十二生肖趣味習慣用語 ZT

習語是約定俗成、習慣通用的特殊語言，其形式簡潔生動，與眾不同，折射出民族文化的特色。“生肖”是中國文化特有的表達人出生年份的方式，在英語中也有以十二生肖中的動物構成的習語，甚有趣味，與您共賞。

　　Rat

　　smell a rat覺得可疑

　　I smelt a rat when he started being so helpful!

　　the rat race激烈的競爭

　　Living in a big city is one big rat race.

　　play cat and mouse with sb. 欲擒故縱，(像貓抓耗子似地)欺負(折磨、虐待)某人

　　The policeman decided to play cat and mouse when he saw the woman steal the dress in the store.

　　Ox

　　a bull in a china shop經常闖禍的人，笨手笨腳的人

　　He's like a bull in a china shop, always knocking things over.

　　take the bull by the horns不畏艱險

　　You can't just sit back in a situation like this. You should take the bull by the horns.

　　like a red rag to a bull使憤怒

　　Any statement against the government is like a red rag to a bull to that minister.

　　till the cows come home永遠地，無限期地

　　If you're waiting for him to pay you, you'll wait till the cows come home!

　　kill the fatted calf熱情款待，設宴歡迎

　　He welcomed me at home by killing the fatted calf.

　　Tiger

　　paper tiger貌似強大而實質虛弱的敵人

　　As long as we are not afraid of this kind of threat, the paper tiger's true face will come out in the wash.

　　Hare

　　hunt with the hounds and run with the hare同時支持相對立的兩派, 腳踩兩隻船

　　Which team are you going to support? Make up your mind now. You can't hunt with the hounds and run with the hare.

　　Dragon

　　sow (the) dragon's teeth挑起糾紛或引起爭端

　　Wherever he went, he sowed (the) dragon's teeth by preaching racial segregation.

　　Snake

　　a snake in the grass潛伏的危險或敵人，陰險而偽善的朋友

　　How could I ever trust that snake in the grass?

　　Horse

　　hold your horses忍耐，克製，別急躁

　　Don't get so angry. Just hold your horses and find the appropriate solution.

　　put the cart before the horse本末倒置

　　Surely you're putting the cart before the horse by buying all this furniture before you've got the house.

　　flog a dead horse徒勞，浪費精力

　　You'll just be flogging a dead horse if you try to make her change her mind about it.

　　high horse自大，盛氣淩人

　　When the president visited his hometown in the remote village, he rode the high horse among the local people.

　　Sheep

　　a wolf in sheep's clothing披著羊皮的狼，偽裝善良的壞人

　　Mrs. Martin trusted the lawyer until she realized that he was a wolf in sheep's clothing.

　　as well be hanged for a sheep as (for) a lamb一不做，二不休；索性蠻幹

　　Dad said I was to be home from the dance by eleven o'clock, but I enjoyed myself so much that it was midnight before I realized it, so I thought I might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb and stopped on till the end.

　　a black sheep害群之馬，敗家子

　　Every privileged class tries at first to whitewash its black sheep; if they prove incorrigible, they're kicked out.

　　Monkey

　　monkey about / around胡鬧，惡作劇

　　The boys were monkeying about in the playground, and one of them got hurt.

　　monkey with胡亂折騰，瞎擺弄

　　You'll break the TV if you don't stop monkeying about with it.

　　get (have) one's monkey up生氣，發脾氣

　　Don't get your monkey up for nothing.

　　Cock

　　cock one's snook (snoot) to (at) sb. 瞧不起某人

　　The artist cocked a snook at the critics by exhibiting an empty frame.

　　cock up把……弄糟

　　They completely cocked up the arrangements for our holiday.

　　Dog

　　a dog in the manger占著茅坑不拉屎的人，自私自利的人

　　Don't be such a dog in the manger. Lend your bicycle to him since you will not go out this afternoon.

　　top dog處於支配地位

　　Brazil can well be said to be the top dog in the soccer circles of the world.

　　lead a dog's life過困苦的生活

　　Many new immigrants in the U.S. initially endure a dog's life.

　　put on the dog炫耀，擺闊；竭力表現自己，似乎自己非常重要，而事實並非如此

　　They put on the dog in front of their guests, but the guests were not impressed.

　　Pig

　　pigs might fly無稽之談，奇跡可能會發生

　　“The management might offer us a decent pay rise.” “Pigs might fly！”

　　buy a pig in a poke(未見實物而)亂買東西(吃了虧)

　　You'll have to show me the car; I don't intend to buy a pig in a poke