齐齐哈尔健身操第五套:美国习惯用语（1-50讲）

1. to be swept off one's feet 指一个人由于一件使他兴奋的事而感到不由自主
   Dick was so crazy about Jane that he threw himself at her feet. Jane was swept off her feet and they're getting married next Tuesday.
   Hal, I know how anxious you are to get married and start a family. But don't let yourself get swept off your feet by a pretty face: think about what you are doing before you get caught.

2. Don't let the grass grow under one's feet 这是劝人不要停止不前，浪费时间
   Right now the house is a real bargain. Don't let the grass grow under your feet -- sign the agreement today before somebody grabs it.
   I tell you, don't let the grass grow under you feet -- this is the last day of this sale and the price on this model goes up a thousand dollars tomorrow!

第四十九讲(2007.08.02)

1. to stand on one's own two feet  很独立自主，不依赖别人
   Son, somebody may try to get you to smoke marijuana or drink, just to fit in with the crowd. But I hope you can stand on your own two feet and say no.
   Bill Brown has managed to stay in Congress now for twenty years. The voters don't always agree with him but they really like the way he stands on his own feet and makes his own decisions on which way to vote, regardless of pressures from all the lobbyists.
  
2. to throw oneself at someone's feet 为了表达对某人的爱慕之情或为了得到一些好处而拜倒在某人的脚下
   I'm still looking for the right girl to marry. And when I find her, I'll throw myself at her feet and ask her to spend the rest of her life with me.
   The prisoner who has been convicted as a traitor threw himself at the feet of the judge and beg for mercy.

第四十八讲(2007.08.01)

1. to get a foot in the door 为了达到一个目的而迈出了第一步
   You know that beautiful girl who sits ahead of me in English class? She keeps turning me down for dates, but I finally got a foot in the door today: she met me for coffee after class.
   Getting into politics is tough. But Martin got his foot in the door when he volunteered to go around town putting up posters for the Republican candidate for Congress.
2. to be dead on one's feet 两只脚非常累
   Honey, I've got to sit down and rest before I take you out to dinner. I'm really dead on my feet tonight: we had the big year-end sale on and I was so busy I didn't even have time for lunch.
   My parents took me to Constitution Avenue to see the parade. After standing there for a whole day, my mom was so dead on her feet that she could not even cook dinner for us by the time we got home.

第四十七讲(2007.07.31)

1. to bug someone 使人心烦、令人讨厌
   You know what bugs me? Somebody coming a half hour early when you invite them to dinner. Very rude of them, I think. I tell you -- it really bugs me!
   Our car is ten years old so my kids keep bugging me to buy a new one, but the old one still runs fine and I don't want to put the money out right now to replace it.

 
2. to louse up  弄糟、毁坏
   The lousy rain has certainly loused up my plans to take my girl friend to the beach today.
   I loused up my chance to get that job at the radio station by showing up at the employment interview two hours late. But could I help it if my car had a flat tire on my way to the meeting?

第四十六讲(2007.07.30)

1. ants in your pants 很紧张，坐立不安
   The company financial report isn't due until next Friday. But the boss has ants in his pants and wants us to have it all ready for him on Tuesday morning.
   Say, what happened to the order for table seven? The guy's been waiting for a half hour and he's really getting ants in his pants for the cheeseburger and fries he ordered.

2. to have butterflies in one's stomach 一种持续不断的恐惧、紧张或忧虑的心情，和中文里说的"心里感到七上八下"很相似
   Sitting there at my sister's wedding dinner, I had butterflies in my stomach because I know I'd have to stand up and make a speech.
   Yeah, sure I had butterflies in my stomach in the locker room! But once I got out on the court and caught that first pass, I was just fine.

第四十五讲(2007.07.29)

1. cold feet 临时上场感到胆怯
   Peter told his wife that this time he was really going to walk in and demand a pay raise from the boss. But when he arrived at the office, he got cold feet.
   I really need to get my teeth fixed, but every time I start to phone the dentist, I think about the sound of that drill and right away I get cold feet.
  
2. jump in and get your feet wet 到实践中去学，也可以说是跳到游泳池里学游泳
   I know most of you are afraid to embarrass yourselves by trying to speak English after these first few lessons. But that's the best way to learn: when you meet an American, try a few words -- jump in and get your feet wet.
   I want to get into politics so I'm volunteering to put up signs for one of the people running for mayor. I don't get paid for it but it's a chance to jump in and get my feet wet.  

第四十四讲(2007.07.28)

1. to get off on the wrong foot 某人一开始就没给人一个好印象，或一开始由于某种行为而把事情弄糟了
   When Joe went to his new job, he got off on the wrong foot -- on the first morning he upset his new boss by arriving at the store two hours late. And right now he's out looking for a job again.
   I finally got a date with that new girl in class but I sure got off on the wrong foot with her: I had car trouble and got to her place almost two hours late.

2. to put one's foot in one's mouth 无意中说错了话而伤害了别人，或者叫自己很不好意思
   When Sally told that silly joke about the sailor with one leg she really put her foot in her mouth. She didn't know the man across the dinner table had a brother at home in a wheelchair.
   I certainly put my foot in my mouth at the party last night when I asked Mister Brown to say hello to his wife for me. Somehow I'd forgotten that his wife died six months ago.

第四十三讲(2007.07.27)

1. to put your best foot forward 为了给人造成一个好印象
   Better get a haircut before you go to that job interview tomorrow. You want to put your best foot forward because there are twenty other people after the same job.
   I finally got a date with that girl I've been trying to go out with so long. So I'm putting my best foot forward and sending her a dozen roses and a box of chocolates before I pick her up tomorrow.

2. to land on your feet 在经历了一些困难后最后又回到一个稳定的状态，也可以说是逢凶化吉了
   My brother Joe got fired for never coming to work on time, but he landed on his feet and found another job that paid twice as much money.
   Mr. Green is one of these people who's not afraid to put his money into some very risky investments. Sometimes he'll lose out, but somehow he usually manages to land on his feet and find money to put into something else that makes a profit.

第四十二讲(2007.07.26)

1. to go for broke 一个人准备冒损失一切的危险来采取一项行动，也可以说是"孤注一掷"
   The biggest auto race of the year is ready to start. All the drivers are ready to go for broke and drive their cars until they fall apart.
   Okay, I'm going to go for broke and bet all the money I have on my cards. I don't see how anybody can beat what I'm looking at here in my hand.

2. to go overboard 在不顾自己安全的情况下就鲁莽地采取行动
   John, let's not go overboard and get a new car right now. With all the other expenses we have, we won't be able to make the monthly payments.
   I wouldn't go overboard and buy a lot of stock in that company right now. I hear their profit is down from what it was last year.

第四十一讲(2007.07.25)

1. to go all out 以最大的决心和所有的力量去做一件事
   Our basketball team went all out to win the championship game. But so did the other team, and they beat us by two points.
   This time the other party is going all-out to win -- they're spending twice as much money as we can on radio and TV commercials.

2. to go though hell or high water 赴汤滔火
   I love my friend John like a brother -- I know he'd go through hell or high water for me.
   That's a very close family -- whatever happens to one of them, sickness, money trouble, anything, the rest of them come to help. They'd go through hell and high water for each other.

第四十讲(2007.07.24)

1. my heart stood still 指某件事使你非常害怕，或惊恐，以致你的心脏都几乎停止跳动了
   My heart stood still when the other car ran through the red light and I knew we were about to crash.
   I have to tell you my heart stood still when I saw that baby fall into the water. But that boy jumped right in after the kid and pulled him out before he went under -- that boy deserves a medal!

2. heart-to-heart talk 谈心，两个人很严肃、很坦率地谈论一些私事
   Son, you and I have to sit down and have a heart to heart talk about your school grades. You have to do something to bring them up if you want to get into a good college.

第三十九讲(2007..07.23)

1. to have a heart 要求别人对说话的人表示同情，或者是要求别人帮助他
   Hey, Dad, have a heart and let me use the new car; I have this big date with Jennie tonight.
   Charlie, I know I've owed you the hundred bucks for a long time. But, have a heart: give me a little more time because I really don't have it right now.

2. cross my heart 保证、发誓
   Billy, cross my heart, it wasn't me who broke your bicycle.
   Honey, cross my heart, I've never looked at another woman since the first day I set eyes on you! Believe me, that's the truth!

第三十八讲(2007..07.22)

1. pain in the neck 说某人很讨厌
   I want to run and hide every time I see that woman come into my place. A real pain in the neck; she's always complaining about the food and the service.
   I don't want to be a pain in the neck, son, but I've reminded you a dozen times already to clean up your room. Better do it tonight, or you can't use the car this weekend.

2. neck and neck 指比赛进行得很激烈，竞争双方不相上下
   Right now, only a week from the election, the republicans and the democrats are running neck to neck and none of the experts can predict which party will win.
   I'm running neck and neck with the clock to see if I can finish on time.

第三十七讲(2007.07.21)

1. to break your neck 尽一切力量努力去做某件事的意思
   I wish Sam would study harder, because I am breaking my neck to scrape up the money to keep him in college.
   You don't have to break your neck fixing this TV set: I really don't need it next week.

2. to stick your neck out 冒风险
   I think my boss is dead wrong about hiring his son-in-law, but I'm not going to stick my neck out and tell him!
   I admire our congressman -- he's one politician who's not afraid to stick his neck out and say what he really thinks, even if it costs him some votes.

第三十六讲(2007.07.20)

1. hot seat 那种可能会产生麻烦，或让人感到难堪的局面
   I thought it would be fun to judge the high school beauty contest. Instead I ended up on the hot seat. When we picked the winner, I made one girl happy and nineteen others mad at me.
   If you're mayor of a big city these days, you're sitting in the hot seat -- it's hard to make voters happy when you don't have the money in the budget to give them all the things they expect.

2. hot and bothered 一个人由于某件事而感到很激动、担忧或者很生气
   Nancy was all hot and bothered when her boyfriend showed up two hours late to take her to the party.
   Please don't get hot and bothered about all these dirty pans and dishes, honey. After dinner you just sit down and relax and watch TV, and let me clean up the kitchen.

第三十五讲(2007.07.19)

1. monkey business 不道德或不合法的行为，往往是偷偷摸摸和具有欺骗性的行为
   The newspapers say there's a lot of monkey business going on at city hall, with officials getting money under the table from people who want the contract to build the new airport.
   I think there's some kind of monkey business going on in that house across the street. People going in and out all day long; maybe they're selling drugs or something.

2.  to make a monkey out of somebody 把某人弄得好像一个傻瓜一样
   My friend Pete made a monkey out of me the other day. He told me the party Saturday night was formal, so I wore a suit and tie. But everybody else there was wearing a tee-shirt and blue jeans. It sure made me feel like a fool.
   Tom made a monkey out of himself by jumping up and down and yelling when his father wouldn't let him go to the movie.

第三十四讲(2007.07.18)

1. to put all his eggs in one basket 孤注一掷
   If you want to play the stockmarket, it's smarter to divide your money and buy three or four different stocks instead of putting the whole amount into just one stock and putting all your eggs in one basket.
   Going steady in high school with only one member of opposite sex is a mistake. Go out with several people -- don't put all your eggs in one basket.

2. to eat crow 一个人把自己弄得很丢脸，因为他犯了一个很难堪的错误，而又不得不承认
   That man running for mayor went around bragging he'd win the election by a big 50,000 majority. But he had to eat crow when the woman running against him won by more than 60,000 votes.
   Our neighbor had to eat crow yesterday. He's been telling us what a good tennis player he is. Well, he took my 12-year-old son out to play and the kid beat him three straight sets.

第三十三讲(2007.07.17)

1. as American as apple pie 就像苹果排一样具有美国特色
   So many Asian restaurants have opened up in Washington that a writer on a daily paper here jokes that dim sum, Japanese sushi and Vietnamese spring rolls have become as American as apple pie."
   Football and baseball are as American as apple pie as they were invented by Americans and played and watched everywhere in this country. Many people would glue to their TV sets whenever there are major competitions.

2. hot potato 一个争论很激烈的问题，没有一个人愿意为它承担责任
   The question of whether to raise taxes to cut the budget deficit is a real hot potato for a lot of politicians.
   If I were you, I'd drop that client like a hot potato; he's always suing somebody for something, but he usually loses and he doesn't pay his lawyer's bills.

第三十二讲(2007.07.16)

1. singing the blues 诉苦、抱怨
   Every time I ask Joe to pay back the money he borrowed from me, he sings the blues about all the things at home he needs money for.
   Don't pay any attention to that guy! He's always singing the blues about how poor he is, but the truth is he has more bucks in the bank than the two of us put together.

2. Like a bolt out of the blue 晴天霹雳
   A driver may testify that he was going the normal speed limit when a truck appeared in front of him out of the blue and he did not have time to stop.
   The announcement that the president of our university was quitting to go to another school hit us like a bolt out of the blue. He's always said he liked it here so much he would stay until he retired.

第三十一讲(2007.07.15)

1. Green thumb 某人在种花或种菜方面很有才能，或在这方面很有知识和技术
   I wish I had a green thumb like Mrs. Lee -- look at the beautiful roses in her yard.
   I guess I don't have much of a green thumb: every year I plant cabbage, beans and sweet corn in my backyard but all I ever get is a lot of weeds.

2. green light 绿灯，某个计划，或某件事没有遇到障碍，可以按计划进行
   My boss liked my idea to open a branch office in Los Angeles and gave me the green light to go ahead.
   The astronauts were in the space shuttle ready to go, but somebody saw one of their computers had a problem. It's fixed now, but Houston Control is checking it again before they give the green light to launch.

第三十讲(2007.07.14)

1. To stick to one's guns 在日常生活中坚持原则，稳步前进，不屈服外界的压力
   Pumpkin, I hear that some of the students at your school are fooling around with drugs. But I hope, young woman, that you stick to your guns and keep saying no!
   I have to admire the ladies who fifty years ago worked so hard to get women the right to vote. People laughed at them at first but they stuck to their guns and got the congress to pass the 19th Amendment back in 1920.

2. Shooting the breeze 在很轻松、很愉快的气氛下和朋友聊天
   Say, Bill, how about coming back to my room after class? I'll get a couple of cold sodas and we'll shoot the breeze for a while.
   At the staff meeting this morning the boss told us she wanted to see us at our desks busy working instead of spending so much time standing around shooting the breeze with each other.

第二十八讲(2007.07.13)

1. a black sheep 一个给他周围的人带来耻辱的人
   Uncle Joe is the black sheep in the family, Instead of getting a job, all he does is drink too much, gamble away any money he gets and chase after women.
   We all thought my youngest brother was the black sheep in our family. In fact he was in so much trouble he ran away to Australia. But he started a new life there, married a wonderful girl, and now he's a millionaire.
  
2. a white lie 为了避免使对方感到难受而说的谎话
   I told a white lie when I told Jennie her boyfriend was goodlooking. The truth is he's just about the ugliest man I've ever seen.
   My mother and dad taught me never to tell a lie. So I feel guilty every time I tell even a little white lie, although I do it just to make somebody feel better.

第二十七讲(2007.07.12)

1. a red letter day 大喜日子
   It was a real red letter day for me when my son came home from three years in the navy. We rolled out the red carpet to welcome him home.
   I'm lucky--my birthday is a real red letter day. It's on December 31, New Year's eve and all over the world people are out celebrating it.

2. red tape 指官僚主义，或文牍主义
   With all the red tape I ran into at city hall, it took me three months to get my business license.
   You can't believe how much red tape there is in getting a visa. You have to get a birth certificate and other personal papers and fill out a bunch of complicated forms and have an interview. After that you wait and wait.

第二十六讲(2007.07.11)

1. a horse laugh 不信任的嘲笑
   When this guy running for Congres told us how much money he'd save us taxpayers, we all gave him the horse laugh. We knew when he was in the state legislature he always voted for higher taxes.
   Harry thinks he's God's gift to women: that none of them can resist his charm. So we all gave him the horse laugh when he asked the new girl in class to go to a movie and she told him to get lost.

2. the last laugh  在某人开始做一件事情的时候，许多人都说他不会成功。但是最后他还是成功了
   I used to laugh at my roommate in college -- he'd stay in and study on weekends while I went out for a good time. But I guess he has the last laugh on me. He's a famous brain surgeon and me, I'm selling used cars and barely make enough to live on.

第二十五讲(2007.07.10)

1. Just for laughs 纯属为了高兴;做愚蠢的事或有害的事
   Come on and get your jacket -- let's go out and have a couple of beers just for laughs.
   Just for laughs they tossed Mary in the swimming pool with all her clothes on. Then they found out she didn't know how to swim.

2. To laugh up one's sleeve 偷偷地笑
   We were all laughing up our sleeves at the teacher when he was up at the blackboard explaining the math problem. He had a rip in the back of his pants and didn't know it.

第二十四讲(2007.07.09)

1. Top Gun 在某行业最顶尖的人才，优秀的人物
   Read this book by Professor Winter -- he's a top gun in Shakespeare research.
   Sorry, I don't handle divorces myself, but if you really want to divorce your husband, I can give you the name of two of the top guns in New York when it comes to getting a good divorce settlement.
2. Bottom line 根本问题，一个问题的关键所在，其结果是，概要
   I hate to tell you this, but if we don't get more customers the next three months, the bottom line is that we'll go out of business.
   Our new cook from Sichuan is bringing in a lot more people. And the bottom line is that last month we made a profit of fifteen thousand dollars.

第二十三讲(2007.07.08)

1. to take candy from a baby 某件事情很容易办成，就像把孩子手里的糖拿来一样
   Getting grandmother to loan me the money was as easy as taking candy from a baby.
   Louey told us that robbing this bank would be as easy as taking candy from a baby. But somebody told the police and they were waiting for us. We had no choice but to throw down our guns and surrender.

2. a piece of cake
   Honey, I finally asked Old Man Jones for my raise. And it was a piece of cake!
   At the briefing before we took off to bomb the Germans, our commander told us it would probably be a tough flight. But it turned out to be a piece of cake: no anti-aircraft fire and no enemy fighters.

第二十二讲(2007.07.07)

1. to twist someone's arm 给某人施压，迫使他做你要他做的事
   I didn't want see that movie about Mozart, but my roomate twisted my arm. I'm glad he did -- it was a great show."
   My son has been twisting my arm to let him take my car out on a date ever since he got his driver's license. This weekend, I finally let him take it. And now it's in the body shop for a thousand dallars of repairs: he had an accident on the way to pick up his girlfriend.

2. To charge someone an arm and a leg 要价太高
   Don't go to that fancy new restaurant. The food isn't very good and they charge you an arm and a leg for it!
   Say, if you need a dentist, you might want to try my brother. He's fresh out of dental school and trying to set up a practice. But he does good work, and he won't charge you an arm and a leg for it like most other dentists.

第二十一讲(2007.07.06)

1. to shake a leg 赶快行动
   Come on, shake a leg, son, or you're going to be late for school.
   Let's shake a leg there, you guys! I got to get this truck unloaded and on the way back to the warehouse before dark.

2. to pull one's leg  逗别人，开别人玩笑
   My roommate said this girl had told him she wouldn't mind going out with me. But when I invited her to a movie, I learned he was just pulling my leg.
   Hey, stop pulling my leg, will you! I don't believe that girl really said she likes me and would like me to take her out.

第二十讲(2007.07.05)

1. Up in arms 起来进行武装斗争，或者非常愤怒，准备打架
  All us students are up in arms at the news the school is raising our tuition ten percent.
  No way am I going to vote for a bill to raise income tax again. The voters back home are already up in arms about how much the government takes out of their pay already and I have to run for re-election this fall.

2. At arm's length  和某人保持一定距离
  I keep trying to get friendly with that lovely blonde girl who sits next to me in biology class. But she keeps me at arm's length.
  Let me warn you about this Smith fellow. He seems like a nice, friendly guy. But it's wise to keep him at arm's length. You get too friendly with him, and the first thing he'll do is ask to borrow money from you.

第十九讲(2007.07.04)

1. to bail out 摆脱一些麻烦或危险(原意为：跳伞)
   Smith was lucky enough to bail out and quit the company just before it went bankrupt.
   After his restaurant failed, Bill couln't pay back the money he had borrowed from the bank. He was afraid the bank would take the house he'd put up as security. But his dad bailed him out and paid the loan off for him.

2. nose dive 急剧地往下降
   Today the stock market took a nosedive and dropped 25 points.
   Everyboday thought this young actor would have a brilliant future after he starred in two pictures that made a lot of money. Then he appeared in three films that nobody want to see, and his career took a nose dive -- no producer wants him any more.

第十八讲(2007.07.03)

1. a stuffed shirt 指那些爱摆架子，表现得神气十足的人
   My boss is a stuffed shirt: all he talks about is how important his ancestors are, how he was number one in his class at his university, and the wonderful things he thinks he's done for our company.
   I think I'll vote for Jimmy Brown instead of the other guy James Leland Elegant the third. Jimmy isn't a stuffed shirt like Elegant -- he's a friendly, informal guy like us ordinary people.

2. To give you the shirt off his back 在你患难的时候能拿出他所有的一切，包括他的衬衣，来帮忙的人
   Of course Dad gets mad at me sometimes for no good reason. But if I ever need it, I know he would give me the shirt off his back.

第十七讲(2007.07.02)

1. to keep one's shirt on
   1）劝告别人要有内心，不要太紧张
   Keep your shirt on,Harry; we have plent of time to catch the train.
   2）保持冷静，在对情况有足够了解以前不要发火
   Honey, keep your shirt on, please! I'm sorry, but the boss made me work late at the office.

2. to lose one's shirt 某个人失去了他所有的一切
   Did you hear what happened to Joe? He's lost his shirt, the poor guy -- invested all his money in a fancy restaurant and it just went out of business.
   Be careful of salesmen who call on the phone and offer to sell you land on the beach down in Florida. You can lose your shirt because the chances are the land is under water at high tide."

第十六讲(2007.07.01)

1. right on the beam 一个人做某件事做得很对
   Your school report is right on the beam: you followed directions exactly and got all the facts down in the right order.
   I thought Mr.Claghorn's speech was right on the beam last night! Just like he says, we need to spend more money on educating our children. He makes a lot of sense to me.

2. to fly by the seat of one's pants 在做某件事的时候没有明确的指导，也缺乏足够的知识,平感觉做事
   When Jones started up business in a new town, he didn't know anybody, so he had to fly by the seat of his pants.
   Driving to a friend's house last night I took the wrong turn off the main highway and got lost. I didn't have a road map but I flew by the seat of my pants and after twenty minutes I found the street I was looking for.

第十五讲(2007.06.30)

1. to fly off the handle 有的人突然失去控制而勃然大怒的现象
   My wife spent all afternoon yesterday cooking a special dinner for our wedding anniversary. So she really flew off the handle when I came home three hours late.
   Honey, please don't fly off the handle -- I had a little accident with the car, but it certainly wasn't my fault.

2. to bark up the wrong tree 找错门了,错怪了某人
   If my brother-in-law hopes to borrow any more money from me, he will be barking up the wrong tree.
   Hey man, if you think I was the guy who robbed that bank today, you're barking up the wrong tree! I was nowhere near the place.

第十四讲(2007.06.29)

1. sweeten the pot 为了使一个提议更有吸引力而在原有的条件基础上再增加一些对对方有利的条件
   Miss Smith didn't want the job until the company sweentened the pot by offering her a higher salary and the use of a company car.
   They've built so many new office buildings here that they have trouble renting out all the space. So some landlords sweeten the pot; they offer a company six months free rent if it signs a three-year lease.

2. the cards are stacked against you
   处于很不利的情况下，成功的机会很少;
   Last night I got into a poker game with these men I met in the hotel bar. And I lost a thousand dollars before I realized the cards were stacked against me. All I could do was pick up the money I had left and walk away.
   有的时候形势就是对你不利，但是毫无办法
   I really wanted to try out for the basketball team when I was in college. But the cards were stacked against me: I'm only five feet six inches tall and everybody else was six-two or even taller.

第十三讲(2007.06.28)

1. to keep an ear to the ground 保持高度警觉，及早发现那些即将会发生的事情的预兆
   I have to keep an ear to the ground and hear what voters are thinking about.
   I try to keep an ear to the ground and what I hear these days is that most people think we spend too much money on building roads and not enough on our schools.
2. up to one's ears
   1)很忙
   Half the people in my office are home sick, so I'm up to my ears!
   Gee, honey, you know I'd like to help you paint the kitchen tonight, but I'm up to my ears in paper work I had to bring home from the office.
   2)完全介入某件事
   The mayor says he didn't know people on his staff were taking bribes. But my guess is he's up to his ears in it.

第十二讲(2007.06.27)

1. follow your nose 一直走，利用嗅觉找到什么东西
   Turn left at the next corner and then follow your nose -- you can't miss it.
   You say you're looking for the French Bakery? Just walk two blocks north, turn left, and you can smell that wonderful smell of fresh bread baking: just follow your nose and it will bring you right to the front door.
2. pay through the nose 付出比真正价值高得多得钱
   My brother Bob borrowed the money to open his restaurant five years ago when the interest rate was so high, so he's been paying through the nose ever since.
   Life is funny. When the famous dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh was alive, nobody wanted to buy his pictures. But now rich people will pay through the nose for one, sometimes more than five million dollars.

第十一讲(2007.06.26)

1. The shoe is on the other foot  形势已经完全不同了
   Back in school we made fun of Jones because we thought he spent too much time studying instead of having fun. Now the shoe is on the other foot -- he's made lots of money and the rest of us are just barely making enough to feed our families.
   For the last ten years the Tigers have been the worst team in the league: we've finished down at the bottom. But now the shoe is on the other foot: we have all these good young players and we're beating everybody else in the whole league.
2. to work hand in glove 密切合作，合谋犯罪
   The local police are working hand in glove with the FBI to find the bank robbers.
   I read in the paper about this customs officer they arrested at the airport. They caught him working hand in glove with a gang of smugglers to bring diamonds into the country without paying duty.

第十讲(2007.06.25)

1. poker face，这是脸上没有表情，不露声色的意思
   I never know whether my boss likes my work or not -- he is a real poker face!

2. close to your vest，这是指谨慎小心，保守秘密
   Two other governors have already announced that they will run for president in the next election but the governor of our state is still keeping his plans close to his vest -- nobody is sure what he will do.
   John, keep this close to your vest but I want to tell you our company is going to merge with a big New York Corporation -- they'll announce it sometime next week.

第九讲(2007.06.24)

1. to pull your socks up 振作起来
   Pull your socks up and get back in the game.
   I have bad news: our sales were off 18 % for the last quarter. So I'm telling you guys -- you have to pull your socks up and get out there and sell more stuff, or you'll be looking for new jobs this summer.
2. to knock your socks off 使人感到非常震惊
   Wait until you hear my new marketing plan -- it'll knock you socks off!
   Have you seen Jack's sister, who's here visiting from California? She'll knock your socks off: she's the most gorgeous-looking woman I've seen for a long time.

第八讲(2007.06.23)

1. to be led by the nose 被牵着鼻子走
   Remember, Son, don't let other people lead you around by the nose. You'll get along a lot better in life if you use your own judgment and do what you yourself think is the right thing.
2. under your nose 在鼻子底下（表示没看到就在身边的东西）
   Did you read in the paper how bold that robber was at the art museum? He cut three paintings from their frames and walked out with them right under the guards' noses.

第七讲（2007.06.22）

1. blow up
   a.用炸药炸毁
   The retreating German army tried to blow up all the bridges on the Rhine River to stop the Allied troops from crossing into Germany.
   b.发脾气或发火
   I really blew up when I learned that my girlfriend was going out with another man.
   c.吹气，打气
   I have to stop at the gas station to blow up my front tires.
   d.放大照片
   I'd like 8 by 10 blow ups of these negatives, please.
2. blow out
   a. 汽车轮胎炸了
   My car smashed into a tree when I had a blow-out.
   b. 把火灭掉
   You'd better blow out that candle before it sets fire to the tablecloth.
   c. 电灯的保险丝断了
   All the lights went off in the building and the elevators stopped when the master fuse blew out.
   d. 规模很大，排场很讲究的聚会
   When the Lees celebrated their 25th anniversary, they invited all their friends to a big blow-out at the best hotel in town.

第六讲(2007.06.21)

1. to hold water 指某一个人找的借口、提出的理由、或说的话是确实的，站得住脚的
   That excuse simply doesn't hold water.
   The accused man claimed that he'd been in another city the night of the murder. But his story didn't hold water after three different witnesses testified in court that they had seen him running from the scene of the crime.

2. water off a duck's back  水过鸭背，毫无作用
   I keep telling my friend it's foolish to gamble all of his money, but it's like water off of a duck's back.
   The doctors tell us it`s dangerous to smoke, but such good advice rolls off of some people like water off of a duck's back.

3. it makes my mouth water 让我流口水
   The roast duck that restaurant serves is my favorite dish. Every time I think about it, it makes my mouth water.

第五讲（2007.06.20）

1. in hot water 表示遇到非常麻烦的问题
Joe is really in hot water now -- his girlfriend just found out he's seeing another woman.
That movie actor tried to cheat on his income tax, but he got caught and now he's in hot water with the government."
2. to throw cold water on something 泼冷水
I had planned on going to medical school but my dad threw cold water on this idea the other day when he told me he wasn't sure he had the money to pay my tuition for so long.

第四讲（2007.06.19）

1. doggy bag 把剩菜打包用的袋
  We had so much food left over from dinner at the China garden last night that we took enough home in doggy bags to feed the whole family tonight.

2. 荷包蛋的煎法：
   sunny side up  只煎一面蛋黄向上
   over easy 荷包蛋两面都煎一下
M："Miss, I'd like two fried eggs sunny side up and the sausage on the side."
F: "Not me. I don't like to see my eggs staring up at me with big yellow eyes. Miss, two fried eggs, over easy and not fried too hard."

第三讲(2007.06.18)

1. It goes in one ear and out the other 左耳朵进，右耳朵出
How many times have I told you to get to work on time. But my words just go in one ear and out the other. So I don't have any choice but to fire you.

2. to play by ear 表示做一件事不是事先有计划的，而是走着瞧，临时决定
I haven't had a chance to prepare any notes so all I can do is start talking and play it by ear.

第二讲(2007.06.17)

1. Greasy spoon 物美价廉的小饭馆,大排挡
Honey, let me take you out to dinner. But you know I don’t feel like dressing up to go some place fancy. How about just going down the street to the greasy spoon and getting hamburgers?

Mike, you ought to try the potstickers at that little Chinese joint on New York Avenue. It looks like a greasy spoon but the potstickers are great and the price is cheap.

2. potluck 它指的是美国一种经常举行的聚会形式。
也就是在某一个人,或几个人的提议下举行一个午餐会或晚餐会,但是参加聚会的每个人都要带一个菜或者带一种饭后甜食。主人除了为聚会提供场地外,也只要准备一个菜,或买一些饮料就行了。
Say, Charley, if you don’t have plans tonight, why don’t you come out to our house and have a potluck with us? Helen won’t have time to cook anything special, but she can put an extra plate on the table for you.

第一讲(2007.06.16)

1. give me a hand  帮我一下忙

   Who can give me a hand?

2. foot the bill 付账

   It's my turn to foot the bill.

3. blow-out 大规模聚会,车胎爆了

   We arrived two hours late at the big blow-out for Charlie’s birthday because our car had a blow-out.

4. lock,stock and barrel adv.完全地，全部

   Mr. Rockefeller bought the whole oil company lock, stock and barrel.

5. hook,line and sinker adv. 完全地，全部地，彻底地(通常带有受骗的意思)

    I warned Sally not to believe that man's stories about how rich he was, but she swallowed them hook, line and sinker. After she married him, she found out that he owed everyone in his office money.