英语成语俗语1.be down in the dumpsdepressed, miserable. Yvonne has been in the dumps ever since her brother went to Canada. Dump is a cognate of Dutch dompen to quench, extinguish, and English ‘damp’2.cook one’s gooseto destroy one’s opponent’s chances by some dramatic coup.That’s cooked his goose once and for all. He’ll never survive the scandal.3.drive a hard bargainto come to an agreement on one’s own terms without making any worthwhile concessions.You drive a hard bargain, but I suppose I’ll have to accept your offer.4.keep a level head/ to keep one’s headto remain calm and sensible.反：to lose one’s head – to lose one’s power of reasoning, to get into a panic.When the boat sprang a leak, Susan completely lost her head and began to scream hysterically.5.slip one’s mindto forget, usually as a result of carelessness rather than a defective memory.It quite slipped my mind that Maureen was coming to tea today.6.up the creek without a paddleIn a difficult situation with no means of rectifying it7.bark up the wrong treeto accuse or blame the wrong person.Alison couldn’t have stolen your watch. She was out all day. You are barking up the wrong tree.8.cool one’s heel/ to kick one’s heelsto be kept waiting a long time.I had to kick my heels outside his office for an hour.9.swallow one’s prideto submit humbly, to accept a humiliation.You made a mistake resigning in a temper like that. You had better swallow your pride and ask the boss to take you back.10.w ait on sb. hand and foodto serve somebody with complete dedicationI was waited on hand and foot; I only had to ring a bell and a servantcame to my room in a few seconds.11.b ite/snap someone’s head off / to snap off/ bite off someone’s headto speak sharply to someone, to snub or correct curtly.You needn’t snap my head off. How was I to know?12.g et/let sb. off the hookto release someone from an obligation, promise or admission of guilt.Now you have accepted Jackson’s apology, you have let him off the hook.13.h ave/get cold feet (about sth.)to feel afraid to commit oneself to a decision or action which may prove risky or dangerous.Simon is getting cold feet about advancing you the money, now that your firm is in difficulities.14.b eat sb. At his/ their won gameto complete successfully with someone in his own specialized field. Heinrich Schliemann, the discoverer of the ancient city of Troy, had had not training in archaeology, but he beat the experts at their own game. 15.make no bones about sth.To speak very frankly, without holding any thing back.I’ll make no bones about it: my father was from a working-class family.16.s teal one’s thunderto divert attention from the person expecting it to oneself by adopting his methods.This happens when a minor actor overshadows the leading player, and receives the applause the other was expecting.Although Philip had only a minor role, he completely over-shadowed the leading player and stole all his thunder.17.t hrow in the towel/sponge / to throw up the spongeto admit defeat, to be guilty of cowardice. The phrase is taken from boxing, when the second throws the sponge into the ring to indicate that his man is unable to go on with the fight.25. to rack/beat one’s brainto make a great intellectual effort by, for example, working for a long time on a problem, or trying to recollect some forgotten experience, name, etc.26.e at one’s wordsto suffer a humiliation by having to withdraw a statement that has been proved wrong.27.O ur critics said that we would never make a success of our magazine;now that we have proved them wrong, they will have to eat their words.28.h it the nail on the headto find exactly the right answer to a problem in one or two words.29.b e a wet blanketone who spoils other people’s fun by ill-humour or excessive seriousness, a depressing influence. The idiom has its origin in the seventeenth century when farmers used wet blankets for extinguishing fires in their cornfields. Later, by association of ideas, spoilsports and killjoys were dubbed ‘wet blankets’. 见：in the dumps/ down in the dumps30.k eep a straight faceto look as if you really believe a story or are in agreement with the speaker, when in reality you would like to laugh.When he told me he was going to photograph the Loch Ness monster, it was all could do to keep a straight face.31.p addle one’s own canoeto use one’s own ability and efforts to make one’s way without anyone’s help.In future I will paddle my own canoe without asking for my parents’support.32.l et/get sb off the hookto release someone from an obligation, promise or admission of guilt.Now you have accepted Jackson’s apology, you have let him off the hook.33.g et the sackto dismiss / to be dismissed.Harry got the sack for taking time off without permission.In earlier times, workmen brought their tools in a sack to their place of work and on dismissal they were given back their sacks, hence, to get the sack.34.o ut of thin airout of nothing at all.Where do you imagine I can find $500-out of thin air? I’m not a magician.35.g et one’s goatto annoy, exasperate.It gets my goat the way he lays down the law on every subject under the sun.36.h ave a lump in one’s throatto feel sad, to be on the verge of tears.When I waved good-bye to Angela, I had a lump in my throat. I had grown very fond of her.37.t ake the bull by the hornsto grapple fearlessly with a problem.The young man tool the bull by the horns and asked his boss for a rise.38.b reathe down one’s neckslang. To supervise someone very closely.I would like the job much better if the boss wasn’t breathing down myneck all the time.39.h ang fire(of plans, arrangements)- to be delayed, to make no progress.Our plans to emigrate are hanging fire, but we are determined to go just the same. The allusion is to a gun which is slow in detonating.40.t read/walk on airto be in a state of exaltation.Since Simon and Lilian have got engaged, they have been walking on air.41.a bolt from the bluesome unexpected bad news.We had no idea that their marriage was breaking up. The news came like a bolt from the blue. \A bolt was originally an arrow from a crow-bow, and is probablyderived form Latin ‘catapulta’. Out of the blue meant out of a blue sky;hence, a blow stuck without warning.42.s teal the showto capture all the attention.At the garden party, the innocent charm of her beautiful teenage daughter stole the show from the hostess.43.b eat around the bushto broach a subject indirectly, to delay coming to the point.Stop beating about the bush and tell me what you want.A shooting idiom: the ‘beaters’ beat about the undergrowth in order toput the birds up.44.s pill the beansto talk indiscreetly, to let information slip out.She has spilt the beans about your engagement. It will be all over the town by now,45.h ave an axe to grindto allow one’s private interest to affect the advice one gives.The principle of reducing fares to reverse the decline in the number of passengers was supported by many independent transport specialists with no political axes to grind.。