Sandra was down in the mouth because she didn‘t make the appointment.
· keep mum about something對某事保持沉默
The high official kept mum about his scandal.
· face the music承擔責任，甘受責備
You are caught stealing. You have to face the music.
· hit the nail on the head說到點子上
I like to discuss with Helen. She always hits the nail on the head.
· call someone names辱罵某人
The neighbors keep dropping litter in front of her door. She couldn‘t bear it any more and call them names.
· be neck and neck不分上下
The two workshops are neck and neck in monthly output.
· get up the nerve to……鼓起勇氣去……
The patient got up the nerve to ask the doctor how long he could live in the world.
· get on someone‘s nerves使某人心煩
There is an airport in the vicinity. The noise gets on my nerves.
· a nobody無名小輩
He is somebody in the small town, but he is a nobody in the capital city.
· lead someone around by the nose牽著別人的鼻子走
All nations should exercise their own judgment. They shouldn‘t be led around by some big countries.
· poke one‘s nose into something亂打聽別人的私事
I hate those journalists who poke their nose into people‘s private life.
· be a notch above someone略勝一籌
In study, we are neck and neck; but in sports, he is a notch above me.
· sit up and take notice of something/someone對……刮目相看
He used to know nothing about chemistry. Now he talks like a chemist, I have to sit up and take notice of him……
· have someone‘s number知道某人的底細
Don‘t waste your tongues with him. I‘ve got his number. What he is trying to do now is to set a trap and let us jump into it.
· be quick to take offense特別愛生氣
I don‘t think he is a quality leader. He is too quick to take offense.
· have one too many喝多了
The bridegroom had one too many at the wedding ceremony and was shooting cats.
· be on the outs with someone與……失和
For some reason, the two countries have been on outs for a long time.
· a pain in the neck使人討厭的事
Working for VIPs was an honor for me, but now it has become a pain in the neck. I don‘t know how to balance the relationships.
· grease someone‘s palm賄賂，給某人好處
It is reported that Sydney has greased the palms of someone members of IOC for the right to hold 2000 Olympic Games.
· get peanuts微不足道的錢
He gets paid peanuts although he often works extra hours.
· cast pearls before swine對牛彈琴，明珠暗投
My boss is an idiot. Working for him is just like casting pearls before swine.
· feel like a square peg in a round hole感到格格不入，不適合
After graduation, I remained as a teacher in college. Whenever our former classmates have a get-together, I always feel like a square peg in a round hole. All they talk about are ways to make money, expensive hotels, luxurious entertainment, things I have no experiences to share with them.
· pinch pennies節(jié)儉
Though he is a tycoon, he pinches pennies in daily life.
· rob Peter to pay Paul拆東墻，補西墻
You borrow money from me to pay the bank loan. It is like robbing Peter to pay Paul.
· be no picnic不是件輕松的事
To learn one foreign language is possible. But to be a bilingual is no picnic.
· sugar the pill給人一點甜頭安慰一下
Sonia didn‘t want to work extra hours quite often, but the manager sugared the pill by promising her a trip abroad at the end of the year.
· be on pins and needles坐立不安
He is a very modest man. When others praise him, he feel on pins and needles.
· put that in your pipe and smoke it你好好考慮考慮吧
此句常用于祈使句
Don‘t take it out on me. It is he who makes you lose so much money. Put it in your pipe and smoke it!
· play up to someone拍某人的馬屁
The young actress played up to the director, hoping to get a role in the TV series.
· take the plunge躊躇一段時間后斷然決定去干……
The commander finally took the plunge and launched the final attack.
· play possum裝糊涂，裝傻
He often quarrels with his wife. When he comes to me for advice, I can do nothing but play possum.
· drop something like a hot potato趕緊拋棄，放棄
He has been dreaming of owning his own car. But when he knew a car would cost ten years‘ of his salary, he drop the idea like a hot potato.
· sing someone‘s praises頌揚某人
The lawyer is quite successful. His clients sing his praises to others.
· be past praying for不可救藥
When I sent my cat to the vet, he said that it was past praying for.
· be sitting pretty享受安樂生活
Our company survived the economic crisis and now we are sitting pretty.
· pocket one‘s pride放下架子
The laid-off workers from the state-owned enterprises should pocket their pride and seek for re-employment.
· put someone up to……唆使某人去……
How dare you to have lodged a complaint against me with the director? Who put you up to it?
· pop the question求婚
Can you tell me how you popped the question to your wife? Maybe I can learn something from you.
· call it quits作罷
Mary and Tom had been in love for several years. But these days, they began to realize that they had very little in common. They decided to call it quits.
· chew the rag閑聊
chew the rag也有爭吵的意思
If they have time, these wives are always sitting together and chewing the rag.
· fly into a rage大發(fā)雷霆
The old father flew into a rage when his daughter didn‘t obey his will.
· break ranks with someone與……分道揚鑣
反義詞為：close ranks with someone
People within one party gradually had conflicts on some political issues. Some of them decided to break ranks with others and set up a new party.
· smell a rat察覺可疑
He is a well-known miser. I smell a rat when he invites me to his home for dinner. I was wondering if he is asking favors of me.
· beat a hasty retreat急忙撤退
The hoodlum was about to dully the lady when he saw a patrolman coming towards them. He beat a hasty retreat.
· take someone for a ride欺騙某人，玩弄某人的感情
They were taking us for a ride. I turned out that the tickets they sold us with low price were invalid.
· rip someone off敲某人竹杠
The local villain rips us off by collecting 100 yuan for protection charge every month.
· be on the rocks陷入困境，完蛋
The foam economy was struck by the Asian financial crisis. Japan‘s economy was on the rocks.
· rub it in哪壺不開提哪壺
Would you please talk in Chinese? You know I‘m a pretty bad English speaker. You don‘t have to rub it in.
· give someone the runaround敷衍搪塞
My washing machine broke down, When I went to the repair shop, they gave me the runaround.
· be in a rut千篇一律，一籌莫展
His life is in a rut. Office, library, and home are the three places he goes everyday. It is time he had a holiday for a change.
· play it safe小心謹慎
Our car works very well. But to play it safe, we will bring a spare tire.
· safe and sound安全無事
He came back from the battlefield safe and sound.
· the salt of the earth好心腸的人，沒有壞心眼的人
The taxi driver who saved the drowning boy from the river is the salt of the earth.
· take something with a grain of salt聽話打折扣，不能輕信
He is a braggart. Take his words with a grain of salt.
· tip the scales扭轉(zhuǎn)局勢
In the boxing ring, the two sides were evenly matched. But the short break seemed to tip the scales in favor of the boxer in red.
· throw someone off the scent轉(zhuǎn)移某人的視線
The murder wrote a last letter for the victim and left it in the site, hoping to throw the police off the scent.
· start from scratch從零開始，白手起家
There are so many spelling mistakes. I have to write it again from scratch.
· talk sense into someone開導某人
I‘ve tired to talk sense into him, but he still chose to work in the countryside.
· an open sesame法寶，秘訣，關(guān)鍵
Having connections with VIPs is not an open sesame to success.
· the lion‘s share最大的一份，絕大多數(shù)
He designed the most important part of the machine. So he deserves the lion‘s share of the award.
