火星英語筆記
緊跟時事熱點，關注社交媒體。看當下新聞，學實用英語。
Some of the most common Thanksgiving (and turkey-related) idioms for your better understanding of this cornerstone American holiday and the English language.
Stuffed Shirt
自以為是、妄自尊大、愛擺架子的人
Someone who acts in a very formal way and expects to be treated as a very important, high-profile person. The earliest documented use of this expression was in 1840 to describe a formally dressed look of a person.
例句：
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Stuffed shirt might be good for describing your aunt from Connecticut who insists that you call her “Ms. Archibald” at the dinner table on Thanksgiving.
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Karen Knorr’s photos of the private members’ clubs of London in the early 1980s are full of stuffed shirts wearing gleaming brogues.
A Blessing in Disguise
禍中之福，因禍得福
Something that seems unfortunate or bad at first, but turns out to be a good thing (a blessing) in the end.
Some of the best blessings are the ones that surprise you!
例句：My car broke down again, but maybe it was a blessing in disguise; I've been wasting too much time driving around anyway.
A Mixed Blessing
喜憂參半、福禍兼有、利弊並存的事物
An event that has its advantages and disadvantages. Eating too many mashed potatoes is incredibly satisfying, but it can give you a stomach ache. Now that’s a mixed (mashed) blessing.
例句：Getting into the team is a mixed blessing - I'll have to spend a lot of time training.
Counting Your Blessings
數主恩惠、往好處想、知足長樂、偷著樂吧
Nowdays the phrase is used as a reminder to be grateful for what we have, for all of the amazing things going on in our life, often to stop yourself becoming too unhappy about the bad things.
The ancient Jewish tradition is to try and get to 100 blessings a day. The expression, count your blessings, started with people attempting to count their blessings to find 100 of them.
例句：
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About how much fun it is, count your blessings, all of that.
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If all this studying is making you a bit queasy, count your blessings.
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Or perhaps he was waiting for them to start counting their blessings there and then.
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It would be far better to count her blessings, she told herself firmly.
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電影White Christmas片段
Talking Turkey
坦率認真地談話（以解決問題）
To talk about a problem in a serious way with the intention of finding a solution or solving it as quickly as possible.
詞源：This phrase started in colonial times. Historical accounts suggest the phrase came about from the day to day bartering （物物交換） between colonists and Indians over wild turkeys.
例句：
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On Thanksgiving, many families will talk turkey — over turkey!
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We don't have much time, so let's dispense with the formalities and start talking turkey.
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Your proposals so far have been completely laughable, so why don't you get back to me when you're ready to talk turkey?
(Go/Going) Cold Turkey
突然完全地停止壞習慣（如戒毒、煙）
A common phrase used to describe drug users who suddenly quits taking drugs, going cold turkey is a phrase used to describe how someone quits a deep-rooted, bad habit quickly , as opposed to gradually.
例句：
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Grandpa has a turkey addiction, but this year, he quit cold turkey after eating three turkey legs. Yikes!
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Lydia tried to smoke only one cigarette a week, but she ended up going back to her old habits. She decided to try out going cold turkey.
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Gobble Up
大吃大喝、狼吞虎咽
To do (usually, eat, swallow) something really fast (hastily), usually greedily. This is how you eat when your mom whips out a tiny pumpkin pie, and there are at least 20 people sitting at your dinner table.
例句：Some boys gobble up books as if they were candy bars, but others don't seem to show any interest in reading.
Food Coma
吃得太多後的昏昏欲睡
A state of drowsiness and euphoria that sets in after you eat a ton of food that your body is attempting to digest. The word coma comes from the Greek word meaning ‘deep sleep’.
Remember how your grandpa would always take a nap after eating a huge Thanksgiving dinner? That’s a classic example of a food coma. We’ve all over done it once or twice on Thanksgiving.
Eyes Bigger Than Your Stomach
眼高手低、不自量力
When you think you can eat a certain amount of food, but it turns out to be way too much food.
It is sad as ‘One’s eyes are bigger than one’s belly’. It’s a very common occurrence on Thanksgiving, and something that often leads to a food coma when it’s all said and done.
The Rest Is (just) Gravy
（完成複雜艱難的任務後的）簡單容易的事情、錦上添花的事情
Gravy is a sauce made from the fat and liquid that comes from turkey when it is being cooked (it's usually eaten with turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes). 火雞肉汁，通常與火雞、土豆泥等一起食用。
"The Rest is Gravy" is usually used to refer to
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a bonus or something extra from the initial want, anything extra like a nice bonus, something on top of a good deal, or
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something, i.e., project or work, very easy and straightforward to complete or accomplish.
A good example is that, when everyone gets a piece of pumpkin pie, and there are still a few slices left over for later. This fun phrase started in the early 1900s and referred to easy money, or easy financial situations.
例句：
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It should be a pretty self-sustaining revenue stream, so once we pay off the initial costs for materials, equipment, and set-up, then the rest is gravy.
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They managed to defeat the best team in the league already, but anyone who thinks the rest will be gravy for them is fooling themselves.
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The biggest issue is getting the servers up and running — after that, the rest is gravy.
Gravy Train
（常指不誠實的）
輕鬆賺大錢的方法，發橫財的捷徑
A situation in which someone can quickly make a lot of money for very little effort, often dishonestly.
例句：
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Come to Hollywood and get on the gravy train.
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Wait for the gravy train. 坐享其成、坐等天上掉餡餅。
Hot Potato
燙手的山芋、棘手的工作、敏感的話題
A difficult situation that nobody wants to handle, a controversial political topic, so it gets passed from one person to the next.
In the realm of Thanksgiving, a hot potato could actually be a hot potato, so be careful (and add butter) before you dig into the potato on your plate!
例句：
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The issue of gun control is a political hot potato in the United States.
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The legality of abortion is a hot potato in many countries around the world.
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I never discuss about anyone's religion, it can be a hot potato.
往期熱詞：
