博文
015 At the end of one’s rope
(2009-10-13 07:47:39)
Attheendofone’srope黔驢技窮(PW)desperate,withnowheretoturnI’vetriedeverywhichwaytofigureoutthisproblembutIcan’t.I’mattheendofmyrope!(thePhraseFinder)OED:"tocometotheendofone'srope,(a)tobefinallycheckedinwrong-doing;(b)tocometotheendofone'sresources,tobeattheendofone'stether."Thetwoinfinitivephrasesin(b)suggesttwodifferentthingstome.Tetherissomeoneelse'srope,bymeansofwhichIamconstrain...[閱讀全文]
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014 At one’s wit’s end
(2009-10-11 12:19:03)
Atone’swit’send無計可施(PW)
anxious,franticIneedtospeakwithhimtofinishthereportbytomorrowbuthe’snotavailable.Iamatmywit’send.
(MWusingEnglish)atalossforameansofsolvingaproblem(thePhraseFinder)Meaning
Perplexed;unabletothinkwhattodo.OriginFromtheBible,Psalms107:27(KingJamesVersion):Theyreeltoandfro,andstaggerlikeadrunkenman,andareattheirwits'end.[閱讀全文]
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013 At one’s beck and call
(2009-10-10 12:32:31)
Atone’sbeckandcall(PW)alwaysreadytodowhatisordered.Whenevershecallshim,he’salwayshelpingher.Heisatherbeckandcall.(MW)readytoobeyone'scommandimmediately(thePhraseFinder)MeaningTobeatsomeone'sbeckandcallistobeentirelysubservienttothem;toberesponsivetotheirslightestrequest.Origin'Call'isusedherewithitsusualmeaning.'Beck'ismoreinteresting.Theword,althoughcurrentinEnglishsincethe14thcentury,isn'tonet...[閱讀全文]
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012 At odds
(2009-10-10 12:16:26)
Atodds
(PW)indisagreementHeisatoddswithhisboss.(usingEnglish)Ifyouareatoddswithsomeone,youcannotagreewiththemandargue.(thePhraseFinder):IntheU.S.,Ihaveheard"oddsandends"usedtomeanrandomitems.Thisandthat.AndI'veheard"atsixesandsevens."See
:http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/sixes-and-sevens.htmlOddsandends(oroddsandsods),bitsandbobs,thisandthat,bitsandpiecesareallusedtom...[閱讀全文]
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011 At fault
(2009-10-08 11:04:44)
Atfault
(PW)responsibleformakingerrors
Heisatfaultforalltheerrorsonthecomputer.(MW)1:unabletofindthescentandcontinuechase
2:opentoblame:responsible(usingEnglish)Somethingor,moreoften,someonethatisveryspecialtoyouisthe'appleofyour'eye.
(thePhraseFinder)Hecausedit.It'shisfault.Itdoesn'tnecessarilymeanthepersonfeelsguilty.[閱讀全文]
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010 Apple of one’s eye
(2009-10-08 11:03:14)
Appleofone’seye(PW)Someonespecial,usuallyasonordaughterAlthoughheloveshisson,hisdaughteristheappleofhiseye.(MW)onethatishighlycherishedappleofhiseye>(usingEnglish)Somethingor,moreoften,someonethatisveryspecialtoyouisthe'appleofyour'eye.(thePhraseFinder)MeaningOriginallymeaningthecentralapertureoftheeye.Figurativelyitissomething,ormoreusuallysomeone,cherishedaboveothers.Origin'Theappleofmyeye'isex...[閱讀全文]
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009 The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
(2009-10-06 09:51:54)
Theappledoesn’tfallfarfromthetree.(PW)beingsimilartoaparentorfamilymember.Heactsjustlikehisfather.Youknow,theappledoesn’tfallfarfromthetree.(thePhraseFinder)THEAPPLEDOESN'TFALLFARFROMTHETREE-"ApparentlyofEasternorigin,itisfrequentlyusedtoassertthecontinuityoffamilycharacteristics.Quot.1839impliesreturntoone'soriginalhome.Cf.16thcenturyGer.'derApfelfelltnichtgerneweitvomBaume,'theappledoesno...[閱讀全文]
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008 Ants in one’s pants
(2009-10-06 09:51:12)
Antsinone’spants(PW)impatienceforactionoractivity:restlessness(UsingEnglish.com)Ifsomeonehasantsintheirpants,theyareagitatedorexcitedaboutsomethingandcan'tkeepstill.(thePhraseFinder)::IfIfindanythingelse,I'llpostagain.Butthephraseisquiteliteral.Ifapersonsitsontheground,likeduringapicnic,heorsheprobablywillgetantsinhis/herpants.Andthatmakesapersonfidget.
:Here'saslightlydifferentmeaningandapos...[閱讀全文]
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007 An arm and a leg
(2009-10-06 09:50:20)
Anarmandaleg(PW)AlargeamountofmoneyItcostanarmandalegtofixthestove.(UsingEnglish.com)Ifsomethingcostsanarmandaleg,itisveryexpensiveindeed.(thePhraseFinder)MeaningAlarge,possiblyexorbitant,amountofmoney.OriginThisisoneofthosephrasesforwhichitisn'tdifficulttocomeacrossapopularexplanation.Inthiscasethetalethatistoldisthatportraitpaintersusedtochargemoreforlargerpaintingsandthataheadandshoulderspainti...[閱讀全文]
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006 All thumbs
(2009-10-06 09:49:31)
Allthumbs(PW)clumsy,unabletofixthingsDon’taskmetoputthatclockbacktogether.Iamallthumbs.(MW)extremelyawkwardorclumsy(UsingEnglish.com)(thePhraseFinder)Ifsomeonesaysyouareallthumbstheymeanyouhavenomechanicalability.[閱讀全文]
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