The local ruffians ganged up on the policemen.

 

be in high gear全力进行，快速进行

Construction on the subway is in high gear.

get away with...逃脱惩罚

Law offenders¹ can't get away with their offence.

have the gimmies患伸手病（来自小孩子give me的说法，后来就说成gimmies）

Don't you know you have grown up? How shameful² of you7 to have the gimmes.

give as good as one gets不服输，不示弱

He is a small boy, but he gives as good as he gets in chess match.

fit like a glove恰倒好处，非常适合

A: How do you like the frame? B: It fits like a glove. It well matches with the room decoration.

handle...with kid gloves小心，谨慎对待……

The antique is very precious. You'd better handle it with kid gloves.

get someone's goat使人恼怒，惹人生气

The way he boasted that he was an authority got my goat.

for good永远地

I hope war will disappear for good in the world.

be too good to be true好的令人难以置信

Yesterday Joe received a letter saying that the company decides to offer her a job with a salary which was too good to be true.

have the goods on someone有某人犯罪的证据

Fred was sure that he would win the case. He had the goods on the culprit.

goof³ off偷懒耍滑

Williams has been goofing⁴ off at school and his report card shows it.

through the grapevine道听途说，小道消息

I hear through the grapevine that Jim has been dismissed from his post.

The grass is always greener on the other hill这山望着那山高

He wrote to his brother, persuading him to keep his mind on his work and not to think the grass is always greener on the other hill.

use elbow grease费很大的劲头

How long haven't you cleaned your kitchen? It'll use elbow grease to get it shine again.

elbow-grease常指“费劲儿的体力活儿”
You have to use a bit of elbow-grease to clean all windows.

get the green light得到批准

We're got the green light from our dean that we can have some changes on teaching curriculum.

give the green light给予批准，准许某人干……
The employees can have a day off. The director has given them the green light.

grin and bear it一笑忍之，相当于汉语的“逆来顺受”

You have had enough insults from your boss. How can you grin and bear it?

catch someone off guard乘虚而入

Within three days, the run-away was exhausted⁵. He fell asleep in a basement. The police caught him off guard.

hate somebody's guts恨之入骨

He dismissed my for no reason at all. I hate his guts⁶.

kick the habit戒除恶习

You are doomed⁷ to be broke one day if you don't kick the drug habit.

get in somebody's hair苦恼某人

Every day, salesmen come to my door. I can't concentrate on studied. They do get in my hair.

let one's hair down无拘无束

Our supervisor⁸ is a stone-faced young lady. In front of her, you can't let your hair down and do what you desire.

without turning a hair保持冷静的态度，不动声色

The president talked about the international situation without turning a hair.

a half-wit弱智者

Do you think it is a good idea to send a half-wit to a normal school?

bite the hand that feeds one恩将仇报

Sorry, I can tell you nothing about my master. Otherwise, I will be biting the hand that feeds me.

gain the upper hand占上风

In strength, their team gain the upper hand; but in skill, we can have a chip on our shoulder.

have someone eating out of one's hand使人完全服从某人的摆布

Money can let him eating out of your hand.

live from hand to mouth勉强糊口

With three children to support, the window had to live from hand to mouth.

overplay one's hand做的过火了，做得过头了

We may have overplayed our hand by urging him to give us an early reply.

tip one's hand无意中亮底

Our rival was drunk. He tipped his hand by murmuring that his company will cut down the price of its products.

try one's hand at...试着干……

Michael Jordan is a great basketball player, and he has ever tried his hand at baseball.

fly off the handle大发雷霆

It's no use flying off the handle. You can reason with us.

play into someone's hand正中某人下怀

Think it over. If we reduce the price, I'm sure we're playing into his hand.

wash one's hands off something洗手不干某事

Mr. Butcher, with a long family history of gambling¹⁰, decided¹¹ to wash his hand off gambling.

get the hang of something掌握某事的窍门

I've got the hang of the new computer system pretty soon.

go haywire乱了套

The computer opposes me. Everything goes haywire when I use it.

bury one's head in the sand逃避现实

The environmental pollution is getting worse and worse. We can't bury our head in the sand, or the nature will punish us.

make neither head nor tail of...对……摸不着头脑

Tim scribbled¹² a note to me during the lecture. But I couldn't make head or tail of it.

have one's head in the clouds满脑子幻想

I know you have been dreaming of becoming a professor. But you shouldn't have you head in the clouds all the time. Settle down and do something.

turn one's head使某人满意

Sara is a successful woman, but she never allows her achievements to turn her head.

have one's heart set on...一心想要……

Once he had his heart set on something, he'll accept no turning-back.

one's heart in one's mouth吓得要命

My heart was in my mouth when I heart someone tapping on my window one raining night.
have one's heart in one's mouth; with one's heart in one's mouth

not have the heart to do something不忍心去做

How can you have the heart to kill my pet?

take something to heart往心里去/认真接受意见等

Tom decided to take his father's words to heart and wash his hands off smoking.

be in the seventh heaven高心极了

Mary was in seventh heaven when she finally came to Paris, the center of fashion.

move heaven and earth想尽一切办法

Believe me. I promise to move heaven and earth to help you.

cool one's heels等的双脚发凉，久等

Let's meet at the gallery at 7 o'clock. Come at 7 sharp. Don't make me cool my heels.

take to one's heels逃走

The naughty boy took to his heels after he should 'trick-or-treat'.

shoot from the hip信口开河

Don't take Jay's words to heart. He shouldn't have shot from the hip⁹.

by hook or by crook千方百计得，不择手段得

He rose to that position by hook or by crook¹³.

blow hot and cold出尔反尔，喜怒无常

Do you think he'll support you? He is the type who blows hot and cold.

make it hot for...刁难某人

Out section manager is a woman. Our general manager always looks down upon her and makes everything hot for her.

have the lots for someone迷恋某人

You have to stop her. She has the lots for a married man.

bring down the house博得满堂喝彩

The first-prize winner of the speech contest has brought down the house for several times.

be over the hump已度过难关

The Asian financial crises has almost paralyzed Asian economy. But we are over the hump now.

have a hunch¹⁴ that...预感到……

I have a hunch that the bear market will be over soon.

be hunky-dory挺不错的

A: How do you like the food here? B: Hunky-dory.

skate on thin ice如履薄冰，冒风险

We are skating on thin ice if we continue killing¹⁵ wild animals.

toy with the idea of...心里盘算要……

She's toying within the idea of marring a foreigner.

no ifs, ands and buts不要找任何的理由和借口

A: You know I could have done it well, but... B: No ifs, ands and buts. Tell me if you want to save your job.

give someone an inch and he'll take a mile得寸进尺

Give my roommate an inch and he'll take a mile. Last time, I offered him some candies. Today, he asked for an ice-cream.

have many irons in the fire同时有很多要紧的事要做

Although he was out of job, he still wrote to his parents saying he had many irons in the fire.

be in a jam陷入困境
get in a jam

You've got to help me. I'm in a jam. May car refused to work on my way to office.

jaywalk横穿马路

It is dangerous to jaywalk.

in a jiffy不大一会儿
=in a moment, right away. at once

I'll be with you in a jiffy.

have ( a case of ) the jitters忐忑不安

The new teacher had a case of jitters¹⁶ when he first stood in front of the class.

keep up with the Joneses与别人比阔，与别人攀比

He likes keeping up with the Joneses.

get a kick out of doing something从……得到很大的乐趣

He gets a kick put of racing¹⁷.

take kindly¹⁸ to something/someone愿意接受

Don't you feel that people in the lab don't take kindly to a nosy¹⁹ reporter?

kill someone with kindness好得让人受不了

The old lady almost killed me with kindness when I lived at her home.

parade one's knowledge买弄学问

He is a well-learned man, bit he never parades his knowledge.

be at large逍遥法外（也可以形容动物不受约束）

The murderer was still at large. The victim's parents was determined²⁰ to find enough evidence to sue him to court.

rest on one's laurels²¹故步自封，吃老本

You are sure to be lagged behind if you rest on your laurels.

turn over a new leaf洗心革面

The juvenile²² delinquent²³ promised that he would turn over a new leaf if he could be given lenient²⁴ punishment.

have a hollow leg（喝酒）海量

The best man has a hollow leg. He drinks a lot instead of the bridegroom.

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 backwards²⁵, but when I stood in front of the audience, I couldn't for the life of me remember what to say.

air one's linen²⁶ 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 perseverance²⁷.

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 robust²⁸ men elbow their way onto the bus, I have a good mind to smack²⁹ 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 miser³⁰. He gives us a treat only once in a blue moon.

be down in the mouth垂头丧气

Sandra was down in the mouth because she didn't make the appointment.

keep mum about something对某事保持沉默

The high official kept mum about his scandal.

face the music承担责任，甘受责备

You are caught stealing. You have to face the music.

hit the nail on the head说到点子上

I like to discuss with Helen. She always hits the nail on the head.

call someone names辱骂某人

The neighbors keep dropping litter in front of her door. She couldn't bear it any more and call them names.

be neck and neck不分上下

The two workshops are neck and neck in monthly output.

get up the nerve to...鼓起勇气去……

The patient got up the nerve to ask the doctor how long he could live in the world.

get on someone's nerves使某人心烦

There is an airport in the vicinity. The noise gets on my nerves.

a nobody无名小辈

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