安老師英文寫作教室

井井有條；井然有序

in apple-pie order

My wife likes to keep everything in apple-pie order.

少年老成；老成持重

have an old head on young shoulders

Michael has an old head on young shoulders and handles his business very well.

手足無措 (或窘得不知如何是好)

not know where to put oneself/one's face

When I told Linda almost everyone at her department had seen the photo of her hugging and kissing her boyfriend affectionately in the street, she was so embarrassed she didn't know where to put herself/her face.

日復一日 (或一連數天)

day after day; day in day out (這亦可寫成 "day in, day out")

It went on raining day after day.

If we do the same things day in day out, it isn't surprising we get bored.

日初日落 (一天又一天)

Sun rise, sun set.

Sun rise, sun set, we still can’t get together live a normal lover. 

日以繼夜；夜以繼日

day and night; night and day

He thought of her wife day and night when she went on business trip abroad last year.

日薄西山 (或好景不長)

someone's days are numbered

Now he knows his days are numbered.

五十步笑百步

the pot calling the kettle black

She was criticizing me for not looking for a new job but that is like the pot calling the kettle black. She isn't looking for a new job either.

太歲頭上動土

beard the lion in his den (這裡 "beard" 為動詞)

My boss's in his office, so let's beard the lion in his den and ask for a pay raise.

中飽私囊

line one's (own) pocket/purse (with + money/profits)

The president's lack of oversight has allowed some of the Cabinet members to line their pockets with hundreds of millions of dollars.

心不在焉

here/there in body, but not in spirit; someone's heart is not in

I didn't understand very clearly what you said, because I was here in body, but not in spirit at the time.

John should try to find another job because his heart is always not in his work at all.

心滿意足；痛痛快快

to one's heart's content (這個字的重音在第二音節)

It's weekend, so you can sleep to your heart's content.

心曠神怡

feel on top of the world

If health has been a problem, don't worry. You'll feel on top of the world from now on.

火上加油 (或煽動情緒)

add fuel to the flames/fire; fan the flames/fire

The workers weren't satisfied with their wages, so when they were asked to work longer hours, it added fuel to the flames.

火中取栗 (意為替別人冒險)

pull the/someone's chestnuts out of the fire

I had pulled the chestnuts out of the fire for him on several occasions and was unwilling to do it again.

方柄圓鑿；格格不入

a square peg in a round hole

If you go to university, you will be a square peg in a round hole there because you just have no desire to study.

互相殘殺；互相傾軋

cut each other's throats, or kill each others

For a bag of gold coins they would cut each other's throats without hesitation.

天涯海角

the ends of the earth

"Oh dear, as you know, I would take you to the ends of the earth at any time."

天壤之別；天懸地隔

be worlds apart

Our ways of life are worlds apart.

George and Mary decided to get married even though their families were worlds apart.

今日事今日畢

never put off till tomorrow what you can do today or never put off till tomorrow what may/can be done today

It should be borne in mind that never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.

不自量力 (貪多嚼不爛)

bite off more than one can chew

I told him he would be biting off more than he could chew if he tried to get 950 points in the TOEIC test.

不言而喻 (或不用說)；不辯自明

go without saying; speak for itself/themselves

It goes without saying that I will never love  her.

The company has had a very successful year; the figures speak for themselves.

不念舊惡；寬大為懷

forgive and forget

We hated each other in Taiwan; we met again in the United States last year and decided to forgive and forget. Now we have become very friendly.

不相上下；半斤八兩；銖兩悉稱

six of one and half a dozen of the other

Voting for a DPP or a KMT candidate is a case of six of one and half a dozen of the other.

不動聲色；泰然自若

keep one's countenance; play it cool

Most people could hardly keep their countenance in the face of death.

They expected us to be angry, but we had decided to play it very cool.

不知所措；暈頭轉向

at a loss; lose one's bearings; not know whether one is (standing) on one's head or one's heels

When she asked me if I had ever divorced any women, I was at a loss for words. ( at a loss for words：無言以對)

In all this mass of details I'm afraid I've rather lost my bearings.

When his shop was very busy yesterday morning, the poor shopkeeper didn't know whether he was on his head or his heels.

不屈不撓

(keep one's) chin up

He's having a pretty difficult time but he seems to be keeping his chin up.

不擇手段；千方百計

by hook or by crook; stop at nothing (to do something)

David is trying to get that promotion by hook or by crook; he even spread rumors smearing the other candidates.

The young man wanted to be rich and would stop at nothing to get more money for himself.

不入虎穴，焉得虎子

nothing venture, nothing gain/win/have (or "nothing ventured, nothing gained")

"Nothing venture, nothing gain", as the saying goes.