英文慣用語10句第五集(English Idioms Episode 5)
01. rack one’s brain & spare no effort絞盡腦汁、不遺餘力。
＝To cudgel one's brains＝to exercise one's wits. or rack one's brains try one's best to
think
Rack one's
brain就是絞盡腦汁，相同意思的慣用語是 spare no
effort (不遺餘力)，反義字就是 halfhearted不認真的; 不熱心的。
rack是指從渣滓中榨出。
1. The engineer
racked her brain to find the bug.
女工程師為了找出程式中的錯誤而絞盡腦汁。
2. To let buy book behavior rationalize, not hesitate
rack one's brains,
take all
steps.
為了讓買書行為合理化，不惜挖空心思、採取一切手段。
3. He racked his brains during
the test trying to solve the difficult
problem．考試時他絞盡腦汁試圖把難題解出來。
4. Henry racked his brains
trying to remember where he left his key．
亨利想來想去，試圖回憶起他把鑰匙放在什麼地方了。
5. We racked our brains for an answer.
我們為尋找答案而絞盡腦汁。
我們為尋找答案而絞盡腦汁。
6. I have been racking my brains trying to remember
where I put the
remote control.
我在絞盡腦汁地回想我把搖控器放在哪裡。
圖1. rack one’s brain絞盡腦汁。
Rack one's
brain的相同意思的慣用語是spare no effort不遺餘力，其中spare是節約或省略，而effort是努力，因此spare no effort就是毫不保留的盡力努力，也就是不遺餘力。
2. The listed
company spared no effort in
upgrading its R&D center.
那家上市公司不遺餘力的為研發中心升級。
listed company上市公司，
R&D 就是 research and development 的縮寫，是指研究發展。
Rack one's
brain 的反義字是 halfhearted，只用了半顆心的心態，也因此halfhearted是指不認真的; 不熱心的。
3. The busboy
was canned for his halfhearted attitude.
餐廳的雜役因為不夠認真而被炒魷魚。
Canned本是can (罐頭)的形容詞，但同時也有「被停止」的意思，
也因此被用來代表被解雇或被炒魷魚。
02. Green with envy非常羨慕or嫉妒。
Green eyed就是嫉妒得不得了。另外有一個和green-eyed意思相同的慣用語，叫做green with envy，其實有異曲同工之妙。
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1.
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I was green with envy at his remarkable
achievement
我非常羡慕他非凡的成就
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3. I was green with envy when
John won the grand prize of the lucky draw.
當約翰贏得摸彩頭獎的時候，我真的是嫉妒得要命
4. A: I got green-eyed when I
heard that she would be going to Bangkok
for
vacation.
B: Well, don't be. It'll be your turn next time.
A:當我聽說她要去曼谷度假時，我嫉妒得要死。
B:別這樣嘛，下次就輪到你了啊。
B: Well, don't be. It'll be your turn next time.
A:當我聽說她要去曼谷度假時，我嫉妒得要死。
B:別這樣嘛，下次就輪到你了啊。
5. Her new job's high pay has her
ex-colleagues green with envy.
她換新工作後所領的高薪讓她之前的同事十分眼紅。
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一段與顏色有關之妙文與網友共享(很巧妙的將好幾個顏色有關的慣用語串聯在一篇短文中。)：
Interesting English expressions involving colors:
My brother was the black sheep(害群之馬) of the family. He got
into a lot of trouble as a young boy and ran away from home at 16. One day, out of the blue(突然之間), he came home and wrote my parents a big check.
I couldn't believe it if it wasn't in
black and white(白紙黑字) It turns out he now runs a successful gardening company as he's always
had a green thumb(很有園藝的天份). My parents were tickled pink (樂瘋了)by his return and I
was green with envy(又羨慕又忌妒).
1. black sheep 指家庭或團體中的不成材的成員，類似中文說的害群之馬。 2. out of the blue 突然發生。 3. in black and white 指白紙黑字，寫的清清楚楚。 4. to have a green thumb (具有綠拇指)，意指很有園藝的天份。 5. to be tickled pink (被逗樂的臉成粉紅色)，很高興的意思。 6. be green with envy (嫉妒)，中文說眼紅表示嫉妒，英文用綠色來形容。
高明吧！6個慣用語全部與顏色有關！
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03. top notch & first-rate一流的
1. His performance of Li Bai is top-notch. 他扮演的李白特別出色。
2. These guys make top-notch Pinot and Chardonnay.
他們生產頂尖的皮諾酒和夏多利（Chardonnay）酒。
3. Attica is
defined by avant-garde design and top-notch
sound from a world-class system. Attica被評為能設計前衛且音響設備頂尖的俱樂部。
4. Others
despite their lack of formal training in finance have gone on to do good work
in top-notch companies.
更有一些人，雖然沒有受過正式的金融管理訓練，卻在頂尖的公司，有傑出的工作表現。
5. We need a
top-notch writer! 我們需要的是頂尖的編輯！
6. An ace
reporter; a crack shot; a first-rate golfer; a super party; played top-notch tennis; an athlete in tiptop
condition; she is absolutely tops.
一流的記者；一流的射擊；打高爾夫球一流的人；先進的俱樂部；打的一流的網球；處於最佳狀態的運動員；她絕對是一流的。
7. Supposed to be top notch in computer and robot technology at MIT.
應該是電腦和機器人方面的頂尖專家。
8. This secluded paradise is just a few miles from
downtown yet worlds apart with miles of hiking and biking trails boating and
water sports beaches that continually rank
in the top ten top-notch tennis and golf facilities and upscale resort
properties.
這個隱蔽的樂園與市區僅有數英里之隔，但卻是不同的世界，擁有著數英里長的遠足小徑和自行車道、划船和水上運動、一直排名前十之列的海灘、頂級網球和高爾夫設施以及高檔的度假場所。
一流或最佳的除top-notch之外，還有first-rate意思和top-notch一樣。
10. Luke is a
first-rate simultaneous interpreter.
路克是位一流的同步口譯者。
simultaneous
interpreter是指同步口譯者。
11. He is a first-rate actor.
他是一流演員。
他是一流演員。
12. He
blossomed out as a first-rate athlete.
他已成為第一流的運動員。
他已成為第一流的運動員。
13. Her new
book shows her to be a first-rate novelist.
她的新書表明她是第一流的小說家。
她的新書表明她是第一流的小說家。
14. The
questions he raised are of first-rate importance.
他提出的問題至關重要。
他提出的問題至關重要。
圖2. first-rate一流或最佳的。
04. one-of-a-kind & one and only獨一無二。
Unique也是獨一無二的意思。
1. The recent discovery of numerous extrasolar
planets confirms that our solar system is not unique.
從最近發現的大量太陽系以外的行星，可以確定我們的太陽系並非獨一無二的。
2. It's a unique
work of art. 這是獨一無二的藝術作品。
3. The one-of-a-kind outfits
created by big name designers Oscar De La Renta Stephen Burrows Elisa Jimenez
and others included a strapless beige ball gown a cream baby-doll dress with
ribbon and sheer overlay and a pink and yellow taffeta skirt with a silver
recycled polyester bustier.
這種獨一無二的服飾是由奧斯卡名設計師德拉倫塔、史帝芬‧布洛斯、伊麗莎‧吉曼內茲及其他知名設計師所設計，包括無肩帶的米色晚宴長禮服、綴有緞帶和透明薄紗的奶油色洋娃娃裝，以及搭配銀色回收聚酯纖維緊身上衣的粉紅色、黃色交錯的塔夫綢裙。
4. She
is a vibrant individual, one-of-a-kind.
她是一個充滿活力，與眾不同的人。
5. Locals display pride in their island and its one-of-a-kind
culture.
6. Cirque
du Soleil puts on a one-of-a-kind
太陽馬戲團是獨樹一格的馬戲團。
7. This is a one-of-a-kind market. I love to shop here.
7. This is a one-of-a-kind market. I love to shop here.
8. Normally
I don't care much for classical music -- U-2 is more my style. But I can listen
to Mozart all day long. Just imagine: he died at thirty-five and he wrote six
hundred pieces of music. He was certainly one of a kind."
一般來說，我不太喜歡聽古典音樂，我喜歡聽硬搖滾樂。但是，我也能夠整天聽莫紮特的音樂。你想，他死的時候才三十五歲，可是他已經寫了六百首曲子。他真是一位與衆不同的音樂家。
一般來說，我不太喜歡聽古典音樂，我喜歡聽硬搖滾樂。但是，我也能夠整天聽莫紮特的音樂。你想，他死的時候才三十五歲，可是他已經寫了六百首曲子。他真是一位與衆不同的音樂家。
9. I've
seen all the great fighters in the last thirty years. And I think the best was Muhammad Ali-Haj.
He was one of a kind -- he
could move faster and hit quicker than anybody else I ever saw."
過去三十年當中所有有名的拳擊手我都看過。我認爲最好的還是穆罕默德·阿裏。他的動作特別快，他打擊對方的速度比我所看到的任何拳擊手都快。他真是非常突出。
過去三十年當中所有有名的拳擊手我都看過。我認爲最好的還是穆罕默德·阿裏。他的動作特別快，他打擊對方的速度比我所看到的任何拳擊手都快。他真是非常突出。
05. common & garden-variety & run-of-the-mill普通的，平凡的。
1. A
run-of-the-mill tear jerker.賺人眼淚的平凡影片。
run是指一般類型; 或普通產品，而 mill就是製造工廠，所以run-of-the-mill就是指好像工廠裡製作一般類型的產品，因此，也就是平凡的;普通的。
2. That flick
was just a run-of-the-mill tear jerker.
那部電影只是一部賺人眼淚的平凡影片。
flick是電影的俗稱，而tear jerker就是感人落淚的故事、戲劇或電影。
3. I mean these are not your run-of-the-mill salad bowls. These are
primo
gifts. 我是說，這些不是普通的沙拉碗，它們是第一份禮物。
4. This is a basic run-of-the-mill car, but it gets me
where I want to go.
這是一輛一般的普通車,但是它能帶我到任何我想去的地方。
這是一輛一般的普通車,但是它能帶我到任何我想去的地方。
5. When the governor steps down next year, he will become a run of the mill citizen.當州長明年下臺後，他就變為普通的國民。
6. This is just a run of the mill
apartment.
這只是一棟普通的公寓。
這只是一棟普通的公寓。
7. My friend is driving a run of
mill used car.
我朋友開著一部普通的舊車。
我朋友開著一部普通的舊車。
8. Don’t be afraid of him; he is just run
of the mill.
別怕他，他只是普通人。
別怕他，他只是普通人。
Run-of-the-mill 的相同義詞是 garden-variety，它是比喻在任何花園裡都能夠找到的一般種類的植物，所以garden-variety 的意思也是普通的;一般的。
1. There are too
many garden-variety sitcoms on
television.
電視上有太多不出色的情境喜劇
sitcom是situation comedy的簡稱，情境喜劇的意思。
06. to cast / put a damper on something &
to throw cold water on something & burst your bubble & rain on your parade粉碎某人的美夢，潑人冷水。
奇怪在英文中潑人冷水的慣用詞特別多？
一、 to throw/pour cold water on something＝put a damper on (something)。
1. Stop throwing cold water on my proposal!
2. Our parents threw cold water
on our plan to camp in the mountains because they thought it was dangerous.
父母親給我們去山裡野營的計畫潑冷水，他們認為不那樣做太危險。
He poured cold water on my
championship hopes, saying that my opponent could easily beat me.
我爭奪冠軍的希望，遭他大潑冷水：他說我的對手可輕易取勝
二、 to cast / put a damper
on something。
damp是潮濕，但damper確與潮濕無關，而是指火爐的節風閘板。 When the damper is
closed, the fire goes out 關上節風閘板，爐火就會熄滅。引伸其義成為潑冷水。
1. The cold weather put a damper on our plans.
寒冷的天氣給我們的計畫潑了冷水。
2. John's wet blanket and put a damper on everything.
約翰是一個枯燥無味的人,他對什麼都是乾巴巴的.
3. A
death in the family put a
damper on
our Christmas celebrations.
家中的喪事使我們的聖誕慶祝會變得令人掃興.
4. Normally
that situation would put a
damper on demand.
通常這種情況會降低對債券的需求.
5. However,
morning sickness and fatigue can put a
damper on
anyone's libido.
顯然,早晨的不適及疲勞會影響性慾。
6. This unwelcome news put a
damper on the celebrations.
這個不受歡迎的消息使慶祝會頗為掃興.
7. Rain put a
damper on our picnic plans.
下雨毀掉了我們的野餐計畫,讓我們很掃興.
8. Jealousy and anger will put a damper on what could be a
very good
week
romantically.
嫉妒和憤怒只會傷害雙方的感情,讓浪漫的一周蒙上陰影.
9. Avoid negative friends, well meaning relatives and
others who put a
damper on
your dreams.
少接觸做事消極的朋友,
或者那些雖是善意的卻否定你的夢想的人.
10. I just hope that whole pony incident didn't put a damper on
the
trip.
我只是希望整個小馬兒事件不會讓你們這次來訪敗興而歸.
11. I hate to put
a damper on your party, but you are too loud.
我不願給你們的聚會潑冷水,
但是你們也太大聲了.
12. Other differences between films and music may
also put a damper
on Apple's ambitions.
電影與音樂的其它差別可能抑制蘋果公司的野心.
13. Her icy attitude cast a damper
on our enthusiasm.
她冷淡的態度，使我們熱情大減。
三、throw cold water on 潑冷水
1. I thought my idea was great, but my boss threw cold water on it.
2. Stop throwing cold water on me.
2. Stop throwing cold water on me.
3. Everybody else in
the office thought my idea was great, but the boss
threw
cold water on it.
辦公室裡所有的人都認為我的主意很好，就是我們的老闆給我潑冷水。
辦公室裡所有的人都認為我的主意很好，就是我們的老闆給我潑冷水。
4. I've been planning
to go 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.
我一直想上醫學院。可是，那天我爸爸給我潑冷水，說他不一定有能力替我
我一直想上醫學院。可是，那天我爸爸給我潑冷水，說他不一定有能力替我
付那麼多年的學費。
圖3. throw cold water on 潑冷水。
四、 throw a wet blanket on 潑冷水。
1. Peter likes to throw a wet blanket on the discussion.
2. He is such a wet blanket.
1. Peter likes to throw a wet blanket on the discussion.
2. He is such a wet blanket.
五、 burst my bubble潑冷水。
1. I had a great idea for a new website, until George
burst my bubble and told me someone
had already got there first.
2. I'm sorry to burst
your bubble, but the party has been cancelled.
3. I hate to burst your bubble, but you won't be
getting a pay rise this year.
(當什麼東西 bubbles up 這就說這個東西漲起來了，或者可理解為什麼事情突然出現或發生了。)
Anger
and unrest have been bubbling up
across parts of the city today.
六、rain on your parade潑冷水。
1. Jason: Hey baby, I made a reservation to this great restaurant on
12/22.寶貝，我訂了12月22號的高級餐廳。
Jenny: Oh, sorry to rain on your parade, but I’ll have to work that day. 我不是想要潑你的冷水，但那天我要上班。
Jenny: Oh, sorry to rain on your parade, but I’ll have to work that day. 我不是想要潑你的冷水，但那天我要上班。
2. I don't want
to rain on your parade, but I
think the proposal you made is not workable.我不想掃你的興，但我覺得你的提案行不通。
圖4. rain on your
parade潑人冷水。
07. make a killing & to break
even
make a killing能在片刻間帶給人帶來巨富或者讓人傾家蕩產的証卷交易或大賺一筆錢。
to break
even收支打成平手,得失相當。
1. Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street. In two days this stock he bought
doubled in price so he sold it off quick at a 100 percent profit just before it
went down again.
我的兄弟上星期買下股票才兩天價格就上漲了一倍，所以他把握時機地拋售，得到百分之百的盈利，結果剛脫手股價就發生回落。這樣說來他兄弟在兩天內就從華爾街賺了一大筆錢。
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有人從海灘上收集光滑的石頭，放在做得像裝寵物的那種有孔的箱籠裏，似乎要讓石頭能呼吸那樣，然後他在箱籠外貼上寵物石頭的標簽，在商店出售給大家。他打出的廣告是：養這樣的“寵物”既不須喂食，又不必清理糞便，它們既不打擾你，又不會逃跑，真的是十全十美。我們來看看他的鬼主意奏效了嗎?
2. It was a joke, of course, but five million
Americans were amused enough to pay five dollars a piece for the rocks. And
the man who dreamed up the idea really made
a killing.
當然銷售寵物石頭是個逗樂的笑話，但是竟然有五百萬美國人給逗得樂於花錢去買五美元一個的寵物石頭。而那突發奇想的人也著著實實賺了一大筆錢。
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1. What does break
even mean? “持平”是什麼意思？
2. How long before you break even? 多長時間能夠做到收支平衡？
3. Monica: I figured out I need to charge seventeen
bucks a jar just to
break even. So I've got a new plan now.
莫妮卡：我盤算了一下發現每罐我得收17塊才能保本，所以我現在又有了
一個新計畫。
4. The salesman miscalculate the discount so we
hardly break even on
the deal.
行銷員計算錯了折扣，因此我們很難在這筆交易上做到不盈不虧。
圖5. break even. 打成平手,得失相當。
賣冰鎮檸檬汁的老版如此對職員們說：「我們因為資金缺乏，所以必須賣到收益打平之後才去買檸檬！？」
08. unexpected & out of the blue & all of a
sudden出乎意料、意料之外的、突然的。
1. My boyfriend
made my day when he appeared out of the
blue.
我男朋友突然出現而讓我覺得很高興。
2. All of a sudden, the pickpocket was caught
red-handed.
突然間，那扒手當場被逮到。
3. John arrived out of the blue.約翰出人意外地來了。
4. 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.
一個開車的人可能會在作證時說，正當他以正常的速度行駛的時候，一輛卡車突然出現在他面前，他來不及剎車。
5. 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."
我們大學校長宣佈他決定辭職到另外一個學校去工作。我們都感到很突然，因為他老是說他很喜歡這個學校，要一直在這兒工作到退休。
6. She won the first prize of the lottery out of the blue.。
她意外地中了獎券頭獎
Out
of the blue的相反就是 cut-and-dried，意思是「預先安排好的;或乏味老套的」，好像切好而且乾掉的水果一樣。
1 The
President's on-the-spot speech doesn't feel cut-and-dried at all.
總統當場的演講感覺一點也不像是預先安排的。
09. Keep an eye on & look after照顧; 注意
look after的相反是 let slide 忽視;忽略
1. I've put the vegetables on to cook; please keep an eye on the potatoes while I go
to the corner shop for some ice cream.
我已把蔬菜放進去煮了，我到拐角上的店裡去買霜淇淋時，請替我照看一下馬鈴薯。
2. She had to go out unexpectedly and asked her
husband to keep an eye on the dinner
in case in burned.
突然，她得出去一下，因而請丈夫照看一下晚飯，以防燒焦。
3. Please keep an eye on the
children. 請照看一下孩子們。
4. Tell your Arian to keep an eye on the visitors.
告訴你的Arian去留意那些訪客。
5. Jason and Frank returned to
their own quarters so as to be able to keep an eye on the compound.
Jason和Frank依舊回到自己的地方去睡，以便照料一切。
6. In the world of high
finance you have to keep an eye on the barracudas.
在金錢至上的社會裡，你必須留意那些奸商。
7. Countries have to keep an eye on martial
nations.
各國不得不時時警惕著好戰的國家。
圖6. Keep an eye on照顧; 注意。
10. know-how本事、技術＝expertise 專業知識。
1. We need the know-how to get the ball rolling.
我們需要相關的技術才能開始運作。
2. She has 20 years'
teaching experience to draw on.
她有二十年的教學經驗可以做參考。
3. He accomplished expertise in mental arithmetic(心算)at such an early age.
她有二十年的教學經驗可以做參考。
3. He accomplished expertise in mental arithmetic(心算)at such an early age.
4. We were amazed at
his expertise on the ski slopes.
他斜坡滑雪的技藝使我們贊賞不已。
他斜坡滑雪的技藝使我們贊賞不已。
圖7. know-how本事＝expertise 專業知識。
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