Xiaohua: Hello, and welcome to Round Table’s Word of the Week. 这周我们来讨论一些跟动物有关的idioms。
John: That’s right. In this week, we will focus on words that have to do with horses or horse like creatures, for example as stubborn as a mule. So mule is especially very stubborn, so if you are as stubborn as a mule, you are very stubborn. Then there is beat a dead horse. It is actually my favorite, because it’s very descriptive actually. So basically it means to continue arguing or continue fighting over something when it has already been settled.
Xiaohua: 马是人类最早驯养的动物之一，所以英语里也有很多跟马相关的习语。最简单比如说as stubborn as a mule，中国人会说他像驴一样倔，而英国人就说他像骡子一样固执。Beat a dead horse就有点像是穷追不舍。
John: Champ at the bit, again one of my favorite, because it’s so descriptive. So champ means so like bite very hard on something and the bit is actually the thing that goes inside a horse’ mouth that helps to direct it for the riders to direct where he is going. So champ at the bit is what a horse does when he is excited about something that exactly what champ at the bit means. It means that you are anxious, you are excited and you cannot wait to do something you are champing at the bit.
Xiaohua: Champ是嚼，bit就是马嚼子。当马比较激动的时候，主人就会勒住马嚼子，所以champ at the bit就是非常激动不安、跃跃欲试的意思。
John: Then there is the dog and pony show, not so much about horse, but about pony, a type of horse. But dog and pony show is something you disapprove of, because you think it’s only there to impress you.
Xiaohua: Pony是小马的意思，dog and pony show一般是动物园或者马戏团用来哄小孩子的。所以dog and pony show可以指一样东西没有实际的价值，只是看上去华而不实而已。
John: And then there is the high horse. You can get off your high horse. You say, you really need to get off your high horse. It means you need to stop being so arrogant. And you can also say someone is getting on their high horse, which means they are becoming arrogant or they are behaving very arrogant or rude.
Xiaohua: 当有人骑上很高的马的时候，他们通常是高高在上，不搭理别人。Get off one’s high horse就是说不要装腔作势了。
John: Yeah, then of course there is hold one’s horses or my grandmother used to say hold your water, referring to women and there before they get birth. But hold your horses and hold your water is the same thing. Just wait or just be patient.
Xiaohua: Hold one’s horses先别着急，别忙，等等。
John: And then there is look a gift horse in the mouth. And so look a gift horse in the mouth means that someone gives you a present and you start complaining about that.
Xiaohua: 有人给了你一匹马，但是你还要仔细检查这匹马的牙口，看看它是不是一匹好马，所以look a gift horse in the mouth就是说拿到了礼物，还要抱怨礼物不够好。
John: And then you can put someone or something out to pasture, so basically it just means you retire something or someone and you don’t actually use it any longer, so for example a horse that is too old and you cannot ride it anymore, and you would put it out to pasture and it’s just like you __.
Xiaohua: So you can put a car to pasture?
John: You can put a car out to pasture, you can put a person out to pasture and you can put a hammer out to pasture.
Xiaohua: I see.让什么人或者是什么东西退休。
John: Then straight from the horse’s mouth, directly from the person who said something, so for example I heard from the horse’s mouth that Xiaohua is quitting tomorrow which means I heard Xiaohua told me that she is quitting tomorrow. But you are not, right?
Xiaohua: No, of course not. 所以当你hear something straight from the horse’s mouth的意思就是你是直接从某人处听说的这个消息。
John: And there is the put the cart before the horse. Usually the horse is before the cart, and if you put the cart before the horse, that means you are doing things in the wrong order. And the last but not the least, it’s kind of similar lines, you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink. So sometimes people just say, oh, you know, you can lead a horse to water, but they imply but you can’t make it drink, so you can give someone the opportunity, but it’s their responsibility and it’s up to them to take advantage of it.
Xiaohua: Put the cart before the horse其实就是本末倒置的意思，那这里是车和马的方向搞反了，也就是说做事情的顺序完全不对。And lead a horse to water. You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.这有一点像是师傅领进门，修行在个人的意思，也有点像强按牛头不喝水。So that’s what it means. 如果想要知道更多关于马的英文习语，可以关注我们的官方微信账号EZFMroundtable, we’ll put more things out there. And that’s all we have for Round Table’s Word of the Week.
John: Bye bye.
Xiaohua: Bye.