牛津英语教材习语典故集锦

牛津高中英语教材中的习语，典故，谚语集锦

模块一（1-9）模块六（10-22）模块九（23-24）模块十一（35-80）

1.a piece of cake.—something easy to do

2.a wet blanket –boring/afraid to have fun

3.all ears—listening carefully

4.pull one’s leg –-joke with sb

5.have green fingers—be good at gardening 园艺能手

6.the top dog—an important person in an organization

7.give sb the cold shoulder –be not friendly to sb

8.rain dogs and rats –rain heavily

9.not my cap of tea—not really to one’s taste

10.as strong as a horse—very strong

11.as busy as a bee –very busy

12.as poor as a church mouse –very poor

13.as cool as a cucumber –very calm

14.sleep like a log –sleep very deeply

15.to laugh one’s head off –to laugh very hard

16.to smile on someone – you are lucky(好运降临

17.over the moon 欣喜若狂

18.hot under the collar 愤怒的

19.on cloud nine 狂喜

20.down in the dumps 气馁，沮丧，垂头丧气

21.fly off the handle 勃然大怒

22.feel blue 心情不好

23.white as a sheet –pale because of pale

24.tickled pink—delighted; very pleased

25.in the red--- in debt

26.in the black—having money in the bank account

27.feel blue –unhappy; sad

28.green with envy—jealous

29.feet of clay—a hidden weakness in somebody whom we admire or respect

30.see the handwriting on the wall –see signs that disaster is coming

31.kill the fatted calf –have a large celebration（宴请，）

32.you reap what you sow –our small kindnesses often bring us rich rewards, while our small offence can bring disasters.

33.the apple of somebody’s eye—a child who is loved very much by his or her parents.

34.the salt of the earth 诚实高尚的人，社会中坚

35.be a weed—weak and not brave

36.as hungry as a lion—wanting something very much

37.as sharp as a spear—very clever

38.black is white and white is black—things appear different

39.cast-iron nerves – a very strong will

40.as sly as a fox—clever at tricking others

41.eat like a bird – eat very little

42.as tall as a tree—very tall

43.A child’s play –an easy job 易如反掌

44.Off the top of your head 不假思索脱口而出，

45.On paper 在理论上

46.Have butterflies in your stomach 忐忑不安，紧张/ ant in one’s pant 坐立不安

47.Do your homework about 为……做好准备

48.As easy as pie 易如反掌

49.As plain as day 显而易见

50.An arm and a leg 昂贵的代价

51.Hold firm 坚信

52.A white lie 善意的谎言

53.The Heel of Achilles 亦作Achilles’ heel 致命要害唯一弱点；薄弱环节

54.An Apple of Discord争斗之源；不和之因；祸根

55.Helen of Troy这个成语，除了表示a beautiful girl or woman; a beauty who ruins her country等意义外，还可以用来表示a terrible disaster brought by sb. or sth. you like best的意思。

56.on one’s last legs 奄奄一息，过时

57.Scrooge--- a character who is extremely mean .（吝啬鬼）

58.a sacred cow—This policy, which used to be very successful, remains a sacred cow, though it no longer meets the needs of the current situation.. (Someone or something that is held in high regard and can not be harmed. It is from religion).

59.be over the moon—Terry was over the moon because his favourite team had just won the championship match. (Someone who is very happy. It is from works).

60.Pandora’s box—How could we have known that by applying for a credit card we were opening Pandora’s box. (One action has caused a lot of bad things to happen. It comes from works).引来祸害

61.Waterloo—After spending all his money and failing to raise funds for his project, he is facing his Waterloo. (A final defeat or failure. It comes from history).

62.Mother Teresa—She has done a lot of charity work this year and is a real Mother Teresa.

(A person who works selflessly for others. It comes from real life).

63.Judas犹大To describe someone who betray their friends or beliefs

64.Mickey Mouse course （a course that is very easy ）非常容易

65.a dark horse 黑马

66.Daniel in the lion’s den 艰巨的任务

67.catch-22 令人左右为难的规定

68.leading light 导航灯，重要人物

69.Jonah 带来不幸的人

70.a Herculean task 极为艰巨的工作

71.a good Samaritan 心地善良，乐于助人的人

72.David and Goliath 以弱胜强

73.Jekyll and Hyde 双重人格者，两面派

74.a tough nut 难对付的人，胆大果断的人

75.men in the street 普通人