Idiom

语言作为人类文化的物质载体，在漫长的历史发展过程中积淀了丰富、深厚的内涵，其间由于国际交往、人员往来而形成了全人类共享的精神财产；同时又因地域环境、社会历史、人文景观、生活方式、历史进程及思维方式的不同，又带有自己独特的个性和特征。

中西方的人们都习惯于把某些品质与某些动物联系起来，看到某种动物人们很自然的就会产生某种反应或情绪，从而产生了大量的由动物名词所构成的习语（Idiom）。

动物的生存首先与自然因素息息相关，某些部类的动物只生存于特定的地域空间，同时即使同一种动物对于生存在不同环境，具有不同思维方式的人们所带来的感受和产生的情绪也未必时时相同，所以由动物名词所构成的习语所表达的含义在英、汉两种语言中便既具有共同之处，又各有千秋，呈现给我们一幅生动有趣的文化图景。

通过对英语中由动物名词所构成的习语之汉语含义的简要分析，有助于我们对两种语言中文化的异同做大体了解。

―根据习语在表现文化特征方面，可分为三种对应关系：对应关系、半对应关系、不对应关系‖（冀一志：《从跨文化角度看习语翻译》，1993，238），并参考有关翻译理论，根据动物名词习语在英、汉两种语言中表达方式的异同，大体可分为三种情况：一完全对等表达法―不同文化之间的交往是历史上早已存在的事实。

当代由于科学技术，尤其是电子通讯网络的兴起……不同文化之间的交流更是回避不了的现实。

‖（賈玉新：《美国跨文化交流研究》，1992，51）。

的确，人类生活在同一个星球，在人类历史发展的过程中，不同国度之间的各种文化相互交流、借鉴和融合，人类文化在某些方面也就难免具有一定的共性，英语中部分由动物名词的所构成的习语在汉语中可以找到完全对等的表达。

在中国人和西方讲英语的英国人、美国人和加拿大人的眼中，狐狸总是和狡猾联系在一起，驴和愚蠢相联系（stupid ass），鹦鹉是没有主见，只会人云亦云的一类人的代名词，羊羔温顺腼腆，猪肮脏贪吃，猴子身体灵活敏捷，狼凶残好杀等等，不一而足，具体表现在以下几种情况之中：1.在like…，as…as句式所构成的明喻结构中，例如：as agile as a monkey (象猴子一样敏捷)as blind as a bat （瞎地象蝙蝠似的）as busy as a bee (如蜜蜂般忙碌)as crafty as a fox （如狐狸般狡猾）as meek as a lamb （温顺地象羊羔一样）as stupid as a donkey (蠢驴)like fish out of water （像鱼离开了水一样）2．在含有动物名的动词短语中，如：to fish in troubled waters （浑水摸鱼）to pass fish eyes before pearls（鱼目混珠）3．由动物名词所构成的复合形容词：bird-brained （没有头脑的，傻的）eagle-eyed （目光敏捷的）4．在固定短语中：（1）A dark horse （黑马有本事而深藏不露的人）（2）A wolf in sheep’s clothing（披着羊皮的狼）（2）A snake in the grass (伪装成朋友但却阴险的人)（3）A dog in the manger （狗占马糟）（4）Cry wolf （喊狼来了，发假警报）（5）make a monkey out of sb. （把某人当猴耍了）5．谚语：（1）A mouse can see an inch. (鼠目寸光)（2）Barking dogs do not bite. (吠犬不咬人)（3）One swallow does not make a summer.(一燕不成夏)（4）When the cat’s away,the mice will play(猫儿不在，鼠儿成精)二不完全对等表达法如前所述，同一种动物对于生活在不同环境中的人们所引起的情感和产生的反映未必时时相同，某些习语的表达方式在两种语言中结构类似，含义基本相同，但其中所使用的动物名词却略有不同。

4.
That’s for the birds! 那毫无意义！ 5. It’s an ill bird that fouls own nest．。 「谚」家丑不可外扬 6. A little bird told me． 有人私下告诉我。 7. We’re all early birds in my family because we live on a farm. 由于我们生活在农场，所以全家人都 起得很早。

hog 猪 1．When we were young，my sister and l shared the same bed，but she usually hogged all the room． 小时候姐姐和我共睡一张床，可她总 是占很多地方。 2．When he does something，he usually goes the whole hog． 他要干什么，就真的干到底。
3. Barking dogs seldom bite. 吠犬不咬人（意指：对于高声发出恐吓，或惯 于大声吼叫的人，勿须当真）。 4. Dumb dogs are dangerous. 不叫的狗咬人 5. Dog does not eat dog. 同类不相残；同室不操戈。 6. a cat-and-dog life 争争吵吵的日子 7. Give a dog a bad name and hang him. 谗言可畏，欲加之罪，何患无辞

Bee 蜜蜂 1. She’s always as busy as a walks at a snail‘s pace． 他走路慢吞吞。



worm 虫
1. He wormed his way through the narrow passage． 他好不容易才走过那条狭窄的小路。 2．Every time l take the kids to the movies， they always worm around in their seats． 每次我带孩子们去看电影，他们好像总也坐 不住似的。 3. l am a worm today． 今天一点精神也没有。 4. A worm will turn． ［谚］如果被逼太甚，最温顺的人也会反抗。

About idiomI. IntroductionIdioms include metaphorical phrases, slang, proverbs, allusions and habitual collocations, etc. The fixed phrases and short sentences always belong to this type; they become daily expressions gradually and are used quite often. Whether in grammar structures or collocations, idioms have their own usage, the connotations and the structures cannot be changed arbitrarily by the language users. Idioms are concise in structures and deeply philosophical in meanings. As a special form of the language, idioms have close relationship with customs and geographical environments; connect with historical backgrounds, economic life, religious beliefs, and social values. Like a mirror, idioms reflect the cultural features of the language.In English-speaking countries, idioms are heard and read everywhere from debates to everyday conversations .A good mastery of idioms becomes a significant symbol of a person’s command of the language. However, because of a low level of linguistic competence in the target language, people who learn English as a second language are at a distinct disadvantage in understanding English idioms. We must know the origins of English idioms so that we can learn English well.Idioms as a special form of language carried a large amount of cultural information, such as history, geography, religion, custom, nationality, psychology, thought pattern and so on, and therefore are closely related to culture. They are the heritage of history and the product of cultural evolvement. General speaking, English idioms came from society, culture and history; they included in everything and related to our society’s life and played an important role in culture. In this paper, I’m going to show the sources of English idioms, and then make a contrast between Chinese and English idioms, finding their differences and similarities in culture. In this way, we can easily study and understand English idioms for successful communication. To sum up, it is important to study English idioms, it is also necessary.II. The sourcesA. Idioms from living circumstanceLanguage is a reflection of one country’s cultural background. The natural environment including geographical position, climate, and ecological condition is something that plays contributory role in the formation of language. Certainly, their special way of living, thinking and behaving is formed as a side-product of their relationship with the environment.Idioms are closely related to people’s labor and life, people in particular culture need words to name and explain objects in their culture. Because Britain is an island country, people who live along seacoast and whose livelihood is dependent on the sea will have idioms about water, sailing, island and fish. For example, “to take the wind out of somebody’s sail”(先发制人) ,“at sea”(茫然), “to trim one’s sail to the wind”(见风使舵),“never offer to teach fish to swim”(不要班门弄斧),“full fish”(乏味的人),“sail under false colors”(欺世盗名)(庄和诚，2002. P572),etc. What’s more, climate, agriculture are also another factor in the living condition. While Britain is located in western hemisphere, with North T emperate Zone and marine climate, so “west wind” is the symbol of spring. The west wind blows from the Atlantic Ocean is warm and gentle, so that Britain abounds in rain can be proved in some idioms concerning rain: “to make hay while the sun shines”(趁热打铁), “to rain or shine”(无论如何), “rainy day”(穷困时期), “as right as rain”(非常正确)etc.The British people are good at hunting and fishing; they often use horses working in the field, so they made their way of life and made of production. There are many idioms from agriculture. E.g ,“beat around/about the bush”(拐弯抹角)(高凌，2002.10. p43)this from hunting, “a hard row to hoe”(难办的事情), “have all one’s eggs in one basket”(孤注一投), “put out to grass”(年老退休), “ride on the high horse”(盛气凌人), “feel like a fish out of water”(感到不自在).B．Idioms from religions and beliefsAs a cultural phenomenon, religion, which is the manifestation of cultures, is the vital part of human thought .Religion is an important source for idioms. Most of westerners are Christians, who believe that the world was created by God. They think that God is omnipotent and sacred. God, Christ, devil, Adam and some educational segments of the stories in Bible are passed down, because of people’s favor or even some historical and political causes, especially religious beliefs. Many British who believe in Christianity all read the Bible; therefore, numerous idioms have come into people’s colloquial speech, and have become mottoes. For example: “Judas’s kiss”(犹大之吻) from the Matthew, Judas, one of the Twelve, agrees to betray Jesus that the chief Priests counted out for him only thirty silver coins. A kiss as the betrayer had arranged a signal with the chief Priests. Jesus had crucified, and then died. So, Judas’s kiss means “with the best of intention or forsake. “Turn the other cheek”（甘受侮辱）from the New Testament, Jesus’advice: Resist not evil, but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turns to him the other also. “Build up on the sand”（根基不牢）from the Matthew: “…and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand……”in it, “build upon the sand” metaphorical meaning is unstable foundation. There are quite a few English Idioms from religion. Such as: “Benjamin’s mess（最大的份额）, “raise Cain apple of Sodom（金玉其表，败絮其中）,“handwriting on the wall”（不祥之兆）, “God preserve us”（神明保佑）(骆世平，2005. 2.2)etc.C. Idioms from historical allusionBritain as an ancient country passes a long history, which mainly comprises allusion, myths, poem, ancient books and records etc. Among them, allusion is the most important, it reflects the national characteristic. Idioms from history culture are the gems of human cultural heritage. It is worthwhile for us to learn them well. English idioms have their legends and anecdotes about historical figures which have provided rich and variedmaterials, and consequently give a national color to the idioms. It is necessary for us to learn and use the English allusion, it can enlarge our scope of knowledge, widen our field of vision, and it is useful to learn about the idioms’ origin. Maybe we can learn it by its historical events, fables, mythologies and literary works.1. Historical events and folk storiesIn most language, people embellish their speech or writing with references to characters or event from their history, that is to say, idiomatic expressions are closely related to a country’s history. English has a history more than thousand years and has some idioms from historical. For example: “to meet one’s Waterloo”(遭遇滑铁卢)is from the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815,which means to be completely defeated. “Dunkirk evacuation”（敦刻尔克撤退）from the world War II and originally meet the retreat of the English-French troops forced by the German now, the expression means to retreat in disorder. “Columbus’s egg”（哥伦布竖鸡蛋）,in the famous story of Columbus’s egg, the explorer, irritated at being told that his exploits were easy, challenged the guests at a banquet to balance an egg on its end, when all had failed, he succeeded by flattening one end by tapping in against the table, a trick that any would than have been able to repeat, its means repetition is easier than innovation.As we all know, Rome and Denmark once occupied Britain for a long time, so the conquest influenced on the Britain to a certain extent: “Six of one and half a dozen of the other”(半斤八两)came from Denmark, whereas “return to one’s muttons”(言归正传)and “do in Rome as the Roman’s do”(入乡随俗)are from France and Rome respectively. Of course, the history of mankind is almost the history of war, which is the source of numerous idioms, as is mirrored in the following: “What millions died that Caesar might be great”(一将功成万骨枯) ,“to put up the sword”(讲和)etc.We can’t sure that if the folk story is true or not, but as a part source of English Idioms, we would rather believe it is a true story, like “eat crow”(被迫认错) “fight like silken cats”(两败俱伤).There is an interest story told that one night, a wife hears a mouse sound in their room, so she asks her husband to drive mouse away, but the man says the door is so cold, he gets cold feel, he will not get up to do anything. In fact, the husband is not because the door cold, but also is afraid the mouse.2. Fable and mythologiesIdioms are usually closely related to distinctive cultural fables and mythologies. As a part of English idioms, though ancient fable stories are short and refined, they teach people many philosophic and educational theories while being narrated. They are also parts of the kindergarden education of children. E.g: “Sour grapes”(酸葡萄)—disparage something that is beyond one’s reach. The allusion is to Aesop’s well-known fable of the fox, which tried in vain to get at some grapes, but when he found they were beyond his reach, he went away saying, “I see they are sour”. “Grin like the Cheshire cat”(咧嘴傻笑),in a children’s story, there is a Cheshire cat kept smiling innocently, so people todescribe someone’s stupid smile as grin like the Cheshire cat. “Alice in wonderland”(幻想的)came from Lewis Carroll’s work Alice’s Adventure in wonderland.As we all know, Greek and Roman civilizations have a great influence on the English language, so the Greek and th e Roman mythologies have greatly enriched the English Idioms. Most English allusion came from the Greek Rome mythology. Le t’s take a glance at following idioms. “Achilles’ heel”(致命弱点)which is from the Greek mythology has the meaning: the one weak spot in a man’s circumstances or character”. “A Pandora’s box”（潘多拉魔盒）（骆世平，2005. 2.4.1）which means the origin of all evils, is also from Greek mythology. Another example, Hercules was one of the most famous heroes in Greek mythologies. He killed two snakes when he was a baby, and was known as a man of muscle. Because of this, he “walks” into the English idioms: “Hercules choice”(永存，不朽), “the Hercules efforts”(费九牛二虎之力), “the pillars of Hercules”(天涯海角). Aesop’s Fable have a greatly influence in English idioms, e.g: “Aladdin’s lamp”(能产生神奇效果的东西)came from Aladdin and the wonderful lamp in Thousand and one Nights. In the story, Aladdin gained a magic lamp and a ring that he was able to call all deities to do anything that he wanted. Another examples, “an open sesame”(芝麻开门)from AliBaba and Forty Thieves.3. .Literary worksMany popular western literary masterpieces have the classic words, phrases and sentences that attract people greatly. They are shaped to evolve the hidden meanings; they are also one of the main sources of English idioms. In English literature, Shakespeare plays a very important role, his dramas are the major source of this kind: “Applaud one to the echo”(掌声雷动)（卢思源，2006.）,“die in harness”(因公殉职),“make assurance doubly sure”(加倍小心),“at one fell swoop”(一举,一下子),“have an old head on young shoulders”(年轻却有头脑),“to claim one’s pound of flesh”(割某人的一磅肉),“out of joint”(杂乱无章),“a horse of different color”(截然不同的事或人),etc. Besides the works of other famous writers also store a great many idioms: “a nine-day wonder”(昙花一现)appears in Troilus and Cressida written by Geoffrey Chaucer; “mind one’s eye”(当心你的眼睛)from Charles Dickens’s Barnaby Ridge; “the ugly duckling”(丑小鸭)is from Han Anderson’s tables; “Friday”(星期五)means faithful, is from Robinson Crusoe written by Daniel Defoe. Many English idioms were came from literary works with which we all familiarity.D. Idioms from traditions and customsCulture is long acquired from customs and habits. These customs and habits are representative of the way of living of a certain speech community and they are mirrored in the habitual speaking of the language. Food is one of the aspects of cultural tradition that are reflected in English idioms. In most European countries, bread, butter, jam, cheese, etc, are usual kind of food in daily meals. On the other hand, animals, sporting and daily life are also made so many idioms. So in English ,there are some idioms like: “bread and butter”(日常所需)（骆世平，2005. 2.6.3）,“hard cheese”(倒霉), “to butter both sides of one’s bread”(过舒适的生活), “clever dog” means a clever boy or guy. “To help a lame dog over a stile”(雪中送炭) ,“love me, love my dog”(爱屋及乌),“dogdays”(伏天),“as strong as an ox”(很健壮) ,“birds of a feather”(性格不同的人)，“in the money”(获奖),“off and running”(进展顺利),“chuck in one’s cards”(认输),“throw in the towel”(投降), “jump the gun”(抢先),“toe the line”(服从命令),etc. Others ,we can learn some new idioms from Walt Disney, for example, “Mickey Mouse”(米老鼠): Small, insignificant.III. ComparisonUsing language in such communication, we often come across some idioms with distinctive cultural characteristics. So it is a very importance and complicated thing for us to understand these idioms correctly. So, we should have a comparison between English and Chinese idioms through their differences and similarity.A. Differences between English and Chinese idioms1. Geographical difference.Geographical environment plays an important role in shaping one country’s culture and human beings have no choices and opacities to change the geography. As a result, idioms based on geographical features appear differences between different countries.Britain is an island country, which does not share land border with any other country except the Republic of Ireland. So, Britain people have a special passion for water. However, the most part of China belongs to inland place where people cannot live without earth. This made difference idioms in the two languages. For example, there is a Chinese idiom showing somebody being extravagant, “挥金如土”,but in English idiom is “spend money like water”；“Don’t cross the bridge till you come to it”(车到山前必有路), “between the devil and the deep sea”(进退维谷), “all is fish that comes to one’s net”(抓到篮里便是菜).2 . Conventional differencesOne nation’s custom is formed through a long history and firmly rooted in people’s mind. It is closely related to national psychology and acts as an important source of idioms. In different countries and nations customs drastically differ in various aspects. Due to that, a lot of idioms turn out with varied dress.Take food habit for example, cake has been a common food in English for a long history. On the other hand, dishes are common in China, so ,in English idiom “a piece of cake” is tell the same meaning like(小菜一碟)in Chinese. Other examples are related to the habitual way of working in the field. E.g.: Chinese say “力大如牛”while English say “as strong as a horse”.3.. Religious differencesNumerous idioms were generated from the function of religion. Religion which exists in every country and nation affects much in people’s belief and life, especially before the modern civilization. The people in different countries mostly believe in different schools of religion. Therefore some differences of idioms between Chinese and English can betraced back to the origin of religion. Religion played a key role in English society, especially before capitalization, innumerable idioms are originated from the Bible, such as “to put new wine in old bottles”(旧瓶装新酒)(庄和诚，2002，p447),“my God”(上帝), “to make one’s hair stand on end”(使人毛骨悚然), besides, the idiom “as poor as a church mouse”（一贫如洗）is also somewhat influenced by religion. Be different from Britain culture, Chinese culture evolved from Confucian School, Taoist School. There are traces of Taoist principles and Confucian principles in Buddhist doctrines. A large number of Chinese idioms can be traced back to Buddhist School. Such as “道高一尺，魔高一丈”(where God has his church, the devil will have his chapel), “临时抱佛脚”(seek help at the last moment), ”佛法无边”(the powers of Buddha are unlimited) （顾曰国，1997.9 p.285），”一尘不染”（as clean as Whistle）（徐栋良，高红，2004 p.6）.B.Similarities between English and Chinese idiomsAlthough there are many differences between English and Chinese idioms origin, they also have some similarities. Sometimes, we can borrow them each other so that our communication would be changed frequently and easily. For example, as we all know, LiangShanBo and ZhuYinTai were lovers, but as foreigners, they don’t understand its meanings, maybe they don’t know about the story. How would we explain for them? In such condition, if we have borrowed their culture to introduce it, we can tell them like this: they are Romeo and Juliet in China. I believe that they can understand the love story without any difficulty. Others, “the emperor of Qin- Dynasty” j ust like “Caesar” in westerner. “Damon of Pythias”, which some men urge to translate it directly, while other men believe that translating it into men believe friendship unto death（莫逆之交）or friends who are willing to die for one another is better（刎颈之交）. Because the majority of Chinese do not know Damon and Pythias, we can explain them into GuanZhong and BaoShuYa in Chinese may enable the Chinese easily to understand. “There are the Greek gifts for you”(希腊人的礼物) just like the similar Chinese idiom “the yellow weasel goes to his respects to the hen—with the best of intention (黄鼠狼给鸡拜年—不安好心),“Burn one’s boat” just like(破釜沉舟)in Chinese.。

idiom习语成语惯用语1.I'm a Dutchman!难以置信If he's only twenty-five, I'm a Dutchman! 要说他只有二十五岁, 我才不信呢!2.alive and kicking生气勃勃; 精神饱满You'll be glad to hear that Bill is alive and kicking. 比尔现在精神饱满, 你听了一定很高兴.3. a flash in the pan昙花一现:His first novel was a flash in the pan, and he hasn't written anything decent since.此后再没写出像样的东西.4.all sb's geese are swans喻某人夸大优点Every man thinks his own geese swans 每个人都以为自己的东西了不起5.cook sb's goose使某人彻底失败When the police found his fingerprints he knew his goose was cooked 警方发现了他的指纹, 他意识到自己已经完了6.not say boo to a goose 非常胆小温顺:He's such a nervous boy that he wouldn't/couldn't say boo to a goose. 他很怯懦, 胆小如鼠.7.the ins and outs (of sth) 细节始末, 详情know all the ins and outs of a problem 熟悉问题的来龙去脉He's been here for years; he should know the ins and outs of the job by now.他在这里已经很多年了, 现在理应熟悉工作的各种方面了.8.touch wood 迷信的或诙谐的避邪用语, 常边说此语边触木制物品:I've been driving for 20 years and never had an accident. Touch wood! 从来没出过车祸--摸摸木头避邪!‘I've been really lucky, I have to say,’ she reports, ra pping on the table beside her. Touch wood!“我承认，自己真的很幸运” 她叩击着身旁的桌子说：“避避邪”9.rubber（桥牌﹑惠斯特等牌戏的）（三局两胜的）比赛: Let's play another rubber. 咱们再赛个三局两胜吧.We can win the rubber 2 games to nil or 2-1. 我们可以以2比零或2比1赢得这三局两胜的比赛.10.ruler 统治者,主宰者; 直尺11.bookworm 书虫(比喻)极其喜欢读书的人; 书迷: She's a bit of a bookworm. 她可算是个书迷.booking-office n (esp Brit) office where tickets are sold 售票处.an open book 直爽而容易了解的人: His mind is an open book. 他胸无城府.be in sb's good/bad `books得到[得不到]某人的好感或赞许:You'll be in the boss's bad books if you don't work harder. 工作不努力, 老板对你就没有好感.bring sb to book (for sth) 要求某人（对其行为）作出解释: bring a criminal to book 盘问犯人.by the book 严格按照规章办事:He's always careful to do things by the book. 他总是小心翼翼地按规章办事.a closed book (to sb) 自己一无所知的科目:Nuclear physics is a closed book to most of us. 我们大多数人对原子核物理学一窍不通.cook the books 伪造帐目; 做假帐.read sb like a `book 清楚地了解某人的动机﹑思想等:I can read you like a book: you're not sorry at all. 我可以看透你的心思: 你根本就不感到懊悔.suit one's/sb's book对某人方便; 合某人的心意:It suits my book if I never have to go there again. 若是我再也不用去那里了, 那真是求之不得呢.take a leaf out of sb's book模仿某人; 行为或举止学某人.throw the book at sb 警告某人须按规定办事（否则可能受处分）,严惩12.greenhouse greenroom green handgreen fingers : skill in gardening 园艺技能: Mother has green fingers. 母亲有园艺技术greenback US banknote 美钞green-eyed monster envy; jealousy 嫉妒，眼红give sb/get the green light准许某人[获准]做某事; 开绿灯.greenfly n (pl unchanged 复数不变)蚜虫greens绿色蔬菜（如洋白菜﹑菠菜）；植物the Green Party（英国）绿党（以保护郊野﹑大气等免遭污染, 免受危害为宗旨的政党）.green pound绿色英镑（欧洲共同体的农产品交易币值）13.greybeard old man 老人grey-headed有白发的; 老的.grey matter (a) material of the brain （脑的）灰质.(b) (比喻) intelligence 智力; 脑筋: a boy without much grey matter 脑筋不够用的男孩.14.black and blue（把某人打得）青一块紫一块black box 黑盒（记录飞机飞行详情的自动装置）the Black Death 黑死病（14世纪广泛传染的淋巴腺鼠疫）black eye（被打得）眼圈发青: give sb a black eye 把某人打得眼圈发青black hole 黑洞（任何物质或辐射均无从逃逸的外太空区域）black mark（人品）污点The public scandal left a black mark on his career. 这一尽人皆知的丑闻给他的事业留下污点Black Power movement supporting civil rights and political power for black people 黑人民权运动black sheep 害群之马My brother is the black sheep of the family. 我弟弟是我们家的害群之马Black shirt n member of a fascist organization 黑衫党党员（法西斯组织成员）be in the black have money in one's bank account 在银行有存款in black and white白纸黑字（书写的或印刷的）I want the contract in black and white. 我要这项合同见诸文字黑白分明; 是非分明see/view the issue in black and white 是非分明地看待这一问题work like a black/Trojan work very hard 工作非常努力black out昏厥The plane dived suddenly, causing the pilot to black out. 飞机猛然俯冲致使驾驶员昏厥(as) black as ink/pitch 墨黑; 漆黑not as black as it/one is painted不像所说的那麽坏15.sb's blue-eyed boy亲信; 宠儿He's the manager's blue-eyed boy. 他是经理的亲信once in a blue moon极少; 从不: I see her once in a blue moon. 我难得看到她(do sth) till one is blue in the face（工作等）努力和持久到了极点（通常并不成功）:He can write me letters till he's blue in the face; I'm not going to reply. 任他没完没了地给我写信, 我就是不回信.blue baby（因心脏有缺陷, 出生时）皮肤发青的婴儿.blue blood aristocratic descent or birth 贵族出身; 贵族身分blue book (Brit) parliamentary or Privy Council report 蓝皮书（英国国会或枢密院的报告书）.blue-collar体力劳动者的; 蓝领阶级的: blue-`collar workers, jobs 蓝领工人﹑工作blue jacket seaman in the navy 水兵.blue-pencil v 修改或删除（书﹑影片﹑剧本等的部分内容）; 编辑; 出版审查.Blue Peter 开航旗（蓝底﹑中间有一白色正方形的信号旗）.blue ribbon 蓝绶带（授予竞赛优胜者的荣誉或奖励）.the boys in blue警方; 一群警察.out of the blue意外（的）; 未事先告知: She arrived out of the blue. 她没有事先告知就来了.blue v 乱花（钱）: He won 500 and then blued the lot in three days. 他赢了500英镑, 可是才三天就花得精光.a bolt from the blue晴天霹雳The news of his death was (like) a bolt from the blue. 他逝世的消息犹如晴天霹雳。