until the cows come home.
你知道这句话是什么意思吗?
可不要直译成直到牛回到家!
Aha
和汉语一样,
英语里面也有很多与动物相关的俚语,
一起来看看吧!
Till/until the cows come home
=for a very long time
为什么要等牛回家呢?牛走路给人的印象是慢吞吞的(unhurried pace)的,等待它们回家需要很长的时间,因此这个俚语的意思就是很长时间,也可引申解作永远。
例句:I could sit here and argue with you till the cows come home, but it wouldn't solve anything.
我可以坐在这里和你一直和你争论下去,但这解决不了任何问题。
monkey business
= behaviour that is not acceptable or is dishonest
monkey给人的印象就是很不受控、爱胡闹的,而business是工作的意思,两个字合在一起用时,是指不道德或者是不合法的行为,轻一点可以指胡闹、狡猾的恶作剧,重一点可以指非法的勾档。
另外和monkey 有关的俗语是:
to make a monkey out of somebody (把某人弄得好像一个傻瓜一样)
monkey on the back (戒不掉的瘾)
例句:I think there's some kind of monkey business going on in that house. People are going in and out all day long; maybe they're selling drugs or something.
那间房子总是有人在进进出出的,我猜应该有毒品贩卖之类的非法勾当。
put the cart before the horse
= to do things in the wrong order
把车摆在马的前面?有没有怀疑此句前后颠倒了?马拉车,当然是车应该在马的后面,不能把车放在马的前面了(put the cart before a horse),所以此句俚语意思就是做事情顺序错了,又引申为本末倒置。
和马相关的俚语还有:
hold one's horses (拉住马缰,让马停住不动的意思,引申用来指称别急,等一下)
someone can eat a horse (形容某人非常饿)
work like a horse. (认真工作、做牛做马)
例句:In his view, people spend far too much time putting the cart before the horse.
在他来看,人们老是本末倒置。
when pigs fly
= said when you think that there is no chance at all of something happening
当猪会飞的时候?猪怎么可能会飞!这和中国俗语里“母猪也会上树”是一个意思,就是表示绝不可能的事,带有挖苦嘲弄语气。
“when pigs fly”为美式说法,英式说法是“pigs might fly”(猪可能会飞)。
和猪相关的俚语还有:
when pigs have wings (猪长出翅膀时,一样是绝对不可能的意思)
buy a pig in a poke (购买装在袋子里的猪,意思是没验货就买下,事后才发现上当)
例句:
A: Do you think John will have the guts to go traveling alone?
A:你觉得John有勇气自己一个人去旅游吗?
B: Yeah, when pigs fly! He is a mama's boy.
B:绝对不可能,他是个妈宝男。
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