a bone of contention
争论的原因；争议的焦点；争吵的中心问题。
The length of the project was a major bone of contention during the talks between the city and the developer.


a change of heart
改变主意；变心。
I had a change of heart about not going to Europe for my holiday and finally decided to go.


a flea in one's ear
刺耳的话；尖刻的斥责。
The idea about changing the schedules is a flea in the supervisor's ear that we wish he would forget.


a pain in the neck
讨厌的人或事物。
The customer is a pain in the neck and is always complaining about something.


a pat/slap on the back
赞扬，表扬。
The man was given a pat on the back for his efforts to stop pollution in the river.


a shot in the arm
兴奋剂；强心针。
The latest opinion polls were a shot in the arm for the lawyer's campaign to become elected.


a skeleton in the/one's cupboard/closet
不可告人的秘密；不可外扬的家丑或丑事。
If you want to be a successful politician, you can't afford to have too many skeletons in your cupboard. (如果你想成为成功的政治人物，你就不能有太多不可告人的秘密)
I learned last night that Mr. Smith's youngest son has been three times sent to prison. I wonder how many other skeletons he's got in his closet. (昨晚我听说史密斯先生最小的儿子曾三度入狱。我不知道他家还有哪些不可外扬的丑事)


a slip of the tongue
说错；口误。
I made a slip of the tongue when I told the woman who everyone hates that we would have a party.


a swollen/swelled head
夜郎自大；自命不凡；趾高气扬。
My sister has a swollen head since she got the new job that many people had applied for.


after one's own heart
正合己意；正投所好；合某人心意的人或物 (尤指思想或趣味相投)。
My new boss loves to go fishing every weekend. He is a man after my own heart.


all ears
聚精会神地听；全神贯注地听。
My sister was all ears last night when I began to talk about starting a home business.


all eyes
聚精会神地看；目不转睛地看。
He is all eyes when he goes to a basketball game.


an eye for an eye (and a tooth for a tooth)
以眼还眼，以牙还牙。
Some politicians are always calling for an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth when they hear of a terrible crime.


armed to the teeth
全副武装；带齐需用的工具。
The robbers were armed to the teeth when they robbed the bank.
They went into the examination room, armed to the teeth with pens , pencils and rulers.


at heart
内心里；实际上。
He seems to be very angry all the time but at heart he is a very gentle person.


at/from the bottom of one's heart
衷心地；从心坎里。
My sister thanked the man from the bottom of her heart for saving her dog's life.


at the top of one's lungs
尽量大声地叫喊；放大嗓门叫喊；非常大声地。
I yelled at the top of my lungs to get the attention of the man.



bad blood
(因过去不和所产生的) 仇恨，罅隙。
There has always been a lot of bad blood between the two supervisors.


be at/on the tip of one's tongue
就在嘴边；差一点就能说出口；差一点就能想起 (某人的名字或某事)。
My former teacher's name is on the tip of my tongue and I will soon remember it.


beat one's brains out
绞尽脑汁。
I have been beating my brains out all day trying to remember who we should invite to the party.


beauty is only skin deep
美貌只是外表；不可以貌取人。
Teresa may not be pretty but you know beauty's only skin deep. (泰瑞莎可能不漂亮，但你知道，美貌只是外表)
Beauty is only skin deep. What matters is a person's character, rather than his/her appearance. (别以貌取人。要紧的是一个人的品格，而非他或她的外表)


behind one's back
暗中；背地里；秘密地。
He doesn't like people who talk behind his back.


be music to someone's ears
中听的话；像音乐般悦耳的好消息、喜讯；(好消息等) 像音乐般悦耳；非常中听。
A: Your daughter has breezed through her English exams. (你女儿已轻易通过英文测验)
B: Ah, that's music to my ears! (啊，这消息多么动听!)


bend one's/the elbow
喝酒；纵饮 (喝酒过量)。
Henry came to work late today; he must have been bending his elbow last night. (亨利今天上班迟到；他昨晚一定喝酒了)
Jack's bending the elbow with his friends all afternoon. (杰克和他的朋友整个下午都在喝酒)


be no skin off one's nose
与某人毫不相干。
It is no skin off my nose as to whether or not I get invited to the party.


be/rise up in arms
勃然大怒，不满；配备武器准备干架。
The students were up in arms over the school's plan to make them wear uniforms.


bite the hand that feeds one
恩将仇报；以怨报德。
My niece is biting the hand that feeds her if she keeps abusing the help that her parents are giving her.


blood is thicker than water
血浓于水；亲戚总比朋友亲 (那也不见得!?)。
Blood is thicker than water and people usually support their family rather than their friends in times of trouble.


blow one's mind
使 (人) 极度兴奋。
My friend told me that if I read the new book I would blow my mind.


break one's heart
使...伤透了心；使...断肠。
It broke my heart to see the woman fall down during the race after she had tried so hard.


break one's neck
尽全力去做某事。
I broke my neck to try and get the report finished on time.


breathe down one's neck
(在某人工作时) 严密监督某人。
My boss has been breathing down my neck all day to try and get me to work harder.


burn one's fingers or get/have one's fingers burnt
自讨苦吃；吃苦头；吃亏。
My father burned his fingers on the stock market and doesn't want to invest money there again.


bury/hide one's head in the sand
对困难、问题或危险视而不见；采取鸵鸟态度或政策 (据信鸵鸟在遇险或被追捕时会把头埋入沙中)。
His father always buries his head in the sand and never wants to deal with any problems.


button one's lip(s)
闭嘴；一声不吭。
Please button your lip so that we can hear what the speaker is saying.


by the pricking of one's thumbs
靠直觉；凭预感 (不是凭可靠的消息)。
By the pricking of my thumbs I knew that something bad was going to happen. (凭我的直觉，我知道将有不好的事情发生) 6park.com
附注： 这成语出自莎士比亚戏剧《麦克白》(Macbeth) 第四幕第一景 (Act 4, scene 1) 中的台词 "By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.” (从我拇指刺痛的感觉，就知道必将有邪恶之事来临)。


by the skin of one's teeth
刚好；勉强；侥幸；好不容易才。
We drove to the station at full speed and caught the train by the skin of our teeth.


by the sweat of one's brow
凭自己的血汗；靠自己的辛勤工作。
He built up the business by the sweat of his brow.



chip on one's shoulder
(受了委屈而) 忿忿不平。
Why did you get so angry at the slightest criticism? You seem to have a chip on your shoulder. (你为何对一点点批评都这么生气呢? 你似乎是受了委屈而心中忿忿不平)


cool/kick one's heels
(慑于权威而) 空等，久等。
I was forced to cool my heels in the lobby for an hour while I waited for the job interview.


cross one's heart and hope to die
在胸口划十字发誓 (表示说的是实话或决不会泄漏秘密)。例如："Cross my heart and hope to die!" (我敢发誓!)
"I promise that I will meet you tomorrow. Cross my heart and hope to die."


cross one's mind
突然想起；略过心头。
It suddenly crossed my mind (= It suddenly occurred to me) that the store would be closed all day on Monday.


curl one's hair
使惊吓；使震惊；使毛骨悚然。
The movie is very realistic and many of the scenes will curl your hair.


cut off one's nose to spite one's face
跟自己过不去；把气出到自己头上。
When he decided not to go to the party he was cutting off his nose to spite his face. He was the one who lost out on a good opportunity to meet many new people.


cut/slit one's (own) throat
自讨苦吃；自寻死路；作法自毙；自作自受；自取灭亡。
He is cutting his own throat if he doesn't make an effort to find a new job quickly.



dirty/soil one's hands
干不名誉的事；做有失身分的事。
The politician dirtied his hands when he became involved in the questionable land deals.


drag one's feet/heels
故意拖拉；慢吞吞地行动。
Our company is dragging their feet in making a decision to hire new workers.


(as) dry as a bone
非常干燥。
I don't think Kevin's been watering these plants - the soil's as dry as a bone. (我认为凯文一直没有给这些植物浇水 － 土壤非常干燥)
The ground was very hard and as dry as a bone. (地面很硬且很干燥)



eat/tear one's heart out
沮丧；忧伤 (如为情所困)。
My young son is eating his heart out over a girl who lives just down the street.



faint heart never won fair lady
懦夫没有美人爱。
Paul: I'd really like to go out with Amy, but what if she says no? (保罗：我真的很想约艾美出来，但如果她拒绝，那该怎么办呢?)
Peter: You won't know till you ask her. Faint heart never won fair lady. (彼得：你没有去约怎么会知道她要不要呢。懦夫是不会有美人爱的) 6park.com
Don't be so shy about talking to Susan. Faint heart never won fair lady. (别不敢跟苏珊讲话。懦夫没有美人爱)


fall/be head over heels (in love)
陷入情网；深深地爱恋。
The little boy fell head over heels in love with the girl in his class.


feet of clay
要命的弱点；致命的缺陷。
The new Prime Minister has feet of clay and and may not last very long in his new position.


fight tooth and nail
拚命厮打；奋力作战；竭尽全力去做。
We fought tooth and nail to get the new wing of the hospital opened.


foam at the mouth
大怒；气得口沫四溅；气得吹胡子瞪眼睛。
The girl's father was so angry that he was foaming at the mouth.


from the heart
由衷地；真心诚意地；诚挚地。
The President gave a speech from the heart after the terrible earthquake.



get/have cold feet
畏缩；胆怯。
I planned to go to Europe with my cousin but he got cold feet and decided not to go.


get off one's back
不再批评或烦扰某人。
I wish that my mother would get off my back about trying to find a better job.


get off one's chest
一吐为快；顷诉衷肠 (以扫除积压在心头的忧虑等等)。
I talked to my friend for a long time and was able to get my problems off my chest.


get off on the wrong foot
不好的开始；错误的开始。
Unfortunately my relationship with my new teacher got off on the wrong foot.


get/grate on one's nerves
使某人恼怒。
She'd been asking me questions all day and it was starting to get on my nerves. (她整天都在问我问题，让我觉得好烦啊)
The telephone hadn't stopped ringing all morning and it was starting to grate on my nerves. (整个早上电话响个不停，我都要抓狂了)
附注：英文中还有 get on one's wick, get on one's tits 和 get up one's nose 等成语可表达与 get on one's nerves 相同的意思，如 Sometimes watching TV really gets on my wick because of all the commercials. (看电视有时真的很气人，因为都是广告)；That guy I work with has been getting on my tits recently. (跟我一起工作的那个家伙，最近让我很不爽)。


get one's feet wet
开始；首次做某事。
We won't have time to finish this job today but at least we can get our feet wet and start.


get/keep out of one's hair
不打扰 (某人)。
My sister wants to get her daughter permanently out of her hair.


get the eye
引起别人投注好奇、不友善或羡慕的眼光。
We got the eye from the manager of the restaurant when we entered in our old clothes.


get through one's head
了解；相信。
It was difficult to get it through the bank manager's head that I didn't want to borrow any more money.


get under one's skin
激怒某人；使某人恼火。
She is beginning to get under my skin with her constant complaining about the noise.


(would) give one's right arm
(为了某人或某事) 愿做极大牺牲或付出极高代价。
I would give my right arm to be able to go Kaohsiung with my friend next month.


gird (up) one's loins
做好准备；准备行动。
The nation must gird up its loins to face these difficult challenges. (国家必须做好准备来面对这些困难的挑战)
The manager has called me to his office. I'd better gird my loins and go and see what he wants. (经理叫我到他办公室去。我最好做好准备，去看看他想要干什么)


give/lend someone a hand
帮助 (某人)。
I gave my friend a hand moving into his new apartment.


give someone a piece of one's mind
怒责 (某人)；坦率地批评 (某人)。
I gave the store manager a piece of my mind when I told him about the broken product.


give someone the eye
看着或注视着某人。
I gave the woman in the restaurant the eye but she totally ignored me.


give the cold shoulder
冷落 (某人)；冷淡对待 (某人)；不理睬 (某人)。注意：若 give 改为 get，则意为「受到冷淡对待」(见下面的例句)。
The office staff gave me the cold shoulder when I did not go to the going away party.
We keep getting the cold shoulder from our neighbors these days, because of the argument we had last week.


go to one's head
1. 使某人自高自大；使某人冲昏了头。2. 使某人醉了。
1. I think that his new job has gone to his head and he thinks that he is much better than everyone else.
2. The alcohol quickly went to his head and he had to sit down for a while.



hate one's guts
对某人恨之入骨；非常讨厌某人。
I hate his guts for treating my sister so badly. (他对我妹妹很坏，我对他恨之入骨)
I don't think you should hate my guts just because I like to go fishing. (我认为你不应只因我喜欢钓鱼就讨厌我)


have a bone to pick (with somebody)
跟 (某人) 有争端；对…不满。
Paul always has a bone to pick. (保罗老是有意见)
I have a bone to pick with you. Did you eat that piece of chocolate cake I was saving for my tea? (我有事要跟你算账。你是不是把我留下来要配茶吃的那块巧克力蛋糕吃掉了?)


have/with a heart of gold
好心肠。
My grandmother has a heart of gold and is always willing to help a stranger.


have a heart of stone
铁石心肠；心如铁石。
The man who murdered his wife and children has a heart of stone.


have/get butterflies in one's stomach/tummy
紧张不安；心神不宁。
The little boy had terrible butterflies in his stomach when he had to give the speech in front of the class.


have eyes in the back of one's head
后脑杓长了眼睛；能看到或知道一切。
The teacher has eyes in the back of her head and always knows what is going on in the classroom.


have light/sticky fingers
手脚不干净；有偷窃的习惯。
David and his brothers all have light fingers. (戴维和他的兄弟手脚都不干净)
Everyone thinks that the new woman at work has sticky fingers as many things have been stolen recently. (大家都认为办公室那位新来的女员工手脚不干净，因为最近许多东西遭窃)


附注：light-fingered 为形容词「有偷窃习惯的」，如 light-fingered children。
have one foot in the grave
一只脚已踏进坟墓；风烛残年；离死不远。
The man next door is suffering from cancer and has one foot in the grave.


have/keep one's feet on the ground
脚踏实地；抱持务实的态度。
The new manager has his feet on the ground and will probably be able to come up with a sensible solution to our problems.


have one's fingers in the till; with one's fingers in the till
偷或窃取本店、本公司或自己所任职之工作场所的钱 (尤指金额不多但已持续一段时间)。
He had his fingers in the till, and that's why he lost his job. (他偷了他店里的钱，所以被炒鱿鱼了)
Jordan was caught with his fingers in the till. (乔登在偷他公司的钱时当场被逮)


have rocks in one's head
愚蠢的；判断力欠佳的。
He must have rocks in his head if he thinks that I am going to lend him any more money.


heads up
事先透口风；事先告知或提醒。
Our boss gave us a heads up about/on the change in the procedure. 6park.com
附注："a heads up"是美国人常用的一句口语，虽然名词 heads 为复数，但其前却是使用单数冠词 "a"，请特别注意。


hold one's breath
屏息以待。
I held my breath and waited to see if my name had been called for an interview with the movie company.



in the lap of luxury
在优裕的环境中。
Carla lives in the lap of luxury because her family is very wealthy. (卡拉生活在优裕的环境中，因为她家很有钱)
They live in the lap of luxury in a huge great house in Taipei. (他们住在台北一间大豪宅中，过着豪华的生活)



jump down one's throat
突然对某人大发雷霆。
His wife jumped down his throat when he came home late for the third day in a row.


jump out of one's skin
吓一大跳；大吃一惊。
I almost jumped out of my skin when I saw my girlfriend at the movie theater with someone else.



keep a stiff upper lip
保持坚定沉着、坚毅镇定。
We managed to keep a stiff upper lip when the company announced that they would close down our office.


keep/have an/one's ear to the ground
非常关注或留意 (某事)；关注或留意 (某事的) 发展动向。
There have been rumors of a new round of layoffs. Better keep an ear to the ground. (传闻会有新一波的裁员。最好留意这事的发展)
Can Mike help me rent a house? － Yes, he always keeps/has his ear to the ground. (麦可能帮我租一间房子吗? － 能，他一直留意这件事)


keep body and soul together
维持温饱；餬口；存活。
He has been working very hard to try and keep body and soul together after his illness.


keep one's chin up
毫不气馁；振作精神。
My brother is trying to keep his chin up even though he has lost his job.


keep/have one's fingers crossed
希望成功；祈求好运。
I will keep my fingers crossed that you are able to get the new job that you have applied for.


keep one's hair/shirt/wig on
保持镇静；不发火；不激动；沈住气。(通常用于祈使句)
Keep your hair on! I only wanted to borrow ten dollars from you.


keep one's head
保持镇静；不慌张；不害怕。
Everyone tried to keep their head during the fire at the hotel.


keep one's head above water
使...免于负债；使...摆脱困境、困扰、麻烦。
My brother has been having a hard time keeping his head above water since he lost his job.


keep one's mouth shut
保持沉默。
I tried hard to keep my mouth shut during the salesman's speech.


keep one's nose clean
行为检点：不卷入是非。
The judge told the young man that he must keep his nose clean if he didn't want to go to jail in the future.


keep one's nose to the grindstone
使...不停地苦干、用功等。
He has been keeping his nose to the grindstone all year so that he can save up enough money for a new car.


kick/cool one's heels
空等；久等。
I had to kick my heels for nearly two hours before I could see the boss. (我空等了将近两个小时才见到老板)
She cooled her heels for hours at the gate of the Embassy. (她在大使馆大门口苦等了好几个钟头)


kick up one's heels
尽情地玩乐。
We kicked up our heels last night and had a great time at the party.


knock off one's feet
使人吓了一大跳；使人惊讶万分。
The singer's voice was so beautiful that I was nearly knocked off my feet.



land/fall on one's feet
幸免于难；逢凶化吉；摆脱困苦。
I was able to land on my feet even though our company had recently gone bankrupt.


lay a finger on
动手打或开口骂；触犯；(比喻性说法) 动 (某人) 一根汗毛或一根指头 。
I was told not to lay a finger on the son of the boss when he comes to work for us.


lay one's hands on
对 (某人) 动手，伤害。
If you lay your hands on me like that again, I'll kill you.


leave a bad/bitter/nasty taste in the/one's mouth
给人留下坏印象；使人觉得厌恶、怨恨。
The way that the company treated the workers left a bad taste in our mouth.


let one's hair down
轻松一下；放松一下。
It's wonderful to let your hair down at the weekend after you've been working hard all week.


let the grass grow under one's feet
怠惰懒散；浪费时间；拖拖拉拉。
That man is never content to let the grass grow under his feet. He is always busy.


lick one's wounds
(在遭遇挫败、受到处罚或批评等之后) 自我慰藉；恢复元气。
After the terrible meeting and all the criticism, Tony went back to his office to lick his wounds. (在这一可怕的会议及众人的批评之后，东尼回到自己的办公室恢复情绪)
The baseball team was still licking its wounds after its unexpected defeat. (这支棒球队在意外遭到挫败之后，还未完全恢复元气)


lie through one's teeth
撒弥天大谎。
Kevin wasn't a doctor, he had never been to medical school; he just lied through his teeth and we believed him. (凯文不是医生，他从未念过医学院；他撒了个弥天大谎，而我们竟然相信他)
I knew she was lying through her teeth, but I didn't want to say so just then. (我知道她在撒大谎，但当时我不想这么说)


lift/raise a finger/hand
举手之劳；出一点力；帮一点忙。
Her daughter will never lift a finger to help anyone.


look down one's nose at
瞧不起：讨厌。
She looks down her nose at people who she thinks are not as smart as she is.


lose heart
感到沮丧；灰心。
I tried not to lose heart even though I had failed my driver's exam for the second time.


lose one's heart (to)
爱上 (某人)；极其喜欢 (某人或某物)。
He wanted to buy a house before they got married, but while she was waiting she lost her heart to another man.



make eyes at
向 (异性) 抛媚眼；向 (异性) 送秋波。
The woman in the restaurant is always making eyes at the customers who she likes.


make head or tail of someone/something
理解 (人或事)；弄懂 (某事)。(通常用于否定句)
I was unable to make head or tail of our company's plans to restructure our department.


make one's hair stand on end/one's hair stands on end
使某人毛骨悚然。
 My hair stood on end when I saw the large dog run out and begin to bark at me.


make one's mouth water
使人垂涎欲滴；使人垂涎三尺。
The smell of the fish cooking in the restaurant made my mouth water.


melt in one's mouth
入口即化；非常美味可口。
These chocolates somewhat melt in your mouth. (这些巧克力有点入口即化)
These quality ice creams really melt in your mouth. (这些高级冰淇淋真的入口即化)


millstone around one's neck
沉重的负担；沉重的包袱；极大的累赘。
Taking care of three children has been a millstone around her neck. (照顾三个小孩一直是她沉重的负担)
Gary is so lazy and selfish that if you let him work with us he'll become a millstone around our neck. (盖瑞既怠惰又自私，如果你让他跟我们一起工作，他将成为我们沉重的包袱)



neck and neck
势均力敌；平分秋色；不分上下。
The two horses were running neck and neck until the end of the race.


not bat an eyelash/eye
连眼睛也不眨一下；脸上未露出任何表情。
Our boss didn't bat an eyelash when we told him that we were going to go home early today.


not turn a hair (or without turning a hair)
神色自若；毫无惧色；不失常态。
When John saw the large dog running straight towards him and Susan, he ran away quickly. But Susan just stood and didn't turn a hair.



off the top of one's head
未经仔细思考地；没有好好准备地。
I was unable to remember the name of the restaurant off the top of my head.


one's blood runs cold
毛骨悚然；背脊发麻；极度害怕、恐惧。
My blood ran cold when I saw the man fall off the ladder.


one's eyes are bigger than one's stomach/belly
眼大肚子小；所拿或所点的食物比能吃完的量还要来得多。
His eyes were bigger than his stomach when he went to the restaurant and ordered too much food.


one's eyes pop out; one's eyes nearly/almost/practically popped out of one's head
(因非常惊讶、恐惧等而) 瞠目结舌。
My eyes popped out when I saw the new computer that I had gotten for my birthday.
When he told me how much money he was earning, my eyes almost popped out of my head.


one's heart goes out to
某人同情或怜悯 (他人)。
My heart goes out to the victims of the hurricane that recently struck.


one's heart is in the right place; have/with one's heart in the right place
心地善良；宅心仁厚；心眼儿好。
Although she makes a lot of mistakes her heart is in the right place.
My aunt appears to treat people severely, but she has her heart in the right place and will help anyone in trouble.


one's knees knock (together)
(紧张或害怕得) 两腿发抖，双腿发软。
I saw the teacher walking towards me and my knees were knocking together as I quickly stopped cheating in the exam. (我看见老师朝我这里走来，我紧张得两腿发抖，赶紧停止作弊)


one's own flesh and blood
亲骨肉；亲属；近亲。
It was his own flesh and blood who he refused to help when they needed money.


(back) on one's feet
(人或公司受挫后) 重新站起来；重新自立自强。
Our teacher was back on her feet shortly after she had her accident.


on/upon one's (own) head
(错误的行为或决定等) 由某人负责。
Nobody is ordering you to come to work, but it will be on your head if the job is not finished on time.


on one's/its last legs
(指人) 奄奄一息；临近死亡。(指公司或物品) 濒临破产，瓦解或报废。
My car is on its last legs and I will soon have to buy a new one.


on one's toes
警觉的；准备行动的。
The speaker kept the audience on their toes by asking many interesting questions.



pay through the nose (for)
花很多钱 (买...)；(为...) 付出高昂的代价。
My mother paid through the nose for her new dress but she is very happy with it.


pick the brains of (or pick one's brains)
吸取某人的智慧；吸收某人的信息。
We picked the brains of the official who was sent to talk about the pollution problem.


play into one's hands
干对对手有利的事；使对手占了便宜；给对手可乘之机。
If you become angry at his extreme actions it will only play into his hands.


pull one's leg
戏弄某人；哄骗某人；开某人的玩笑。
The man was pulling my leg when he told me that I would not be able to enter the movie theater after the movie started.


pull the wool over one's eyes
欺骗 (某人)；使 (某人) 上当。
The girl tried to pull the wool over her mother's eyes when she said that she had been studying all weekend.


put one's feet up
躺下来休息；将双腿平放着休息。
It's nice to put your feet up after a long day's work.


put/lay one's fingers on something
准确地指出 (位置、问题、症结、病症等)。
I was finally able to put my fingers on the problem and find someone to help me fix it.


put one's foot down
坚决反对；表现坚定。
My sister finally put her foot down and stopped paying for the gas for her daughter's car.


put one's foot in one's mouth
说错了话；说了不该说的话。
I put my foot in my mouth when I said that I didn't like fish just before my friends served fish at their dinner party.


put our/your/their heads together
一起讨论 (尤指为了解决问题)。
We put our heads together with the other members of the department to try and find a solution to the problem.


put (someone or something) out of one's head/mind
试着忘掉某人或某事。
I was forced to put my holidays out of my head when we had the emergency problems at our company.


put words into one's mouth
声称某人说过某些话 (而实际上未说过)；暗示某人想说某些话 (而实际上未想过)。
My boss was putting words into my mouth when he told me what he thought that I wanted to do. 



rack one's brain(s)
绞尽脑汁。
I racked my brain for over an hour to try and figure out what to do about the problem with the new computer.


rub elbows or shoulders with someone
与 (某人) 交往；与 (某人) 过从甚密。
We went to the party in order to rub shoulders with some interesting artists.



save one's breath
不再作声；不白费口舌。注意：若 save 改为 waste，即 "waste  one's breath"，则为「白费口舌」(见下面的例句)。
You can save your breath and not bother talking to him. He never listens to anyone.
You're wasting your breath if you think I'm going to agree to go with you.


save one's neck/skin
保全生命；使自己或别人免遭杀害、免受危险或损伤等。
The worker tried to save his own neck without thinking of any of the other people.


say a mouthful
说了很重要的事。
The little boy said a mouthful when he began to talk about the complicated history material.


scratch one's back
助人者人恒助之。
You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. (投桃报李；你帮我，我也帮你。)


see eye to eye
意见一致；完全同意。
I never see eye to eye with my wife about what television program to watch.


set one's heart/mind on or have one's heart/mind set on
非常想要 (得到) 某物；渴望做某事。
I had my heart set on getting a dog for my birthday when I was a child but I never got one.


shoe is on the other foot
风水轮流转；十年河东，十年河西。
He always criticized me for being late for meetings but now the shoe is on the other foot and he is the one who is late and is being criticized.


shove (or force, push, ram etc) something down one's throat
强迫某人做某事或接受观点、意见等。
The workers were angry because the boss tried to shove the new regulations about uniforms down their throats.


sink/get one's teeth into something
(开始) 专注于某事或做某事。
I was finally able to sink my teeth into the problem and began to find a solution.


skin and bone(s)
瘦得皮包骨；骨瘦如柴。
The dog became skin and bones after his owner stopped giving him food.


slap in the face
一记耳光；打击；挫折。
The fact that an extreme candidate won the election was a slap in the face to the moderate voters.


split hairs
钻牛角尖；为琐事争辩。
My boss is always splitting hairs when I try and talk to him about something important.


stab someone in the back
背后插刀；暗地中伤。
My friend stabbed me in the back even after I made an effort to help him get a job.


stand on one's own (two) feet/legs
自立；独立自主。
My sister needs to do something to make her daughter stand on her own two feet.


stars in one's eyes
欣喜若狂，非常高兴。
She had stars in her eyes when she won first prize in the speech contest.


step/tread on one's toes
冒犯某人；伤害某人的感情。
I don't want to tread on my supervisor's toes as he has not been in a good mood lately.


stick one's neck out
冒险；惹祸；惹麻烦。
His friend will never stick his neck out to try and help other people.


straight from the shoulder
直截了当地；开诚布公地。
He was speaking straight from the shoulder when he told the workers about the possible factory closing.


sweep off one's feet
把某人迷住；使 (女子) 对某人倾心不已 -- 女的被男的迷住了。
The woman was swept off her feet when she met the young man at the party.



take heart
鼓起勇气；感到鼓舞。
He took heart in the fact that his son was still going to school even though he was failing most of his courses.


take something to heart
把某事 (如别人的话、忠告、批评等) 放在心上。
Don't take her cruel remarks to heart. / If you take this advice to heart, you will improve your singing a lot.


take the words out of one's mouth
说出某人想说或正要说的话。
He took the words right out of my mouth when he said that he wanted to go and get something to eat.


the boot/shoe is on the other foot
情况完全不同了；不可同日而语了。
In the past, we had great influence over their economy, but the boot is on the other foot now. (过去我们对他们的经济有重大的影响力，但现在不可同日而语了)


throw up one's hands/arms (in despair, frustration, etc.)
举起双手 (用来表示放弃尝试、承认失败或不能成功、绝望)。
I threw up my hands in frustration when I was unable to complete the telephone call.


thumb one's nose at
对 (某人或某事) 表示轻蔑、不屑。附注：英文中还有一个成语与这个成语的意思完全相同："to cock a snook at"。(参见下面的例句)
My friend thumbed his nose at me when I asked him to stop talking so loud.
Now that he has left school he thinks he can cock a snook at all the teachers.


to the bone
完全地；全身地。
He was wet to the bone after staying out in the rain for two hours.


try one's hand
试试身手；尝试一下。
I tried my hand at golf last summer but I didn't really like it.


turn a deaf ear to
(对某事) 充耳不闻。
I turned a deaf ear to the complaints of my friend about the heat.


turn one's back on
拒绝帮助、支持；不理睬。
The woman turned her back on her friend when she was asked for some money to borrow.


turn one's frown upside down
不要哭丧着脸；不要眉头深锁。
Turn your frown upside down! Everything will be OK. (别哭丧着脸！一切都不会有问题的)
What can turn your frown upside down? (什么事才能让你不再眉头深锁呢？)


turn one's stomach
使人恶心；使人反感；使人厌恶。
The sight of the dead dog on the road turned the stomachs of the children at the school.


turn on/upon one's heel(s)
(因被冒犯或心中不快)掉头就走；转身离去。
That lady suddenly turned on her heel.


turn the other cheek
受了伤害不还手；甘受侮辱；(挨揍后) 转过另一边脸来让人打。
We were told in school that we should always turn the other cheek when we were attacked by someone.


turn up one's nose at
嗤之以鼻；对....不屑一顾；瞧不起.....。
My sister turned up her nose at the chance to go to nursing school.


turn up one's toes
死亡；过世；一命呜呼；呜呼哀哉；撒手人寰；撒手西归 (字面意思就是「两脚一蹬」)。
When I turn up my toes, I want a big funeral with lots of flowers. (我两脚一蹬之后希望有一场布满鲜花的盛大丧礼)
Our pet dog turned up his toes during the night. He was nearly ten years old. (我们家的宠物狗昨晚撒手西归了。牠将近十岁)


twiddle one's thumbs
闲得无聊；无所事事。
She has been twiddling her thumbs all year and is now unable to pass her courses at school.


twist/wrap/wind someone around one's little finger
有能力任意摆布某人；能随心所欲地左右某人。
My sister has her boss wrapped around her little finger and she is able to do anything that she wants.


twist someone's arm
强迫或威胁某人做某事。
I had to twist my friend's arm to get him to let me borrow his car.



under one's thumb
在某人的控制下；在某人的势力下。
She has her husband under her thumb and never gives him any freedom at all.


up to the/one's ears/eyes/neck/eyeballs
忙于 (工作等)；深陷 (债务、麻烦事等)。
Half the people in my office called in sick, so I was up to my ears! (我办公室里有一半的人请病假，所以我忙死了!)
Sam's up to his eyes in debt. (山姆债台高筑)
The mayor's up to his eyeballs in trouble. (市长身处困境中)


use one's head (or use one's loaf)
动动脑筋；好好想想；明智一点； (放) 聪明一些。
Sometimes I think that the manager of the video store never uses her head at all when you ask her a question.



wait on (someone) hand and foot /wait hand and foot on (someone)
悉心伺候 (某人)；无微不至地伺候 (某人)。
I don't mind bringing you your coffee, but I don't intend to wait on you hand and foot. (我不介意把你的咖啡拿给你，但我不想悉心地伺候你)
I don't want anyone to wait on me hand and foot. I can take care of myself. (我不要任何人无微不至地伺候我。我可以照顾我自己)
I always wait hand and foot on my sister when she comes to visit me. (当我姊姊来探望我时，我总是悉心地伺候她)


wash one's hands of
洗手不干；不再对 (某人或某事) 承担责任。
I decided to wash my hands of the problem with the new secretary and let someone else deal with it.


(still) wet behind the ears
乳臭未干；没有经验；缺乏训练。
He is still wet behind the ears and doesn't know very much at all about this company.


whom God will destroy he first makes mad
上帝要毁灭一个人，必先使其疯狂。
A: He is cruel to animals. (他对动物很残忍)
B: He's crazy. Whom God will destroy he first makes mad. (他疯了。上帝要毁灭一个人，必先使其疯狂)


with a heavy/light heart
带着或怀着沉重的/轻快的心情。
We left the meeting with a heavy heart when we heard that our boss would soon have to leave the company because of illness.


with all one's heart (and soul)
真心诚意地；真切地。
I tried with all my heart to get my friend to go with me for a holiday but he wouldn't come.


with one's tail between one's legs
夹着尾巴；垂头丧气。
The salesman was forced to leave the office with his tail between his legs after he admitted telling a lie about his sales figures.


with open arms
乐意；热情地。
The author was welcomed with open arms when he came to visit the city.


work one's fingers to the bone
拚命地工作、干活。
The woman who lives next door worked her fingers to the bone in order to make enough money to feed her children.