老生常谈的意思

中国常用俗语的翻译

1.一根筋儿onetrack-minded.

别跟他较劲了。他一根筋，你还不知道？

'tyouknowheisonetrack-minded?

2.出众的人alulu

要说漂亮，我们公司新来的秘书可算是个相貌出众的女孩子了。

Talkingaboutbeingpretty,ourcompany'snewcretaryisindeedalulu.

3.两面派two-faced

我知道怎样对付两面派，而且一眼就能看出谁是一贯两面讨好的人。Iknowhowtohandle

two-facedpeopleandcaneventellatthefirstglancewhoareinthehabitofrunningwiththehareand

huntingwiththehounds.（注：runwiththehareandhuntwiththehounds指人两面讨好，不得罪任

何一方的做法。）

4．傻大个儿alummox

听说那个傻大个儿把他们公司的买卖搞得一团糟。

Itissaidthatthelummoxhaslouduptheircompany'swholebusiness.

5.收破烂儿的人aragman

那些收破烂儿的人走街串户，有时也能挣不少钱。

Thoragmengoingfromdoortodoorsometimesmayalsoearnquiteahandsomesumof

money.

6.乡巴佬ahayed

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她说她决不会嫁给一个乡巴佬，不管他多有钱。

Sheinsistedthatshewouldnotmarryherlfofftoahayed,nomatterhowrichhewas.

7.不三不四的人riff-raffs

老张的家里总来些不三不四的人，可想而知老张不是什么好东西。

Therearealwaysriff-raffshangingaroundinLaoZhang'shome,whichgivesyouthefeelingthat

LaoZhangisnotagoodguy.

8.受气包儿doormat

她天生就是个受气包儿，什么事都不敢说个不字

She'sborndoormat,afraidofgoingagainstanything.

9.面无表情的人adeadpan

和那些面无表情的人在一起工作真让人憋气。

Youfeelchokedtoworkwiththodeadpans.

10.扫帚星ajinx

有人说那个女人是个扫帚星，谁跟她结婚谁倒霉。

She'ssaidtobeajinx,whowouldbringbadlucktowhoevershemarries

笨鸟先飞Aslowsparrowshouldmakeanearlystart.

不眠之夜whitenight

不遗余力sparenoeffort;goallout;doone'sbest

不打不成交Nodiscord,noconcord.

拆东墙补西墙robPetertopayPaul

大开眼界openone'yes;broadenone'shorizon;beaneye-opener

国泰民安Thecountryflourishesandpeopleliveinpeace

功夫不负有心人Everythingcomestohimwhowaits.

好了伤疤忘了疼onceonshore,onepraysnomore

和气生财Harmonybringswealth

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活到老，学到老Oneisnevertoooldtolearn.

既往不咎letbygonesbebygones

金无足赤,人无完人Goldcan'tbepureandmancan'tbeperfect.

金玉满堂Treasuresfillthehome

脚踏实地bedown-to-earth

脚踩两只船sitonthefence

老生常谈，陈词滥调cutanddried,cliché

礼尚往来Courtesycallsforreciprocity.

留得青山在，不怕没柴烧Wherethereislife,thereishope.

马到成功achieveimmediatevictory;wininstantsuccess

名利双收gaininbothfameandwealth

茅塞顿开besuddenlyenlightened

弄巧成拙betoosmartbyhalf;Cunningoutwitsitlf.

拿手好戏masterpiece

赔了夫人又折兵throwgoodmoneyafterbad

抢得先机takethepreemptiveopportunities

强强联手win-winco-operation

瑞雪兆丰年Atimelysnowpromisagoodharvest.

人之初,性本善Man'snatureatbirthisgood.

人逢喜事精神爽Joyputsheartintoaman.

人海战术huge-crowdstrategy

世上无难事，只要肯攀登Wherethereisawill,thereisaway.

世外桃源afictitiouslandofpeaceawayfromtheturmoiloftheworld;

死而后已untilmyheartstopsbeating

岁岁平安Peaceallyearround

塞翁失马，焉知非福Misfortunemaybeanactualblessing.

升级换代updatingandupgrading(ofproducts)

四十不惑Lifebeginsatforty.

水涨船高Whentheriverris,theboatfloatshigh.

时不我待Timeandtidewaitfornoman.

杀鸡用牛刀breakabutterflyonthewheel

说曹操,曹操到Talkofthedevilandhecomes.

实话实说speaktheplaintruth;callaspadeaspade;tellitasitis

实践是检验真理的唯一标准Practiceisthesolecriterionfortestingtruth.

糖衣炮弹sugar-coatedbullets

天有不测风云romtheblue

团结就是力量Unityisstrength.

歪风邪气unhealthypracticesandevilphenomena

物以类聚，人以群分Birdsofafeatherflocktogether.

望子成龙holdhighhopesforone"schild

屋漏又逢连阴雨rainsitpours.

文韬武略militaryexperti;militarystrategy

唯利是图drawwatertoone'smill

无源之水,无本之木waterwithoutasource,andatreewiithoutroots

无中生有make/createsomethingoutofnothing

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徇私枉法bendthelawforthebenefitofrelativesorfriends

新官上任三把火anewbroomsweepsclean

蓄势而发accumulatestrengthforatake-off

心想事成Mayallyourwishcometrue

先入为主Firstimpressionsarefirmlyentrenched.

先下手为强catchtheballbeforethebound

像热锅上的蚂蚁likeanantonahotpan

现身说法warnpeoplebytakingonelfasanexample

息事宁人pouroilontroubledwaters

喜忧参半mingledhopeandfear

循序渐进stepbystep

鱼米之乡alandofmilkandhoney

有情人终成眷属JackshallhaveJill,allshallbewell.

有钱能使鬼推磨alks.

有识之士peopleofvision

有勇无谋ubrawnratherthanbrain

与时俱进advancewithtimes

以人为本peopleoriented;peopleforemost

因材施教teachstudentsaccordingtotheiraptitude

欲速则不达Hastedoesnotbringsuccess.

优胜劣汰survivalofthefittest

英雄所见略同Greatmindsthinkalike.

冤家宜解不宜结Bettermakefriendsthanmakeenemies.

一言既出，驷马难追Arealmannevergoesbackonhiswords.

招财进宝Moneyandtreasureswillbeplentiful

债台高筑becomedebt-ridden

致命要害Achilles’heel

众矢之的targetofpubliccriticism

纸上谈兵beanarmchairstrategist

纸包不住火Truthwillcometolightsoonerorlater.

汉语中常见成语的英文翻译举例

一箭双雕tokilltwobirdswithonestone

趁热打铁tostrikewhiletheironishot

火上加油topouroilontheflame

晴天霹雳likeaboltfromtheblue

浑水摸鱼tofishinthetroubledwater

轻如鸿毛aslightasafeather

空中楼阁castleintheair

破釜沉舟toburntheboat

如履薄冰tobeonthethinice

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然而，英汉民族毕竟在地理环境、生活习俗、宗教信仰等方面存在相当的差异，所以，成语的产

生和使用在两种文化中表现出各自不同的特色。例如，有些成语意思相近，但是使用的比喻形象

有差别：

守口如瓶asdumbasanoyster;assilentasthegraves;ascloaswax

一贫如洗aspoorasaChurchmou

健壮如牛asstrongasahor

血流如注tobleedlikeapig

towakeasleepingdog打草惊蛇

tocastpearlsbeforeswine对牛弹琴

topaintthelily画蛇添足

tohelpalamedogoverastile雪中送炭

aasyasfallingoffalog易如反掌

有些成语由于不同文化背景的缘故，无法通过字面的意思来理解其中的比喻意思，例如：

inapig’swhisper低声地；顷刻间

hangonsomebody’ssleeve依赖某人

tobefullofbeans精神旺盛

togetcoldfeet感到怀疑、害怕或胆怯

askeletonatthefeast扫兴的人或东西

粗枝大叶tobecrudeandcareless

扬眉吐气tofeelproudandelated

无孔不入totakeadvantageofeveryweakness

大张旗鼓onalargeandspectacularscale

风雨飘摇(ofasituation)beingunstable

此外，英语和汉语中都有一部分成语源于各自的寓言或历史典故，包含特定的人名和地名。这类

成语如果按照字面直译，译语读者通常无法理解。如果加上许多解释，又失去了成语的精练特色，

所以成为翻译中的难题，例如：

毛遂自荐tovolunteerone’srvice（毛遂——战国时期人名）

初出茅庐atthebeginningofone’scareer（出自《三国演义》的典故）

东施效颦crudeimitationwithludicrouffect（东施——古代一丑女的名字）

南柯一梦afonddreamorillusoryjoy（南柯——古代传说的梦中地名）

四面楚歌tobebesiegedonallsides（楚——战国时期的地名）

Catch-22situation不可逾越的障碍（源自美国作家约瑟夫·赫勒的小说Catch-22）

aSpartanlook简朴的;艰苦的（古希腊斯巴达人以简朴和不畏艰辛著称）

aTrojanHor内*（古希腊传说中，在特洛伊战争时希腊人做的木马）

theheelofAchilles致命的弱点(古希腊传说中的阿基里斯，除脚踵外全身刀枪不入)

GordianKnot难题；僵局（古希腊传说中人物

风花雪月ntimentalwritingsoftheexploitingclass

风马牛不相及betotallyunrelated

风靡一时betherage

风平浪静calm

风起云涌likearisingwindandscuddingclouds

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风雨同舟standtogetherregardlessofsituation

风雨无阻inallweathers

咄咄逼人aggressive

脱胎换骨thoroughlyremouldonelf

阿谀奉承、趋炎附势greasiness

恩将仇报、以怨报德、忘恩负义bitethehandthatfeedsone

尔虞我诈eachtryingtocheattheother

发人深省的thought-provoking

发人深省tpeoplethinking

发扬光大carryforward

翻山越岭trampoverhillanddale

翻天覆地world-shaking

泛滥成灾overrun

飞黄腾达、青云直上comeintoone‘skingdom、riintheworldstrikeoil

飞黄腾达的successful

飞禽走兽birdsandbeasts

废寝忘食forgetfoodandsleep

分道扬镳partcompany,eachgoinghisownway

分化瓦解disintegrate、divideanddemoralize

分门别类classify

纷至沓来comeinacontinuousstream

纷至沓来的thickashail

奋不顾身dashaheadregardlessofone‘ssafety

愤愤不平beindignant

愤世嫉俗的cynical

丰富多彩richandcolorful

丰功伟绩greatachievement

丰衣足食haveamplefoodandclothing

德才兼备havebothabilityandmoralintegrity

德高望重sainted、saintlike

登峰造极reachthelimitreachthepeakofperfection

地大物博vastterritoryandabundantresources

颠倒黑白、颠倒是非、混淆是非callwhiteblack、swearblackiswhite

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颠三倒四confuddisorderly

雕虫小技insignificantskill

调兵遣将moveforces

调虎离山luretheenemyawayfromhisba

掉以轻心y

喋喋不休blat、cackle、chackle、harp、harpon、jaw-jaw、rattle、twitter、wag

顶天立地ofindomitablespirit

东施效颦blindimitationwithludicrouffection

东山再起bobuplikeacork

独具匠心showoriginality

独树一帜developaschoolofone‘sown

独一无二inaclassbyonelf

独一无二的unique、unmatched、unparalleled

度日如年onedayemslikeayear

断章取义garble、quoteoutofcontext

对牛弹琴whistlejigstoamilestone、Castpearlsbeforeswine

对症下药suittheremedytotheca

多才多艺versatility

多才多艺的accomplished、all-round、allround、miscellaneous、versatile

多愁善感nsitivity、ntimentality

多愁善感的moonstruck、spoony

多此一举bringowlstoAthens、holdacandletothesun

多多益善themorethebetter

打草惊蛇actrashlyandalerttheenemy

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大材小用wasteone‘stalentonapettyjob

大公无私lfless

大海捞针lookforaneedleinabottleofhay

大惑不解beextremelypuzzled

大惊小怪astorminateacup、foofaraw、fuss、likeahenwithonechicken

大惊小怪的spoffish

大快人心affordinggeneralsatisfaction

大名鼎鼎famouswellknown

大器晚成greatmindsmatureslowly

大千世界theboundlessuniver

大失所望greatlydisappointed

大同小异largelyidenticalbutwithminordifferences

大显身手、大显神通strutone‘sstuff

大言不惭、夸夸其谈fanfaronaderodomontade

大义凛然inspiringawebyupholdingjustice

大义灭亲placerighteousnessabovefamilyloyalty

大智若愚yveslmakesthemostsoundStillwaterrunsdeep

呆若木鸡dumbstrucktransfixed

待人接物thewaysonegetsalongwithothers

殚思极虑rackone‘sbrains

胆小如鼠cannotsaybohtoagoo

胆战心惊的funky

淡泊明志notekfameandwealth

道貌岸然besanctimonious

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得过且过driftalongmuddlealong

得天独厚的advantaged

得心应手handywithfacility

得意忘形、得意洋洋bloatgetdizzywithsuccess

得意洋洋elated、elation、exaltation、jauntiness

得意扬扬ridehigh

得意洋洋的cock-a-hoop、high-blown、perky

得意扬扬的triumphant

吃苦耐劳tough

吃里扒外elpingotherscretly

痴心妄想、胡思乱想wishfulthinking

持之以恒prerve

叱咤风云ridethewhirlwind

愁眉苦脸pullalongfacesnoot

中高级口译成语精选

繁荣昌盛thrivingandprosperous

爱不释手fondleadmiringly

爱财如命skinafleaforitshide

爱屋及乌

loveme,lovemydogHethatlovesthetreelovesthebranch

安居乐业liveandworkinpeaceandcontentment

白手起家buildupfromnothing

百里挑一oneinhundred

百折不挠beindomitable

9

半途而废shed

包罗万象all-embracingall-inclusive

饱经风霜weather-beaten

卑躬屈膝bowandscrapecringe

悲欢离合vicissitudesoflife

背道而驰runcountertorunintheoppositedirection

本末倒置putthecartbeforethehor

笨鸟先飞theslowneedtostartearly

必由之路theonlyway

闭关自守clothecountrytointernationalintercour

变本加厉befurtherintensified

变化无常chopandchangefantasticality

别开生面

别有用心haveulteriormotives

彬彬有礼refinedandcourteousurbane

兵不厌诈inwarnothingistoodeceitful

博古通今eruditeandinformed

愁眉苦脸的，愁眉苦脸地woebegone、moroly

臭名远扬，臭名昭著flagrancy，notorious

出乎意料unexpected

出口成章haveanoutstandingeloquence

出类拔萃，鹤立鸡群fillthebillsupereminence

出谋划策givecounlsuggest

出奇制胜priaction

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出生入死gothroughfireandwater

触类旁通comprehendbyanalogy

垂头丧气，无精打采downinthemouthloone‘sspiritswiththetailbetweenthelegs

垂头丧气的blueaboutthegillscrestfallendownhearted

绰绰有余morethansufficient

此起彼伏asonefalls,anotherris

从容不迫goeasytakeone‘stime

从容不迫的leisuredunhurried

从容不迫地byeasystages

粗枝大叶carelessslapdashsloppy

粗枝大叶的broad-brush

措手不及unawareunprepared

错综复杂、扑朔迷离anfractuosity

错综复杂的anfractuousdaedalreticulasinuous

不败之地incincibleposition

不耻下问feelnotashamedtolearnfromone‘ssubordinates

不可救药bepastprayingforbeyondredemption

不劳而获reapwhereonehasnotsown

不屈不挠fortitudeindefatigabilityperveranceperveretenacity

不速之客crasheruninvitedguest

不同凡响outstanding

不言而喻speakforitlftellitsownstorytellitsowntalewentwithoutsaying

不遗余力sparenoeffortsparenopains

不以为然notapproveobjectto

不义之财filthylucrefilthypelfthemammonofunrighteousness

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不亦乐乎extremely

不远千里gotothetroubleoftravellingalongdistance

不约而同happentocoincide

不择手段byanykindofmeansbyhookorcrookplayhardbyfairmeansorfoul

不知所措beatalossbealladriftloone‘sheadoutofone‘swits

才疏学浅havelittletalentandlearning

惨绝人寰extremelycruel

沧海桑田timebringsagreatchangetotheworlds

沧海一粟/九牛一毛adropinthebucket

草木皆兵astateofextremenervousness

层出不穷emergeinendlessly

层峦迭嶂peaksoverpeaks

察言观色gandsaying

姹紫嫣红verybeautifulflowers

畅行无阻checkless

车水马龙heavytraffic

沉默寡言taciturnity

称心如意well-content

趁热打铁strikewhileironishotHoldawolftheironishot

成群结队ganghorde

诚惶诚恐withreverenceandawe

诚心诚意sinceredesire

承上启下aconnectinglinkbetweentheprecedingandthefollowing

锋芒毕露makeashowydisplayofone‘sabilities

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蜂涌而来pour

逢场作戏joininthefunonoccasion

逢凶化吉trunillluckintogood

奉公守法law-abiding

敷衍了事makeshortshriftof、palter、scuffle

釜底抽薪takeadrasticmeasuretodealwithasituation

赴汤蹈火、出生入死gothroughfireandwater

富丽堂皇magnificence

覆水难收spiltwatercannotbegatheredupagain、Itisnoucryingoverspiltmilk