现代英语口语表示法500例（9）

· pull someone"s leg开某人的玩笑

Never ever pull his leg. He is a man without a sense of humor. He takes everything seriously.

· keep someone at arm"s length与某人保持距离

My boss is my uncle. In order to avoid unnecessary misunderstanding, I"d better keep him at arm"s length in company.

· let someone down使某人失望

Joe really let me down by having broken his promises for several times.

· can"t for the life of one怎么……也不行

I thought I could recite my speech backwards¹, but when I stood in front of the audience, I couldn"t for the life of me remember what to say.

· air one"s linen² in public家丑外扬

The wife was often beaten by her husband, but she never told others. She didn"t want to air her linen in public.

· keep a stiff upper lip意志坚定，坚强不屈

One failure means nothing. You"ve got to keep a stiff upper lip.
· be at loggerheads with...互不相让

The two parties were at loggerheads with each other over the new tax policy.

· a born loser一事无成者

Nobody is a born loser. All you need is perseverance³.

· louse up something把某事搞得一团糟

He let the cat out of the bag, which loused up the whole deal.

· not do...for love or money死也不会……

Stop trying. I won"t betray my friend for love or money.

· feel a lump in one"s throat心里感到很难受

I felt a lump in my throat on hearing her story of fighting with the deadly disease.

· make do with...用……凑合

We are too tired to cook. We can make do with two bags of instant noodles.

· the man in the street普通的人，老百姓

The interview with the man in the street shows that 90% of them are satisfied with the TV fro grams.

· be one"s own man不受他人支配，自己管自己

Our monitor is not easy to cope with. He is much his own man.

· steal a march on someone抢在他人前面，暗渡陈仓

We stole a march on our rivals by reducing 5% of our price and got back our market.

meat and drink精神寄托

To some old people, raising pets is their meat and drink.

· be at the mercy of受……支配

When you get this kind of disease, your life is at the mercy of God.

· blow someone"s mind把某人搞得晕晕乎乎

Readers had rather high opinion of his new book, which blew his mind.

· have a good mind to do something很想去干某事

When I see young and robust⁴ men elbow their way onto the bus, I have a good mind to smack⁵ them.

· have a one-track mind死脑筋，一根筋

Mark has a one-track mind. All he cares is earning money.

· mind one"s own affairs少管闲事

You are nothing but an old gossip! Can"t you only mind your own affair?

· weigh on someone"s mind心事重重

The failure of signing the contract has been weighing on his mind. He couldn"t sleep at night.

· be of two minds拿不定主意

Jill was of two minds as whether to spend the money on books or on clothes.

· have money to burn有花不完的钱

The new rich has money to burn.

· once in a blue moon千载难逢

Our boss is a miser⁶. He gives us a treat only once in a blue moon.