西方成语典故.docx

1、西方成语典故Aabove the salt尊为上宾According to Hoyle规规矩矩，公公正正Achilles heel唯一弱点，致命弱点Add insult to injury痛上加辱The admirable Crichton博学之士，多才多艺After ones own heart正中下怀，称心如意All roads lead to Rome殊途同归The Alpha and Omega自始至终，囊括一切A number one天字第一号Apple of discord不和之源，纷争之祸根Apple of ones eye掌上明珠Apple of Sodom徒有其表，华而不实A

2、pple-pie order有条不紊，井然有序Armed to the teeth全副武装，武装到牙齿An ass in a lions skin色厉内荏，羊质虎皮As Cephalus to Procris意笃情深Ass waggeth his ears不懂装懂At the eleventh hour最后时刻，尚来得及Auld lang syne美好的往昔Aunt Sally众矢之的Axe to grind别有用心，另有所图BBabes in the woods形容初出茅庐，乳臭未干，不谙世故或容易受骗上当的人Bacchus has drowned more men than Neptune

3、美酒为害烈于海水Backstairs influence暗中势力，幕后人物，暗中施加影响或压力Bakers dozen一打零一Bark up the wrong tree白费心思A Barmecide feast虚幻的酒宴，虚情假意The beam in ones own eye眼中梁木，严重错误Beat around the bush旁敲侧击，转弯抹角Beat the air白费力气，徒劳无益Before the Flood远古时代Before you could say Jack Robinson说时迟那时快，转眼之间Be hoist with ones own petard作茧自缚Bel

4、l, book and candle驱逐出教，不可挽回Bell the cat冒险，舍己为人Benjamins mess 最大的份额Between Scylla and Charybodis进退维谷，左右为难Beyond the pale超出范围，离经叛道，难于忍受Blaze a trail做出路标，开辟道路Below hot and cold阴晴不定难以捉摸，朝三暮四A blue stocking炫学的女人，女学究Bone of the bone and flesh of the flesh骨肉相连Born in the purple生于王室，处于豪门Borrowed plumes借来的衣服

5、，摆空架子Box and Cox互相交替，轮流当值Brand from the burning劫后余生Breach of promise毁约食言，晦气婚约Bring home the bacon得胜而归Build on sand建在沙上，建在不稳的基础上Bull in a china shop鲁莽之人Buridans and ass优柔寡断之人Burke a question消灭于无形中Burn ones hatchet偃旗息鼓By and large总的来说，大体而论By hook or crook不择手段By the cut of somebodys jib外表看来By the grape

6、vine小道消息，马路新闻By the skin of ones teeth九死一生，好不容易Burn ones boat破釜沉舟，背水一战CCall a spade a spade直言不讳Cant hold a candle to 不可同日而语The cask of Danaides达那伊德斯的桶，无底洞Cast pearls before swine 对牛谈情，明珠暗投Catch a Tarter遇到强敌Caviare to the general阳春白雪，曲高和寡Chastise with scorpions严酷责罚Cheer to the echo大声喝彩Cherish a serpe

7、nt in ones bosom养虎遗患Clean hands清正廉洁Cleanliness is next to godliness清洁近乎圣洁Cleanse the Augean stable清除污垢Climb on the bandwagon随声附和，见风使舵A cock and bull story无稽之谈，荒谬不经Coigne of vantage有利地位Cold shoulder冷淡对待Come to loggerheads争吵起来Cook ones goose毁掉某人，自毁前程Cool ones heels苦苦相候Corn in Egypt格外丰饶，多极了Crocodile te

8、ars鳄鱼的眼泪，假慈悲Cross the Rubican孤注一掷，背水一战Cry wolf 发假警报，虚张声势Curious as Lots wife好奇心过重Cut a dido恶作剧，胡打乱闹Cut the Gordian knot快刀斩乱麻，排难解纷Cut to the quick伤到嫩肉，出动感情Castle in the air空中楼阁，架空的计划DDamon and Pythias生死之交，莫逆之交The daughter of the horse-leech吸血鬼，贪得无厌之徒The die is cast木已成舟，大局已定A dog in the manger损人不利己，站着

9、茅坑不拉屎A doubting Thomas多疑之人Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde两副面孔，双重性格Drunk as a lord酩酊大醉Dutch defence虚张声势EEat crow被迫认错，被迫认输Eat humble pie忍气吞声，忍辱含垢Eat somebodys salt受人款待Enter the lists提出挑战，接受挑战Every dog has his day风水轮流转，人人都有得意日Everyone for himself and the devil take the hindmost人不为己天诛地灭Eye for eye以眼还眼FFabian poli

10、cy 拖延的策略Face the music接受处罚，面对现实和麻烦Fall from grace走入歧途，重堕魔道The family skeleton家家都有难唱的曲A feather in ones cap值得骄傲的事，成绩卓越Fiddle while Rome burns不关心大事Fifth column第五纵队Fight like Kilkenny cats一拼到底，两败俱伤Fight with windmills和风车开仗，和幻影为敌filthy lucre肮脏钱，不义之财find a clue to something找出线索A flash in the pan昙花一现A fly

11、 in the ointment一条鱼弄腥一锅汤，美中不足From Dan to Beersheba遍布各处，到处From the housetops公开宣扬，到处宣扬GGall and wormwood讨厌的事物，痛心的事Get a drop on someone先发制人，占据优势Get down to brass tacks言归正传，演技要点Get somebodys goat惹恼某人Get the hook被解雇，被开除Get the sack卷铺盖，被解雇Get up on the wrong side of the bed心绪不宁，整天心烦意乱Ghost walks发放薪饷Gild

12、the lily画蛇添足Give a lick and a promise敷衍塞责Give a sop to Cerberus施以贿赂Give somebody the axe断绝关系，解雇某人Give somebody the creeps毛骨悚然Gods help those who help themselves自助者天助Go by the boards完全断送，抛到九霄云外Good wine needs no bush好酒不用幌Go on all fours匍匐前进Go the whole hog尽力而为，一不做二不休Go to Davy Joness Locker葬身鱼腹Go whe

13、re the woodbine twineth化为乌有，销声匿迹A grain of mustard seed发展迅速的事物，有极大发展前途的细小东西Grin like a Cheshire cat咧嘴傻笑A Greek gift危险的礼物，糖衣炮弹Green-eyed monster绿眼妖魔HHair stand on end毛发倒竖，毛骨悚然Handwriting on the wall不祥之兆Hang by a hair千钧一发，岌岌可危Haul over the coals责备，斥责Have kissed the Blarney stone能说会道，花言巧语Heap coals of

14、fire on ones head以德报怨Heap Ossa to Pelion难上加难Hector a person威吓某人Hide ones light under a bushel深藏不露 Hobsons choice没有选择的余地Hold out the olive branch建议讲和Hole and corner偷偷摸摸，鬼鬼祟祟Horn of plenty丰饶之角，丰盛的象征Horse of another colour截然不同，两码子的事IIf the mountain will not come to Mohammed人事两将就In the arms of Morpheus睡

15、在梦里，酣然大睡In the doldrums毫无生气，意气消沉In the minds eye在想象中In the seventh heaven在极乐世界，欢天喜地It is Greek to me一窍不通，一无所知Its an ill wind that blows nobody good此时彼得，渔翁得利JJoe Miller陈腐的笑话John Hancock亲笔签名Judas kiss犹大之吻，背叛行为KKeep ones powder dry枕戈待旦，谨防万一Keep up with the Joneses赶上富邻居，争阔绰A kettle of fish一塌糊涂，糟糕透了Kick

16、the bucket一命呜呼，死，去世Kill the fatted calf热情款待Kill the goose that lays the golden eggs竭泽而渔，杀鸡取卵因贪得无厌反绝生财之道King Stork专制君主，无道暴君Knock off work停止工作Know a hawk from a handsaw明辨是非Knowledge is power知识就是力量LA labor of love乐于做的事，不计报酬的工作Labor of Sisyphus 徒劳无功Labors of Hercules艰苦的工作A Laconic reply简短回答The law of th

17、e Medes and the Pertians既定之法Lead a charmed life吉人天相，天庇神佑Leave no stone unturned千方百计Let the cat out of the bag泄露秘密Let the dead bury their dead把往事置之脑后，既往不咎Lie in ones throat信口开河，厚颜无耻地扯谎Like a Trojan英勇顽强A lion in the way拦路虎The lions share较大的份额，最大的份额Loaves and fishes物质利益，世俗利益Look to ones laurels确保名声Love

18、 me, love my dog爱屋及乌MMake bricks without straw做无米之炊Man Friday忠实的仆从A mares nest虚幻之物，无稽之谈Meet ones Waterloo一败涂地，遭到惨败Milk and honey繁荣丰饶，安居乐业The milk of human kindness善良天性，恻隐之心以静态状态球的自保Mind your ps and qs谨言慎行，循规蹈矩Mistake the shadow for substance以假当真，捕风捉影Money makes the mare go金钱万能，有钱能使鬼推磨More sinned aga

19、inst than sinning 人负己甚于己负人，受罚过重Much ado about nothing无事生非，庸人自扰Much cry and little wool雷声大雨点小NNail to the pillory钉在耻辱柱上，受到耻辱Naked truth赤裸裸的真相Neither fish nor fowl不伦不类Neither rhyme nor reason无缘无故，毫无道理New wine in old bottles旧瓶装新酒No respecter of persons一视同仁，不偏待人，众生平等Nothing like leather自卖自夸Not to know a

20、 man from Adam素不相识Not worth a damn毫无价值Not worth a brass farthing分文不值OThe observed of all observers举世瞩目的中心，注视的中心Old as Methuselah寿同彭祖The old man of the sea无法摆脱的包袱，纠缠不休的人Ones cup of tea恰合口味，正中下怀On tenterhooks焦虑不安，如坐针毡On the Greek calends遥遥无期On the house添头捧送On the side of the angels坚持传统观念Open Sesame开门咒

21、，敲门砖Out-herod Herod有过之而不及，做得过火Out of humor闷闷不乐，情绪不高Over a barrel受制于人，任人摆布PPaddle ones own canoe各人自扫门前雪，休管他人瓦上霜。管自己的事，独立谋生Pandoras box祸患之源Pass the buck推卸责任Peeping Tom探人隐私的人A Philadelphia lawyer精明的人Play possum假装Play the sedulous ape依样画葫芦，一味模仿Poor as Job家徒四壁A pound of flesh逼还得债务，敲诈勒索The Procrustean bed

22、 死框框，逼人就范之物A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country本地姜不辣，本村无圣哲Prunes and prism矫揉造作，装腔作势Pull the chestnuts out of the fire火中取栗Pull the wool over ones eyes欺骗蒙蔽Put a spoke in the wheel阻挠计划，阻止发生Pure as Psyche纯洁无暇Pyrrhic victory得不偿失损失惨重的胜利RRain cats and dogs大雨滂沱Raise Cain大吵大闹Rank and file

23、普通百姓，普通士兵The real Simon Pure货真价实，并非假冒Return to our muttons言归正传Rich as Croesus百万富翁Rise from the ashes从灰烬中重生，从废墟中重生Rob Peter to pay Paul拆东墙补西墙A Roland for an Oliver一报还一报Run the gauntlet受到夹道鞭笞，受到严厉攻击SSail under false colours挂羊头卖狗肉，打假招牌The salt of the earth社会中坚，高尚的人Sell Robin Hoods pennyworth廉价出售，半价出售Se

24、ll ones birthright for a mess of pottage见利忘义，因小失大Send one to coventry断绝关系，受人排挤Separate the sheep from the goats分清良莠，区别善恶Shake the dust from ones feet断然离去，毫不惋惜的离开Show the cloven hoof 原形毕露，露出马脚Show the white feather显示懦弱Shuffle off this mortal coil离开尘世，斩断尘缘Simon Legree残暴之人，凶狠的工头The Slough of Despond极度沮

25、丧，绝望的深渊Socratic irony苏格拉底式的反语法A soft answer turned away wrath婉言可以息怒Something rotten in the state of Denmark乌七八糟Sour grapes酸葡萄Sow dragons teeth引起纠纷Spare the rod教子不严Sphinxs riddle斯芬克司之谜，难解之谜The spirit is wiling but the flesh is weak心有余而力不足，Still small voice良心的呼声Stones will cry out顽石长叹Strain at a gnat

26、and swallow a camel 见小不见大Strange bedfellows萍水相逢之人The strength of Antageus精神饱满Swift as Mercury妙手神偷TTake French leave不辞而别，溜之大吉Take the cake超群出众Take time by the forelock不失时机Talk Billingsgate污言秽语Talk through ones hat胡言乱语，不着边际Talk turkey谈正经事，直截了当，开门见山Tell it to the marines信口胡诌A thorn in the flesh烦恼的根源，眼中

27、钉肉中刺Through with ones star运交华盖，好运已过Throw down the gauntlet向别人挑战Throw dust in ones eyes蒙蔽被人，欺骗别人The touch of Midas点金术Touch wood 但愿交好运The tower of Babel空中楼阁，空想的计划Tower of ivory象牙之塔Trojan horse特洛伊木马The tune the old cow died of 空言乌补Tweedledum and tweedledee半斤八两，名异实同UUnder the aegis of somebody受人庇护，由某人主办

28、Under the rose私下地，秘密地VThe valley of the shadow of death死亡笼罩的幽谷，临死的痛苦时刻见风使舵之人WWalk Spanish被迫行动，被解雇The wandering Jew流浪者Wash ones hands of 洗手不干，不承担责任，金盆洗手Wear ones heart on ones sleeve十分坦率，公开表露感情Wear the willow痛失心上人，悲叹爱人之死The web of Penelope缓兵之计，永远完不成的工作The wheel of fortune人生的变迁，命运Whipping boy替罪羔羊White elephant沉重负担Whited sepulchre伪善之徒Wise as Solomon极富智慧，象所罗门一样聪明Wolf in sheeps clothing披着羊皮的狼Worship the golden calf崇拜金犊，为金钱折腰Wrangle for an ass