at a loose end 无所事事,无所适从

此语可以追溯到19世纪中期。一说此语源自航海，原表示“（绳索的）一端末系住”。一说原指“（衣带）垂下”。该语常有“因没有事做而感到不满”的含义。此语亦可作at loose ends。

A: It seems that he is unhappy. 看起来他不很高兴。
B: You’re right. He has been out of work for a long time. 就是。他已有些日子没工作了。
A: Have no any chance to try again? 没有什么机会再来一次吗？
B: No. So he is in low spirits. Don’t talk about the matter of work with him. OK? 没有。所以他情绪低落。别和他谈论工作的事，好吗？
A: Yeah. I got it. 我明白。
B: Thank you for caring about him and coming to see him. 谢谢你关心他，还来看他。
A: You’re welcome. I know everyone of us will feel discomfortable when we’re at a loose end. 别客气，我知道一个人无事可干的时候很不舒服。




ask for it 自找麻烦自找苦吃

该习语是ask for trouble的非正规的口语表达方式。如：Don’t be late again, or you’ll ask for it.（别再迟到了，要不然你会自找苦吃的。）

A: Do you know what happened? 你猜怎么着？
B: Not an inkling. What’s happened? 猜不着，怎么了？
A: My girlfriend gave her boss a good piece of her mind. 我女朋友狠狠教训了她老板一顿。
B: He asked for it, I suppose. 我猜他是自找的。
A: Yeah. She is really something. 可不是么，她真了不起。




as sure as eggs is eggs 毫无疑问,千真万确

此语与“蛋”可说没什么直接联系，其中eggs很可能系数学公式中x的讹误。它原作as sure as x is x，17世纪后始作（as）sure as eggs is eggs。有时亦作（as）sure as eggs are eggs。这条成语1699年在英国北部地区首先使用。

A: Do you think Peter will win this time? 你认为彼得这次会赢吗？
B: It’s impossible. 不大可能。
A: Why? 为什么？
B” He’s no match in force and skill. 体力和技巧上，他都不是对手。
A: You mean he’ll lose, as sure as eggs is eggs? 你是说他必定会输，确信无疑了？
B: Yeah, unless there is a miracle. 是这样，除非有奇迹发生。




as easy as one's eye 很容易

该习语是一种非正规的口语表达方式，类似的表达方式还有：as easy as anything/as ABC/as falling off a log/as winkling。这些短语指的是“很容易”。

A: Money is hard to earn these days. 这年头挣钱不容易。
B: To me, it’s as easy as my eye. 对我来说很容易。
A: You steal? Or rob? 去偷还是去抢？
B: Of course not. 当然不是。




an easy digging 轻而易举的事

dig做动词时有“集中精力于… 的意思”，往往用来指工作、学习。An easy digging指“学习轻松”，引申为“事情轻而易举”。

A: Do you think we can nurse our business back to life? 你说我们能让生意起死回生吗？
B: It’s not an easy digging. We’ll have to rack our brain and think of some effective measures. 这可不是件容易事。我们得绞尽脑汁想出一些行之有效的办法。
A: I seem to be at the end of my wits. I have got lost and don’t know where I’m going. 我可是黔驴技穷了。我有点茫然，不知道该干什么才好。
B: Never say die. The darkest hour is the nearest dawn. 别这么说，现在只是黎明前的黑暗。




at one's wits end 智穷计尽
wit的意思是“颖悟力，智力，理解力”。该习语的意思是“处在智力的末端”，意即“智穷计尽”了。例如：I’m at my wit’s end with this problem. 我对这个问题真是束手无策。

A: I am at my wits’ end. 我已经智穷计尽了
B: What’s the matter? 怎么啦？
A: If the bank won’t lend us the money, we’ll be stuck. 如果银行不肯给我们贷款，我们就寸步难行了。
B: Don’t worry. You can ask Mary for help. 别着急。你可以请玛丽帮帮忙。




at sixes and sevens 乱七八糟;意见不一

该习语一般认为源于掷色子，原为赌博行话。据说在中世纪时，色子面上的最高点数是7，如想求得13点，即一个色子6点，一个色子7点，这谈何容易，只有那些心烦意乱或处于思想混乱状态下的人才会下此赌注，一试赌赢。该习语最初表示“漫不经心地下赌注”，后来转而表示“心烦意乱”，最后又引申出“乱七八糟”、“意见不一”等意思。乔叟在爱情长诗《特罗勒斯和克丽西德》中使用过该习语。

A: You have loused up the whole business; it’s at sixes and sevens. 整个买卖让你弄得乱七八糟。
B: The dice is cast. It’s incurable. 一切都成了定局，没救了。
A: I feel so terrible. 糟透了。
B: Me too. We just went to a lot of trouble for nothing. 我也这么想，一切都白忙了。




back to square one 退回起点;从头再来

该习语源自掷色子游戏。当掷出某个特定的号码时要受罚，于是还要重新再掷。该习语即指“无所进展，退回起点”，进而“从头再来”。例如：I’m back to square one with the work.（我的工作又得从头做起。）

A: Have you finished designing that office building? 那座办公楼设计好了吗？
B: We are back to square one now. 我们正在重新设计。
A: Back to square one? What’s the matter? 重新设计？ 怎么回事？
B: We’ve worked out the plan, but it’s been decided that we must use cheaper material. So we have to redesign it. 本来我们都已经设计好了，但现在决定使用便宜点的材料，所以只得从头再来。




back to the drawing board 从头开始,失败后另起炉灶

drawing board指“画板”。该习语直议为“（退）回到画板前”，引申为“从头开始。失败后另起炉灶”。

A: How is Jim recently? 吉姆近况如何？
B: Very well. Since he was back to the drawing board, he’s been very successful. 非常好。自从他失败以后另起炉灶，就一直很成功。
A: I know he will get back on his feet sooner or later. 我知道他迟早会东山再起的。




ballpark figure 近似数,大致正确的估计

ballpark一词本指“棒球场”，引申为“活动领域”，在此为形容词，表示“大致正确的，八九不离十的”。此类常用短语还有in the right ballpark“大致正确，差不多”。 Ballpark figure 指大致不错的近似数。

A: What price is this building? 这栋楼的成本是多少？
B: It’s $1,00,000, just a ballpark figure. 一百万美元，这只是个大概数。
A: So much? It must have been in excess of our budget. 这么多！肯定超出了预算了。
B: So. We go on or stop it now? 那现在是干下去还是停下来？
A: Of course build it. Let’s think of some ways to raise money. 当然要干下去，我们想法去筹些钱。




bang for the buck 货真价实

buck在美国俚语中是“美元”的意思。有这样一个短语，bigger bang for a buck，它的意思是“花钱取得更大效果”。Bang原是表示巨大声响的拟声词，这里引申为“效果”。

A: Listen! It’s mid-summer now. What do we need them for? 嘿，现在已经是仲夏了，我们要这些东西干什么？
B: They may come in handy. Besides, these items can be true bang for the buck. 会有用得着它们的时候，再说这些东西是货真价实的呀。
A: True bang for the buck? They’re enough for ten years’ use. 货真价实？都够用10年的了。
B: Stop getting on my nerves! I’m not doing something for nothing! 别烦我了，我可不是没事找事。




be brassed off doing 厌烦干… ,对 … 满腹牢骚

brass作名词指“黄铜”，作动词指“镀黄铜于 … ”，而brassed off是俚语，意思是“厌烦，不满，牢骚满腹”。

A: I am awfully sorry that I have kept you waiting. 真是很抱歉让您久等了。
B: To tell you the truth, I am really brassed off waiting. 说实话，我最讨厌等人。
A: Sorry. I had something urgent to deal with just when I was to leave. 对不起，我正要来的时候又有急事要处理。
B: You should have told me earlier. 你应该早点告诉我。
A: It was too late to inform you. 通知你已经来不及了。




be catty 爱搬弄是非的;爱诽谤人的

英语中，cat给人的联想总是不太愉快，如cattish的意思是“狡猾的、恶意的、偷偷摸摸的”。cat在英语中可用来指“恶意伤人的女人，包藏祸心的女人”，因此catty就有了诽谤的含义。

A: I thought you would cooperate. 我原以为你会跟我合作呢。
B: Well, I’m too busy to be catty and poke my nose into things that do not matter much to me. 我可不愿意搬弄是非去管那些跟我没关系的闲事。
A: How do you know that he won’t do something against yourself? 你怎么知道他不会做出什么对你不利的事呢？
B: You do seem to have a glib tongue. 你真能胡搅蛮缠。



be down in the dumps 垂头丧气,神情沮丧

the dumps在非正规的口语表达方式中的意思是“忧郁”或“沮丧”。be down in the dumps常指“闷闷不乐”或“打不起精神”，也可引申为“垂头丧气，精神沮丧”。

A: You’re down in the dumps. What’s happened? 你看上去沮丧不堪。出什么事了？
B: I had a quarrel with our boss’s secretary. She’s been on her high horse these days. 我和老板的秘书吵了一架。这几天她总是盛气凌人。
A: Maybe she was only taking it out on you. Secretaries have a lot of pressure, too. 也许她仅仅是向你发泄。秘书的压力也很大。
B: But she jumped down my throat for no reason at all. I could not put up with her. 但她无理由地斥责我，我无法容忍。




be in a jam 陷入困境

jam指“拥挤，阻塞”。该习语的字母意思为“在拥挤之中”，引申为“陷入困难的处境”。例如：She is in a bit of jam about money. （她的手头有点拮据。）

A: Mike told me that his business was in a jam and he was in urgent need of money. He wanted to borrow some money from me. 迈克告诉我他的生意陷入困境，急需用钱。他想向我借钱。
B: Don’t lend money to him. He’s always lying. 别借钱给他。他总是说慌。
A: But I think he is really in difficulty this time. 但这一次我看他是真的遇上困难了。