挺直腰桿;理直氣壯;昂首闊步

英譯:
walk tall

例句:
If you depend too much upon others you will never be able to walk tall. (如果你過份依賴別人,你就永遠挺不起腰桿來)

We walk tall and the voice is more powerful. (我們理直氣壯,聲音更強有力)

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盡地主之誼

英譯:
do the honors

例句:
You do the honors and pour out the tea while I bring in the cakes. (你盡一下地主之誼,給客人倒茶,我去把糕餅拿來)

He was asked to do the honors during his best friend’s wedding. (在他最要好朋友的婚禮上,他被請求招待賓客)

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蒸蒸日上;竿頭日進

英譯:
on the up and up (also, on the up-and-up)

例句:
Our business is on the up and up. (我們的生意蒸蒸日上)

From now on everything is on the up-and-up. (從現在起,一切都會越來越好)

附註:
on the up and up 這個成語在英式英語中意為「蒸蒸日上;竿頭日進」,但在美式英語 (口語) 卻意為「誠實的,正直的 (honest);可靠的,值得信賴的 (trustworthy)」,如 Mary, don’t think everyone is on the up and up with you. There are dishonest people around. (瑪麗,不要以為每個人都對你很誠實。有些人是不誠實的 )。

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惶惶不可終日;惶惶不安;忐忑不安

英譯:
have kittens

例句:
When I heard the bad news, I began to have kittens. (聽到這壞消息後,我開始惶惶不安)

His mother nearly had kittens when Alex announced that he wanted to be a trapeze artist. (在艾立克斯宣布他想成為高空鞦韆表演人之後,他的母親幾乎惶惶不可終日)

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人多勢眾;人多膽壯;人多保險

英譯:
there’s safety in numbers

例句:
We decided to go to see the boss together; there’s safety in numbers. (我們決定一起去找老板,人多膽壯。)

Working on the principle that there’s safety in numbers, we decided we should all go and complain together. (基於人多勢眾的原理,我們決定應該一起去投訴。)

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廚師多了煮壞湯;老大多了撐翻船

英譯:
too many cooks spoil the broth (有時略作:too many cooks)

例句:
If someone says, “Too many cooks spoil the broth,” he/she means that your work will be more efficient if you use fewer people. (如果有人說 “Too many cooks spoil the broth”,他或她的意思是說,你的工作若用比較少的人來做,會比較有效率)

Our director never asks more than 10 people to work with him in his projects, and he wants the best 10. He always says, “Too many cooks spoil the broth.” (我們主任從未要求 10 人以上來參與他的企畫案,他要的是最佳 10 人組。他常說「廚師多了煮壞湯」)

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Q:當有人問你 “What’s your nationality?” 時,你是回答 “I am Chinese.” 還是 “I am a Chinese.” 呢?

A:根據經驗及習慣用法,我會回答 “I am Chinese/Taiwanese.”。國內可能會有不少人認為應該使用 “I am a Chinese.” 的說法,但實際的情況卻是以前者的說法佔絕大多數。不信的話,你可以隨便找個美國人,故意問他「你是哪一國人」,他會回答 “I am American.”,而不會說 “I am an American.”。

溜之大吉;逃之夭夭;拔腿就逃

英譯:
take to one’s heels; show (someone) a clean pair of heels

例句:
The boys took to their heels when the farmer found them stealing his mangoes. (那些男孩在農民發現他們偷芒果時都溜之大吉了)

The criminal quickly showed the police a clean pair of heels when they found him with the stolen car. (當警察發現罪犯駕著那輛偷來的車子時,他飛快地逃之夭夭了)

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Q:為何不能說 I want to go to shop/go to swim/go to hike 呢? 這是因為 go shopping/go swimming/go hiking 是慣用語嗎?

A:Go shopping/go swimming/go hiking 等本來就是慣用語,但這並不表示有了慣用語就不能有其他表示相同意思的說法。英文也有 go to shop/go to swim/go to hike 這樣的說法,只是它們沒有 go shopping/go swimming/go hiking 來得常見。此外,”go to” 意為「前往」、「前去」,其後亦經常接表示目的地、場所或地方等的名詞或名詞類用語,如 go to the beach (去海灘)、go to the concert (去聽音樂會)、go to the movies (去看電影)、go to where his daughter works (去他女兒工作的地方) 等等。

這位讀者之所以認為 go to 後面不可以接動詞,可能是一種誤解或將之與 going to 混為一談。在英文中,be going to 是個很常見的片語,但它有兩個用法:一是當作表示未來的助動詞,意為「將要」,相當於 will (事實上,be going to 和 will 的語意是有差別的,前者表示事先已計畫好要做的事或事先所做的決定,而後者是說話當時才決定要做的事),這時 to 後面接原形動詞,如 I am going to swim tonight. (今晚我要去游泳)。

另一個 be going to 是上述 go to 的進行式時態,to 的後面也大多是接名詞或名詞類用語,而這個進行式時態可以表示正在進行的動作,也可以表示事先已計畫好的未來要做的動作,亦即用現在進行式表示未來,如 I am going to the beach. 就有兩個意思,一是「我正在去海灘」,另一是「我將要去海灘」(在講這句話之前就已決定要去了)。
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一臣不事二君;一女不事二夫;一僕不事二主

英譯:
no man can serve two masters

例句:
We all know that no man can serve two masters, so you cannot work for two competing companies at the same time. (我們都知道,一臣不事二君,所以你不可能同時為兩家相互競爭的公司工作)

Daniel tried going to school and working, both full-time, but soon discovered that he could not serve two masters. (丹尼爾嘗試同時全職地兼顧學業與工作,但不久就發現到魚與熊掌無法兼得)

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