21、blow up
1)用炸弹炸毁
例句： The retreating German army tried to blow up all the bridges on the Rhine River to stop the the Allied troops from crossing into Germany.
2)指一个人发脾气、发火
例句：I really blow up when I learned that my girlfriend was going out with another man.
3)给气球吹气，给轮胎打气
例句：I have to stop at the gas station to blow up my front tires.
4)放大照片
例句： I’d like 8 by 10 blow ups of these negatives, please.
22、blow out
1)汽车轮胎炸了
例句： My car smashed into a tree when I had a blow-out.
2)把火扑灭
例句： You’d better blow out that candle before it sets fire to the tablecloth.
3)电灯的保险丝断了
例句： All the lights went off in the building and the elevators stopped when the master fuse blew out.
4)指那种规模很大、排场很讲究的聚会
例句： When the Lees celebrated their 25th anniversary, they invited all their friends to a big blow-out at the best hotel in town.
23、to follow one’s nose 一直走
24、to pay through the nose 付出很高的价钱
25、to be led by the nose
指一个人全部在别人的控制之下，就象一头牲口被人用绳子牵着鼻子走一样
例句1： Ed’s wife is s strong-minded woman and leads him aroun by the nose.
例句2： Remember, son, don’t let other people lesd you around by the nose. You’ll get along a lot better in life if you use your own judgement and do what you yourself think is the right thing.
26、under one’s nose 就在某人的鼻子底下，近在眼前
例句：Did you read in the paper how bold that robber was at the art musemu? He cut three painings from their frames and walled out with them right under the guards’ noses.
27、to pull one’s socks up 振作精神，振作起来
例句： I have bad news: our sales were off 18% for the last quarter. So I’m telling you guys-you have to pull your socks up and get out there and sell more stuff, or you’ll be looking for new jobs this summer.
28、knock your socks off 使人感到非常震惊
例句：Have you ever seen Jack’s sister? She’ll knock your socks off: she’s the most gorgeous-looking woman I’ve seen for a long time.
29、poker face 脸上毫无表情，不动声色
例句： I never know whether my boss likes my work or not–he is a real poker face.
30、close to the vest 指一个人非常小心不让别人知道他在干什么
例句： Two other governors have already announced that they will run for president in the next election but the governor of our state is still keep his plan close to his vest–nobody is sure what he will do.
31、the shoe is on the other foot 指形势已经完全不同了
例句： Back in school we made fun of Jones because we thought he spent too much time studying instead of having fun. Now the shoe is on the other foot: he has made lots of money and the rest of us are just barely making enough to feed our families.
32、to work hand in glove 密切合作
例句： The local police are working hard in glove with the FBI to find the bank robbers.
33、to keep an ear to the ground 指保持高度警觉，及早发现那些即将会发生的事情的征兆
例句： I try to keep an ear to the ground and what I hear these days is that most people think we spend too much money on building roads and not enough on our schools.
34、up to one’s ears
1) 指很忙，忙得不可开交
例句： Half the people in my office are home sick, so I’m up to my ears!
2) 指完全介入了某件事之中
例句： The mayor says he didn’t know people on his staff were taking bribes. But my guess is he’s up to his ears in it.
35、sweeten to pot 词组原为玩扑克牌时的用语，即把赌注的总数加得高些，这样可以对玩的人更有吸引力。现在该习语意为：为了使一个提议更有吸引力而在原有的条件上再增加一些对对方有利的条件。
例句1： Miss Smith didn’t want that job until the company sweetened the pot by offering her a higher salary and the use of a company car.
例句2： They’re built so many new office building here that they have trouble renting out all the space. So some landlords sweeten the pot : they offer a company six months free rent if it signs s three-year lease.
36、The cards are stacked against you . 这一习语亦源于玩儿扑克牌时的用语，指处于很不利的情况，成功的机会很少。
例句： I really want to try out for the basketball team when I was in college. But the cards were stacked against me : I’m only five feet six inches tall and everyone else was six-two or even taller.
37、 to fly off the handle 意为发火、发脾气；handle指斧子把
例句： My wife spent all afternoon yesterday cooking a special dinner for our wedding anniversary. So she really flew off the handle when I come home three hours late.
38、to bark up the wrong tree 原指打猎时猎物为躲避猎狗的追逐而爬上树，猎狗不知到底猎物在哪棵树上，结果对着一棵并没有藏着猎物的树叫唤。现意如下：
1） 找错门了
例句： If my brother-in-law hopes to borrow any money from me, he will be barking up the wrong tree.
2） 错怪了人
例句： Hey man, if you think I was the guy who robbed that bank today, you’re barking up the wrong tree! I was nowhere near the place.
39、right on the beam 指一个人做某件事做得很对
例句： I thought Mr. Leghorn’s speech was right on the beam! Just like he says, we need to spend more money on educating our children. He makes a lot of sense to me.
40、to fly by the seat of the pants
该习语本意是指在没有电子导航系统这样现代化的安全设施前，飞机在云层里或气候不好的情况下飞行的话，飞行员只能靠自己的猜测来决定飞行方向。 现在，该词用于形容某种局面，即你在做某件事的时候没有明确的指导，也缺乏足够的知识。
例句： Driving to a friend’s house last night I took the wrong turn off the main highway and got lost. I didn’t have a road map but I flew by the seat of my pants and after twenty minutes I found the street I was looking for.
41、To keep one’s shirt on 用中文来说，那就是：穿着你的衬衣。
1） 有的时候，这是劝告别人要有耐心，不要太紧张了
例句1 ： Keep your shirt on, Harry; we have plenty of time to catch the train.
2）在更多的场合to Keep one’s shirt on是指要保持冷静，在对情况有足够了解以前不要发火。比如说，我们曾在以前提到的那位丈夫在结婚纪念日晚了三个小时回家吃晚饭。一到家，他就看到太太火冒三丈，大发雷霆。于是，他马上就对太太说：
例句 2 ： Honey, keep your shirt on, please! I’m sorry, but the boss made me work late at the office.
42、To lose one’s shirt 实际上并不是真的指丢了衬衫。它的确切意思是某个人失去了他所有的一切
例句 1 ： “Did you hear what happened to Joe? He’s lost his shirt– the poor guy invested all his money in a fancy restaurant and it just went out of business.”
例句 2 ： “Be careful of salesmen who call on the phone and offer to sell you land on the beach down in Florida. You can lose your shirt because the chances are the land is under water at high tide.”
43、A stuffed shirt
Stuffed这个字有好几种解释，有时是指装的满满的。在某种情况下是吃得过饱的意思
a stuffed shirt 是指那些爱摆架子，表现得神气十足的人。对于这种人最好是敬而远之。这种人既傲慢,又顽固，自以为了不起，他们参加任何社交活动都不受人欢迎。
例句 1 ：”My boss is a stuffed shirt: all he talks about is how important his ancestors are, how he was number one in his class at his university, and the wonderful things he thinks he’s done for our company.”
例句 2 ：”I think I’ll vote for Jimmy Brown instead of the other guy James Leland Elegant the third. Jimmy isn’t a stuffed shirt like Elegant — he’s a friendly, informal guy like us ordinary people.”
44、To give you the shirt off his back.
从字面上来解释，to give you the shirt off his back 就是把他的衬衣从背上拿下来给你。一个人要是肯把衬衣脱下来给你的话，那就是一个在你患难的时候能拿出他所有的一切，包括他的衬衣，来帮忙的人。这种朋友是很可贵的。
例句 ： “Pete never says very much. But when he hears about somebody who’s sick in the hospital or lost his job, he’s always the first to put his hand in his pocket and bring out money to help. Yes, sir, he’s the kind of man who’d give you the shirt off his back。
45、To bail out
过去，当飞行员在空中发现汽油不足或是机器出了故障，他们就不得不用降落伞，以保生命的安全。这在英文里就叫：To bail out。To bail out 用在飞行方面就是从飞机上跳伞。可是，现在除了军用飞机外，很少飞行员还带着降落伞飞行。To bail out 现在已经成了一个日常用的词汇，它的意思就是摆脱一些麻烦或危险。
例句 1 ：Smith was lucky enough to bail out and quit the company just before it went bankrupt.
例句 2 ：After his restaurant failed, Bill couldn’t pay back the money he had borrowed from the bank. He was afraid the bank would take the house he’d put up as security. But his dad bailed him out and paid the loan off for him.
46、Nose dive
Nose就是鼻子，dive是俯冲，或者是跳水。不管是俯冲，还是跳水，他们都是指急剧地往下降。当一架飞机开始nose dive的时候，它突然尾巴向上，鼻子向下快速地往地面下降。现在，nose dive的意思是
1）（价格等）急剧下降
例句 1 ：Today the stock market took a nosedive and dropped 25 points.
2）（事业等）一落千丈
例句 2 ：Everybody thought this young actor would have a brilliant future after he starred in two pictures that made a lot of money. But then he appeared in three films that nobody want to see, and his career took a nose dive — no producer wants him any more.
47、with open arms 伸开手臂，意思是热烈欢迎某人
例句 ：My family received me with open arms when I came back from my trip to California.
48、Up in arms
这儿的arms不是指手臂，而是指武器，如枪、炮、箭等。
Up in arms的意思是起来进行武装斗争，或者非常愤怒，准备打架。
例句 1 ：All us students are up in arms at the news the school is raising our tuition ten percent.
例句 2 ：No way am I going to vote for a bill to raise income tax again. The voters back home are already up in arms about how much the government takes out of their pay already and I have to run for re-election this fall.”
我绝不会投票支持再次增加所得税的提案。我们州的选民对政府现在从他们工资里扣除的税的数量已经非常恼火了。而我今年还要竞选连任。
49、At arm’s length
Length在中文里的意思就是长短。
At arm’s length就是指和某人保持一定距离，通常用法为to keep someone at arm’s length。
例句 1 ：I keep trying to get friendly with that lovely blonde who sits next to me in biology class. But she keeps me at arm’s length.”
我一直设法和那个生物课坐在我旁边的金发姑娘接近。可是,她老是和我保持一定距离。
例句 2 ： Let me warn you about this Smith fellow. He seems like a nice, friendly guy. But it’s wise to keep him at arm’s length. You get too friendly with him, and the first thing he’ll do is ask to borrow money from you.”
我要警告你关于那个叫Smith的家伙。他看起来似乎很友好。但是，你最好还是和他保持一定距离。一旦你和他过于接近，他马上就会问你借钱。
50、To shake a leg 是赶快行动的意思
例句 1 ：Come on, shake a leg, son, or you’re going to be late for school.
例句 2 ：Let’s shake a leg there, you guys! I got to get this truck unloaded and on the way back to the warehouse before dark.
喂！你们这帮人快点儿吧！我得把这车货卸完，在天黑前赶回仓库去呢。
51、To pull one’s leg
To pull one’s leg 初看起来好像和中文里的“拉后腿”的意思差不多。但是，千万不要被表面现象所迷惑。To pull one’s leg的真正意思是逗别人，开别人玩笑的意思。
例句 1 ：My roommate said this girl had told him she wouldn’t mind going out with me. But when I invited her to a movie, I learned he was just pulling my leg.
我的同房间同学说，那个女孩愿意和我一起出去玩。可是，当我请她去看电影的时候，我才发现我那同学是逗我，开我的玩笑。
例句 2 ：Hey, stop pulling my leg, will you! I don’t believe that girl really said she likes me and would like me to take her out.
喂，你别逗我行不行！我才不信那个女孩真的说了她喜欢我，还要我邀她出去玩。
52、Break a leg 从字面上来看，break a leg难道是断了一条腿？或是倒霉？不是，break a leg的确切意思是祝愿别人成功。例如，你的朋友明天要去参加高考，你就可以对他说：Break a leg!
51、To pull one’s leg
To pull one’s leg 初看起来好像和中文里的“拉后腿”的意思差不多。但是，千万不要被表面现象所迷惑。To pull one’s leg的真正意思是逗别人，开别人玩笑的意思。
例句 1 ：My roommate said this girl had told him she wouldn’t mind going out with me. But when I invited her to a movie, I learned he was just pulling my leg.
我的同房间同学说，那个女孩愿意和我一起出去玩。可是，当我请她去看电影的时候，我才发现我那同学是逗我，开我的玩笑。
例句 2 ：Hey, stop pulling my leg, will you! I don’t believe that girl really said she likes me and would like me to take her out.
喂，你别逗我行不行！我才不信那个女孩真的说了她喜欢我，还要我邀她出去玩。
52、Break a leg 从字面上来看，break a leg难道是断了一条腿？或是倒霉？不是，break a leg的确切意思是祝愿别人成功。例如，你的朋友明天要去参加高考，你就可以对他说：Break a leg!
53、To twist someone’s arm
Twist是拧，用力扭转的意思。一个人要是给别人把手臂拧到身后去那是很难受的。To twist someone’s arm这个习惯用语的意思也正是如此，它是指给某人施加压力，迫使他做你要他做的事。
例句 1 ：I didn’t want see that movie about Mozart, but my roommate twisted my arm. I’m glad he did — it was a great show.
例句 2 ：My son has been twisting my arm to let him take my car out on a date ever since he got his driver’s license. This weekend, I finally let him take it. And now it’s in the body shop for a thousand dollars of repairs: he had an accident on the way to pick up his girlfriend.
自从我儿子拿到驾驶执照以来，他一直闹着要开我的车去赴约会。这个周末，我终于答应了。可是，他在去接女朋友的路上出了车祸，现在我的车正在车库里修，要花一千美元呢。
54、To charge someone an arm and a leg
Charge就是要多少价钱的意思。任何东西要你付出一只手臂，还加上一条腿恐怕要价也太高了一点，很不值得。很明显，to charge someone an arm and a leg的意思就是要价太高。
例句 1 ：Don’t go to that fancy new restaurant. The food isn’t very good and they charge you an arm and a leg for it!
例句 2 ：Say, if you need a dentist, you might want to try my brother. He’s fresh out of dental school and trying to set up a practice. But he does good work, and he won’t charge you an arm and a leg for it like most other dentists.
喂，要是你想找牙大夫，你可以上我弟弟那里去试一下。他刚毕业，正在设法开业。可是，他技术很好，也不会像其他许多牙大夫那样收费很高。
55、To take candy from a baby
Candy就是吃的糖，baby在中文里就是小孩。To take candy from a baby的意思就是：某件事情很容易办成，就像把孩子手里的糖拿来一样。
例句 1 ：Getting grandmother to loan me the money was as easy as taking candy from a baby.
例句 2 ：Louse told us that robbing this bank would be as easy as taking candy from a baby. But somebody told the police and they were waiting for us. We had no choice but to throw down our guns and surrender.
（一个犯人在监狱里对另一个犯人说：）洛伊对我们说，要抢那个银行简直太容易了。可是，不知谁去报告了警察。到我们去抢银行时，警察在那里等着我们。我们没办法，只好放下枪投降。
56、A piece of cake
Piece 是指一片，或一块；cake就是蛋糕。A piece of cake作为俗语的意思是：这件事太容易了。
例句 ： Honey, I finally asked Old Man Jones for my raise. And it was a piece of cake!
亲爱的，我终于对老琼斯提了要求增加工资的事。我没有费吹灰之力他一口答应了。