在国外小学学到的英语俚语+其背后的小故事（6月12日更新 楼层168-173）

zoe8877

17. Backseat Driver
英文解释：a bossy person who tells another person what to do; a person who gives unwanted advice and directions. (指手画脚的；口头将军)
来源： when automobiles became popular in the United States in the 1920s, many rich people rode around in the backseats of chauffeur-driven cars. The backseat passenger gave orders to the front-seat driver: where to go, what road to take, how fast to drive, and so on. Today "backseat driver" refers to any aggressive person, in or out of a car, who tries to tell others what to do.
造句： I can fix this computer myself, but she always tries to be a backseat driver.

melcarlton

好贴，楼主真有心！学习了

bigcrow

生活中太多这样的实例，照单全收，当是旁观者清。

bigcrow

Air Your Dirty Laundry in Public 似乎解作自揭其短，自曝其丑好点，不要把家带进去

zoe8877

bigcrow 发表于 2016-5-4 12:47
Air Your Dirty Laundry in Public 似乎解作自揭其短，自曝其丑好点，不要把家带进去 ...

感谢，已收入囊中

mikelee19

I'm back to square one

action

感谢分享

zoe8877

melcarlton 发表于 2016-5-4 09:46
好贴，楼主真有心！学习了

Hope this help

zoe8877

mikelee19 发表于 2016-5-4 22:56
I'm back to square one

live to learn, live to use.

zoe8877

action 发表于 2016-5-4 22:57
感谢分享

Hope this can help you

zoe8877

18. Baker's Dozen
英文解释： thirteen of anything for the price of twelve （十三；买一打多给一个）
来源： a dozen of anything is twelve. Then why is a "baker's dozen" thirteen? Hundreds of years ago some English bakers cheated their customers by baking air pockets into loaves of bread, making them light weight. In 1266 the English Parliament passed a law that said that bakers who sold underweight bread would be severely punished. To be sure they were selling enough bread to meet the new weight regulations, the bakers started giving thirteen loaves for every dozen a customer ordered.
造句： At the garage sale, we charged 75 ₵ per baseball card or $9 for a baker's dozen.

bigcrow

13，好，这数字听着也吉利
俺家楼下的菜市场习惯先多收了然后送根葱，让俺经常感觉大发了。

Linny

记不住这些怎么办

mikelee19

zoe8877 发表于 2016-5-5 09:20
live to learn, live to use.

you are right

zoe8877

Linny 发表于 2016-5-5 12:40
记不住这些怎么办

Why not try 'an idiom per day, keep teacher away'.

pwusyd

贵在坚持，我会跟帖努力学习的！

zoe8877

19. Bark is worse than your bite
英文解释：the way a person sounds is much more frightening than the way she or he acts; the threat is often worse than the action taken (刀子嘴，豆腐心；嘴恶心善).
来源：  this expression was used as far back as the mid-1600s. a dog barking ferociously sounds like he could actually bite your head off, but if the dog does not hurt you, then his "bark is worse than his bite".
造句: the new director yells a lot, but her bark is worse than her bite.
这让我想起我的manager，ie，my manger shouts a lot and gets angry at times, but in reality he is a very good manager because he gives me a bonus, he manages the team well and he let us have holidays when we apply. So really his bark is worse than his bite. He might not be pleasant to talk to but he is a good manager.

朱古丽豆D

才看见这么好的帖子~~~

分分回来后，每节课都来加上~~~

先谢

zoe8877

朱古丽豆D 发表于 2016-5-6 09:48
才看见这么好的帖子~~~

分分回来后，每节课都来加上~~~

(monkey30)

zoe8877

20. Bark up the wrong tree
英文意思： to direct your attention or efforts toward the wrong person or thing; to have the wrong idea about something (找错人；找错门儿；错怪了某人)
来源：during colonial times in America, raccoon hunting was a popular sport. Trained dogs would chase a raccoon up a tree and bark furously at the base until the hunter came. Sometimes a raccoon could escape to the branches of another tree, leaving the dog barking up the wrong tree. Today, you can "bark up the wrong" if you're on a wrong course of action, have your attention redirected from your intended object, or choose the wrong person to deal with.
造句： Zoey's uncle wanted to make her into a magician, but he was barking up the wrong tree. Her brother, Leo, was the one who loved tricks.

mikelee19

zoe8877 发表于 2016-5-6 09:33
19. Bark is worse than your bite
英文解释：the way a person sounds is much more frighten ...

想起来俄罗斯女排前教练

zoe8877

是那位老头吗？我不是什么排球迷，但我记得他那“家长式”训练方式，让我记忆犹新，后来才知道那是他最后一次出场带队员比赛，是个挺有个性的“老爷爷”。

zoe8877

21. Batten down the hatches
英文解释：to get ready for trouble; prepare for any emergency (做好迎接挑战的准备；未雨绸缪)
来源：This is a nautical term that comes from the early 1800s. On a ship, sailors prepared for stormy weather by nailing waterproofed pieces of canvas and wood (battens) over the entryways (hatches) to the cargo area below the main deck. Today you "batten down the hatches" when you prepare for any kind of trouble.
造句：We'd better batten down the hatches; The weather service says a tropical storm is headed our way.

zoe8877

Happy Mother's Day!

bigcrow

Happy Mother's Day!

zoe8877

22. Beat a dead horse
英文解释：to pursue a useless goal; to continue fighting a battle which has been lost; to keep arguing a point which has already been decided. (鞭打死马，无济于事、白费口舌、白费力气、不买账，不领情、徒劳无功、旧事重提、翻旧账，多此一举)
来源：This saying goes back to the ancient Roman playwright Plautus who used it in 195 B.C. in one of his plays. The dramatic performance was of trying to whip a dead horse to get up and carry the load it was supposed to be moving. This action was shown to accomplish nothing. Today we say that anyone pursuing an issue that is already settled is "beating a dead horse".
造句：He tried to convince his sister, but he was beating a dead horse.

kitten2000

mark

pwusyd

保持高度关注！

106zj

zoe8877

23. Beat around the bush
英文解释：to avoid answering a question; to approach something carefully or in a roundabout way. (避重就轻、绕来绕去、闪烁其词、拐弯抹角，说话兜圈子)
来源：This expression goes all the way back to the 1500s when hunters hired people called beaters to drive small animals out of the bushes so the hunters could get a better shot at them. The problem for the beaters was that they might drive the birds or rabbits or foxes out too soon. They had to be careful not to drive the animals into the open before the hunters arrived. So the beaters might use their long sticks "around the bush" rather than directly on it. Today, the expression "to beat around the bush" means talking about things in a roundabout way without giving clear answers or coming to the point.
造句：Let's not beating around the bush. (我们还是把话说开了吧)