一日一美语

Hauser

come within an ace of doing something 差一点就要。。。
Although Keith was highly favored, he came within an ace of losing the match.
I came within an ace of being hit by a car.

make one's bundle 发大财
When I make my bundle, I think I'll retire to Florida.
Mr. Jones make his bundle in the foreign exchange market.

Hauser

Barking dogs seldom bite People who use a lot of angry words seldom take action.
Our neighbor's dog is very noisy, but I don't think it's dangerous.  After all, barking dogs seldom bite.
Sure they're angry, but let them yell.  After all, barking dogs seldom bite.

be no go 白费劲
If you want to buy one of the houses in that subdivision, I'm afraid it's no go.  They've all been sold.
It's no go.  No matter what I say, he refuses to lend us the money.
You can talk until you're blue in the face, but it's no go.  You're too young to have a car.

Hauser

give someone an inch and he'll take a mile 得寸进尺
You have to be careful about showing kindness to Jake.  Give him an inch and he'll take a mile.
Don't offer the other party any more concessions.  Every time you give them an inch, they take a mile.

a coffin nail 一根烟
Buy me a pack of coffin nails, will you?
Can I bum a coffin nail from you?

Hauser

no room (in someplace) to swing a cat 几乎没有容身的地方
We can't have the party in my apartment.  I don't have enough room to swing a cat.
I wish I had a bigger office.  There isn't room in here to swing a cat.

sucker 容易上当的人
I refused to work for that kind of pay.  I'm not that much of a sucker.
A: Why did you give him the money?  B: I guess I'm just a sucker for a hard-luck story.

Hauser

give someone the willies 使人不安
I hope Edith calls soon to let us know whether she succeeded or not.  All this waiting is giving me the willies.
I know there's no such thing as a haunted house, but still that old abandoned mansion in our neighborhood gives me the willies every time I pass by it.
I get the willies whenever I'm with someone who gestures with both hands while he is driving.

doctor the accounts 伪造账户
The defendant, Keith Bell, was found guilty of doctoring the accounts to cover up his brother's embezzlement.
It seems that some doctors doctor their accounts in order to avoid paying taxes.

Hauser

burn someone up 令人生气
That burns me up.  After promising he would be here for sure, Lance just called me to say he couldn't make it.
What are you so burned up about?  It was partly your fault.
That was a terrible thing for him to do.  I get burned up every time I think about it.

one's dogs are barking 脚走累了
I hiked for twenty kilometers today.  My dogs are really barking.

Hauser

a gob, tar, old salt 水兵，水手
When the war started, I joined the air force and my brother became a gob.
Being a tar in the old days was a rough life.
My uncle's an old salt.  He's teaching us how to sail.

info 情报
I'll bring you all the info tomorrow.
I can't make a decision without a little more info.

Hauser

hit the nail on the head 抓住要点
Mr. Smith is good at discussing generalities, but when it comes to specifics he never quite hits the nail on the head.
Malcolm hit the nail right on the head when he said that our biggest weakness is in product development.

rule the roost 掌权
The government in that country is so fragmented that it's difficult to know who actually rules the roost.
A clever wife rules the roost without her husband's ever being aware of it.

Hauser

suds 泡，啤酒
The maid spilled a bucket of soapy water and the kitchen floor was covered with suds.
We'll need a lot of suds for the party tonight.


get one's second wind 恢复元气
The first hour of mountain climbing is always the hardest.  But don't worry, in a little while you'll begin to get your second wind.
Just when everyone thought the speaker was about to conclude his talk, he seemed to get his second wind and continued to speak for almost another hour.

Hauser

have a nodding acquaintance 点头之交，不大熟悉
I don't know her very well.  We have only a nodding acquaintance.
I have a nodding acquaintance with him because we go to the same class, but I don't know him well enough to introduce you.
Even after ten years in America she appears to have little more than a nodding acquaintance with English.

put something on the back burner (暂时)束之高阁，继续研究
He says he has put all his other projects on the back burner for a while until he finishes writing his new novel.
Inflation has forced us to put our plans to buy a new house on the back burner for the time being.
We haven't given up the project yet.  It's still on the back burner.