英语习惯用语100句
英语日常口语习惯用语100句101. I have a fire in my belly to do something for this village. 我有一股强烈的愿望，能为这个村庄做点什么。特别注意，这个成语与“一肚子火”没有关系，是表示有一种正
面的强烈愿望。
I love this desire which comes from a fire in my belly.
一首歌的歌词：Fire in my heart, fire in my belly too Got a heart and a mind and a fire inside And I’m crazy about you You, you on your high flying cloud You, you
when you’re laughing out loud.
Have a yen for也是口语，同样表示“I have a desire for”：I have a yen for a thick juicy steak. He has a yen for this girl.
102．Digital cameras are cheap now, you can get one for peanuts. 最便宜的东西莫过于花生，用买花生的钱就能买的东西，那当然是很便宜了。以前美国南部产棉花，但棉花对土地有结板块的作用。后来农民发现棉花收割后种花生对土地有帮助，于是开始种花生。那时花生不过像杂草一样，农民任其烂在田里。直到发明了花生酱后，花生才渐渐地成为人们喜欢的食
物。
103．Blow out 与blow away
With this dress, you are going to blow away everybody at your party.
I am blown out to find out that she would not come.
104．You are so jumpy. 你真是有点神经质。一个人兴奋得乱蹦乱跳,所以显得有点神经质.
105．Are you getting the picture You are going to get the whole picture.
106．Tough, 这个词是口语中使用频率比较高的，a tough guy,
It is pretty tough to get a reservation. 这里的tough就是difficult得意思。You just have to tough it out.
107．Rough, 注意，rough与touch意思不同，容易混淆。
I have some rough patches with my wife. 我有好些地方得与老婆去磨合磨合了。
108．I am here now, I need to get in a swing of it. 我已经到了，该投入行动了。
109．More brawn than brain 四肢发达，头脑简单Nowadays, pop-culture icons are more brawn than brain. 现在流行文化中的偶像都是些四肢发达，头脑简单的家伙。
110．Once you get to the meat of the subject, you will start to enjoy it. Meat肉，这里做“精髓”解。Nub也有这个意思：the nub of the story
111．Watch out for bait-and-switch tactics. 街头骗子常用的手法就是快速地掉包，先用一个诱饵，乘你不注意掉包。
112．Ball这个词人人都识，就是球的意思。但在口语里，还有三个其他的含义。The little girl had a ball at school today. 这个小女孩今天在学校参加了一个舞会。
另外on the ball 的含义是，有知识，有才华，懂行，办事利索。
He is a teacher who is really on the ball. 他是个了不起的老师。a manager who has a lot on the ball很懂行的经理; a student who has nothing on the ball 学得一塌糊涂
的学生
另一个说法表示一个人“能干”，可以说hot-shot：The boss would like to hire a hot-shot employee 能干的职员a hot-shot teacher, 能干的老师，
Ball的第三个用法是having sex：They met, they clicked, they are having a ball.
I am glad you have started the ball rolling. 很高兴你把这事推动起来了。
113．Blur 模糊，Taiwan talk is just a blur. 台湾问题的讨论不过是在搅混水。The next hour is a blur to me.接下来的一个小时我就稀里糊涂了。
114．I have worked my butt out.我干活干得筋疲力尽了。中国人“我干这活都掉了两斤肉。”英语里是累得屁股都掉了。
115．Snake oil 江湖郎中开的药a snake oil salesman, 一个骗子推销商，传销卖的东西基本上都是snake oil。中国的保健品基本上也都是snake oil，中国最有名的snake oil恐怕是脑白金了。
116．I saw several old geezers walking in the street. old geezer 老人，老头子（有幽默味道，并不含贬义），表示老头子还有另两种说法：old chap, old stick，这只能熟人
之间用，
117．She is angry with me, but I stick to my guns.她对我很愤怒，但我决不让步。stick to one’s guns 表示坚持原则。坚守原则的另一说法是：You need to hold your
ground even if some people oppose you. 就算有人攻击你，你也一定要坚守立场。
118．A night owl 熬夜的人He is a night owl. 相当于He likes to burn night oil.
119．Mr. Li never throws anything away, he is a pack rat. 李先生从不扔掉任何东西,他简直是垃圾收藏家。
120．He has been my sidekick for several years.他是我多年的好友。Sidekick 可以是老朋友，也指在关系中处于小弟的位置：I have been his sidekick for many years, now
it is time that I break into my own business. 我作他的跟班已经好些年了，现在我该自己创业了。
121. Close but no cigar. 差不多就答对了，但尚不能获奖。（大概是答对了就会奖励一支雪茄吧）同样的结构有Thanks but no thanks.如果你谢绝别人要给你提供的帮助或东西时，你可以这么说，“谢谢，但不需要。”
122. three strikes, you are out. 这是一句棒球语，但也开始用在日常生活中，往往意思为：“如果你犯三次，就把你开除。”好些年前，美国曾讨论一个叫“three strikes law”
，又叫“habitual offender laws”，该法律主要是针对那些刑事犯罪惯犯，如果一连犯了三次重罪，刑期就得自动延长，甚至是终生监禁，有点中国“严-打”的味道，但也有人指出这法律
不合宪法，因为宪法中规定，一罪不二罚。
123. The returns are good but the stakes are high. 回报诱人，但风险极高。
124. Every year, four hundred Americans die from heat stroke. Heat stroke就是中暑，今年中暑的人特别多。
125. I need some back-up from you. 我需要你的支持。Support是书面语，backup是口语。Police: I need backup, I need backup.请求支援，请求支援。Back off, 让开.
126. get out of here. 直接的意思是，滚到一边去吧。也可以意为：得了吧。如果你不同别人的话，也可这么说。
127. I am pulling an all-nighter. 熬夜
128. Let me get my head around this. 让我把这件事想清楚
129. you need to get your head straight. 你得头脑清醒清醒
130. the sticks，这里的sticks 是“树林，深林”的意思。He is a guy in the sticks, how could you expect him to know that? 他住深山老林，他怎么可能知道这事？stick-
thin, 或者as thin as a stick 骨瘦如柴I remember her as a stick-thin teenager. 我的记忆里，她是个骨瘦如柴的青少年。比较：out of the woods脱离深林，意即“脱离危险”。
131. Streamliner 高速列车，我国最近开通的D字头车就可称为streamliner，另一个词是子弹头车bullet train，赛车也可以说是streamlined cars；
132. I try to fix Michael up with my sister’s classmate Mary. 我想要撮合Michael与我妹妹的同学Mary成一对。
133. One for the books 值得记一笔的事件，难以置信的事件。
134. You should bypass the mind and go straight to the bloodstream of your listeners. 你不要跟听众讲大道理，而应该直接去打动他们的心。Or say: go straight to their
gut feeling
135. Many Chinese people like to play devil’s advocate in politics. 许多中国人最喜欢在讨论政治时唱反调。play devil’s advocate就是“抬杠”的意思。
136. I don’t like his devil-may-care attitude. 我不喜欢他那毫不在乎的态度
137. “恶搞”如何说？spoof, spoofing attack, “When a good product gets spoofed, that is too bad.”
138. "I wouldn’t vote for him for dogcatcher" or "He couldn’t run for dogcatcher in this country". Dogcatcher 捕狗员，如有流浪狗在街上，捕狗员的工作就是抓这些狗
，这是最低贱的活了。“连捕狗员我都不会选他去当。”（实际意思是：他又如何可以竞选当县长？）
139. 出血大甩卖deep discount, blowout sale, 清仓大甩卖closing sale, clearance sale, 减价on sale, slashed by half,
140. Turnoff, 本意是“关灯”，如果一个人一来就关灯，这个人就是“turnoff”（扫兴）: One of the girls’biggest turn-offs is guys who are indecisive. 女孩最不喜欢的
人就是那些老犹豫不决的男子。A woman who is aggressive is a turnoff to men. 什么事都抢先争赢的女人不受男人的欢迎。Zhang Yimou’s movies are always turnoffs. 张艺谋的电
影都叫人看不下去。
141. Gotcha. 是got you的口语形式，意思就是“明白”。
142. She can really turn a phrase. 她的语言文字能力极强。又可以说：a turn of phrase, She has a nice turn of phrase which should serve her well in journalism. 她善
于文字表达，因此适合从事新闻业。又作“表达法”解释：Significant other’, meaning ’partner’, now that’s an interesting turn of phrase.
143. there is a lot of ground work to do. 还有好多预备工作要做。这大概是源于航空业，在飞机起飞前，要做很多的地面工作。
144. That is the real deal. 这才是真正的目的，真正的实惠所在。
145. I don’t mean to cry over your shoulder, but here is my reality, I have lots of bills to pay. 我并不是想赚取你的同情，但我的实际情况是，我真的有好多账单还没有
付。
146. Net Gestapos track down and punish offenders for even some minor perceived rule-breaking offense. Track down 追踪，哪怕是那些微不足道的犯规，网盖都会要穷追不舍把犯规者法办。
147. 他是代课老师。可以说a temporary teacher, 不过口语的说法是He is a fill-in teacher. Fill-in 临时替代。
148. He is quite spunky today. Spunky, 兴高采烈，情绪好。From the spunky look on his face you could tell he must have done well in the test. 从他有精神的表情上可以
得出他一定考得不错。
149. They beat us fair and square. 我们输得心服口服。Everyone wants to get rich ovenight,
they don’t care if they will earn something fair and square.
150. I want you to get your room in shipshape. 请把房间收拾好。Everything is shipshape.一切都好，一切准备就绪。Shipshape指的是军舰上一切都是有条不紊。
151. that really gets under one’s skin 意思是It really upsets me. 钻到了某个人的皮肤下，就是很令人厌烦的意思。She really gets under my skin now. 她真的有点令我生
厌了。还有一个类似的说法：To be honest it is starting to get on my nerves. 讲老实话，我对这事很不感冒了。
152. 一个人要大小便了如何说？最通常的说法是：Excuse me, I need to use bathroom. 如果一定要表明是小便还是大便，可以说I want to pee, or I want to poo. pee and poo
都是儿童用语，poo大人一般会避免不用，因为听起来太粗俗。小便大便的正式说法是：urine and bowel movements。肚子不舒服拉稀为：I have some loose stools，这是比较口语的说法
，正规说法是diarrhea. 便秘是constipation。I have urge to go to bathroom. 尿胀了。irregular bowel movements：大便不正常
153. He is a rather layback person. 他是一个平和的人。也就是不会容易激动的人，反面词是jumpy。I’m enjoying the lay back culture of Lijiang. 我很喜欢丽江的安逸的环
境。
154. He looked at his laptop and said: “I am afraid I don’t have much juice now.”这里的juice的意思是电池电量很低了。
155. She is a chatter box. 她的话匣子从来关不住。
156. She is nosy. 她喜欢多管闲事。
157. We have to start from scratch again. 我们又得从头开始了。现在流行说ground zero。例如美国世贸大厦被炸后就成了Ground Zero.
158. The doctor told me that I had to slow down- or else. “or else”表示比较严重的事会发生。医生叫我放慢节奏，否则的话……。这个结构可以比较英语口语第二题中的第
七句的结构：Thank you for .....(the tea, and so on), and everything else.
159. Study hard, pass the exams or bust. Bust是“失败，出局”的意思。“要好好学习、考试及格，要不然就玩完了。”or else, 和or bust都属于同样的结果，表示更严重的后果
。
160. 与“座位”有关的几个口语词组：I am very fortunate to get the ringside seat to the event. 靠近比赛台的座位，比喻为近距离观察。The consumer is in the driving
seat due to the huge range of goods on the market. driving seat 表示“掌控大局”，You must rent this video. It keeps you on the edge of your seat right up to the end.
你得去租这部电影看看，从头到尾都会让你聚精会神。还有一个常用的词组：back seat driver 坐在后面喜欢告诉开车的人如何开车，意思就是幕后操纵，垂帘听政。邓小平就是一个back- seat driver.
161 口语中一些描绘人物的词汇：上次提到了layback, 意为“与世无争的”，He is a rather layback person. Spunky: 很活泼、很有生气的样子，She is quite spunky。这词也有生
气的意思：Nobody knows why my father has been spunky lately. Jumpy 有神经质的样子，一惊一炸的，He is jumpy.（high-strung）。She has bubbly personality. Bubble有气泡的
，形容人热情。Sassy, 没有教养，说话粗鲁，例如小孩子顶嘴。也有活泼的含义。与sassy 有关的东西一般都是青少年类的。
162. every nook and cranny 每个角落，The story surely has reached every nook and cranny in the city. 这件事传遍的大街小巷。Every nook and cranny has brought back
memories. This house is where I grew up. I know every nook and cranny of it. Law books were
stuffed into every nook and cranny of his office.
163.tidy 很可观，巨大，She sold it for a tidy profit.说“钱多”还可以说handsome, handsome profit 也是利润可观的意思。Tidy 另一个意思是整洁：the room is clean and
tidy. 还有一个口语词表达巨大的：colossal, Tis really a colossal success. a colossal waste of time,
164.be off one’s rocker, rocker是摇椅，一个人坐在摇椅上得意忘形就摇到地上去了，意思就是crazy。Spending that much on a car! He must be off his rocker! Have you
gone totally off your rocker? Rocker 又叫lazy chair。Off the wall也是不可思议的意思。
165.台湾人说“呛阿扁”如何说？可以用hoot, They hooted at the speaker. 他们对做报告的人发出呛声。The audience hooted the actor. 观众都向这个演员喝倒采。Before too
long, they hooted the singer off the stage.很快他们就把这个歌手轰下了台。
166. 垃圾文章，trashy articles, or junk articles, 垃圾小说也可以这么说：trashy novels, junk novels,
167. It is toasty outside. 外面很热。
168. a curve ball, curve 意为“曲线”，棒球投球手（pitcher）投出难接的曲线球，意为“意外的难题”，The weather threw a curve at their outdoor picnic and they had
to eat indoors. 天气忽然变得很糟糕，他们不得不中断室外的野餐，而到室内吃。函数表格中常常出现曲线，表示两个点之间的关系，现在也喻事务中间的关系：the learning curve，progress curve, cost improvement curve，gradual learning curve（学习要循序渐进）等等，都有这个意思。
169. She got him in her back pocket. Back pocket, 裤后面的口袋，意思是“囊中物，跑不了”，这句话的意思因此是“她已经把他驯得对她死心塌地。”
170. whack 狠狠揍了。。。一顿，或干掉了谁。He got whacked.他被狠揍了一顿。但注意They have all had a whack. 这里的whack意思为cut, 一份：他们大家都得到了一份。
171. I am not a sugar daddy. 我可不是要什么给什么的人。甜爸爸，非常慷慨的意思。
172. It is obvious that he doesn’t have all of his marbles. Marble的意思是大理石，但口语中为“理智”。这句话的意思是：很显然，他头脑（或思维）有点问题。He
completely lost his marbles after the stock market crashed. 股市崩盘后，他差点跳楼。
173. huffy 形容词，生气的，骄傲的，脸皮薄的。If they get all huffy, you know they are not humble people. 如果他们老是动辄生气，你就知道他们根本没有什么涵养。She
stayed huffy a good while. 她气了好一阵。
174. Got the picture? 明白了吗？I just can’t get the picture. Picture指事物的真相。
175. It was a great venture. It was going great guns. 这是非常值得的投资，很成功。I’m not worried about our company’s future —we’re going great guns, and I
expect it to continue.我根本就不为我们公司的将来去担忧，我们发展得很好，我觉得还会一直很好地发展。
Stick to his guns 不放弃，坚持David’s family were against him becoming an actor but he stuck to his guns. 大卫的家人都反对他去当演员，但他却不放弃。Stand by
your guns and don’t let them talk you into working full time if you don’t want to. 坚持你自己的方式，如果你不想全时间工作，就不要听他们这样的建议。
Shotgun marriage奉子成亲（来源：女子未婚怀孕，女子父亲拿枪逼男子与女子成婚），胁迫婚姻（forced marriage），
Their cohabitation led to a shotgun wedding and a bitter divorce before too long.他们同居后，女方怀孕，不得不结婚，然后很快就离了婚。
A shotgun political marriage （民进党与国民党）两个政敌迫不得已的联手
176. throwback 生物学上返祖現象。这是进化论的观点。比如有人肝门部位突出了一点，进化论者就说那是返祖现象，说明人是猴子变的。当然这情况不常有，常有的倒是不少人有六个
指头，但从来没有听到进化论者说那是返祖现象。不过这个词在日常生活中的意思是“旧派、守旧”，例如我一位朋友，在大学教书，那里人人都为当教授争得头破血流，而她却厌恶为了教
授的席位去争风吃醋。这样的人在现今的年代已几乎绝迹了，可以说她是个返祖现象。
She is a throwback to an era when people would not sell out. 她还是属于不出卖灵魂时代的人。
His sentiments were a throwback to the old communist days. 他的观点属于从前过时的共产党时代。
Being a sort of throwback to the Victorian age, she won’t go against her old dad’s wishes. 她具有维多利亚时代的气质，不会跟老爸的意愿过不去。
177. put on the back burner, 意为“将一项事延后”（可能是不重视）I don’t think we will have time to complete it this year. Let’s put it on the back burner. 我觉
得今年是没有时间完成这项工作了，我们就把它延后一点吧。
Plans for a new sports complex have been put on the back burner. 修建一座体育馆的计划不得不延后。
178. lay a finger at 碰…..一下，但这个词组一般只用在否定句中。Don’t lay a finger at him. 不要打他。Dare you lay a finger at him, I will kill him. 只要你敢碰他，
我就宰了你。You’d better not lay a finger on those documents! 这些文件你最好碰都不要碰。If you lay a finger on me, I’ll sue. 如果你敢碰我，我就把你告上法庭。
179. 如果一个人收到一份请帖，如婚礼请帖，后面会有几个字母：R.S.V.P. 这几个字母是法文“répondez, s’il vous plaît,”的缩写，意为“请回答”。按照礼节
（Etiquette rules），收信人应该在当天就回信。有时有人会把缩写转为动词用：Have you R.S.V.P.ed to that invitation？
180. They are fighting for crumbs. Crumb是面包渣。他们在为生存苦苦挣扎。
181. It is a family business. 这是家传生意。Family business 就是爷爷干了，传给爸爸，爸爸再传给下一代，因此又可称是祖传生意。Family restaurant 家庭餐厅，这个餐厅里
干活的都是一家人，因此不大，但温馨、有特色。主要是与连锁店相比较的一个概念。
182. pep talk, 比赛前，教练给队员们的鼓舞士气的讲话。现在可以泛指了，例如老师每天给学生鼓舞斗志的讲话也是pep talk。安慰人也可以说是pep talk。pep rally，啦啦队的人带领全场的人为自己的队伍呼喊鼓气。例如：老师鼓励学生：“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”- George
Carlin
Pep 一词从pepper发展而来，人困了时，咬口辣椒可以提神。
183. tough, 坚硬的，（肉）很老的，也表示一件事不容易。That will be a tough sale.要让人接受你这个方案不会那么容易。I toughed it out 我硬挺过来了。
184. I have been totally sold out to your idea. 我100％地赞同赞同你的意见。我完全为你的主意所折服。类似的话还有If you are not careful enough, you will buy into his
bad idea. 如果你不小心的话，你就会采纳他的这馊主意。
185. killer, 杀手，a serial killer连环杀手。口语中killer有好几个意思，1.“迷人的”，a lady killer, 叫女性痴迷的人，如007类的人。2. Killer career, 成功的事业：As
women started to build killer careers of their own, males started to feel the pressure. 当女性开始建立起她们自己成功的事业时，男性也就开始感到了压力。He has really
lots of good Ideas and tactics for a killer career. 3. 不错，好看That laser light show was killer! 现在好些网虫给自己起网名为killa, killah, killor, 等。
186. Bigwig 有钱人，老板This is a retreat only for bigwig. 那是给有钱人玩的度假村。
187. edge 是个常用词，“边缘，刀刃”，口语中有另外几个意思：take the edge off, 减轻，Have an apple. Itll take the edge off your hunger for a while. 先吃个苹果，垫
垫底。His apology took the edge off her anger. 他道了欠后，她的怒气也就消了不少。This music collection will take the edge off summer heat. 这个歌集会给你的酷暑带来凉
意。
The memorial service didnt bring my husband back to life, but it took the edge off my sorrow. 追悼会没有让我丈夫死而复活，但给了我很大的安慰。
on the cutting edge：处于最前端，The young people are on the cutting edge of this tecknology.
on edge, 直译是站在悬崖处，意思是“很紧张”，The players were all a little on edge before the big game. 在大赛前，选手个个都显得很紧张。
have the edge on (over someone/something ) Democrats now have the edge in the Senate. 民主党在参议院里现在略有优势。
On a knife edge: 处境艰难，危险Shes been living on a knife-edge since her ex-husband was released from prison last month. 从他前夫上个月从监狱释放后，她的生活就一
直受到极大的威胁。The theatre is on a financial knife-edge and must sell 75% of its seats every night to survive.这个剧院处于财务危机，每晚必须卖掉75%的座位方能坚持下
去。
复习：这句话在前面一节里提到过：You must rent this video. It keeps you on the edge of your seat right up to the end.
188. ruffle someone’s feathers 引起不快，引起争论
He wasnt asked to speak at the conference, and I know that ruffled his feathers a bit.
Her book ruffled a lot of feathers and put the idea of "beauty as bondage" on the fast track of social issues.
这个成语不能直接翻译成中文里的“一地鸡毛”。
189. "a blessing in disguise" 伪装的祝福，或因祸得福，有塞翁失马之意。
My computer broke down again, but maybe it was a blessing in disguise; Ive been wasting too much time online chatting anyway. 我的电脑又坏了，不过可能会因祸得福，
因为我太沉溺于网上聊天，虚度光阴。
Persecution by the government on Christians is a blessing in disguise; it actually strengthed the body of Christ. 政府给基督徒的逼迫实际上是一种伪装的祝福，逼迫使
基督的教会更加坚强。
190. a piece of cake, 很容易就能完成的事，易如反掌。Do you think you can win the game?
A piece of cake. 你觉得能赢吗？小菜一碟。
191. cookie-cutter 同样的模式的，千篇一律的
The architects were determined that it wouldnt be just another cookie-cutter mall.
Management too often uses a cookie-cutter approach to solving problems.
192. You can be loose in our house. I am loose. 在我家你可以很随便，我是一个随便的人。还有一个成语：loose as a goose, 进而发展出loosey-goosey：“Despite the
pressure, he was loosey-goosey throughout the game.”尽管压力很大，他整个球赛打得都轻松自如。They are having a loosey-goosey time.
193. I would like to touch base with you. 我想跟你保持联络。
194. the end of one’s rope, = out of options: Having tried everything he could think of to get admitted to law school, Robert finally found himself at the end of
his rope. 也可以说：at my wits’end,
195. plug sb/sth in 把。。排进来(时间表、或其它) ；参加You tell me when you are available, I will plug you in.告诉我你什么时间有空，我就给你排上。The best way to
study English is to plug in a program. Pull plug on 对付The net police is pulling plug on those pro-democracy articles on net.
196. sure thing 可以，肯定可以。表示赞同，有人也会说：sweet.
197. “他退步了，后来有了很大的转变”英文如何说？He got backslidden,but he has had a great turn. Backslide 退步，下降，堕落。
198. suck: suck up 这个栏目里已经提到了好几个拍马屁的词汇，suck up 是另一个：Shes always sucking up to the boss, telling him how wonderful he is.
The public school sucks. 公立学校最烂。This bike sucks. 这辆自行车不好骑。I don’t want to get sucked in that scheme. 我才不想给弄到那个鬼计划里去呢。
In winter, this area will be sucked in heavy snow.
199. This costs only five bucks, you cannot beat that. 这才五块钱，你无论如何也不可能找到比这更低的价了。
200．Blip 在雷达显示屏显出的一个小点
It appears to be a one-time blip in the historic trend.