英语习语

A bit much

If something is excessive or annoying, it is a bit much.

如果某个东西过多了或某件事过于烦扰人了，就形容这个东西或这件事a bit much.

例：Isnt this a bit much?

这个太过了吧？

Babe in arms

A babe in arms is a very young child, or a person who is very young to be holding a position.

babe in arms:是指一个非常小的小孩，也可指一个年轻没有经验的人。

例：I think Jason is just a babe in arms, and he‟s not very capable of becoming the manager of this company.

我觉得Jason太年轻了，他恐怕不能胜任公司主管这个职位。

Call it a day

If you call it a day, you stop doing something for a while, normally at least until the following day.

Call it a day：今天到此为止、就此结束、到此结束

例：I think I‟ll call it a day and go home. 我想收工回家了。

Good shape

If somethings in good shape, its in good condition. If a persons in good shape, they are fit and healthy.

常跟in连用，如果用于物体上面，是指处于良好的状态、完整无损。但如果用在人身上，则表示健康情况良好、体格健壮。

例：His body may have seen better days but he remains in pretty good shape. 他的身体已不是最好的时候了，但他体型身材保持得还相当不错。

My way or the highway

This idiom is used to say that if people dont do what you say, they will have to leave or quit the project, etc.

My way or the highway指的是一种态度，就是认为自己的观点是最对的、最好的，别人的想法都是错误的、不好的。这个词组往往用来形容那些很自以为是、一定要别人接受自己观点的人。中文里最接近的说法应该是“唯我独尊”。比如：例：I dont like my boss. He always has this "my way or the highway" attitude going on. Its just too much. （我不喜欢我的老板。他老是有那种“唯我独尊”的态度，让人受不了。）

Its my way or the highway! You can disagree with me but I dont give a shit about it.

意思就是我说了算，我说一不二，我说什么就是什么。

Pep talk

When someone gives you a pep talk it is to build you up to help you accomplish something. In sports a coach might give a player a pep talk before the game to bolster his confidence. At work the boss might give you a pep talk to get you to do a better job.

鼓舞士气的讲话，打气动员鼓舞的话

例句My boss gave me a great pep talk before the big meeting.I think it really helped me to close the deal.

在会议之前,老板给我很多鼓励,这使我能够把单子签下来。

Angela needed a good pep talk after she didnt get asked to the prom.

没有人请Angela跳舞,我们该给她一点鼓励。

Quarrel with bread and butter

自绝生路，砸自己的饭碗

Bread and butter, here, indica te the means of one‟s living. (That is why we say …he is the bread winner of the family‟). If a sub-ordinate in an organisation is quarrelsome or if he is not patient enough to bear the reprimand he deserves, gets angry and retorts or provokes the higher-up, the top man dismisses him from the job. So, he loses the job that gave him bread and butter. Hence we say, he quarrelled with bread and butter (manager or the top man) and lost his job.

例：1.Do not quarrel with your bread and butter.

不可自绝生路。

2.Do not quarrel with your bread and butter

【谚】不要砸自己的"饭碗"。

3.You may not like office work but it is no use to quarrel with your bread and butter, you have no other means of livelihood.

你可能不喜欢办公室工作，但厌弃自己的职业是无益的，因为你没有其它的生活手段。

Velvet glove

This idiom is used to describe a person who appears gentle, but is determined and inflexible underneath. (Iron fist in a velvet glove is the full form.)

with an iron hand in a velvet glove 外柔内刚地,口蜜腹剑地

例：He and I are just discussing whether I have an iron fist in a velvet glove.我和他正在讨论我是否采用外柔内刚的手段。

The boss always appears kind and sympathetic but in fact rules with an iron fist in a velvet glove.老板总是似乎很仁慈和

富有同情心，但实际上他是外柔内刚。

While the cats away, the mouse will play

People whose behaviour is strictly controlled go over the top when the authority is not around, which is why most teenagers have parties when their parents have gone on holiday. The parents are the scary authority figures, but the cats away and the kids are the mice partying and enjoying their freedom.

山中无老虎，猴子称大王。（指趁当权者不在，做自己喜欢做的事情）简单地打个比方，老板在的时候员工工作，老板走了员工就消极怠工，只就是这个谚语的意思

例：He continues to play cat and mouse with the UN inspection teams.他继续与联合国观察团玩猫戏老鼠的把戏。

You cant take it with you

Enjoy life, enjoy what you have and dont worry about not having a lot, especially money...because once youre dead, you cant take it with you. For some, it means to use up all you have before you die because its no use to you afterwards.

在生时就享受吧，反正死后也带不走

Zip it

This is used to tell someone to be quiet.

等同于stop it 停止的意思，说得不好听点就是“闭嘴”。

例："Ive heard enough. Zip your lip!" hollered the coach.教练抱怨道“我听够了，闭上你的嘴”。

Andy: All right, you guys. Shut up! Zip it up! 好吧，大家停下了，别吵了，闭嘴！

Bob: Sorry. 对不起

Andy: Thats better. 现在好多了。