a bone of contention
爭論的原因；爭議的焦點；爭吵的中心問題。
The length of the project was a major bone of contention during the talks between the city and the developer.
a change of heart
改變主意；變心。
I had a change of heart about not going to Europe for my holiday and finally decided to go.
a flea in one's ear
刺耳的話；尖刻的斥責。
The idea about changing the schedules is a flea in the supervisor's ear that we wish he would forget.
after one's own heart
正合己意；正投所好；合某人心意的人或物 (尤指思想或趣味相投)。
My new boss loves to go fishing every weekend. He is a man after my own heart.
all ears
聚精會神地聽；全神貫注地聽。
My sister was all ears last night when I began to talk about starting a home business.
all eyes
聚精會神地看；目不轉睛地看。
He is all eyes when he goes to a basketball game.
an eye for an eye (and a tooth for a tooth)
以眼還眼，以牙還牙。
Some politicians are always calling for an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth when they hear of a terrible crime.
a pain in the neck
討厭的人或事物。
The customer is a pain in the neck and is always complaining about something.
a pat/slap on the back
讚揚，表揚。
The man was given a pat on the back for his efforts to stop pollution in the river.
armed to the teeth
全副武裝；帶齊需用的工具。
The robbers were armed to the teeth when they robbed the bank.
They went into the examination room, armed to the teeth with pens , pencils and rulers.
a shot in the arm
興奮劑；強心針。
The latest opinion polls were a shot in the arm for the lawyer's campaign to become elected. 
a slip of the tongue
說錯；口誤。
I made a slip of the tongue when I told the woman who everyone hates that we would have a party. 
a swollen/swelled head
夜郎自大；自命不凡；趾高氣揚。
My sister has a swollen head since she got the new job that many people had applied for. 
at heart
內心裡；實際上。
He seems to be very angry all the time but at heart he is a very gentle person.
at/from the bottom of one's heart
衷心地；從心坎裡。
My sister thanked the man from the bottom of her heart for saving her dog's life.
at the top of one's lungs
盡量大聲地叫喊；放大嗓門叫喊；非常大聲地。
I yelled at the top of my lungs to get the attention of the man.
bad blood
(因過去不和所產生的) 仇恨，罅隙。
There has always been a lot of bad blood between the two supervisors.
beat one's brains out
絞盡腦汁。
I have been beating my brains out all day trying to remember who we should invite to the party. 
be at/on the tip of one's tongue
就在嘴邊；差一點就能說出口；差一點就能想起 (某人的名字或某事)。
My former teacher's name is on the tip of my tongue and I will soon remember it. 
behind one's back
暗中；背地裡；秘密地。
He doesn't like people who talk behind his back.
be music to someone's ears
中聽的話；像音樂般悅耳的好消息、喜訊；(好消息等) 像音樂般悅耳；非常中聽。
A: Your daughter has breezed through her English exams. (你女兒已輕易通過英文測驗)
B: Ah, that's music to my ears! (啊，這消息多麼動聽!)
be no skin off one's nose
與某人毫不相干。
It is no skin off my nose as to whether or not I get invited to the party.
be/rise up in arms
勃然大怒，不滿；配備武器準備幹架。
The students were up in arms over the school's plan to make them wear uniforms. 
bite the hand that feeds one
恩將仇報；以怨報德。
My niece is biting the hand that feeds her if she keeps abusing the help that her parents are giving her.
blood is thicker than water
血濃於水；親戚總比朋友親 (那也不見得!?)。
Blood is thicker than water and people usually support their family rather than their friends in times of trouble.
blow one's mind
使 (人) 極度興奮。
My friend told me that if I read the new book I would blow my mind. 
break one's heart
使...傷透了心；使...斷腸。
It broke my heart to see the woman fall down during the race after she had tried so hard.
break one's neck
盡全力去做某事。
I broke my neck to try and get the report finished on time.
breathe down one's neck
(在某人工作時) 嚴密監督某人。
My boss has been breathing down my neck all day to try and get me to work harder.
burn one's fingers or get/have one's fingers burnt
自討苦吃；吃苦頭；吃虧。
My father burned his fingers on the stock market and doesn't want to invest money there again.
bury/hide one's head in the sand
對困難、問題或危險視而不見；採取鴕鳥態度或政策 (據信鴕鳥在遇險或被追捕時會把頭埋入沙中)。
His father always buries his head in the sand and never wants to deal with any problems.
button one's lip(s)
閉嘴；一聲不吭。
Please button your lip so that we can hear what the speaker is saying.
by the pricking of one's thumbs
靠直覺；憑預感 (不是憑可靠的消息)。
By the pricking of my thumbs I knew that something bad was going to happen. (憑我的直覺，我知道將有不好的事情發生)

附註： 這成語出自莎士比亞戲劇《馬克白》(Macbeth) 第四幕第一景 (Act 4, scene 1) 中的台詞 "By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.” (從我拇指刺痛的感覺，就知道必將有邪惡之事來臨)。

 
by the skin of one's teeth
剛好；勉強；僥倖；好不容易才。
We drove to the station at full speed and caught the train by the skin of our teeth.
by the sweat of one's brow
憑自己的血汗；靠自己的辛勤工作。
He built up the business by the sweat of his brow.
chip on one's shoulder
(受了委屈而) 忿忿不平。
Why did you get so angry at the slightest criticism? You seem to have a chip on your shoulder. (你為何對一點點批評都這麼生氣呢? 你似乎是受了委屈而心中忿忿不平)
cool/kick one's heels
(懾於權威而) 空等，久等。
I was forced to cool my heels in the lobby for an hour while I waited for the job interview.
cross one's heart and hope to die
在胸口劃十字發誓 (表示說的是實話或決不會洩漏秘密)。例如："Cross my heart and hope to die!" (我敢發誓!)
"I promise that I will meet you tomorrow. Cross my heart and hope to die."
cross one's mind
突然想起；略過心頭。
It suddenly crossed my mind (= It suddenly occurred to me) that the store would be closed all day on Monday.
curl one's hair
使驚嚇；使震驚；使毛骨悚然。
The movie is very realistic and many of the scenes will curl your hair.
cut off one's nose to spite one's face
跟自己過不去；把氣出到自己頭上。
When he decided not to go to the party he was cutting off his nose to spite his face. He was the one who lost out on a good opportunity to meet many new people.
cut/slit one's (own) throat
自討苦吃；自尋死路；作法自斃；自作自受；自取滅亡。
He is cutting his own throat if he doesn't make an effort to find a new job quickly.
dirty/soil one's hands
幹不名譽的事；做有失身分的事。
The politician dirtied his hands when he became involved in the questionable land deals.
drag one's feet/heels
故意拖拉；慢吞吞地行動。
Our company is dragging their feet in making a decision to hire new workers.
eat/tear one's heart out
沮喪；憂傷 (如為情所困)。
My young son is eating his heart out over a girl who lives just down the street.
faint heart never won fair lady
懦夫沒有美人愛。
Paul: I'd really like to go out with Amy, but what if she says no? (保羅：我真的很想約艾美出來，但如果她拒絕，那該怎麼辦呢?)
Peter: You won't know till you ask her. Faint heart never won fair lady. (彼得：你沒有去約怎麼會知道她要不要呢。懦夫是不會有美人愛的)

Don't be so shy about talking to Susan. Faint heart never won fair lady. (別不敢跟蘇珊講話。懦夫沒有美人愛)
fall/be head over heels (in love)
陷入情網；深深地愛戀。
The little boy fell head over heels in love with the girl in his class.
feet of clay
要命的弱點；致命的缺陷。
The new Prime Minister has feet of clay and and may not last very long in his new position.
fight tooth and nail
拚命廝打；奮力作戰；竭盡全力去做。
We fought tooth and nail to get the new wing of the hospital opened.
foam at the mouth
大怒；氣得口沫四濺；氣得吹鬍子瞪眼睛。
The girl's father was so angry that he was foaming at the mouth.
from the heart
由衷地；真心誠意地；誠摯地。
The President gave a speech from the heart after the terrible earthquake.
get/have cold feet
畏縮；膽怯。
I planned to go to Europe with my cousin but he got cold feet and decided not to go.
get off one's back
不再批評或煩擾某人。
I wish that my mother would get off my back about trying to find a better job.
get off one's chest
一吐為快；頃訴衷腸 (以掃除積壓在心頭的憂慮等等)。
I talked to my friend for a long time and was able to get my problems off my chest.
get off on the wrong foot
不好的開始；錯誤的開始。
Unfortunately my relationship with my new teacher got off on the wrong foot.
get/grate on one's nerves
使某人惱怒。
She'd been asking me questions all day and it was starting to get on my nerves. (她整天都在問我問題，讓我覺得好煩啊)
The telephone hadn't stopped ringing all morning and it was starting to grate on my nerves. (整個早上電話響個不停，我都要抓狂了)

附註：英文中還有 get on one's wick, get on one's tits 和 get up one's nose 等成語可表達與 get on one's nerves 相同的意思，如 Sometimes watching TV really gets on my wick because of all the commercials. (看電視有時真的很氣人，因為都是廣告)；That guy I work with has been getting on my tits recently. (跟我一起工作的那個傢伙，最近讓我很不爽)。
 
get one's feet wet
開始；首次做某事。
We won't have time to finish this job today but at least we can get our feet wet and start.
get/keep out of one's hair
不打擾 (某人)。
My sister wants to get her daughter permanently out of her hair.
get the eye
引起別人投注好奇、不友善或羨慕的眼光。
We got the eye from the manager of the restaurant when we entered in our old clothes.
get through one's head
瞭解；相信。
It was difficult to get it through the bank manager's head that I didn't want to borrow any more money.
get under one's skin
激怒某人；使某人惱火。
She is beginning to get under my skin with her constant complaining about the noise.
(would) give one's right arm
(為了某人或某事) 願做極大犧牲或付出極高代價。
I would give my right arm to be able to go Kaohsiung with my friend next month.
gird (up) one's loins
做好準備；準備行動。
The nation must gird up its loins to face these difficult challenges. (國家必須做好準備來面對這些困難的挑戰)
The manager has called me to his office. I'd better gird my loins and go and see what he wants. (經理叫我到他辦公室去。我最好做好準備，去看看他想要幹什麼)
give/lend someone a hand
幫助 (某人)。
I gave my friend a hand moving into his new apartment. 
give someone a piece of one's mind
怒責 (某人)；坦率地批評 (某人)。
I gave the store manager a piece of my mind when I told him about the broken product.
give someone the eye
看著或注視著某人。
I gave the woman in the restaurant the eye but she totally ignored me.
give the cold shoulder
冷落 (某人)；冷淡對待 (某人)；不理睬 (某人)。注意：若 give 改為 get，則意為「受到冷淡對待」(見下面的例句)。
The office staff gave me the cold shoulder when I did not go to the going away party.
We keep getting the cold shoulder from our neighbors these days, because of the argument we had last week.
go to one's head
1. 使某人自高自大；使某人沖昏了頭。2. 使某人醉了。
1. I think that his new job has gone to his head and he thinks that he is much better than everyone else.

2. The alcohol quickly went to his head and he had to sit down for a while.
have/with a heart of gold
好心腸。
My grandmother has a heart of gold and is always willing to help a stranger.
have a heart of stone
鐵石心腸；心如鐵石。
The man who murdered his wife and children has a heart of stone. 
have/get butterflies in one's stomach/tummy
緊張不安；心神不寧。
The little boy had terrible butterflies in his stomach when he had to give the speech in front of the class.
have eyes in the back of one's head
後腦杓長了眼睛；能看到或知道一切。
The teacher has eyes in the back of her head and always knows what is going on in the classroom. 
have light/sticky fingers
手腳不乾淨；有偷竊的習慣。
Everyone thinks that the new woman at work has sticky fingers as many things have been stolen recently.

附註：light-fingered 為形容詞「有偷竊習慣的」，如 light-fingered children。
have one foot in the grave
一隻腳已踏進墳墓；風燭殘年；離死不遠。
The man next door is suffering from cancer and has one foot in the grave.
have/keep one's feet on the ground
腳踏實地；抱持務實的態度。
The new manager has his feet on the ground and will probably be able to come up with a sensible solution to our problems.
have one's fingers in the till; with one's fingers in the till
偷或竊取本店、本公司或自己所任職之工作場所的錢 (尤指金額不多但已持續一段時間)。
He had his fingers in the till, and that's why he lost his job. (他偷了他店裡的錢，所以被炒魷魚了)
Jordan was caught with his fingers in the till. (喬登在偷他公司的錢時當場被逮)
have rocks in one's head
愚蠢的；判斷力欠佳的。
He must have rocks in his head if he thinks that I am going to lend him any more money.
heads up
事先透口風；事先告知或提醒。
Our boss gave us a heads up about/on the change in the procedure.

附註："a heads up"是美國人常用的一句口語，雖然名詞 heads 為複數，但其前卻是使用單數冠詞 "a"，請特別注意。
hold one's breath
屏息以待。
I held my breath and waited to see if my name had been called for an interview with the movie company.
jump down one's throat
突然對某人大發雷霆。
His wife jumped down his throat when he came home late for the third day in a row.
jump out of one's skin
嚇一大跳；大吃一驚。
I almost jumped out of my skin when I saw my girlfriend at the movie theater with someone else.
keep a stiff upper lip
保持堅定沈著、堅毅鎮定。
We managed to keep a stiff upper lip when the company announced that they would close down our office. 
keep/have an/one's ear to the ground
非常關注或留意 (某事)；關注或留意 (某事的) 發展動向。
There have been rumors of a new round of layoffs. Better keep an ear to the ground. (傳聞會有新一波的裁員。最好留意這事的發展)
Can Mike help me rent a house? － Yes, he always keeps/has his ear to the ground. (麥可能幫我租一間房子嗎? － 能，他一直留意這件事)
keep body and soul together
維持溫飽；餬口；存活。
He has been working very hard to try and keep body and soul together after his illness. 
keep one's chin up
毫不氣餒；振作精神。
My brother is trying to keep his chin up even though he has lost his job.
keep/have one's fingers crossed
希望成功；祈求好運。
I will keep my fingers crossed that you are able to get the new job that you have applied for.
keep one's hair/shirt/wig on
保持鎮靜；不發火；不激動；沈住氣。(通常用於祈使句)
Keep your hair on! I only wanted to borrow ten dollars from you.
keep one's head
保持鎮靜；不慌張；不害怕。
Everyone tried to keep their head during the fire at the hotel.
keep one's head above water
使...免於負債；使...擺脫困境、困擾、麻煩。
My brother has been having a hard time keeping his head above water since he lost his job.
keep one's mouth shut
保持沈默。
I tried hard to keep my mouth shut during the salesman's speech.
keep one's nose clean
行為檢點：不捲入是非。
The judge told the young man that he must keep his nose clean if he didn't want to go to jail in the future.
keep one's nose to the grindstone
使...不停地苦幹、用功等。
He has been keeping his nose to the grindstone all year so that he can save up enough money for a new car. 
kick/cool one's heels
空等；久等。
I had to kick my heels for nearly two hours before I could see the boss. (我空等了將近兩個小時才見到老闆)
She cooled her heels for hours at the gate of the Embassy. (她在大使館大門口苦等了好幾個鐘頭)
kick up one's heels
盡情地玩樂。
We kicked up our heels last night and had a great time at the party.
knock off one's feet
使人嚇了一大跳；使人驚訝萬分。
The singer's voice was so beautiful that I was nearly knocked off my feet.
land/fall on one's feet
倖免於難；逢凶化吉；擺脫困苦。
I was able to land on my feet even though our company had recently gone bankrupt. 
lay a finger on
動手打或開口罵；觸犯；(比喻性說法) 動 (某人) 一根汗毛或一根指頭 。
I was told not to lay a finger on the son of the boss when he comes to work for us. 
lay one's hands on
對 (某人) 動手，傷害。
If you lay your hands on me like that again, I'll kill you.
 
leave a bad/bitter/nasty taste in the/one's mouth
給人留下壞印象；使人覺得厭惡、怨恨。
The way that the company treated the workers left a bad taste in our mouth. 
let one's hair down
輕鬆一下；放鬆一下。
It's wonderful to let your hair down at the weekend after you've been working hard all week. 
let the grass grow under one's feet
怠惰懶散；浪費時間；拖拖拉拉。
That man is never content to let the grass grow under his feet. He is always busy. 
lie through one's teeth
撒彌天大謊。
Kevin wasn't a doctor, he had never been to medical school; he just lied through his teeth and we believed him. (凱文不是醫生，他從未唸過醫學院；他撒了個彌天大謊，而我們竟然相信他)
I knew she was lying through her teeth, but I didn't want to say so just then. (我知道她在撒大謊，但當時我不想這麼說)
lift/raise a finger/hand
舉手之勞；出一點力；幫一點忙。
Her daughter will never lift a finger to help anyone.
look down one's nose at
瞧不起：討厭。
She looks down her nose at people who she thinks are not as smart as she is. 
lose heart
感到沮喪；灰心。
I tried not to lose heart even though I had failed my driver's exam for the second time.
lose one's heart (to)
愛上 (某人)；極其喜歡 (某人或某物)。
He wanted to buy a house before they got married, but while she was waiting she lost her heart to another man.
make eyes at
向 (異性) 拋媚眼；向 (異性) 送秋波。
The woman in the restaurant is always making eyes at the customers who she likes.
make head or tail of someone/something
理解 (人或事)；弄懂 (某事)。(通常用於否定句)
I was unable to make head or tail of our company's plans to restructure our department.
make one's hair stand on end/one's hair stands on end
使某人毛骨悚然。
 My hair stood on end when I saw the large dog run out and begin to bark at me.
make one's mouth water
使人垂涎欲滴；使人垂涎三尺。
The smell of the fish cooking in the restaurant made my mouth water.
melt in one's mouth
入口即化；非常美味可口。
These chocolates really melt in your mouth.
neck and neck
勢均力敵；平分秋色；不分上下。
The two horses were running neck and neck until the end of the race.
not bat an eyelash/eye
連眼睛也不眨一下；臉上未露出任何表情。
Our boss didn't bat an eyelash when we told him that we were going to go home early today. 
not turn a hair (or without turning a hair)
神色自若；毫無懼色；不失常態。
When John saw the large dog running straight towards him and Susan, he ran away quickly. But Susan just stood and didn't turn a hair. 
off the top of one's head
未經仔細思考地；沒有好好準備地。
I was unable to remember the name of the restaurant off the top of my head. 
one's blood runs cold
毛骨悚然；背脊發麻；極度害怕、恐懼。
My blood ran cold when I saw the man fall off the ladder.
one's eyes are bigger than one's stomach/belly
眼大肚子小；所拿或所點的食物比能吃完的量還要來得多。
His eyes were bigger than his stomach when he went to the restaurant and ordered too much food. 
one's eyes pop out; one's eyes nearly/almost/practically popped out of one's head
(因非常驚訝、恐懼等而) 瞠目結舌。
My eyes popped out when I saw the new computer that I had gotten for my birthday.

When he told me how much money he was earning, my eyes almost popped out of my head. 
one's heart goes out to
某人同情或憐憫 (他人)。
My heart goes out to the victims of the hurricane that recently struck.
one's heart is in the right place; have/with one's heart in the right place
心地善良；宅心仁厚；心眼兒好。
Although she makes a lot of mistakes her heart is in the right place.

My aunt appears to treat people severely, but she has her heart in the right place and will help anyone in trouble.
one's own flesh and blood
親骨肉；親屬；近親。
It was his own flesh and blood who he refused to help when they needed money.
(back) on one's feet
(人或公司受挫後) 重新站起來；重新自立自強。
Our teacher was back on her feet shortly after she had her accident.
on/upon one's (own) head
(錯誤的行為或決定等) 由某人負責。
Nobody is ordering you to come to work, but it will be on your head if the job is not finished on time.
on one's/its last legs
(指人) 奄奄一息；臨近死亡。(指公司或物品) 瀕臨破產，瓦解或報廢。
My car is on its last legs and I will soon have to buy a new one.
on one's toes
警覺的；準備行動的。
The speaker kept the audience on their toes by asking many interesting questions.
pay through the nose (for)
花很多錢 (買...)；(為...) 付出高昂的代價。
My mother paid through the nose for her new dress but she is very happy with it.
pick the brains of (or pick one's brains)
吸取某人的智慧；吸收某人的資訊。
We picked the brains of the official who was sent to talk about the pollution problem.
play into one's hands
幹對對手有利的事；使對手佔了便宜；給對手可乘之機。
If you become angry at his extreme actions it will only play into his hands.
pull one's leg
戲弄某人；哄騙某人；開某人的玩笑。
The man was pulling my leg when he told me that I would not be able to enter the movie theater after the movie started.
pull the wool over one's eyes
欺騙 (某人)；使 (某人) 上當。
The girl tried to pull the wool over her mother's eyes when she said that she had been studying all weekend.
put one's feet up
躺下來休息；將雙腿平放著休息。
It's nice to put your feet up after a long day's work.
put/lay one's fingers on something
準確地指出 (位置、問題、癥結、病症等)。
I was finally able to put my fingers on the problem and find someone to help me fix it.
put one's foot down
堅決反對；表現堅定。
My sister finally put her foot down and stopped paying for the gas for her daughter's car.
put one's foot in one's mouth
說錯了話；說了不該說的話。
I put my foot in my mouth when I said that I didn't like fish just before my friends served fish at their dinner party.
put our/your/their heads together
一起討論 (尤指為了解決問題)。
We put our heads together with the other members of the department to try and find a solution to the problem. 
put (someone or something) out of one's head/mind
試著忘掉某人或某事。
I was forced to put my holidays out of my head when we had the emergency problems at our company. 
put words into one's mouth
聲稱某人說過某些話 (而實際上未說過)；暗示某人想說某些話 (而實際上未想過)。
My boss was putting words into my mouth when he told me what he thought that I wanted to do.  
rack one's brain(s)
絞盡腦汁。
I racked my brain for over an hour to try and figure out what to do about the problem with the new computer. 
rub elbows or shoulders with someone
與 (某人) 交往；與 (某人) 過從甚密。
We went to the party in order to rub shoulders with some interesting artists.
save one's breath
不再作聲；不白費口舌。注意：若 save 改為 waste，即 "waste  one's breath"，則為「白費口舌」(見下面的例句)。
You can save your breath and not bother talking to him. He never listens to anyone.
You're wasting your breath if you think I'm going to agree to go with you.
save one's neck/skin
保全生命；使自己或別人免遭殺害、免受危險或損傷等。
The worker tried to save his own neck without thinking of any of the other people.
say a mouthful
說了很重要的事。
The little boy said a mouthful when he began to talk about the complicated history material.
scratch one's back
助人者人恆助之。
You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. (投桃報李；你幫我，我也幫你。)

 

 

 

 

 

文章出處 ：英語之家

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