英语常见俚语

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英语常见俚语
常见俚语
? a breeze
◆The test was a breeze! I got one hundred percent!
→(to be) very easy.
◆TOEFL → A breeze?
If you follow these tips your teachers gave to you, you can make TEOFL a breeze.
◆Shopping → A breeze?
Just log on our website at and it simply makes shopping a breeze.
? a piece of cake
◆This stone block doesn't look very big. It's just a piece of cake for me to raise it.
→(to be) very easy.
◆You shouldn't worry about the exam because you have prepared well and you'll probably find it a piece of cake.
◆Before we took off to bomb the Germans, our commander told us it would be a tough flight. But it turned out to be a piece of cake.
?breathe easier
◆The couple can finally breathe easier at the news that their missing child has been found safe.
→(To be) relaxed or relieved, esp. after a period of tension.
◆Olympic games
In order to hold one of the best Olympic games, Beijing government doesn’t breathe easier.
◆life stress
In the modern society, people are facing various stress and pressure, however, going to church might help you breathe easier.
?at the end of one’s rope
◆I'm at the end of my rope with you. How much longer do you need to get ready to go?
→The limit of one's patience or resources
◆foreign country, no money/ language/ friend
With no single penny in pocket and no friends to turn to, Tom was at the end of his rope standing on the earth of
a foreign country.
◆divorce, three children, laid off
All that Mary, a laid off worker, had got from the divorce from her
husband were three children. Life really made her at the end of the rope.
?beg to differ
◆You may think that John should be offered the job, but I beg to differ.
→ a polite way of saying that you disagree with something.
◆With all due respect I beg to differ. I don't believe that a person can’t be happy without love. Again, I mean no offence.
◆I beg to differ with you, but your story does not fit my recollection at all.
?go with the flow
1. There's no need to worry. Everything’s gonna be OK if you just go with the flow.
→take things as they come;
2. Don't always try to be different. Go with the flow sometimes.
→do what others do.
◆Chinese people prefer to go with the flow, while Americans like things to be fixed and unchangeable.
◆It’s OK that you order the food, and I’ll just go with the flow.
?hang out
◆I don't have much free time now and almost never get to hang out
with my friends.
→to spend time with someone (just for fun)
◆Thanks so much for your hanging out with us in the program. And please tune in next time.
◆Oh my god! I can’t believe that you are hanging out? How long have you known each other?
?create a stir
◆Believe it or not, his discovery has created a stir in scientific circles.
→Cause an excited reaction.
◆I just learned a really good word from my Chinese friend. It’s “暴料”(bào liào), which means “newsworthy material” as a noun, and “create a stir” as a verb.
◆Her decision to marry a man 54 years older than herself has created a huge stir not only among her folks but also the whole country.
?do sth for a living
◆When people ask, "What do you do for a living?"
I answer without hesitation, "I'm a househusband."
→do sth as a means of maintaining life
◆It's the first question many people ask when they meet someone new, esp. in the workaholic US —— "So, what do you do for a living?"
Here are some creative answers:
1) " Breathe. "
2) " What you should really ask is Who I Am. Not What I Do. "
3) “What do I do for a living? Why, I live, of course!"
?down-to-earth
◆"The Party and the nation as a whole must take a down-to-earth approach in the building of a new socialist countryside." said Hu, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China.
→realistic, practical and honestly.
◆When his money ran out, he became down-to-earth.
◆He needs to marry a down-to-earth person who will organize his life for him.
?earn one’s stripes
◆To earn your stripes you really have to not only work hard but also perform wonderful.
→to gain a position through hard work and the accumulation of experience, often in the face of difficulties.
◆Mr. Green finally eared his stripes after 10 years of hard working.
◆It is the very place to earn one’s stripes.
?eat one’s words
◆Sorry, I'll eat my words. Could you please just forgive me?
→take back one's words; admit what one said was wrong.
◆How rude are your words! I want you to eat your words!
◆When we got married, my brother predicted it would never last. But 10 years later we are still married, so he certainly has to eat his words.
(vs. break one‘s words/ go back on one’s word 食言
Sorry that I broke my words. Could you please forgive me? )
?have a ball
◆“Did you have a ball last night?”
“Yes, that was really fun!”
→enjoy oneself greatly; have a good time.
◆“Are you enjoying yourself?”
“Sure, I’m having a ball.”
◆We had a ball at the party and didn't come home until 2 am.
?on the ball
◆Look, it’s the second time I saw you playing games at work. I’m afraid I have to warn you that if you can’t get on the ball or you'll have to go."
→pay full attention to sth; do one’s job excellently
◆That reporter is the best we ever have. He's always on the ball and brings back stories that most other reporters would miss.
◆Teachers in NOS are really on the ball.
?catch on
1. Beckhem’s hair style just catches on after the world cup.
→become popular.
2. Sarah is a good student. She catches on quickly.
→understand what is going on.
◆I don’t catch on the jokes you told.
◆Everyone else realized what was happening, but it took Henry ages to catch on.
◆Learning English catches on around the world.
?chicken
◆He's so nervous and coward. I wish he'd stop being such chicken.
→nervous and/or afraid.
◆ Don’t be so chicken, be a man!
?come out of one's shell
◆You need to come out of your shell and take the girl to dance.
→stop being shy, become active.
◆We finally got Frank to come out of his shell and talk to some people at the party.
◆I think you need to come out of your shell just a little and then you’ll be more comfortable with people.
?couch potato
◆I'm a couch potato and it's too late for me to change. But we try to keep our kids from watching more than two hours of television a day: we don't want them to be couch potatoes, too.
→someone who watches lots of television.
◆I can't be a couch potato when I have examinations to think about.
◆School children don't play outside as much as before. Many of them are overweight couch potatoes.
?count on sb/sth
1. I'm counting on you to pass the keys to the questions.
→to expect sb to help you.
2. You may be disappointed if you count on getting that loan.
→to expect sth to happen.
◆She's counting on you to show movies to her friends.
◆Don't count on me.
◆You can always count on him to screw things up.
?count in sb/sth
◆Please count me in on this project. You know that I really wanna do something for poor people.
→include sb/sth.
◆Dennis said the coach could count him in for Saturday's game.
◆Don't count me in.
◆That would be $100 if you count the old books in.
?face to face (with sb/ sth)
1. As I was going into the restaurant, I was face to face with my teacher, who was just leaving.
→in front of sb/ sth.
2. It is really hard for Carol comes face to face with the fact of his infection of AIDS at the age of 18.
→having to deal with sb/ sth unpleasant.
◆We need to arrange a face-to-face meeting.
◆We've got to face to face with the gloomy lives.
?for the birds
◆He was badly hurt by his ex-girl friend, and now he believes love is for the birds!
→ridiculous, worthless, not to be taken seriously.
◆They went to a poetry reading, but they got bored and restless. They thought they were for the birds.
◆"Since you asked me, I think the new proposal is for the birds."
?get carried away
1. Sorry I’ve just got carried away. So, where were we?
→to go too far.
2. I got so carried away when I saw Brad Pitt in person- he is just so handsome!
→to become too emotionally involved in sth.
◆She got carried away when she started talking about the war.
◆I got carried away. I bought 10 shirts!
◆Mom won’t be angry with you unless you got carried away.
?get over sb/ sth
◆Actually they broke up last month. But she have already gotten over him/it.
→to recover from some physical or emotional state.
◆"I was very sick yesterday, but I have gotten over it. "
◆"I just can't stop thinking about what she said."
"Oh, just get over it."
◆Tom still can't get over his ex-girlfriend. Every time he saw her at school he became moody.
?judge a book by its cover
◆What you see about a person may not be true, so don’t judge a book by its cover.
→to judge the quality or character of sb/ sth just by looking at them.
◆She doesn't look very intelligent, but you can't judge a book by its cover.
◆I don’t believe in “love at first sight”, because my mom always tell my “never judge a book by its cover.”
?get to the bottom of sth
◆ A lot of people want to get to the bottom of the reason for Dianna’s untimely death.
→to discover the truth about sth.
◆How will investigators get to the bottom of the affair with so little evidence?
◆I didn't use my credit card last month. So I was shocked to see a new balance of $2000 on the statement for last month. I'm going to get to the bottom of this and find out who used my credit card.
?go against the grain
◆It goes against the grain for William to admit that he's wrong.
→be unwilling to do sth and it is not what you usually do.
◆I think she doesn’t like to praise men. It goes against the grain.
◆It goes against the grain of Qian Zhongshu to lend people money.
?go bananas
◆Mom will go bananas if she sees the room in such a mess.
→to become very angry; to go mad.
◆I just told her that she couldn't have any pudding until she'd finished her main course, and she went bananas!
◆You see that I’ve been working 15 hours a day for over one month. If there’s no vacation for me soon, I will go bananas.
?go to great pains
◆Be careful about dealing with it. You can’t imagine that I went to great pains to get this CD?
→to try very very hard to do something.
◆Miss Green went to great pains to explain the sentences clearly to her pupils.
◆He went to great pains to convince her to go out with him.
◆In order to pass GRE I went to great pains to remember the vocabulary.
?grow on sb
◆At first, the show seemed kind of weird, but it grew on us.
→to become increasingly liked by you.
◆Don’t be so impatient. I’m sure it’ll grow on you if you give it another look.
◆At first taste I hate the flavor of sour milk, but then it just grow on me.
◆It was not until he left that I realized he had grown on me.
?in a jam
◆I'm in bit of a jam. Could you possibly lend me some money till next week?
→in some trouble or difficult situation.
◆My god, everything is in a jam.
◆Jay was in a jam when his teacher found that he cheated in the exam.
◆We'll be in a jam if we can't finish the report by tomorrow.
?in one’s blood
◆I've played all sorts of sports ——baseball, golf, basketball. But I love tennis best. In fact you could say tennis is in my blood——I've played ever since I was old enough to pick up a racket.
→be born able to do sth.
◆ Jack, I do envy your ability to learn Chinese so fast. Everybody knows that Chinese is a very hard language
to learn. But it seems you don't need any effort to pick it up -- it must be in your blood.
?kick the habit
◆Once you are addicted, it's very difficult to stop smoking. Many people have tried many different ways to kick the habit.
→to stop doing something that is difficult to stop doing, (esp. taking drugs, smoking, or drinking alcohol)
◆No coffee for me, thanks. I'm trying to kick the habit.
◆Researchers said smokers who kicked the habit would have much less chance of developing cancer.
?knock your socks off
◆Have you seen Jack's sister, who's here visiting from California? She'll knock your socks off——she's the most gorgeous-looking woman I've seen for a long time.
→to shock sb.
◆You know Coco is coming? Maybe she will date you. Wow, she will certainly knock your socks off.
◆Wait until you hear my new marketing plan ——it will knock your socks off!
?lighten up
◆Do not be so serious. Lighten up, Charles. Try to see the humor in life.
→to relax.
◆People are usually relieved when they're given a chance to lighten up.
◆Yes, the exam is very important, but you still sometime to lighten up.
?look forward to sth
◆I'm looking forward to my trip to Berlin and Paris.
→to be excited because sth is going to happen.
◆You can tell Jake is looking forward to his vacation – he keeps telling us how many days there are left until he finishes college.
◆I have to figure out a way to tell Joey, you know he is really looking forward to this..
?make fun of sb/ sth
◆He killed his own classmates because he hate the way they make fun of his awkward countryside accent.
→to make a joke about sb/ sth in an unkind way.
◆At first the kids made fun of Gum because of his retardation.
◆When she first moved north, some people made fun of her by mocking her southern accent.
?make no bones about
◆She makes no bones about wanting John to leave.
→to say clearly what you think, although you may embarrass or offend someone.
◆Ok, I’ll make no bones about it ——I love you, and I hope you can leave her and go out with me.
◆He made no bones about how bad he thought the food was, which caused her very disappointed.
?do/make/start sth from scratch
◆"How are you going to build your business?"
"Just like everyone does: starting from scratch."
→to do sth from the very beginning; to do sth from nothing or small stuff.
◆Now he has been the richest man in the world, but can you imagine how he make it from scratch?
◆Living in desert area is unbelievable tough, however, she make herself and husband a very cozy room from scratch.
?measure up (to someone/something)
◆They didn't measure up (to our requirements), so I couldn't hire them.
→To meet a standard.
◆The math skills of the majority of children in this school measure up to the national standards.
◆I see why you can’t play the game on your computer; it is because your computer software fails to measure up to expectations.
?cup of tea
◆I like thriller movies. It's my cup of tea.
→sth that is one’s liking.
◆Cup of tea! I’ll take it!
◆The waiter brought her the wrong kind of tea, so she said, “sorry, but is not my cup of tea.”
?nothing to sneeze at
◆You know what, we’d love to have you staying with us. And there's the increase in salary to be considered ——£3000 extra a year is
nothing to sneezed at. Just reconsider your decision.
→important or dangerous enough to deserve serious attention.
◆Toefl is nothing to sneeze at even enough you have been in the US for one year and can speak English.
◆Goodman is not a man to be sneezed at.
?once in a blue moon
◆I don't know why you bought so many clothes ——you only ever wear them once in a blue moon.
→almost never.
◆Once in a blue moon, I'll have a beer with friends, but it's not my regular drink.
◆It is once in a blue moon to see him coming to the library and study well.
?out of the blue
◆We didn’t get in touch for 10 years after graduation. Then one day, completely out of the blue, I had a letter from her ——inviting me to her wedding.
→happening suddenly and unexpectedly.
◆Sister Lin came into my life out of the blue and caught eye at the first sight.
◆Everything was happening out of the blue that I just couldn’t take.
?pay the price
◆She didn’t listen in her friends’words and go out with Steve. And now that he's gone, she's paying the price.
→to accept the unpleasant results of something.
◆I have paid the price for working nonstop ——my health has suffered.
◆He achieved great fame in his later years, but he certainly paid the price.
?pick up the tab/ bill (for sth)
◆Why don’t we go Dutch in the future, then nobody’s gonna worry about who pick up the tab.
→to pay money for something. (= foot the bill; it’s my treat; take it on me.)
◆Taxpayers will have to pick up the bill for political campaigns.
◆Don’t take it for granted that boys are always supposed to pick up the tab when dating girls.
?play second fiddle (to sb/sth)
◆You'll have to choose between your wife and me. I won't play second fiddle (to anyone).
→to be in a less important position. (= take a backseat /take second place /keep a low profile)
◆Radio has been playing second fiddle to television for decades now.
◆As regards Physics, I’ll have to play second fiddle to my brother whose major is Physics.
?play with fire
◆We're playing with fire if we continue with smuggling drug.
→to do sth that could cause you great trouble later.
◆Don't you know you're playing with fire when you get involved with someone who's already married?
◆I just couldn’t help it, even though I knew it was playing with fire.
?right up one's alley
◆My dad is very angry with me because I refuse to take over his business. I have always been interested in medicine and I believe to be a doctor is really right up my alley. I don't know how to convince my father I'm not good at business.
→fit one’s interest and ability.
◆One course I know I'll take is advanced computer programming. Funny - a year ago I was afraid of computers. But once I tried, I found that working with a computer is right up my alley.
?go/run like clockwork
◆Some parents like a military school, because it runs like clockwork. Everything is strict and runs on time from physical training to classes and
self-study.
→happen exactly as it was planned, without any problems.
◆The whole ceremony went like clockwork.
◆My campus life runs like clockwork.
?see through sb/ sth
1. We’ve known each other for 10 years and he was a real friend to see through my inner feeling.
→to understand the hidden truth
2. Once they got married, she came down with long illness, but she husband just see her through despite all the difficulty.
→to support someone through a difficult time.
◆She saw through his excuse as an effort to put the blame on someone else.
◆“A friend in need is a friend indeed”means a real friend is someone can see you through.
?throw caution to the wind
◆If you drive overspend, you’ve kind of thrown the caution to the wind.
→to take a risk.
◆You could always throw caution to the wind and have another
glass of wine.
◆As a young man he was always ready to throw caution to the wind.
?tightwad
◆She is really a tightwad —— taking advantage of others.
→ a miser
◆ No one like tightwad. But don’t be a tightwad yourself.
?each to his own
◆Some people who work in office always dress in very formal clothes ——well, to each his own, but I’d never do that.
→different people have different preferences.
◆I won’t force anyone to agree with me always, because I see that it is a matter a “each to his own”.
◆It is completely each to his own to choose his Miss. Right.
?turn down sb/ sth
◆I dare not ask her out, because I am so worried to be turned down by her.
→to refuse.
◆Go ahead and ask her out, if you’re prepared for her to turn you down.
◆I was turned down by Harvard, but my friend made it even though he didn’t score higher than me in the exam.
?up in arms
◆Students are up in arms at the news that the authority are going to raise the tuition from next semester by 10 present.
→very angry.
◆Local businessmen are up in arms over the parking regulations which will make shopping very inconvenient for customers.
?up to
1. Here is the money you want and it’s up to you about how to spend it!
→having the right to decide.
2. In last week’s bomb attack, up to 20 people have been killed, including 12 civilians.
→as many as…
3. Long time no see. What have you been up to?
→doing (sth bad)
?take sb/ sth seriously
You always wait until the last minute to take everything seriously. That’s why you failed everything.
→give sth full attention.
◆He has become the CEO of an internet company at the age of 15, but he is always annoyed because some people don’t take him seriously.
by word of mouth
I heard by word of mouth that this is a very good English training school.
→orally; by spoken rather than written.
◆I heard the rumor by word of mouth.
◆These stories were transmitted by word of mouth.
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