11. Stomach

The stomach is naturally related to one's appetite. If you dislike heavy food, you have no stomach for it (反胃). The word is also related to one's interests or likings. If you find something boring or vulgar, you have no stomach for it, either. Bad food turns your stomach. Similarly, your stomach turns at a bad joke.

Stomach can also be a verb. Look at this example: "How could you stomach (忍受) such rude words?" Apparently¹, stomach here can be replaced by "tolerate".

12. Arm

Every person has two arms: the right arm and the left arm. The right arm is usually stronger, so we call a good helper the right arm (得力助手).

We all know an arm is not very long. But when you keep someone at arm's length (保持距离), the distance is long enough. For that means you don not like that person and you try your best to avoid him or her. We should indeed keep the bad friends at arm's length.

13. Hand

Quite a number of phrases formed form the word hand are very similar to their Chinese counterparts. Here are some obvious examples: a fresh hand (新手), short of hands (人手短缺), hand in hand (手拉手) and wash one's hands of something (洗手不干了). But do not always take this for granted. Study these examples and you will understand.

He lives from hand to mouth (He has just enough money to live on). We gave them a big hand (We gave them lots of applause).

14. Finger

How many fingers does each of your hands have? Now let's name them in English from the smallest: the little finger, the ring finger, the middle finger, the index finger and thumb.

Each finger has its own part to play. If your fingers are all thumbs (笨拙), that is too bad. That means you are very clumsy.

15. Thumb

Chinese people turn up their thumbs to express appreciation². English people do so to express not only appreciation but also approval. Chinese people never turn their thumbs down to mean anything. But English people do. They do so to show depreciation³ disapproval⁴. Thus in English you can say, "We turn thumbs up (赞成) to Jack's suggestion but they turn thumbs down (不赞成) to it."

Similarly, you can warmly praise someone by saying "Thumbs up (真棒)!" and show your dissatisfaction by saying "Thumbs down (差劲)!"

16. Nail

If you see two of your classmates fighting tooth and nail (又抓又咬), you must stop them at once. Otherwise, at least one of them would be hurt.

Nail also means a thin pointed⁵ piece of metal for hammering into something. But it is related to the body in this sentence: "Peter is as hard as nails (结实的象铁打的)." We all hope that we are as strong and healthy as he is.

Then if I say you have hit the nail on the head (中肯，一针见血), I don not mean that you have done something cruel. I mean that you have said exactly the right thing.

17. Leg

The word leg appears in many colloquial⁶ expressions. At a party, when you feel like dancing, you can say to a good friend of yours, "Let's shake a leg." Obviously, it means " Let's dance." When you want your fiend to hurry, you can also "shake a leg". In American English it means "hurry".

The arms and legs are very important to us. Therefore when asked why you are not going to buy something expensive, you may answer, "It costs an arm and a leg!" You mean that it is really expensive. If you pull one's leg, it means you make fun of someone.

18. Toe

To convey the idea "from head to foot", English people san say from top to toe. But Chinese people don't.

Some people turn their toes out (八字脚) when they walk. Some turn their toes in.

When faced with danger, we must be alert and ready for action, that is to say, we must be on our toes (保持警惕).

19. Skin

Human beings have skin. So have animals and plants. The skin can be think or thin. A think-skinned person, or a person who has a thin skin, is easily upset or offended while a thick-skinned person, or a person who has a think skin, is quite the contrary. Both expressions are sometimes derogatory (贬义). That is to say, sometimes the former refers to a person who is too sensitive; the latter a person who has little sense of shame.

20. Hair

Most people will only think of the hair on our head when the word hair is mentioned. In fact, some animals and plants also have hair.

A horrible scene may make a person's hair stand on end (毛骨悚然). But a courageous⁷ person will not turn a hair (不畏惧) even though he is in face of danger.

Sometimes, a friend of yours may be so angry that he may act foolishly. Then you had better give him this advice: "Keep your hair on (别发脾气)".

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