● Balancing act (compromi in dilemma /deal successfully with two or more people, groups, or situations that are in opposition to each other ) [The UN must perform a delicate balancing act between the different sides in the conflict. ]
● Hot air (loud and confud empty talks) [No one likes a person who thinks very highly of his own opinions but is really full of hot air.]
● Go belly-up (collap/to be dead-end) [My brother’s company went belly-up last month when its revenues were far below its monthly debts, so now he’s looking for a job.]
● Keep the head above water [Earning barely enough to support the family, father was quite happy only if he could keep his head above water.]
● XYZ (Check your zipper)
● Rome was not built in a day.
● Penny wi and pound foolish.(小事聪明、大事聪明)
● Variety is the spice of life.
● Honesty is the best policy.
● Bellybutton
● Plain sailing(easy unobstructed progress)
● Flowery language/plain flowery
● Snak e charmer(a performer who us movements and music to control snakes)
● Snake pit (insane asylum疯人院)
● Snake up/queue up
● Tuck Sb. in (tuck the sheets in firmly for sb.)
● Tuck in (eat up/ usually refers to a considerable quantity of food)
● Spend less and save more
● Exhaust (the exhaust from a car engine)
● Carbon emission
● Selfie /foodie/
● Goo bumps/goo skin/goo flesh
● Chicken-livered
● Chicken liver
● Sandwich (inrt or squeeze tightly between two people or objects)
● Keep sb. In line
● Wipe-out(collap/an event or a result that completely destroys something) (a fall from a bicycle or while skiing or being capsized on a surfboard)
● Touch and go
● Nod in sleep
● Turn the head of
● Take French leave 不告而别
● Foot/pay the bill
● Go Dutch/ a Dutch treat/ split 50/50 [ I’d love to go, but I insist we go Dutch.]
● Rai Cain(fly into a rage/get angry ) [ If i don’t get out of here now, my boss is going to rai Cain.][ On weekends we wanted to have late ri in the morning, our neighbour started to rai Cain.]
● On/in the cards(adv. Probably ) [An early general election is certainly on the cards.]
● Cut and run(leave away in a hurry) [If he had cut and run early, Democrats would have complained about his backbone.][you pick your side and you stick it! You don’t cut and run when things get ugly.]
● In broad daylight(in public/before a big crowd of people) [They even committed such crimes in broad daylight. ]
● Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched.
● Prevention is better than a cure.
● One good turn derves anther.
● Make hay while the sun shines.
● Get over jet-lag
● Cards on the table /put/place one’s cards on the table 摊牌
● I’m flattered./You flatter me.
● Written in water(fleeting)
● Full of beans (talk nonn)
● Not know beans (to be ignorant or uninformed)
● Not worth a hill of beans(to be worthless)
● Spill the beans(tell a cret)
● Dangle a carrot(encourage/incentive)
● Carrot and stick()
● Pea-brained(simple-minded/stupid)
● Pass an olive branch
● As thick as pea soup
● Like two peas in a pod(be very clo with or similar to someone)
● In a pickle
● Hot potato(difficult issue)
● Salad days(youthful period of one’s life)
● Confide in someone吐露、倾诉
● Run deep(if a feeling runs or goes deep, it is very strong and difficult to change)[the economic ties between China and the US run deep.][it all sounds logical enough, but Europe’s democratic divisions run deep.][but her feeling for him run deep.]
● Turn on a dime(skillful/flexible/talented)
● Penny for your thought[-a penny for your thoughts.--Oh,i was just thinking about how to tell i’m leaving.]你呆呆的在想什么了
● An eagle eye[a good surgeon must have an eagle’s eye, a lion’s heart, and a lady’s hand.]
● Be all ears[the children were all ears when the girl told them stories.]
● Come down to earth [he has come down to earth and stopped dreaming of being ric
h.][the two lovers are living in a kind of dreamworld; but they’ll come down to earth.]
● Nothing ventured,nothing gained.
● It never rains but it pours.
● Once bitten, twice shy.
● A bad workman blames his tools.
● Play someone at their feet=an eye for eye, a tooth for a tooth
● I’ll live up to my parent’s expectation.
● His name slipped from my memory.
● See eye to eye (be in agreement) [i e eye to eye with you.] [it is a mere coincidence that they e eye to eye on this point.]
