British Sayings.docx

1、British SayingsBritish Sayings/idiomsBobs your uncle It is added to the end of sentences to mean that something will be successful.Origin of Bobs your Uncle Bobs your Uncle is a way of saying youre all set or youve got it made. Its a catch phrase dating back to 1887, when British Prime Minister Robe

2、rt Cecil (a.k.a. Lord Salisbury) decided to appoint a certain Arthur Balfour to the prestigious and sensitive post of Chief Secretary for Ireland. Not lost on the British public was the fact that Lord Salisbury just happened to be better known to Arthur Balfour as Uncle Bob. In the resulting furor o

3、ver what was seen as an act of blatant nepotism, Bobs your uncle became a popular sarcastic comment applied to any situation where the outcome was preordained by favoritism. As the scandal faded in public memory, the phrase lost its edge and became just a synonym for no problem.By James Harris Keep

4、your pecker upRemain cheerful - keep your head held high.Big girls blouseA weakling; an ineffectual person. Burning the Candle at Both Ends Working for many hours without getting enough restEyes are bigger than your belly Think you can eat more than you can My eyes were bigger than my belly, I could

5、nt eat every thing I had put on my plateSleep TightHave a good nights sleep Gordon BennettAn exclamation of surpriseStone the crowsAn exclamation of annoyance.Tie the KnotGet Married Talk the hind legs off a donkeyA person who is excessively or extremely talkative can talk the hind legs off a donkey

6、.Ill put the Kettle onLet me make you a cup of teaDo you want a brew?Do you want some tea?Leg itRun extremely fastAs queer as a nine bob noteOdd or unusualPopped his/her cloggsHe/she has passed awat (died)British ProverbsEvery cloud has a silver liningTheres always something good in bad times.A stit

7、ch in time saves nineAct early and you can save a lot of time.Nothing ventured nothing gainedYou have to try or you wont get anything.Out of the frying pan into the fireFrom one problem to another.One mans meat is another mans poisonPeople often dont like the same things.Dont look a gift horse in th

8、e mouthDont question good luck.You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drinkYou can give a person a chance, but you cant make him or her take it.The grass is always greener on the other sideYou always think that other peoples lives are better than yours. The best things in life are fre

9、eWe dont have to pay for the things that are really valuable, like love, friendship, good health etc. Dont cross your bridges before you come to themDont worry about problems before they arrive. It was the last straw that broke the camels backThere is a limit to everything. We can load the camel wit

10、h lots of straw, but finally it will be too much and the camels back will break. And it is only a single straw that breaks its back - the last straw. This can be applied to many things in life. People often say Thats the last straw! when they will not accept any more of something.Where theres a will

11、 theres a wayIf we have the determination to do something, we can always find the path or method to do it.Marry in haste, and repent at leisureIf we get married quickly, without thinking carefully, we may be sorry later. And we will have plenty of time to be sorry.The best advice is found on the pil

12、lowIf we have a problem, we may find the answer after a good nights sleep.People also say: Ill sleep on it.You cant judge a book by its coverWe need to read a book to know if its good or bad. We cannot know what its like just by looking at the front or back cover. This proverb is applied to everythi

13、ng, not only books.Bad news travels fastBad news means news about bad things like accidents, death, illness etc. People tend to tell this type of news quickly. But good news (passing an exam, winning some money, getting a job etc) travels more slowly.Birds of a feather flock togetherBirds of a feath

14、er means birds of the same type. The whole proverb means that people of the same type or sort stay together. They dont mix with people of another typeLive and let liveThis proverb suggest that we should not interfere in other peoples business. We should live our own lives and let others live their l

15、ives.The way to a mans heart is through his stomachMany women have won a mans love by cooking delicious meals for him. They fed his stomach and found love in his heart.Better untaught than ill taught.This proverb drops the verb to be. But we understand: It is better not to be taught at all than to b

16、e taught badly. Its better not to learn something than to learn it badly.Soon learnt, soon forgottenSomething that is easy to learn is easy to forget.British Sayings/idiomsBobs your uncle It is added to the end of sentences to mean that something will be successful.Origin of Bobs your Uncle Bobs you

17、r Uncle is a way of saying youre all set or youve got it made. Its a catch phrase dating back to 1887, when British Prime Minister Robert Cecil (a.k.a. Lord Salisbury) decided to appoint a certain Arthur Balfour to the prestigious and sensitive post of Chief Secretary for Ireland. Not lost on the Br

18、itish public was the fact that Lord Salisbury just happened to be better known to Arthur Balfour as Uncle Bob. In the resulting furor over what was seen as an act of blatant nepotism, Bobs your uncle became a popular sarcastic comment applied to any situation where the outcome was preordained by fav

19、oritism. As the scandal faded in public memory, the phrase lost its edge and became just a synonym for no problem.By James Harris Keep your pecker upRemain cheerful - keep your head held high.Big girls blouseA weakling; an ineffectual person. Burning the Candle at Both Ends Working for many hours wi

20、thout getting enough restEyes are bigger than your belly Think you can eat more than you can My eyes were bigger than my belly, I couldnt eat every thing I had put on my plateSleep TightHave a good nights sleep Gordon BennettAn exclamation of surpriseStone the crowsAn exclamation of annoyance.Tie th

21、e KnotGet Married Talk the hind legs off a donkeyA person who is excessively or extremely talkative can talk the hind legs off a donkey.Ill put the Kettle onLet me make you a cup of teaDo you want a brew?Do you want some tea?Leg itRun extremely fastAs queer as a nine bob noteOdd or unusualPopped his

22、/her cloggsHe/she has passed awat (died)British ProverbsEvery cloud has a silver liningTheres always something good in bad times.A stitch in time saves nineAct early and you can save a lot of time.Nothing ventured nothing gainedYou have to try or you wont get anything.Out of the frying pan into the

23、fireFrom one problem to another.One mans meat is another mans poisonPeople often dont like the same things.Dont look a gift horse in the mouthDont question good luck.You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drinkYou can give a person a chance, but you cant make him or her take it.The gr

24、ass is always greener on the other sideYou always think that other peoples lives are better than yours. The best things in life are freeWe dont have to pay for the things that are really valuable, like love, friendship, good health etc. Dont cross your bridges before you come to themDont worry about

25、 problems before they arrive. It was the last straw that broke the camels backThere is a limit to everything. We can load the camel with lots of straw, but finally it will be too much and the camels back will break. And it is only a single straw that breaks its back - the last straw. This can be app

26、lied to many things in life. People often say Thats the last straw! when they will not accept any more of something.Where theres a will theres a wayIf we have the determination to do something, we can always find the path or method to do it.Marry in haste, and repent at leisureIf we get married quic

27、kly, without thinking carefully, we may be sorry later. And we will have plenty of time to be sorry.The best advice is found on the pillowIf we have a problem, we may find the answer after a good nights sleep.People also say: Ill sleep on it.You cant judge a book by its coverWe need to read a book t

28、o know if its good or bad. We cannot know what its like just by looking at the front or back cover. This proverb is applied to everything, not only books.Bad news travels fastBad news means news about bad things like accidents, death, illness etc. People tend to tell this type of news quickly. But g

29、ood news (passing an exam, winning some money, getting a job etc) travels more slowly.Birds of a feather flock togetherBirds of a feather means birds of the same type. The whole proverb means that people of the same type or sort stay together. They dont mix with people of another typeLive and let li

30、veThis proverb suggest that we should not interfere in other peoples business. We should live our own lives and let others live their lives.The way to a mans heart is through his stomachMany women have won a mans love by cooking delicious meals for him. They fed his stomach and found love in his heart.Better untaught than ill taught.This proverb drops the verb to be. But we understand: It is better not to be taught at all than to be taught badly. Its better not to learn something than to learn it badly.Soon learnt, soon forgottenSomething that is easy to learn is easy to forget.