加载中…| 分类： 英语学习笔记 |
习语是约定俗成、习惯通用的特殊语言，其形式简洁生动，与众不同，折射出民族文化的特色。“生肖”是中国文化特有的表达人出生年份的方式，在英语中也有以十二生肖中的动物构成的习语，甚有趣味，与您共赏。
Rat
smell a rat觉得可疑
I smelt a rat when he started being
so helpful!
the rat race激烈的竞争
Living in a big city is one big rat
race.
play cat and mouse with sb.
欲擒故纵，(像猫抓耗子似地)欺负(折磨、虐待)某人
The policeman decided to play cat and
mouse when he saw the woman steal the dress in the
store.
Ox
a bull in a china
shop经常闯祸的人，笨手笨脚的人
He‘s like a bull in a china shop,
always knocking things over.
take the bull by the
horns不畏艰险
You can‘t just sit back in a
situation like this. You should take the bull by the
horns.
like a red rag to a
bull使愤怒
Any statement against the government
is like a red rag to a bull to that minister.
till the cows come
home永远地，无限期地
If you‘re waiting for him to pay
you, you‘ll wait till the cows come home!
kill the fatted
calf热情款待，设宴欢迎
He welcomed me at home by killing the
fatted calf.
Tiger
paper
tiger貌似强大而实质虚弱的敌人
As long as we are not afraid of this
kind of threat, the paper tiger‘s true face will come out in the
wash.
Hare
hunt with the hounds and run with the
hare同时支持相对立的两派, 脚踩两只船
Which team are you going to support?
Make up your mind now. You can‘t hunt with the hounds and run with
the hare.
Dragon
sow (the) dragon‘s
teeth挑起纠纷或引起争端
Wherever he went, he sowed (the)
dragon‘s teeth by preaching racial segregation.
Snake
a snake in the
grass潜伏的危险或敌人，阴险而伪善的朋友
How could I ever trust that snake in
the grass?
Horse
hold your
horses忍耐，克制，别急躁
Don‘t get so angry. Just hold your
horses and find the appropriate solution.
put the cart before the
horse本末倒置
Surely you‘re putting the cart
before the horse by buying all this furniture before you‘ve got
the house.
flog a dead
horse徒劳，浪费精力
You‘ll just be flogging a dead horse
if you try to make her change her mind about it.
high horse自大，盛气凌人
When the president visited his
hometown in the remote village, he rode the high horse among the
local people.
Sheep
a wolf in sheep‘s
clothing披着羊皮的狼，伪装善良的坏人
Mrs. Martin trusted the lawyer until
she realized that he was a wolf in sheep‘s clothing.
as well be hanged for a sheep as
(for) a lamb一不做，二不休；索性蛮干
Dad said I was to be home from the
dance by eleven o‘clock, but I enjoyed myself so much that it was
midnight before I realized it, so I thought I might as well be
hanged for a sheep as a lamb and stopped on till the
end.
a black
sheep害群之马，败家子
Every privileged class tries at first
to whitewash its black sheep; if they prove incorrigible, they‘re
kicked out.
Monkey
monkey about /
around胡闹，恶作剧
The boys were monkeying about in the
playground, and one of them got hurt.
monkey
with胡乱折腾，瞎摆弄
You‘ll break the TV if you don‘t
stop monkeying about with it.
get (have) one‘s monkey
up生气，发脾气
Don‘t get your monkey up for
nothing.
Cock
cock one‘s snook (snoot) to (at) sb.
瞧不起某人
The artist cocked a snook at the
critics by exhibiting an empty frame.
cock up把……弄糟
They completely cocked up the
arrangements for our holiday.
Dog
a dog in the
manger占着茅坑不拉屎的人，自私自利的人
Don‘t be such a dog in the manger. Lend
your bicycle to him since you will not go out this
afternoon.
top dog处于支配地位
Brazil can well be said to be the top
dog in the soccer circles of the world.
lead a dog‘s
life过困苦的生活
Many new immigrants in the U.S.
initially endure a dog‘s life.
put on the
dog炫耀，摆阔；竭力表现自己，似乎自己非常重要，而事实并非如此
They put on the dog in front of their
guests, but the guests were not impressed.
Pig
pigs might
fly无稽之谈，奇迹可能会发生
“The management might offer us a
decent pay rise.” “Pigs might fly！”
buy a pig in a
poke(未见实物而)乱买东西(吃了亏)
You‘ll have to show me the car; I
don‘t intend to buy a pig in a poke.
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