Let sleeping dogs lie—不要自找麻煩
e.g. There’s absolutely no point pursuing this issue. We should just let sleeping dogs lie.
例句:在這個問題上深究沒有意義,我們不要自找麻煩了。
2. Not enough room to swing a cat – not enough space.
Not enough room to swing a cat—沒有足夠的空間
e.g. You should see my new office, it’s tiny. There’s not enough room to swing a cat! (In old English, a cat was a whip not a real cat!)
例句:你真應該看看我的新辦公室:太小了!連轉身的空間都沒有。(在舊式英語里,cat是指鞭子而不是真的貓。)
3. To be dog tired – to be exhausted
To be dog tired—累趴下
e.g. I have worked 70 hours this week. I am dog tired.
例句:我這周工作了70個小時,我都累趴下了。
4. Let the cat out of the bag – to reveal a secret
Let the cat out of the bag—透露秘密
e.g. Great! George in Finance knows about our new product. That’s all we need. Who let the cat out of the bag?
例句:太棒了!財政部的喬治知道了我們的新產品,這就是我們要的結果。誰說出去的?
5. Go to the dogs – not as successful as in the past (usually used in the continuous tense)
Go to the dogs—不如過去成功(通常使用進行時)
e.g. That company will go bankrupt if it’s not careful. It’s going to the dogs.
例句:那家公司要是不小心的話就會破產的。它可能會完蛋。
6. To put the cat among the pigeons – to cause trouble
To put the cat among the pigeons—惹出亂子
e.g. Sending the most unpopular manager to talk to the team was like putting the cat among the pigeons.
例句:把最不受歡迎的經理派去和隊伍談話一定會惹出亂子的。
7. A dog’s dinner or dog’s breakfast – to make a mess
A dog’s dinner or dog’s breakfast—搞砸了
e.g. They made a real dog’s dinner of the website. It’s terrible.
例句:他們把網(wǎng)站搞砸了,這太糟了。
8. To fight like cats and dogs – to argue and fight with someone
To fight like cats and dogs—和某人爭吵
e.g. It’s a miracle how Sally and John manage this company. They’re always fighting like cats and dogs.
例句:薩利和約翰來管理公司真是個奇跡。他們總是吵得不可開交。
9. Top dog – the most important person in an organization
Top dog—公司里最重要的人物
e.g. If you want a decision on that, you’re going to have to get it approved by the top dog.
例句:如果你想要決定這件事,你需要讓它得到老板的同意。
10. More than one way to skin a cat – more than one way to do something
More than one way to skin a cat—不止一種方法
e.g. No problem. If we cannot get our proposal through this way, we’ll try something else. There’s more than one way to skin a cat.
例句:沒問題。如果我們這樣的提議沒通過的話,我們可以試試別的方法。畢竟還有很多方法的。