooge (“推搡，推挤”，同时在伦敦方言中指“人群”)有关，可能引人联想到screw、squeeze。在第一次世界大战时在军队的影响下普及开来。

四处找，寻觅 （尤指一般价值的事物）

scrounge for food

找到，得到 （尤指一般价值的事物）

As long as he's got someone who'll let him scrounge off them, he'll never settle down and get a full-time job.

只要他有人可以给他东西，他就不会安顿下来找份全职工作。


splurge

（使...）涌出，（使...）喷出

The tomato sauce was splurged all over the chips.

But the steamboats come in their time ; and I am sure that I address a large crowd of sympathizing auditors, now that I come to speak of the magnificent old "Fanny," spluttering and paddling, and splurging up to the little wharf under the lea of Peppers Hill, where the pine wood lay piled in fabulous quantities.

1884, Donald Grant Mitchell, Bound Together, A Sheaf of Papers/Norwich, 1659-1859, Norwich:

She waited a moment, quivering with the expectation of her husband's answer; then, as none came except the silent darkening of his face, she walked to the door and turned round to fling back: "Of course you can do what you like with your own house, and make any arrangements that suit your family, without consulting me; but you needn't think I'm ever going back to live in that stuffy little hole, with Hubert and his wife splurging round on top of our heads!"

1913, Edith Wharton, “Chapter XXXVIII”, 出自 The Custom of the Country:

"And boy," he splurged, "we are filming a peach, a pip and a wow! Is it a knockout? Oh, baby! A prize-fight picture entitled 'The Honor of the Champion,' starring Reginald Van Veer, with Honey Precious for the herowine. Boy, will it pack the theayters!"

1930, Robert E. Howard, Sailors' Grudge:

挥霍，大方地花 （自1911年）

They decided to splurge on the biggest banana split for dessert.

I could see Schultz think, and revive, and splurge with his bets again.


honest-to-God

He's an honest-to-God saint; I don't know what I would do without him!

他是个如假包换的圣人，没他的话我都不知道怎么办才好。


honest-to-God

She is honest-to-God brilliant.


honest to God

对比swear to God。原用作短句副词或叹词，来修饰整个从句或表达方式，honest用法类似于“Honest, I had no idea! (“说实话，我真不知道”)”。

真的，千真万确地 （用来表示强调）

Honest to God, I thought you already knew!

我说真的，我以为你已经知道了。

She is honest to God brilliant.


saving grace

For all his treachery and deception, he had one saving grace: good manners.

With Gambier Bay and Hoel sinking and Roberts not much longer for this world, the Johnston is now set upon by four cruisers and a number of destroyers. The ship's crew patch holes as fast as they can, but the ship is literally gradually being taken apart by repeated salvos. The fact that this particular set of Japanese ships is STILL using armor-piercing instead of high explosive is the only saving grace.

2019年February27日, Drachinifel, 片头起31:46, 出自 The Battle of Samar - Odds? What are those?，於2022-11-03歸檔自原頁面:


twiddle one's thumbs

twiddles one's thumbs
twiddling one's thumbs
twiddled one's thumbs

He twiddled his thumbs for almost a week while he waited for somebody to set up his computer.

他等别人帮他配置电脑，干等了一星期。


questioning

源自 question + -ing（名词经由中古英語 questionyng）。

more questioning (comparative)
most questioning (superlative)

/ˈkwɛʃ.t͡ʃə.nɪŋ/

Why do you have a questioning look? Are you puzzled about something?

你為什麼擺出一副質疑的眼神？你是對什麼事情感到困惑嗎？


Wednesdays

We are closed Wednesdays in the Summer.

Wednesdays we would go bowling.

我們每週三會去打保齡球。


washed up

more washed up (comparative)
most washed up (superlative)

完蛋的，失败的，到头了的，没有前途的

Pavarotti's washed up as a singer, in my view.

我觉得Pavarotti的歌手生涯已经完蛋了。

It would be difficult, for example, to imagine a bigger, more obvious subject for comedy than the laughable self-delusion of washed-up celebrities, especially if the washed-up celebrity in question is Adam West, a camp icon who can go toe to toe with William Shatner as the king of winking self-parody.

2012年June3日, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Mr. Plow” (season 4, episode 9; originally aired 11/19/1992)”, 出自 (請指定書籍名或刊物名):

Reize: 'WOAH! ARE YOU FOR REAL, MISTER? [...] AND YOU EVEN GOT A BELT WITH YOUR NAME ON IT?! THE BAZ... I KNEW IT! YOU MUST BE A NOBLE WARRIOR!' / Baz: 'PSHHH. SCRAM, KID. I'M JUST A NOBODY. I'M ALL WASHED UP. IT JUST AIN'T MY DAY.'
（請為本引文添加中文翻譯）

2019 December 10, Yacht Club Games, "Story" (Reize), in Shovel Knight Showdown (version 4.1), Nintendo Switch:


calm down

Calm down before you hurt somebody.


raw dog

没有防护措施或没有中间人地做

Rather than using a framework, he's apparently just raw dogging HTML.

他好像没用框架，就硬写HTML。


disconcerting

more disconcerting (comparative)
most disconcerting (superlative)

/ˌdɪskənˈsɜːtɪŋ/

unsettling

使人感到不安/困惑/尷尬的

troubling

使人感到不安/困惑/尷尬的

upsetting

使人感到不安/困惑/尷尬的

使人感到不安/困惑/尷尬的

Even with a safety harness, losing one's grip that high up is disconcerting.

即使有安全带，在那么高的地方失去抓地力也是令人不安的。

"You must admit," he remarked, "that up to now our conversation has hardly proceeded along conventional lines. I am a complete stranger to you; another man who is a complete stranger to me speaks to you while we're at tea. You inform me that I shall probably have to kill him in the near future. The statement is, I think you will agree, a trifle disconcerting."

1920, Herman Cyril McNeile, 章號 1, 出自 Bulldog Drummond:


essayist

She was an essayist whose frequent contributions to the editorial pages of major newspapers had a loyal following.

她是一位評論作家，经常为主要报纸的社论版撰稿，拥有忠实的追随者。


sedation

（尤指使用鎮靜劑造成的）鎮靜

The patient was so agitated that the doctor resorted to sedation.

病人非常激动，因此医生给他施加了镇静剂。


stellar

借自拉丁語 stēllāris。

more stellar (comparative)
most stellar (superlative)

The actress gave a stellar performance.

Some years ago there were hundreds of musicians of ability, but of less stellar renown, who toured the country, giving performances at less than stellar fees.

几年前，有数百名有才华但名气不大的音乐家在全国巡回演出，演出费用并不高。

1931, Music and Dance, 卷 21, Melbourne, Vic.: Australian Musical News Pub. Co., →OCLC，頁號 27，列號 2:

Yet the economic seers are at it again, seemingly unabashed by their somewhat less than stellar performances in 1969.

1970, Hardware Age, 卷 205, New York, N.Y.: David Williams Co., →OCLC，頁號 8，列號 1:

Where a bank may automatically reject any borrower based on a bad credit score, this is not true for all social lending networks. You can still have a less than stellar score and obtain funding as long as you can convince a peer tha your project is worthy or your business model is strong.

2012, Linda A. Jenkins, “What is Social Lending?”, 出自 Creative Financing: How to Get a Small Business Loan without a Banker, Gold Alliance Group, →ISBN，頁號 1:


go gaga over

goes gaga over
going gaga over
went gaga over
gone gaga over

He always goes gaga over his favourite band's newest album.

每次他最喜欢的乐队发新专辑时他都很激动。


string along

strings along
stringing along
strung along

哄骗，画饼 （让对方长时间误解自己有某种打算）

She's been telling me for ages that she wants to meet up, but won't give me a date. I'm convinced she's stringing me along.

她一直说想和我见面，但是就是不约日期，我觉得她在耍我。

What irks is the DfT's response of stringing the industry along. Far better would be for the DfT to say: "No, we are not upgrading this or that part of the railway - we must make the best of what we have."

2021年May5日, Philip Haigh, “I think we need better than this from the rail industry”, 出自 RAIL, 期 930，頁號 51:


of old

In days of old.

I know him of old.

The station has been refurbished both at ground level and below ground, where the wide, fluorescently lit platforms are an almost unrecognisable metamorphosis of the dingy, reeking Low Level of old.

1960 December, “The Glasgow Suburban Electrification is opened”, 出自 Trains Illustrated，頁號 713:

These deals have made them more like the radio and TV stations of old — picking popular acts, paying handsomely for their work, assuming greater responsibility for their output — and less like the neutral platforms they once claimed to be.

2022年January31日, Kevin Roose, “Spotify’s Joe Rogan Problem Isn’t Going Away”, 出自 The New York Times, →ISSN:


worlds apart

In terms of technology, today's media and that of the 19th century are worlds apart, but they still serve the same purpose.

在技术上，现在的媒体和19世纪的媒体已经如同天壤之别，但是它们的目的还是一样的。


prowling

无所事事；鬼鬼祟祟地四处徘徊

nightly prowlings


on the prowl

在找东西，在觅食；鬼鬼祟祟地四处徘徊

The cat was always on the prowl for bit of string or a dangling shoelace.

那只猫老是到处找线或者垂下来的鞋带。


squadron

the North Atlantic Squadron


excellence

John Davies was awarded for excellence in the field of computer security.

约翰·戴维斯因在计算机安全领域表现卓越而获奖。


city state

Singapore is the world's most populous city state.

新加坡是世界上人口最多的城邦。

The Vatican City State, a sovereign city-state, has a large number of embassies across the world.

作為有主權的城邦，梵蒂岡城國在全世界擁有眾多大使館。


neureich

neureicher
neureicher (comparative)
am neureichsten (superlative)

/ˈnɔɪ̯ʁaɪ̯ç/

Sie waren teuer angezogen, aber wohl neureich.

她穿着很贵的衣服，不过估计她是暴发户。


light bulb

任何類似能將電能轉化為光能的物品

a fluorescent light bulb

an LED light bulb

a light bulb moment

Figuratively speaking, a light-bulb flashed over Galvin's head early this year, and in March–along […]

1949, in Forbes (magazine), volume 64, page 18:


be my guest

If you want to give it a try, be my guest!

你要是想嘗試下的話，那請自便！


aggro

源自aggravation 的截斷形式 + -o (指小后缀)，受到了aggressive的影响。

暴力行为，暴行；咄咄逼人的行为 （不一定发展为暴力）

Move along, lads; we don't want any aggro.

走开吧，兄弟，我们可不想动手。

That is the case because, according to Marsh, soccer hooliganism is one of Britain's principal forms of aggro. If it is true that there is an absence of aggro traditions in the USA — and there is a wealth of evidence which suggests that Marsh is wrong on this score — then it is reasoble to deduce from Marsh′s arguments that it is unlikely that phenomena such as soccer hooliganism could or ever will develop there.

1999, Eric Dunning, Sport Matters : Sociological Studies of Sport, Violence and Civilisation，頁號 162:

‘We ain′t got a name yet. We′re into aggro.’
‘Aggro?’
‘Yeah, you know, aggression, aggravation. Aggro’.

2011, Jake Arnott, The Long Firm，unnumbered 頁號:

仇恨 （敌人进攻的焦点）

You just pulled aggro off the tank and wiped the raid.

你刚刚把仇恨从坦克身上引开，让整个队团灭了。


aggro

They'll aggro on you if you get too close.

你离它们太近它们就会打你。

引...的仇恨，让...开始攻击

I aggroed the enderman by looking in its eyes, and it killed me.

我看了末影人的眼睛拉了仇恨，然后被它打死了。


blood drive

The local blood drive will replenish the area's blood supply.

当地的献血活动将补充该地区的血液供应。


accessorized

more accessorized (comparative)
most accessorized (superlative)

She was tastefully accessorized in matching scarf and gloves.

她穿着相配的围巾和手套，很有品位。


in the buff

源自buff (字面意思是“褐黄色的”)，表示了皮肤的颜色。

She was in the buff on the beach.

The streaker ran across the playing field in the buff.

裸跑者光着身子跑过了操场。

Not to mention, nudity can be just plain convenient. “Laundry is minimal,” Schulte notes. It also doesn’t hurt that being in the buff spices up his workday.

2021年October18日, Ian Lecklitzner, “The Inevitable Rise of the Work-From-Home Nudist”, 出自 MEL Magazine:


dead as a doornail

源自中古英語 ded as dore-nail。字面意思为“死得和门钉一样的”。
最早在英语中的使用例之一是威廉·朗兰的诗歌Piers Plowman A. i. 161 "Fey withouten fait is febelore þen nouȝt, And ded as a dore-nayl"，但是不太可能是朗兰所造。此外还有William of Palerne l. 628 "For but ich haue bote of mi bale‥I am ded as dore-nail"，以及押头韵的辩论诗The Parlement of the Thre Ages内"Dede als a dore-nayle doune was he fallen" 65。这些文字记录的出现时间不详，可能比朗兰要早。
一种说得通解释是，门是只用木板和手工锻造的钉子制成的：钉子会长到足够dead nail (“钉死”)垂直的木板和水平的横档，让它们无法轻易分开。要达到这种效果，需要将钉子的突出部分敲入木头里。弯成这样，难以拉出的钉子一般称为“dead”，本词由此而来。

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/En-au-dead as a doornail.ogg

I picked up the phone, but the line was dead as a doornail.

我拿起电话筒，但里面完全没有声音。

We finally found John's cat run over in the next road. It was as dead as a doornail.

我们在另一条路上终于找到了John的猫，但它已经被碾过了，死透了。

音頻： (檔案)


foretelling

foretellings of doom


chow down

We're all famished; it's time to chow down.

我们都饿坏了，该好好吃一顿了。


at the mercy of

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/en-au-at the mercy of.ogg

任凭...处置的，对...束手无策的

The stories did not seem to me to touch life. […] They left me with the impression of a well-delivered stereopticon lecture, with characters about as life-like as the shadows on the screen, and whisking on and off, at the mercy of the operator.

1897年 12月（標示為1898年）, Winston Churchill, 章號 1, 出自 The Celebrity: An Episode, 紐約: The Macmillan Company；倫敦：Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

The ball game is scheduled for Saturday, but we're still at the mercy of the weather.

球赛定在周六，但是还是得看天气。


have one's cake and eat it too

字面意思为“（想同时）拥有蛋糕，和吃掉它”，因为吃了蛋糕就没有了，吃蛋糕和拥有蛋糕两件事无法同时达成。

has one's cake and eats it too
having one's cake and eating it too
had one's cake and ate it too
had one's cake and eaten it too

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/en-au-have one's cake and eat it too.ogg

又要马儿好，又要马儿不吃草 （同时达到两个互斥的目的）

It's not possible to get your savings and keep the piggy bank intact. You can't have your cake and eat it too!

你没办法又能拿到存着的钱，又要存钱罐完好无损。鱼和熊掌不可兼得。


take exception

takes exception
taking exception
took exception
taken exception

(及物带 to) 对...感到不快，反感，受到...的冒犯；反对

I think he took exception to the joke about environmentalists.

我觉得那个开环保主义者玩笑的笑话冒犯到他了。

I take exception to the assumption that simply because I am young I am not able to discern fact from fiction.

觉得只是因为我年轻我就没办法区分现实和虚构的成见让我感到不快。

I am sorry to learn that the senior medical staff of the Dreadnought Hospital take exception to portions of Sir Henry Burdett's letter […] which was published in the Times of July 11th.

1898 July 20, Percival A. Nairne, letter, published in the Lancet of 1898 December 10, page 1575:

[…] the body of a deceased Indian, wrapped in a blanket and reposing on the limbs of an old tree in the sandhills. Horatio Walker, then President of the Club and generally so sympathetic with artists, seemingly took exception to it, and Morris felt the silent criticism […]

1984, Jean S. McGill, Edmund Morris, Frontier Artist, Dundurn Press, →ISBN，頁號 165:

Upset, about 20 Kuala Lumpur-based judges met on 25 March and decided that Salleh should write to the king explaining their position. The king apparently took exception to the letter or to the manner in which it was sent […]

1989, “Asia Yearbook”, 出自 Far Eastern Economic Review，頁號 167:


dead set

猎犬指示猎物方向时的静止姿势

The judge at the dog show took points off the Irish setter's dead set because its right ear twitched a few times.

狗狗表演比赛的裁判扣了那条爱尔兰雪达犬的示意猎物方向姿势好几分，因为它的右耳抽动了好几次。

to be at a dead set

I might not graduate first in my class, but I'll make a dead set at it.

我可能不能做班上第一个毕业的，但是我会尽力争取的。


dead set

more dead set (comparative)
most dead set (superlative)

hell-bent

坚定的，执著的，死心塌地的，专注而不动摇的

坚定的，执著的，死心塌地的，专注而不动摇的

If John is dead set on marrying Catherine, his parents' objection will only provoke a falling out.

如果John一定要娶Catherine，他的父母肯定会过来闹翻的。

The governor is dead set against the concealed weapons permit legislation and will veto it even if it costs her the re-election.

There are people here who are dead set on convincing everybody this hurricane is the result of climate change.

2018年September11日, Rush Limbaugh, “Hurricane Florence Heads for the Carolinas”, 出自 The Rush Limbaugh Show (radio)，於2019-04-17歸檔自原頁面:

He is a dead set fool.

他就是个如假包换的笨蛋。


life-or-death

生死攸關的；對生存至關重要的

Good camoflouge is life or death for many animals in the wild.

好的伪装对于许多野外动物的生存来说是至关重要的。

Ascending Mount Everest can be life or death for an inexperienced climber.

攀登珠穆朗玛峰对于没有经验的登山者来说可能是极其危险的。

Obtaining financing was a life-or-death matter for the research.

获得资金对这项研究来说是生死攸关的问题。


go figure

仿譯自意第緒語 גיי װייס (gey veys)。

/ɡoʊ ˈfɪɡjɚ/

表示困惑或驚訝（像是要別人自己去搞清楚情況一樣）。

The car wouldn't start yesterday no matter what I did, but today it works just fine. Go figure.

這車子我昨天怎麼鼓搗也發動不了，今天居然一切正常。真奇怪。


vandalized

more vandalized (comparative)
most vandalized (superlative)

The community worked to clean up the vandalized neighborhood.

社群努力清理被破坏的街区。


vandalised

more vandalised (comparative)
most vandalised (superlative)

The community worked to clean up the vandalised neighborhood.

社群努力清理被破坏的街区。


get the ball rolling

gets the ball rolling
getting the ball rolling
got the ball rolling
got the ball rolling
gotten the ball rolling

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/en-au-get the ball rolling.ogg

Did you ever get the ball rolling on your plans to build a shed?

你有没有开始着手你的建小屋计划？

The execution of Littlefinger is formal, although his trial admittedly gives us ample opportunity to appreciate the tables finally turning on the man who got the ball rolling on all this bloodshed.

2017年August27日, Brandon Nowalk, “Game Of Thrones slows down for the longest, and best, episode of the season (newbies)”, 出自 The Onion AV Club:


body temperature

The normal body temperature of a dog falls within the range of about 38°C to 39°C.

狗的正常体温在约 38°C 至 39°C 的范围内。


Bieber

借自德語 Bieber。Beaver的同源對似詞。

Justin Bieber

賈斯汀·比伯（加拿大歌手）


stay put

I'm not moving there; I'd rather stay put.

I keep adjusting the focus, but it won't stay put.

我一直在调焦，但是它就是固定不下来。


conk out

可能是模仿抛锚内燃机的一个拟声词。可能是英国摩托骑手在约1910年所造。

He wasn't there, just the dog, conked out on the porch.

他不在那里，只有那只狗睡在门厅那。

The old car conked out halfway up the hill.

He lived to be 90, then conked out in his sleep.

他活到了90岁，然后睡梦中咽气了。


satirical

more satirical (comparative)
most satirical (superlative)

/səˈtɪɹɪkəl/

Spitting Image was a famous satirical television program.

Spitting Image 是一个著名的讽刺电视节目。

Given his remarks in The English People about the dangers of Standard English, and the fact that the satirical Newspeak of Nineteen Eighty-Four is an engineered language[…]

2000年October15日, John E. Joseph, Limiting the Arbitrary: Linguistic Naturalism and Its Opposites in Plato's Cratylus and Modern Theories of Language, →ISBN，頁號 155:


swish

swisher (comparative)
more swish (comparative)
swishest (superlative)
most swish (superlative)

This restaurant looks very swish — it even has linen tablecloths.

这个饭店看起来很高级，居然还有亚麻桌布。

All the shabby railway buildings in front of the station concourse have either been removed or transformed into a shopping complex and swish homes.

2020年June3日, Howard Johnston, “Regional News: Cambridge”, 出自 Rail，頁號 23:


swish

He got a little swish downriver.


swish

The cane swishes.

In the stern of the low-laden canoe his paddle swished steadily and powerfully, with thrust of straight, stiff upper arm backed by a twisting swing of the body from the waist, and with every stroke the little craft leaped as if a giant hand had shoved her forward.

1922, A. M. Chisholm, A Thousand a Plate:

to swish a cane back and forth

I shall not swish; I'll merely act limp-wristed.

Swish the mouthwash around the mouth and between the teeth for one minute.

在口中及牙齿间涮漱口水一分钟。


casualize

We are concerned about the spread of casualized racism.

我们担心随意化的种族主义蔓延。

Many of the workers have been casualized during the recent downturn.

在最近的经济低迷时期，许多工人都被转成了临时工。


swordplay

His expertise at swordplay made his acting in the part of Hamlet very believable.

他在剑术方面的专长使他在哈姆雷特部分的表演非常令人信服。


skier

a professional skier

a poor skier


atmospheric

more atmospheric (comparative)
most atmospheric (superlative)

/ˌætməsˈfɛɹɪk/

a dark atmospheric thriller


HIV negative

未感染HIV的，HIV陰性的

I was lucky to test HIV negative after not having used condoms consistently with multiple partners.

我一直和多個性伴侶做愛不帶套，很幸運檢出HIV陰性。


catch some z's

源自常用来表达人睡着时发出的声音的Z。

catches some z's
catching some z's
caught some z's

His boss found him catching some z's at his desk yesterday.

他老板昨天抓到他在自己的桌上睡觉。


lameo

more lameo (comparative)
most lameo (superlative)

Television reruns are often lameo.


stargaze

It was a very clear night so I paused to stargaze until I got cold and went in.

那天晚上天空很晴，我就停下来去看星星了，一直看到觉得冷了就回屋里了。

"That's right," declared Browning's companion. "I was out stargazing last night. Looked at the Long-Handled Dipper a long time, and it gave me an awful thirst. I've had it with me all day. Yes, mine's ale."

1903, Burt L. Standish [pseudonym; Gilbert Patten], Frank Merriwell at Yale:


goofball

傻子，傻瓜 （指人或动物）

If that goofball would put half the effort into her studies as she does into her juggling, she might do very well.

如果那个傻子把耍杂技一半的力气放到学习上，可能真能整出点名堂来。


goofball

He announced, with his usual goofball humor, that he'd like to marry me!

他开他那个傻傻的玩笑说要和我结婚。


chillax

Let's watch a movie with Maria and chillax tonight.

我们今晚和Maria看部电影放松一下吧。

Chillax dude, or they are going to know you are tripping.

冷静点兄弟，不然他们就看出你吸了。

Oi, chillax sunshine, or there's gonna be trouble!

喂，老实点小伙子，不想惹上麻烦吧。


anticlimactic

more anticlimactic (comparative)
most anticlimactic (superlative)

令人失望的，落差大的，虎头蛇尾的

After all the build up, the ending of the story was an anticlimactic letdown.

铺垫了那么多，结果故事的结尾令人失望透顶。


in the nick of time

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/en-au-in the nick of time.ogg

eleventh hour

正好，正是时候；踩着点，在最后时刻

under the wire

正好，正是时候；踩着点，在最后时刻

just in time

正好，正是时候；踩着点，在最后时刻

正好，正是时候；踩着点，在最后时刻

He finished writing his paper and slid it under the door just in the nick of time.


stave off

staves off
staving off
staved off
stove off

He drank plenty of orange juice, hoping to stave off the cold making the rounds at the office.

他喝了很多橙汁，希望能够抵御办公室里的冷气。

LANCE: Only through my training as a sex machine am I able to stave off genital turgidity.

2011, Jamie Noguchi, Yellow Peril: The View:

So it was perhaps political backlash from the trebling of public transport times between Harlech to Porthmadog if buses took over that staved off immediate talks of closure and the release of a £241,000 subsidy (2020: £3.8m).

2020年April8日, Howard Johnston, “East-ended? When the ECML was at risk”, 出自 Rail，頁號 69:


that does it

that tears it

够了 （用来表达自己的耐心已经到达极限）

that's torn it

够了 （用来表达自己的耐心已经到达极限）

够了 （用来表达自己的耐心已经到达极限）

That does it! I'm not waiting here any longer. I'll come back tomorrow instead.

我受够了！我不等了。我明天再来。


the cat's pyjamas

大概与the bee's knees、cat's whiskers等相似词语一同，在1922年起即已在美国普及，有时被认为与漫画家Tad Dorgan有关。

很厉害的东西，很精致奢华的东西

That new car was really the cat's pyjamas.


whip up

（匆匆）制作 （尤指食物）

I'll whip up a quick meal for our unexpected guests.

我匆匆地为突然拜访的客人很快地做好了简单的菜。

使...激动，激起...的热情

His speech whipped the crowd up into a frenzy.

他的演讲点燃了人们的热情。


bell-end

I don't care who he is: he's acting like a bell-end.

我管他什么人，他就像个傻屄一样。

is that onion badgies, you meant. or perhaps you are referring to that infamous collection of bellends, known as w.b.a. (win bugger all). it seems they are doing quite well, although they are playing against part-timers. quit

1992年September28日, A. Dowson, “Re: West Bromwich Albion”, 出自 rec.sport.soccer (Usenet), retrieved 2017-08-03, message-ID <92272.160610ADOWSON@ESTEC.BITNET>:


go to town

goes to town
going to town
went to town
gone to town

She really went to town with the party preparations.

她准备派对准备得很开心。

The greatest impact, good and bad, fell on the city's northeast suburbs, 60-plus minutes from the downtown Huairou district, a key APEC venue. Obama and other VIPs spent just seven hours there Tuesday, but Huairou went to town as perhaps only China can. The district spent about $4.9 billion preparing for APEC, according to state media including the Beijing Youth Daily and China Daily newspapers.

2014年November12日, Calum MacLeod, “As with 2008 Olympics, China spends big to look good”, 出自 USA Today, →ISSN, →OCLC，於2014-11-14歸檔自原頁面:

Never slow to bang the drum, the English press went to town, calling Lineker the “Matador of Madrid” and announcing that “Spain are Linekered.”

2018年October15日, Steven Pye, “When Gary Lineker scored four goals to help England win 4-2 in Spain”, 出自 The Guardian, →ISSN:

The news channels had been the first to figure out that particular wrinkle, but the religions really went to town with it.

2018 November, N. K. Jemisin, How Long 'til Black Future Month?, Hachette, →ISBN:

Oh, I went to town in the last lockdown, spent a lot of money on the paints, the brushes, the figurines for a game called Hero Quest.

2022年May29日, Tom Lamont, 引 Jim Howick, “‘We were always trying to push boundaries’: Jim Howick on breaking taboos, coping with life and the joy of dogs”, 出自 The Observer, →ISSN:


snooty

snootier (comparative)
snootiest (superlative)

好自夸的，高傲的，自命不凡的

He left out Town & Country, the magazine for snooty East Coast liberals.

ever since she landed the National gig sheʼs got very snooty about struggling theatre mates, as if she alone has discovered the secret to being successful

2019, Bernardine Evaristo, Girl, Woman, Other, Penguin Books (2020)，頁號 43:

Sir Sydney was an arrogant, snooty, bigoted prig, so it was with some satisfaction that I wrote out his parking ticket.

Her parties were snooty affairs; custom-designed cocktail dresses that cost more than a decent luxury car were de rigueur.


in the works

They always have some wonderful new project in the works.

他們總是計劃開展一些精彩的新項目。

仅按字面意思，并无比喻或俗语义；在機器中。

Be careful not to get any debris in the works.

小心不要讓任何碎片進到機器裡。


take a break

takes a break
taking a break
took a break
taken a break

She took a break from studying to eat a snack.

她暫停了學習休息一下，吃了點零食。


flesh and blood

How dare you say such a thing to your own flesh and blood?

你怎敢对你的骨肉至亲说这种话？


aeriated

more aeriated (comparative)
most aeriated (superlative)

Calm down! There's no point getting aeriated about it.

冷靜！對這件事激動是沒有意義的。


memba

Memba me?


fuck with

roll with

与...合作，与...有关联； 喜欢，中意

Don't fuck with that gang! They all carry guns!

别惹那个黑帮！他们都有枪的！

Don't take it serious, man, I'm just fucking with you.

别认真啊，兄弟，和你开个玩笑而已。

The thought that she might be cheating on me is really fucking with me.

一想到她可能给我戴绿帽了，我就寝食难安。

与...合作，与...有关联； 喜欢，中意

特別用於非洲裔美國人白話

I fuck with you heavy.

“I’m promoting you, dawg. I’m planning an early retirement, and I gotta know that my business is in good hands. I worked hard to get shit to this point, yo. You think you could handle being the boss one day?” “Muthafuckin’ right,” Smurf said beating his chest. “I’m ready to do whatever is asked of me for the team.” “That’s why I fuck with you, Smurf,” Dink said with a sly smile.

2005, Lisa Lennox, Crack Head, →ISBN，頁號 211:

“Yo, Kid, Dude is my cousin.” “Oh well! I’m sorry, Son, but your cousin fucked up!” “Nah, I mean, you’re my peoples. I fuck with you heavy. I don’t even fuck with that nigga like that, but he is family. If you kill him, then I gotta go to the funeral.”

2012, Michael Archer, Trunk-Space: The Retribution of A Psychopath, →ISBN:

How can I fuck with the fun again, when I'm known?

2013, “Tennis Court”, 出自 Pure Heroine, 演出者 Lorde:

“Boss, no disrespect. I fuck with you, and what shorty just pulled was foul. I know y’all got history, but I hope you ain’t planning on going back to the bitch anytime soon.”

2017, Dana Shontale, Naked Truth, Naked Truths, →ISBN:

RODOLFO RAMIREZ (played by Amaury Nolasco):What do you know about how we roll on the West coast? TOMMY EGAN (played by Joseph Sikora): Not much. But I fucks with that Cali herb hard.

2019年October7日, Courtney A. Kemp, Theo Travers, Andre J. Ferguson, 章號 7 (片头起21:15), 出自 Power(Like Father, Like Son) (6) (TV series), 角色 Tommy Egan（Joseph Sikora）:


aerate

源自拉丁語 aer (“空氣”) + -ate。

Blood is aerated in the lungs.

用氣體（尤其是氧氣或空氣）使……起泡或噴射

The drink was aerated with carbon dioxide, making it fizzy.

飲料中加入了二氧化碳，使其充滿了氣泡。

用氣體（尤其是氧氣或空氣）使……起泡或噴射

The microbial growth medium was aerated at a rate of 5 litres per minute.

將氣體（尤其是氧氣或空氣）摻入固體或半固體材料中

The mousse was aerated by beating rapidly.

藉由快速攪拌使慕斯充氣。


thrilled

more thrilled (comparative)
most thrilled (superlative)

On the phone, he sounded thrilled about the baby.

电话里，他对孩子的到来感到很兴奋。

Ben was thrilled to lead the game.

Ben 很高兴能够领导比赛。


404 page

源自 404 (表示網頁不存在的錯誤代碼) + page (“網頁”)。

404頁面；嘗試跟踪網站內損壞連結所得到的結果

The website must be down; I only got a 404 page.

網站一定關閉了；我只得到404頁面。


thingamajigger

玩意，东西 （不知名的物品）

What was that thingamajigger he was playing with during school?

他在学校玩的那玩意是啥？


源自HTTP狀態碼 404。當伺服器／服務器無法為客戶端正常提供網頁訊息，或是無法回應且不知原因時，就會返回此代碼。

/ˈfɔːɹəʊˌfɔː(ɹ)/

找不到（尤其是網際網路／互聯網上的網頁）

Bill was 404 all morning.

整個早上都找不到比爾人。


next to nothing

I got it for next to nothing in the January sales.

在一月的促销中，我几乎没花多少钱就买到了它。

He pretends to be knowledgeable, but actually he knows next to nothing.

他假装知识渊博，但实际上几乎一无所知。


softlock

软锁（电子游戏可操作但无法继续游玩的状态，通常是由于设计或程序错误导致）

I defeated the boss, but got hit at the exact same time; now I'm stuck in a softlock and can't exit the level.

我击败了头目，但就在同时也受到了伤害；现在我陷于软锁状态，没法退出关卡。


grow out of

grows out of
growing out of
grew out of
grown out of

长大后不再适合 （尤指衣物）

I give my old clothes to charity when I've grown out of them.

我会把我穿不下的旧衣服捐给慈善机构。


cold fish

Ah, don't be such a cold fish!


steel wool

Don’t use the steel wool on this pan; you’ll strip off the Teflon coating.

不要在這平底鍋上用鋼絲絨；你會把特氟龍塗層刮掉的。


good riddance

最初见于a great riddance或a fair riddance之类短语。比威廉·莎士比亚更早的使用是在 1597 年 8 月 3 日伯尔勋爵给罗伯特·塞西尔爵士的一封信中，该信出现在与爱尔兰有关的国家文件中第364页——“or in good riddance”。
后期则见于莎士比亚的悲剧作品《特洛伊羅斯與克瑞西達》的第2幕第1场。

/ˌɡʊd ˈɹɪdns/

用于表达对某人或某事物离去的欣慰、喜悦等

Goodbye and good riddance!


norovirus

/ˈnɒɹə(ʊ)vaɪɹəs/

The norovirus causes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramping.

诺如病毒会引起恶心、呕吐、腹泻和胃痉挛。


juxtaposed

juxtaposed pictures


gold mine

South Africa has many goldmines.

This oil deposit is a regular gold mine. We make more and more money every year!

這個油礦是一個定期的金礦。我們每年賺的錢越來越多！

The possessors of Salisbury & Yeovil Railway shares had ample compensation for the anxiety which the first few years of the company's existence had given them, for the concern proved a veritable gold mine.

索爾茲伯里和約維爾鐵路公司股票的持有者在公司成立後的頭幾年裡焦慮不安，但現在他們已經得到了充分的補償，因為事實證明該公司是一座名副其實的金礦。

1939 December, John D. Hewitt, “Some Notable British Main Lines: II. Salisbury and Exeter, S.R.”, 出自 Railway Magazine，頁號 407:

[Hal Varian] went to work helping Page, Brin, and Schmidt develop more efficient auction algorithms and build the auction model that became such a gold mine for Google.

[哈爾·瓦里安]幫助佩奇、布林和施密特開發更高效的拍賣算法並建立拍賣模型，該模型成為谷歌的金礦。

2019, Rana Foroohar, Don't Be Evil: The Case Against Big Tech, Penguin UK, →ISBN:

The Smithsonian Institute is a goldmine of knowledge, but like most mines, you have to dig for the good stuff.

史密森尼學會是一座知識金礦，但像大多數礦井一樣，你得掘出好東西。


de jure

源自非同化借詞，源自拉丁語 dē jūre (字面意思是“根據法律”)。

/deɪ ˈd͡ʒʊɹi/

/deɪ ˈd͡ʒʊəɹeɪ/

/deɪ ˈd͡ʒʊəɹɪ/

/diː ˈd͡ʒʊəɹi/

I used to spend my Sundays playing pinball despite it being de jure illegal under an unenforced bylaw.

我以前常在周日玩弹球，尽管根据一项未执行的附例，这在法理上是非法的。


cut it

Sometimes, professional tools are necessary and homespun solutions just don't cut it.

有时候还是得用专业工具，平常的解决方法还是不够的。

I couldn't cut it as a poor man, stealing


stroll on

真的吗？不是吧？（表达惊讶，难以置信）

Barry and Carrie are getting married? Stroll on!

Barry和Carrie要结婚了？不是吧！？


teeter

He teetered on the brink of the precipice.

他在峭壁的边缘摇摇欲坠。

The concrete floors of B2B sheds were already being built to an exacting degree of flatness, calibrated using lasers, so that forklifts would not teeter while lifting pallets to the highest shelves.

2019年November21日, Samanth Subramanian, “How our home delivery habit reshaped the world”, 出自 The Guardian:

This is not a land of blowouts. It’s a middle ground, and that’s reflected in voter registration rolls. Nearly 2.6 million North Carolinians declare themselves unaffiliated, while just over 2.4 million identify as Democrats and just under 2.2 million as Republicans. We don’t tilt. We teeter.

2023年May4日, Frank Bruni, “Republicans Are Running Wild in My State”, 出自 The New York Times:

We teetered on the fence about buying getaway tickets and missed the opportunity.

我们之前犹豫要不要买度假的票，结果错过了机会。

Despite appearances, the firm was teetering on the edge of bankruptcy.

虽然表面光鲜，但是公司已经濒临破产。


what's the big idea

什么意思？想怎样？ （表达对另一个人行为的惊讶和不满，尤指对听话人。）

I heard you been chatting up my girl. What's the big idea?

我听说你经常找我女朋友聊天。你想找茬吗？

Hey, what's the big idea, you telling everybody I'd left town?

喂，你干嘛告诉别人我已经走了。


wind up

roll up

把...摇起来 （车窗，井的水桶等）

raise

把...摇起来 （车窗，井的水桶等）

snitches get stitches and wind up in ditches

wind down

把...摇起来 （车窗，井的水桶等）

roll down

把...摇起来 （车窗，井的水桶等）

lower

把...摇起来 （车窗，井的水桶等）

I wound up the spool of rope.

I wound up the clock.

Your pocket watch will run for a long time if you wind up the spring all the way.

你给你的怀表完全扭好发条以后它可以转好久的。

The movie wound me up emotionally.

那部电影绷紧了我的神经。

Try not to wind up the kids too much right before bedtime.

睡觉前别让孩子们玩的太疯了。

把...摇起来 （车窗，井的水桶等）

Wind up your window — it's starting to rain.

把窗摇起来，开始下雨了。

Mess around with drugs and wind up broke.

沾上毒品结果就是身无分文。

I followed the signs, and I wound up getting nowhere.

我跟着路标走，结果走到了不知道啥地方。

The Hound's afraid to go in. Maybe he's afraid the occupants will tell on him, but Beric points out that there's no smoke in the chimney or livestock in the yard, so it's probably deserted. It's not. Inside are the decaying corpses of the farmer and his little girl, in bed together with a knife on the floor. Beric CSIs that they were starving to death, so the man ended the suffering for both of them. And they might not have wound up that way if they hadn't met the Hound.

2017年July16日, Brandon Nowalk, “Chickens and dragons come home to roost on Game Of Thrones (newbies)”, 出自 The Onion AV Club:

Toward the end of the war, Benoit was sent off on his own with forged papers; he wound up working as a horse groom at a chalet in the Loire valley. Mandelbrot describes this harrowing youth with great sangfroid.

2013年January3日, Brian Hayes, “Father of Fractals”, 出自 American Scientist, 卷 101, 期 1，頁號 62:

终止，关停 （合作关系，公司等）

Even though he had bad news, he tried to wind up his speech on a positive note.

虽然他讲了坏消息，但他还是想以正面的语气结束演讲。

同類詞：wind down

A general feast, of which all the male inhabitants of the town partake, winds up the proceedings at the close of the nineteen days.

1911, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough, 卷 8，頁號 231:

In late April, residents were sent a blunt letter telling them that the town's ancient market, which had stopped because of the pandemic, and which really did date back to the reign of Queen Anne, would be wound up.

2020年September1日, Tom Lamont, “The butcher's shop that lasted 300 years (give or take)”, 出自 The Guardian:

Twenty quid? Are you winding me up?

Paige seemed to be winding up for a fastball but then switched it up.

Paige似乎做了个准备投快球的姿势，但最后又换了。


lived

a short-lived recycling scheme


zip one's lip

zips one's lip
zipping one's lip
zipped one's lip

Why don’t you just zip your lip? I’m tired of listening to you.

你能不能别说话了？我听都听烦了。


trepidation

借自拉丁語 trepidātiō，源自trepidō (“不安”)。

I decided, with considerable trepidation, to let him drive my car without me.

我迟疑了好久，最后还是决定让他不带我开我的车走了。

She reached it soon after half-past two. She found its gloomy nineteenth-century façade, black with the smuts of ninety years, a little daunting, and mounted its broad steps in some trepidation. But she rang the bell hard and knocked firmly.

1915, Edgar Jepson, “The Reluctant Duke”, 出自 Happy Pollyooly: The Rich Little Poor Girl, Indianapolis, Ind.: Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC，頁號 135:

She opened the drawing-room door in trepidation. Would she find Esther drowned with her head in the goldfish bowl, or hanged from the chandelier by her stay-lace?

1929, M. Barnard Eldershaw, 章號 VII, 出自 A House is Built:

The Midlanders will hope the victory will kickstart a campaign that looked to have hit the buffers, but the sense of trepidation enveloping the Reebok Stadium heading into the new year underlines the seriousness of the predicament facing Owen Coyle's men.

2011年December10日, Marc Higginson, “Bolton 1 – 2 Aston Villa”, 出自 BBC Sport:


trepid

源自拉丁語 trepidus (“紧张的”)。

more trepid (comparative)
most trepid (superlative)

the trepid mouse


muter

The violinist often uses a muter when she practices.

小提琴家練習的時候經常使用弱音器。


airstrip

The outfitter deposited us at a small airstrip out in the bush, promising to pick us up again in a week's time.

旅行用品商把我们安置在灌木丛旁的一个小跑道上，并承诺一周后再次接我们。


ring a bell

rings a bell
ringing a bell
rang a bell
rung a bell

His face rings a bell. I wonder if I know him from somewhere.

他看着有点眼熟，我是不是在哪遇到过他。


tenaciously

more tenaciously (comparative)
most tenaciously (superlative)

He continued tenaciously, doggedly continuing over all obstacles.

他顽强地继续前进，克服一切障碍。


coworker

/ˈkəʊˈwɜː.kə/

He heard from a coworker that the company planned to merge those departments.

他从同事那里听说公司计划合并这些部门。


spin-off

源自动词短语spin off。

hive-off

（从母公司的）独立，剥离，拆分；（由此产生的）独立公司，拆分公司

Space research often provides a spin-off for everyday technology.

太空研究常常会给日常科技带来意外的收获。

外传作品，番外作品，衍生作品

"Frasier" was a spin-off from the sitcom "Cheers".


powder keg

powder keg of Europe

歐洲火藥桶（比喻第一次世界大戰前的巴爾幹半島）


meishi

Typically, a meishi features the company name at the top in the largest print, followed by the job title and then the name of the individual.

日式名片通常在顶部以最大的字体显示公司名称，然后是职位名称，再然后是个人姓名。


emigre

借自法語 émigré。

（尤指流亡在外的）僑民、僑民

Between the wars, Paris was the center for all the world's emigres.

两次世界大战之间，巴黎是世界上所有移民的中心。


rough up

The gangsters roughed him up a little.


wreak havoc

wreaks havoc
wreaking havoc
wreaked havoc

The storm wreaked havoc on his garden.

风暴把他的花园弄得面目全非。


stairway

The phrase "stairway to heaven" has a variety of cultural significances.

“天堂的阶梯”一词具有多种文化意义。

Then came a maid with hand-bag and shawls, and after her a tall young lady. She stood for a moment holding her skirt above the grimy steps, with something of the stately pose which Richter has given his Queen Louise on the stairway,[…]。

1897年 12月（標示為1898年）, Winston Churchill, 章號 5, 出自 The Celebrity: An Episode, 紐約: The Macmillan Company；倫敦：Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:


encroaching

She could hardly see anything in the encroaching darkness.

在逐渐逼近的黑暗中，她几乎看不到任何东西。


determinans

源自拉丁語 dētermināns，dēterminō (“確定某事物的限制”)，源自 dē + terminō (“界限，限制”)。

In the noun phrase "noun phrase", "noun" is the determinans and "phrase" is the determinatum.

在名詞短語「noun phrase」中，「noun」是修飾語，而「phrase」是被修飾語。


supervenient

源自拉丁語 supervenient-，superveniens 的詞幹，supervenio (“衝過； 突然到來”) 的現在時分詞。

more supervenient (comparative)
most supervenient (superlative)

If mental properties are supervenient on physical properties, people with identical bodies will also have identical minds.

如果精神屬性隨附於物理屬性，那麼具有相同身體的人也將具有相同的思想。


sign out

登記離開，登記……以外出

He was the last person to sign out of the building that night.

他是當晚最後一個登記離開大樓的人。

登出；採取某種行動，表示正在離開計算機系統上的安全程式／程序或網頁

After making the necessary edits, always sign out of the system.

進行必要的編輯後，請務必從系統登出。


as fuck

得不得了，得一屄，得要死

It was hot as fuck outside today.


turn in one's grave

turns in one's grave
turning in one's grave
turned in one's grave

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/En-au-turn in one's grave.ogg

死不瞑目，棺材板都压不住

Beethoven is probably turning in his grave at the way that rock group mangled his Ninth Symphony.

贝多芬看到那个摇滚乐队这样糟蹋他的《第九交响乐》的话，他估计都得从坟里爬出来。

The new scientific discovery about the gravitation particle could make Isaac Newton turn in his grave.

关于引力粒子的新科学发现可以让牛顿从坟墓里爬出来。

Brought forth wind that made critics rave / While Verdi turned round in his grave

1937, Rodgers and Hart （作曲作詞）, “Johnny One Note”:

If he ever finds out who's hijacked his name / He'll cut out his heart and turn in his grave

1989, The The （作曲作詞）, “Armageddon Days Are Here (Again)”, 出自 Mind Bomb:


break a leg

不详，有很多未证实及争议不断的说法。最有说服力的是，其源自意第緒語 הצלחה און ברכה (hatslokhe un brokhe, “成功和祝福”)，因阿什肯纳兹犹太人在美国戏剧界的重大影响而传播开来，其源自德語对该短语的错误理解产生的词Hals- und Beinbruch (“脖子断腿断”)。意第绪语短语本身源自希伯來語 הַצְלָחָה וּבְרָכָה (hatzlakhá u-v'rakhá, “成功和祝福”)。另一理论认为其源自祝霉运反而不会给演员带来霉运的说法。

toi, toi, toi

祝你好运！加油！ （对即将出演戏剧等的演员的祝福，也可用于其他祝福成功的场景。）

Go out there and break a leg tonight. Put on a great show!

I told my friend to break a leg, before she went on stage.

我给我朋友祝了好运，她就上台了。


smack-dab

正正地，不偏不倚地；（尤指）在正中

I tossed the water balloon and it landed smack-dab on the top of his head.

我把水气球丢了出去，正中他的脑门。

Things build and build, and it becomes clearer and clearer that a battle is about to take place. In “Stormborn,” a bang above deck is all the warning we get, and suddenly the Yara Greyjoy fleet is smack dab in the middle of Euron’s Iron Fleet, and the party begins.

2017年July23日, Brandon Nowalk, “The great game begins with a bang on Game Of Thrones (newbies)”, 出自 The Onion AV Club:


outstand

源自中古英語 outstanden、utstanden，等价于out- + stand。同源词有薩特弗里斯蘭語 uutstounde (“忍耐”)、荷蘭語 uitstaan (“容忍，忍受”)、德語 ausstehen (“容忍，忍耐”)、瑞典語 utstå (“忍受，经受”)。

仍保持原样 （比如未修复，未支付，未解决等等）

outstanding contracts


stinky

繼承自中古英語 stinky、stynky，等價於 stink + -y。對照荷蘭語 stinkig (“臭的，骯髒的，腐爛的”)、德語 stinkig (“臭的”)、漢斯立克語 stinkich。

stinkier (comparative)
more stinky (comparative)
stinkiest (superlative)
most stinky (superlative)

What's that stinky smell?


wipe the floor with someone

wipes the floor with someone
wiping the floor with someone
wiped the floor with someone

The young newcomer is wiping the floor with the more experienced players.

那个新来的年轻选手远远超过了那些更有经验的老将。


undead

繼承自中古英語 undede，等價於 un- + dead。最早可考的使用見於1400年左右，名詞用法則起自20世紀早期。

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-undead.wav

In the zombie movie, an army of the undead accosted some nubile skinny-dipping teenagers.

在喪屍電影中，一群不死族跟一些性感的裸泳青年搭訕。

"Were another of the Un-Dead, like him, to try to do what he has done, perhaps not all the centuries of the world that have been, or that will be, could aid him."

1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula, New York: Doubleday & McClure, 出版於 1899，頁號 xxiv. 319:

Harley got devoured by the undead / Lurking down in some old wizard's tomb / You can say there's no such thing as zombies / But that's how Harley Warren met his doom

2006, The H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society, “Harley Got Devoured by the Undead”, 出自 An Even Scarier Solstice:

It’s an episode of characters returning to their own pasts as different people. They can retrench like Cersei, back on her bullshit, I mean, warpath. Or they can adapt, like The Hound. Neither way necessarily ensures success, but we know the archmaester isn’t unequivocally right. We’ve seen dragons reborn and armies of the undead. I wouldn’t be so sure that Wall will stand forever.


bit on the side

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/EN-AU ck1 bit on the side.ogg

I'm married to Paula, but Jackie, my bit on the side, is far more fun.

我妻子是Paula，但是我的小三Jackie可比她有意思多了。


wee small hours

源自低地蘇格蘭語 wee sma' hours，首次可考于1819年。

He worked into the wee small hours to get everything perfect for the opening day.

他一直工作到后半夜，来确保开幕日一切准备妥当。


doom and gloom

rainbows and unicorns

悲观的人或物，绝望的人或物

sunshine and rainbows

悲观的人或物，绝望的人或物

悲观的人或物，绝望的人或物

The economic forecast contained the usual doom and gloom.

经济前景预计还是一如既往的悲观。

His sister was all doom and gloom after she lost the part.

他妹妹丢掉那个角色以后就一直很悲观。

Doom and gloom abounded among copyright scholars, including many who shared Mr. Gates's basic premise—that software should be covered by property rights.


chanting

I remember much chanting in church during my childhood.

我记得小时候在教堂里唱过很多歌。

The Synod of Aberdeen forbade 'chantings and choruses' at funerals.

阿伯丁主教会议禁止在葬礼上“唱诵和合唱”。


tetraphthong

Gottscheerish has four tetraphthongs: /i̯oai/, /i̯oːai/, /i̯uai/, and /i̯uːai/.

科切維方言有四個四元音：/i̯oai/、/i̯oːai/、/i̯uai/ 和 /i̯uːai/。


play hooky

对于hooky的词源，参见该词条；该词构成类似play truant。

Plenty of people played hooky from work to go see the movie on opening day.

电影上映那天好多人旷工去看那部电影。


take a shine to

takes a shine to
taking a shine to
took a shine to
taken a shine to

He took a shine to jazz.


tough luck

真倒霉 （用来给经历坏事的人一种无所谓的回应）

Your car broke down? Well, tough luck, you're due at work in 15 minutes. Better run.

你的车坏了？真惨哪，离上班时间还有15分钟，你得跑过去了。


buzz up

用楼栋电子门禁放...上楼

I'll be back in ten minutes; can you buzz me up then?

我10分钟以后回来，到时候帮我按一下门锁。


shoot the breeze

shoots the breeze
shooting the breeze
shot the breeze

We were just standing around shooting the breeze.

Oh, I've just been upstairs with your boss, shooting the breeze… shooting his fish.

1989, Lethal Weapon 2 (motion picture), 角色 Martin Riggs（Mel Gibson）:

Listen, I came here to do some business, not shoot the breeze. If you want to expound your personal philosophies, write another book.

1999, The Ninth Gate (motion picture), 角色 Dean Corso（Johnny Depp）:


25 ≥ 24


bupkis

借自意第緒語 באָבקעס (bobkes)，באָבקע (bobke, “羊的粪便”)的复数形式，源自באָב (bob, “豆”) + ־קע (-ke)，仿译自波蘭語 bobek (“椭圆形粪便”)，最终源自原始斯拉夫語 *bobъ (“豆，蚕豆”)。

We searched for hours and found bupkis.

我们找了几个小时，啥也没找到。

But we did nothing, absolutely bupkis that day / And I say, what the hell am I doing drinking in L.A. at 26?

1997, “Drinking in L.A.”, 演出者 Bran Van 3000:

She answered her own question. “Without the connection to other people,” she said, “you have bupkis.”

2022年April20日, John Leland, 引 Robin Solod, “How Loneliness Is Damaging Our Health”, 出自 The New York Times, →ISSN:


truant

源自中古英語 truant、truand、trewande、trowant（平行于中古荷蘭語 trouwant、trawant、truwant），源自古法語 truand、truant (“流浪汉，乞丐；乞丐一样的”)，源自凱爾特語族，可能源自高盧語 *trugan，或源自布列塔尼語 truan (“悲惨的”)，源自原始凱爾特語 *térh₁-tro-m，最终源自原始印歐語 *terh₁-。
同源词有蘇格蘭蓋爾語 truaghan、愛爾蘭語 trogha (“贫困的”)、trogán、布列塔尼語 truc (“乞丐”)、威爾士語 tru。

He didn't graduate because he was chronically truant and didn't have enough attendances to meet the requirement.

因为他习惯性地翘课导致出席时间达不到要求，所以他没能毕业。


truant

the number of schoolchildren known to have truanted


put the kibosh on

puts the kibosh on
putting the kibosh on
put the kibosh on

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/En-au-put the kibosh on.ogg

Someone really needs to go put the kibosh on that noisy party.

那个聚会真的吵死了，得找人让他们停下来。

For Belgium put the kibosh on the Kaiser; / Europe took the stick and made him sore; / On his throne it hurts to sit, / And when John Bull starts to hit, / He will never sit upon it any more.

1914, Mark Sheridan （作曲作詞）, “Belgium Put the Kibosh on the Kaiser”:

I'm not sure how it became a trope to call second albums "sophomore." But if Olivia Rodrigo's debut, Sour, hadn't become one of the biggest releases of 2021, winning her a Grammy for best new artist and putting the kibosh on her post–high school plans, the 20-year-old might be a literal sophomore now.

2023年September8日, Carl Wilson, “The Olivia Rodrigo–Taylor Swift "Beef" Is Really About Something Deeper”, 出自 Slate，於2023-09-09歸檔自原頁面:


converted

He was a converted Jew, living in a converted chapel.

他是一名皈依的猶太教徒，住在一座經改建的會堂裡。

Think of banking today and the image is of grey-suited men in towering skyscrapers. Its future, however, is being shaped in converted warehouses and funky offices in San Francisco, New York and London, where bright young things in jeans and T-shirts huddle around laptops, sipping lattes or munching on free food.

提到今天的银行业，人们就会想到高耸的摩天大楼里，穿着灰色西装的男人。然而在旧金山、纽约和伦敦的改建仓库和时髦办公室中，它的未来新形态正在悄然产生：在那里，穿着牛仔裤和T恤的时髦年轻人挤在笔记本电脑周围，喝着拿铁或吃着免费食物。

2013年August3日, “Revenge of the nerds”, 出自 The Economist, 卷 408, 期 8847:


to wit

The directors of the company, to wit, Fred Smith and Albert Jones, inform us that…

The defendant is charged with possession of a controlled substance, to wit, cocaine…

被告人被控持有管制药物——可卡因...

Thus, I had so long suffered in this quest,
Heard failure prophesied so oft, been writ
So many times among "The Band"─to wit,
The knights who to the Dark Tower's search addressed
Their steps - that just to fail as they, seemed best,
And all the doubt was now—should I be fit?

1855, Robert Browning, Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came, section VII:

Though the animation code above demonstrates how a thread could be included as part of an object while still making that object be serializable, there is a major problem with it if we recall how Java creates objects. To wit, when we create an object with the new keyword, the object’s constructor is called only when a new instance of a class is created.

July 2000, Todd Greanier, Discover the secrets of the Java Serialization API


make a pass

He clumsily made a pass at the prom queen, and she responded with a scowl.

Men seldom make passes / At girls who wear glasses.

1926, Dorothy Parker, “News Item”, 出自 Enough Rope，頁號 85:

You know, all those nights we stayed up talking…How come you never made a pass at me?

1985, Joel Schumacher, Carl Kurlander, St. Elmo's Fire (motion picture), 角色 Julianna "Jules" Van Patten（Demi Moore）:


room temperature

food served at room temperature


wait for

Wait for the light to change before you cross the street.

过马路前要等信号灯变颜色。

What are you waiting for?

And now we're waiting for the very same people to establish GBR, drive through urgently needed fares reform, and come up with imaginative and effective train operating contracts...

2022年January12日, Nigel Harris, “Comment: Unhappy start to 2022”, 出自 RAIL, 期 948，頁號 3:

I'm waiting for my date.

I'm waiting for the train.


adsorb

源自法語 adsorber，源自拉丁語 ad- + sorbēre (“吸”)。

The gas was purified by adsorbing the impurities onto active carbon.

通过将杂质吸附到活性炭上来净化气体。


adhan

借自阿拉伯語 أَذَان (ʔaḏān)。

If one were to pray alone, then no adhan is needed.

如果一个人独自祈祷，则不需要宣礼。


anciently

more anciently (comparative)
most anciently (superlative)

The anciently written inscriptions in the pyramids can still be read.

金字塔中古代书写的铭文仍然可以阅读。


up to no good

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/En-au-up to no good.ogg

He seems like an angel on the surface, but I can tell he's up to no good.

他看起来像个天使一样，但我知道他肯定很调皮。


eina

借自南非語 eina，源自科伊科伊語：é + ná。

Eina! I hit my thumb with the hammer!

痛痛痛！一不小心用錘子敲中拇指了！


all over the place

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/en-au-all over the place.ogg

at random

乱七八糟，前后矛盾；胡乱，随意；前言不搭后语

They started firing all over the place.

In Genoa there are stray cats all over the place.

I've been looking for you all over the place.

I couldn't believe it. “This is insane! You don't know what you're getting into, Dad. We can't have lots of people swarming all over the place. You're supposed to be getting rest.”

2004, Ruth Ozeki, All Over Creation, Penguin, →ISBN，頁號 267:

乱七八糟，前后矛盾；胡乱，随意；前言不搭后语

I asked each person in turn, and their answers were all over the place.

我把他们一个个问过去，他们的回答前后不搭。


yack

yak (“說話；喋喋不休”)的另一種寫法

I moved to another carriage on the train because the first one was full of people yacking on mobile phones.

我走到了火車的另一節車廂，因為第一節車廂擠滿了嘰嘰喳喳拿著手機講電話的人。


make into

使（第一個賓語）變成（第二個賓語）

Basic training will make you into a man.

基礎訓練能讓你變得更男人。

The potion made him into a toad.

I'll make a dry academic discipline into a living subject.

我能讓枯燥的學科變得生動起來。


clue in

It looks like somebody finally clued them in that the intercom was broken the whole time.

看来终于有人告诉他，他的内部对讲机一直是坏的了。


push someone's buttons

pushes someone's buttons
pushing someone's buttons
pushed someone's buttons

惹怒某人，惹恼某人； 激起某人性欲； 引诱某人作出激烈反应

You really knew how to push my buttons.

I end up cleaning up after her, which I’ve repeatedly told her makes me upset. She’s a smart, talented kid. So why does she keep pushing my buttons?

2019年April10日, Cheryl Maguire, “How to Stop Thinking Your Teen Is ‘Pushing Your Buttons’”, 出自 The New York Times, →ISSN:


do time

if you can't do the time, don't do the crime

My wife is unavailable for three months, as she's doing time for fraud.

我妻子这三个月都没空，她因为诈骗蹲监狱了。


hit the bottle

hits the bottle
hitting the bottle
hit the bottle

（尤指因心情不好而长时间地）饮酒

He's been hitting the bottle hard since his wife left him.

他妻子离开他以后他就一直在酗酒。


water under the bridge

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/En-au-water under the bridge.ogg

water over the dam

过去的事 （过去的无可挽回，只能接受、原谅的事）

过去的事 （过去的无可挽回，只能接受、原谅的事）

They agreed that their old disputes were water under the bridge and decided to make a fresh start.

他们同意忘了以前的争吵，重新开始。

Ilsa: It's been a long time.
Sam: Yes, ma'am. A lot of water under the bridge.

1942, Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, Howard Koch, Casablanca:

Lot of water under the bridge; lot of other stuff, too / Don’t get up, gentlemen, I’m only passing through

2000, Bob Dylan （作曲作詞）, “Things Have Changed”:


JFK

各种以该词俗称的建筑物、设施、船舶、桥梁、高速公路等，尤指

约翰·肯尼迪国际机场（John F. Kennedy Airport），位于纽约。

I flew into JFK, then took a cab to my hotel in Manhattan

我飞到JFK机场，然后坐出租到我在曼哈顿的宾馆。

Fortunately, most of these were former French colonies, and through a combination of quiet diplomacy and well-placed French nationals in the various air-traffic-control centers, the 300-mile-long stream of American aircraft flew the width of Africa as uneventfully as a red-eye flight from LAX to JFK.

1994, Tom Clancy, Armored Cav: A Guided Tour of an Armored Cavalry Regiment, New York: Berkley Books, →ISBN，頁號 281:

各种以该词俗称的建筑物、设施、船舶、桥梁、高速公路等，尤指

约翰·肯尼迪纪念大桥（John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge），位于肯塔基路易斯维尔。

Traffic on the JFK was delayed by construction of the new bridge.

各种以该词俗称的建筑物、设施、船舶、桥梁、高速公路等，尤指 美国中大量以此命名的学校之一。

Steubenville beat JFK, scoring in the final minute of play.


school uniform

School uniforms for boys may include a school tie, jacket, cap and a pair of formal trousers.

男生的一套校服可包含一條學生領帶、一件夾克、一頂帽子和一條正式的褲子。


iftar

借自阿拉伯語 إِفْطَار (ʔifṭār)。

Iftars can be social events, where people congregate to eat and socialize.

开斋饭可以是社交活动，人们聚集在一起吃饭和社交。

On a recent afternoon in the Tunisian coastal city of Sfax, as shoppers hurried around a market buying food and drink for that evening’s iftar meal, a small group of men from sub-Saharan Africa gathered near a stall selling phone accessories.

在突尼斯海濱城市斯法克斯，前一陣子的某個下午。市場裡的購物者匆忙買好吃的喝的，準備當晚的開齋飯。此時，一小群來自撒哈拉以南非洲的人，聚集在一家售賣手機配件的攤位旁。

2023年March30日, Simon Speakman Cordall, “Tunisian morgue overflows as more people attempt risky sea crossing [因為越來越多人無視危險嘗試渡海，突尼斯的停屍房不堪重負]”, 出自 The Guardian:


Angeleno

源自西班牙語 angeleño。

/ˌænd͡ʒɪˈliːnəʊ/

同類詞：Angelena

The LAPD has asked Angelenos not to shoot at the alien spaceship, fearing it might trigger an interstellar war.

洛杉矶警察局要求洛杉矶人不要向这艘外星飞船开枪，担心这可能引发星际战争。


pull strings

来源于木偶戏，其中的角色需要拉动人偶上的线才能活动。

pulls strings
pulling strings
pulled strings

牵线，打招呼 （用自己的影响力请别人为自己做有利的事）

He has the job not because of talent, but because his dad pulled strings with the boss.

他并非因为他的才华而得到工作，而是因为他爸爸让老板开了后门。

通常在“string”前加“the”或“his”之类形容词性物主代词

We know who pulls the strings around here.


at gunpoint

At gunpoint I was told to hand over my money.

I held him at gunpoint until police arrived.

警察来之前我一直用枪指着他。


heart attack

She'll have a heart attack when she sees that!

她看到了一定會大吃一驚的！

My computer had a heart attack when I tried to get it to run that program.

我嘗試運行該程式時，電腦宕機了。


draw near

draws near
drawing near
drew near
drawn near

/dɹɔː nɪə(ɹ)/

I became nervous as my wedding day drew near.

我离大喜日子越来越近，变得越发紧张起来。

The crowd drew near to the speaker.


lay claim

Spencer University lays claim to the recently published discovery.

Argentina also lays claim to what is now Queen Elizabeth Land, as well as to other South Atlantic dependencies including South Georgia and the uninhabited South Sandwich Islands.

2013年January3日, Luke Harding, Uki Goni, The Guardian:


spiced

more spiced (comparative)
most spiced (superlative)

Fred preferred spiced rum to plain.

与原味朗姆酒相比，弗雷德更喜欢加香料的朗姆酒。


by any stretch of the imagination

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/en-au-by any stretch of the imagination.ogg

完全（不），一点也（不），不管怎么想都（不）

The British Prime Minister isn't a monarch by any stretch of the imagination.

英国首相绝不是什么君主。


none the wiser

never the wiser

（对某事物）没能了解的，没能知道的

（对某事物）没能了解的，没能知道的

They were none the wiser from their experience

他们从经验里什么都没学到。

After the lecture, nobody was any the wiser on the subject.

讲座后，大家对那个主题还是一头雾水。

He's very careful, so his victims are none the wiser.

他行事谨慎，他的受害者都没有察觉到。


hear the end of it

hears the end of it
hearing the end of it
heard the end of it

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/en-au-hear the end of it.ogg

If I spilled wine on their new carpet, I'd never hear the end of it.

如果我把酒撒到他们的新毯子上，他们就会没完没了地说我。


come to grips with

comes to grips with
coming to grips with
came to grips with
come to grips with

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/en-au-come to grips with.ogg

Until she comes to grips with her mother's death, she has no hope of putting it behind her.

On Thursday, Robert A. Iger, Disney’s chief executive, put the sale of the company’s “noncore” channels, including ABC and FX, on the table. He called the decline in traditional television “a reality we have to come to grips with.”

2023年July15日, Brooks Barnes, 引 Robert A. Iger, “In Hollywood, the Strikes Are Just Part of the Problem”, 出自 The New York Times, →ISSN:


holy shit

/ˌhəʊli ˈʃɪt/

天啊；用於表達恐懼、敬畏、驚訝等情感

Holy shit, that car just exploded!

天哪，那輛車剛剛爆炸了！


what gives

于1940年首次可考于约翰·奥哈拉所著小说《Pal Joey》。据《American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, Second Edition》（2013年）和一些其他文献，其是仿譯自德語 “was gibt's?”或一个意第緒語等价构式。

Not even thirty minutes after leaving the shower, my head starts itching. What gives?

洗完澡还没三十分钟，我的头就开始痒了。到底是怎么回事？

What gives with you and Martha?

你和Martha是怎么了？


look the part

looks the part
looking the part
looked the part

If you want to be a successful business person, you have to look the part.

你想做成功的商务人士的话，你就要仪表得体。

We were going to cast him in our new movie but unfortunately he didn't look the part.

我们本来想找他出演我们的新电影，但是他外貌不太合适。

Turner looked assured, picking out his men at the lineouts, while Redpath was seeing plenty of the ball and also looked the part as the Scots probed for opening.

2021年February6日, Graham Bean, “Scotland beat England at Twickenham for the first time in 38 years”, 出自 The Scotsman:


color me

Well, color me surprised! I wasn't expecting you here.

喔，真没想到！怎么在这里碰到你了。

Oh, phew. Color me relieved.


pleasantries

（正式谈话之前的）寒暄，客套，打招呼

exchanging pleasantries


gloss over

They glossed over the problem, hoping that the customers wouldn't notice.

他们隐瞒了那个问题，希望顾客们注意不到。

忽略，忽视，对...关心不足

This book only glosses over quantum mechanics, and doesn't go into detail.

这本书对量子力学只是一笔带过，没有细讲。


add insult to injury

派生自公元前一世纪的菲得洛斯寓言。寓言中，有一个秃子打落在自己头上的苍蝇，但却给了自己的头一击。苍蝇说：“你因为我碰了你你就想杀我，那你现在在伤口上撒盐（added insult to injury），你要对自己做什么呢？”首个英语内的措辞记载出现于18世纪中叶。

adds insult to injury
adding insult to injury
added insult to injury

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/en-au-add insult to injury.ogg

To add insult to injury,...

As if the hostile takeover weren't enough, to add insult to injury they scrapped ninety percent of our products and replaced them with their own.

恶意收购还不够，他们还雪上加霜，把我们百分之九十的产品都换成了他们的。

[...] the line crossed over an iron bridge spanning Ludgate Hill itself [...] neatly obliterating any view of St Paul's from Ludgate Circus and Fleet Street. A thousand people had put their names to a petition against the bridge. To add insult to injury it carried a small thicket of railway signals as well as regular steam trains.

2012, Andrew Martin, Underground Overground: A passenger's history of the Tube, Profile Books, ISBN 978-1846684777，頁號 52:


grow on

I didn't like this song at first, but now it's starting to grow on me.

我一开始不喜欢这首歌，但是现在越来越喜欢。

Blinking and swallowing, she checked her list of questions. “What are some of your favorite outdoor and indoor activities?” “Well, whale watching is growing on me.”

2015, Jenny Elliott, Save Me, Macmillan, →ISBN，頁號 82: