1、英語成語園地 -動物篇a big fish in a small/little pond 小池塘裡的大魚；小地方的大人物；矮子裡的高個子。 He wasnt so important in the big city but in the small town he is a big fish in a small pond. a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush 一鳥在手勝過二鳥在林；未到手的東西再好也不如已到手的東西。 You should keep the prize and not try and win another one. Rem
2、ember a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.a birds-eye view (of) 鳥瞰；概觀。 Lets go up onto the roof and get a birds-eye view of the surrounding area.a bug in ones ear 一項暗示；一項構想。 You put a bug in his ear about a holiday to France and he wont stop talking about it.(like) a bull in a china shop 笨手笨
3、腳到處闖禍者；動輒闖禍者；莽莽撞撞的人。 He is like a bull in a china shop so you should be careful if you invite him to your house for the weekend.a can of worms 複雜的問題；複雜的情況。 It opened up a large can of worms when the company decided to talk about the union contract.a dark horse 黑馬；可能爆出冷門者；知名度不高的候選人。 He was a dark hor
4、se in the race to be President until he gave some good speeches on TV.a dead duck 沒有希望的人。 He is a dead duck. When the police find him he will have to go to jail.a feather in ones cap 榮譽；成就；值得自豪的事。 Winning the speech contest was a feather in his cap and we are very proud of him.a flea in ones ear 刺耳的
5、話；不受歡迎的構想或答覆。 I think that I put a flea in his ear when I told him about the computer problems.a/the fly in the ointment 令人掃興的事或人；美中不足之處。 His complaints about the food were a fly in the ointment and gave everyone a bad feeling about the gathering. alley cat 野貓 He began to feed the alley cat and now
6、it comes to his house every day.as the crow flies 成直線地；直線距離地。 As the crow flies it is about six kilometers between here and the cinema. 或 It is about six kilometers between here and the cinema as the crow flies. a whale of a time 美好或令人愉快的時光。 It was the best holiday ever! My wife and I had a whale of
7、 a time!a wolf in sheeps clothing 披著羊皮的狼；貌善心毒的人。 Be careful of that man. He is a wolf in sheeps clothing. bark up the wrong tree 錯怪了人；找錯了目標。 He is barking up the wrong tree. He accuses me of causing the computer problem but I was away at the time.be for the birds 荒唐可笑的；無趣無聊的；愚蠢的。 This movie is for t
8、he birds. Lets leave now and go and have something to eat.be no spring chicken (特指女子) 不再年輕；不是年輕的女子。spring chicken ：年輕的女子。 I dont know how old she is but she is definitely no spring chicken.bet on the wrong horse/back the wrong horse 判斷錯誤；押錯了寶；支持了失敗的對象。 He is betting on the wrong horse if he keeps su
9、pporting the other city in their bid for the games.birds of a feather flock together ( 常略作：birds of a feather) 物以類聚；一丘之貉。 Dont complain about your friends. Remember birds of a feather flock together. They are just like you.buy a pig in a poke 未好好看一看就買下來：瞎買東西。 You can buy the used radio if you want b
10、ut it will be like buying a pig in a poke.can talk the hind legs off a donkey/mule 講個不停；講起話來就沒完沒了；講得太久。 He can talk the hind legs off a donkey, so 2 hours on the phone is easy.cash cow 搖錢樹；賺錢良方。 The new business is a great cash cow. We are making a lot of money now.cast pearls before swine 對牛彈琴；對不會心
11、存感激的人施惠。 Giving that jewellery to her will be casting pearls before swine. She will not appreciate it at all.cat gets ones tongue 害羞得說不出話來。 The cat must have got her tongue. She did not saying anything at all.change horses in midstream 中途變卦 (尤指臨時決定支持另一方)；陣前換將。 They have decided to change lawyers but
12、 I told them that they shouldnt change horses in midstream.clip ones wings 限制某人的權力或影響力；約束或抑制某人。 We had to try and clip his wings as he was becoming too aggressive in dealing with other people.(the) cock of the walk 土皇帝；在小天地作威作福或稱王稱霸的人。 Being the special assistant to the chairman, he is (the) cock of
13、 the walk in our company.cold fish 孤僻的人；不友善的人。 He is a real cold fish and has no friends at his company at all.cook ones goose 毀了. 的前程；把事情搞砸了。 They really cooked their goose when they fought against their employer and lost.(Dont) count ones chickens before theyre hatched (別) 高興得太早了。 Dont count your
14、chickens before theyre hatched - remember you havent passed your exams yet and may not get the job you expect.cry wolf 喊狼來了 ；發假警報。 He is crying wolf. There is no real danger or worry about the electrical system causing a fire.curiosity killed the cat 好奇賈禍；好管閒事往往惹來一身麻煩。 You shouldnt worry about what
15、he is doing. Remember curiosity killed the cat.dog-eat-dog 殘酷無情的競爭；你死我活的搏鬥。 It is a dog-eat-dog world outside the father said to his young son. donkeys years 很長的時間。 I talked to my friend for a long time because I hadnt seen her in donkeys years. duck soup 輕而易舉的事情。 The exam was duck soup. I am sure t
16、hat I did very well.dumb bunny 愚笨的人；容易受騙的人。 He really is a dumb bunny. I cant believe that he can do such stupid things.eager beaver 工作勤奮的人。 She is a real eager beaver and I am sure she will do very well in this company.eat crow (被迫)認錯、認輸、收回自己說過的話；忍氣吞聲。 He was forced to eat crow when he found out th
17、at what he said was totally wrong.eat like a bird 吃得很少；食量很小。 He must be sick as he has been eating like a bird during the last few weeks.eat like a horse 吃得很多；食量很大。 Her brother who is 18 years old eats like a horse.every dog has his day 人人皆有得意之日；好人終有好報，惡人終有惡報。 Dont worry about him. Every dog has his
18、 day and he will eventually suffer for all the bad things that he is doing.feather ones nest 中飽私囊；營私自肥。 He had been feathering his own nest for years so he finally was replaced in the election.flog a dead horse 徒勞無功；白費力氣。 Invest in shares and the chances are youll be flogging a dead horse.get on one
19、s high horse 盛氣凌人；怒氣沖沖。注意：若 on 改為 off，意為變得謙恭；不再動怒(見下面的例句)。 She is always getting on her high horse and telling people what to do.I wish that she would get off her high horse and begin to think about how other people feel about things.get someones goat 使人惱火。 She is always complaining about the way I
20、do things which gets my goat.go ape 怒不可遏；抓狂發飆。 He will go ape if he sees that you have not finished the work that was due today.go whole hog 全力以赴；幹到底；事情做得很徹底。 They went whole hog in their effort to make sure that the convention was a success.have a frog in ones throat (also: there is a frog in ones
21、throat, with a frog in ones throat) 因喉嚨痛而嗓音沙啞。 I have a bad cold and there is a frog in my throat.have bats in the belfry 瘋狂地；古怪地。 I think that he has bats in the belfry. His ideas are absolutely crazy.have other fish to fry 另有更重要的事要做。 They wanted me to join them on this project but I told them I ha
22、d other fish to fry.hit the bulls-eye 正中要害；直指重點。 I think that he really hit the bulls-eye when he talked about the problems with the regular staff.hold ones horses 別急，等一下。 Hold your horses for a moment while I make a phone call.in a pigs eye 不太可能；幾乎不。 In a pigs eye he will be able to save enough mon
23、ey to go to Hawaii for the winter.in the doghouse (with) 失寵於；受.冷待。 He is in the doghouse with his wife because he went out drinking three times last week.kill the goose that lays the golden eggs 殺雞取卵；斷絕財路。 They sold part of their business but it was the most profitable part. I think that they have k
24、illed the goose that lays the golden eggs.kill two birds with one stone 一石兩鳥；一箭雙雕；一舉兩得。 Lets have the meeting when we are in town so we can kill two birds with one stone.let sleeping dogs lie 睡狗勿惹；不要惹是生非；不要自找麻煩。 You should let sleeping dogs lie and not ask him any questions about the argument.let th
25、e cat out of the bag (無意中) 洩漏秘密；說溜了嘴；露出馬腳。 She let the cat out of the bag when she began talking about the plans for the new department.like a bat out of hell 飛快地。 He left here like a bat out of hell. I dont know why he was in such a hurry.(feel) like a fish out of water 像離水的魚；(因處在陌生環境而) 感到不自在或尷尬。 S
26、he felt like a fish out of water when she went to the party in her formal dress while everyone else was wearing jeans. like water off a ducks back 不起作用；毫無影響。 Criticism falls away from him like water off a ducks back and he never worries about anything.lock the barn door after the house is gone /lock
27、 the stable door after the horse has bolted 亡羊補牢。 Now he wants to try and fix his house but it is like locking the barn door after the horse is gone. There was already a flood and the damage is done.look a gift horse in the mouth 對禮物吹毛求疵。 He shouldnt look a gift horse in the mouth and should be happ
28、y that he got a present from her.look like the cat that swallowed the canary 一副非常成功的樣子；一副非常滿足的樣子。 You look like the cat that swallowed the canary. What happened?mad as a hornet 非常生氣。 He was as mad as a hornet when he came to work this morning.make a beeline for 直奔.而去。 Whenever he goes to a football
29、game he always makes a beeline for the food stand.make a mountain out of a molehill 大驚小怪；小題大作。 You are making a mountain out of a molehill with your going on and on about his mistake.monkey/funny business 搞鬼；胡鬧；惡作劇。 He should stop that monkey business and try to do the job the correct way.neither fi
30、sh nor fowl 非驢非馬；不倫不類。 I dont know what you should call it. It is neither fish nor fowl.ones bark is worse than ones bite 口惡心善；脾氣雖暴躁，內心無惡意。 You shouldnt worry about her. Her bark is worse than her bite and she is really a very nice person.ones chickens come home to roost 惡有惡報；得到了報應；自作自受。 He was very
31、 inconsiderate of other people when he was supervisor. Now his chickens have come home to roost and people are very unkind to him.play cat and mouse with someone 捉弄或矇騙某人。 He is playing a cat and mouse game with his company about his plans to quit or not.(as) proud as a peacock 自鳴得意；得意洋洋；非常高傲。 He was
32、 proud as a peacock when he passed his driving test in the first attempt.put/set the cart before the horse 本末倒置；倒果為因。 I think that buying a ticket before we make any plans is putting the cart before the horse.rain cats and dogs 傾盆大雨。 It has been raining cats and dogs all day.ride herd on 嚴密監視及控制某人。
33、He has been riding herd on his employees so that he can get the job done in time.sitting duck 亦被射中的目標；易受批評的對象。 The soldier should move from that window. He is like a sitting duck for the enemy. smell a rat 感到事情不妙；覺得可疑。 I smell a rat. There is something wrong with his relationship to the bankers. sti
34、r up a hornets nest 捅了馬蜂窩；惹了一大堆麻煩；引發眾怒。 He really stirred up a hornets nest when he went to the meeting and started talking about the garbage problem. straight/right from the horses mouth 從有關人員或源頭直接得知。 I heard straight from the horses mouth that she will be leaving the company next week. (the) straw
35、 that broke the camels back 導致失敗、毀滅等的最後一個因素；壓死駱駝的最後一根稻草。 Her accusing me of not working hard enough was the straw that broke the camels back so I finally asked for a transfer to another section of the company. take the bull by the horns 大膽而果斷地採取行動。 My aunt decided to take the bull by the horns and b
36、egin preparations for the family reunion. the birds and (the) bees 性知識。 He learned about the birds and bees in his health education class at school.the early bird catches the worm 早起的鳥而有蟲吃。 Lets leave about six oclock in the morning. Remember the early bird catches the worm.(do) the donkey work (做)
37、繁重的體力工作；單調乏味的苦差事。 If you tell him to take it easy, hell sit back and let you do all the donkey work.the pecking order 社會階級；權力階級。 I have not worked there very long so I dont really understand the pecking order yet.the/a rat race (尤指在大城市或商界) 激烈的競爭。 He is tired of living in the rat race every day and p
38、lans to quit his job soon and do something else.there are plenty more fish in the sea 天涯何處無芳草 (用來安慰失戀的人)。 Although there are plenty more fish in the sea, I havent really got over her yet. (get over 在此意為忘掉)the world is someones oyster 世界屬於某人；意氣風發；某人生活上能獲得種種機遇。 When you graduate from university the wo
39、rld will be your oyster so dont worry about the future. throw someone to the lions/wolves 把某人置於險境；嫁禍給某人。 He decided to throw his co-worker to the wolves when he asked him to go and see the other company.till/until the cows come home 沒完沒了地；無限期地。 We can talk until the cows come home this weekend at th
40、e lake.turn tail 轉身就逃 (就跑、就走以避開麻煩或危險)。 We decided to turn tail and leave the pub before there was a fight.ugly duckling 醜小鴨 (指小時並不引人注意，但長大後卻非常出色或出眾的人)。 She was really an ugly duckling when she was a child but now she is quite beautiful. wildcat strike 工人自發性地突然罷工。 There was a wildcat strike at the factory and over 100 people walked off the job.with ones tail between ones legs 夾著尾巴；垂頭喪氣。 He left the meeting with his tail between his legs after he was criticized by the president.would not hurt/harm a fly 連蒼蠅也不會傷害；性情溫和 (指外表看起來兇巴巴的人或獸)。 Dont be afraid of my dog; he wouldnt hurt a fly.
