Let's hope for the "Wind of Change" for good in 2021
Wind of change, 1990
by the "Scorpions"
(a West German rock band)
Whether you are taking some time to reflect on the year past or trying to set new goals for the coming new year, these are some idioms you can use to talk about it.
BLOW/CLEAR AWAY THE COBWEBS
掃除陰霾、晦氣、黴運
釋意:make one feel more mentally alert and lively whenhe/she had previously been feeling tired, to refresh oneself from a state of sluggishness(呆滯、糊塗、遲鈍). Cobweb is usually referred to abandoned spider webs.
例句:a walk on the South Downs to blow away the cobwebs.
RING IN THE NEW YEAR
慶祝、迎接新年
釋意:to celebrate the new year.
例句:“How did you ring in the new year?” which means “In what way did you celebrate / How did you celebrate?”.
We had a big party on the rooftop to ring in the new year.
KICK A(THE) HABIT
戒除(壞)習慣
釋意:to stop a habit, to quit doing something you often do, to overcome an addiction, like cigarettes.
例句:
He can’t seem to kick his habit of eating chocolate every night.
What is a habit you have that you would like to kick? Which habit is difficult to kick for you?
釋意:to start again with a new/better attitude or perspective.
詞源:LEAF is the old word for PAGE in a book. People still use the phrasal verb "LEAF through a book" which means "turn over the pages (usually, without reading them much)."
例句:
I’ve wasted my life playing too many video games. It’s time to turn over a new leaf and get a new hobby!
Even though he lost his job, this year Tom decided to turn over a new leaf, and look for something new.
While I was waiting for the doctor, I leafed through a couple of magazines.
釋意:a change can be just as relaxing as having a rest.
例句:He seems so much happier since he started his new job! A change is as good as a rest, as they say.
MAKE A CLEAN BREAST OF SOMETHING
承認/坦白錯誤、過失
釋意:confess/admit fully one's mistakes or wrongdoings, speak openly and honestly about (something that previously has been lied about or kept secret), to tell the truth about something, to make a full discourse, to confess.
詞源:the 'breast', in earlier days, means the seat of the one's emotions and secrets, one's 'heart'. To disclose the breast openly was to clean one's heart of impurity. In nowdays, breasts are more likely to be a reference to the 'soft protuberances'. Therefore, people are more liable to use 'get something off our chest' for the same meaning.
例句:
I decided to make a clean breast of it/things and admit that I was to blame.
Julia finally made a clean breast of it and admitted that she had stolen the money.
He pressed him... to make a clean breast, and tell him all.
相關成語:get sth off one's chest 去除心病(壓在心頭的石頭)
釋意:to tell someone about something that has been worrying you or making you feel guilty for a long time:
例句:I had spent two months worrying about it and I was glad to get it off my chest after the talk.
START WITH A CLEAN SLATE
新的開始
釋意:start freshly and not connected to things past.
詞源:SLATE (石板) is a type of stone, black or dark grey in color, which can be split into smooth, flat sheets. They are used for roof/floor tiling, and in the past, were used for writing with cholk. A clean slate means a clean piece of slate for writing.
例句:He is starting this year with a clean slate and a positivite attitude.
同義成語:START ANEW, START WITH A CLEAN SHEET
OUT WITH THE OLD AND IN WITH THE NEW
全換、全新、簇新
釋意:We’re changing everything.
例句:Shall we get rid of these curtains too? Yes. Out with the old and in with the new.
BREAK NEW GROUND
開創/啟新的(模式、樣板、潮流等)
釋意:it expresses the feeling of newness when something revolutionary and different takes place – it means that it’s not like anything else that came before it. Groundbreaking 開辟新天地的,開創性的,創新的.
例句:The director’s latest film really breaks new ground – it’s the first time a film has been made in this way.
BITE OFF MORE THAN YOU CAN CHEW
承擔力所不及的事, 不自量力, 力不從心
釋意:To accept too many tasks and responsibilities, more than one can handle.
例句:I think she’s biting off more than she can chew by taking three jobs and studying full time!
例句:I felt so much better once we got the ball rolling on the project and everything was happening.
NOTHERING VENTURED, NOTHING GAINED
不入虎穴焉得虎子
釋意:Sometimes doing something new and different means taking a bit of a risk into unknown territory, and this can be quite frightening! This idiom gives a great boost of motivation if you find yourself in that position. It means that without taking a bit of a risk or facing a challenge, you can’t expect things to change or improve.
例句:I decided to take horse-riding lessons, even though I’d never ridden a horse before. After all, nothing ventured, nothing gained!
相關成語:no pain, no gain. 沒有付出就沒有收獲。
MEND ONE'S WAYS
改良行為、方式,改邪歸正
釋意:Improve your behaviour.
例句:If you don’t mend your ways, you’re going to end up in court with a driving ban.
SHAKE THINGS UP A BIT
做出調整、改變
釋意:Change habits, plan, or routine.
例句:We’re just stuck in a rut, Albert, doing the same things. Let’s shake things up a bit in the new year! OK, Barbara. What about flying to Rio?
GET BACK INTO THE SWING OF THINGS
恢複正常、日常、正軌
釋意:return to normal.
例句:After the long Christmas break it took me a while to get back into the swing of things at work.
BURY THE HATCHET
刀槍入庫、馬放南山
原諒、言歸於好
釋意:To make peace, stop argument, end a quarrel or conflict, forgive each other and make friends again. It is an allusion to the figurative or literal practice of putting away weapons at the cessation of hostilities. Hatchet 小斧頭(喻意武器).
例句:You really should bury the hatchet with your Auntie Joan in the new year.
相關成語:ax 斧子,撤消、裁減、砍掉
an ax(e) hanging over (someone or something): the threat of being fired. There's definitely going to be an axe hanging over me if the boss finds out that printing error was my fault.
give/throw (one) the ax(e): to dismiss one from one's job; to fire one.
WIND OF CHANGE
變化的(山雨欲來風滿樓的)風
釋意:a feeling of anticipation referring to a major change that will happen soon.
例句:
After the student protests were shown online, you could feel the wind of change all over the country.
A famous song "Wind of Change" is a power ballad by the West German rock band Scorpions, recorded for their eleventh studio album, Crazy World (1990).
THREE SHEETS TO THE WIND
爛醉如泥、醉醺醺
釋意:very drunk.
詞源:derived from sailing ships, the 'sheet' in the phrase uses the nautical meaning, of a rope controlling the trim of sail. A sail (usually a jib sail) is said to be sheeted to the wind, when it is set to backfill (set to the opposite side of the ship from normal use). 'three sheets to the wind' has been used to describe a highly inebriated person who is no longer in control, and is in danger of upending and falling over. Check out more at