美国俚语大全
1. I couldn't care less.
这句话的意思是「我不在乎」,「缺乏兴趣」(lack of interest),也就是:I don't care at all. 或 I don't give a hoot. 例如:
人家如果问: What do you think of the budget-cut?(你对预算削减有何看法?)
你回答: I couldn't care less.(我毫不在乎)
How do you like Mr. Lee's political point of view?(你喜欢李先生的政见吗?)
I couldn't care less.(我才不在乎呢!)
但是有时说话者也有「口是心非」: 例如:
I couldn't care less about the promotion or pay raise.(我不在乎升级或加薪)
而实际上他是根本在乎升级和加薪的,那么人家也许就会回答说: Yes, you do(care).
至于 I couldn't care more. 就是「我很在乎」(I care a lot.)或 I care deeply. 同理:
I couldn't agree more.=I totally agree.(我完全同意)
I couldn't please you more.=I did my best to please you.(我尽量使你高兴)
I couldn't be more right.=I am totally right.
但是老外为了「自尊」,不愿强调自己的错误,所以很少人说:
I couldn't be more wrong.
注意:一般人都用否定句,但也有老外把肯定句与否定句互用。
不过,严格来说,I could care less. = I care to some degree.(care 的程度可能减少)
I could care more.=I care some.(care的程度也许增加)(主词可用任何人称代名词:he, she, you, we, they 等。但只用 could,不用 can。)
2. No bones about it.
意思是:真实的,诚恳的(truly, sincerely or exactly),也就是 to make no bones about it.(bone 要加 s, it 是指 something)例如:
His wife is beautiful;no bones about it.(他的太太真是很漂亮)
Mr. A made no bones about it when he talked about abortion issue.(当 A 先生谈到堕胎问题时,他是诚恳的。)
When I spoke on the topic,he said, "No bones about it."(也就是他同意我的看法)
No bones about it;the weather is very chilly today.(今天是真的太冷了)
3. take it on me!
意思是:「这是我的,请用吧!」「这是免费的」(help yourself to it; it is free),这多半是指吃的东西或一些不贵重的东西。例如:
Here are some candies from England; take one on me. (这是来自英国的糖果,尝一个吧!) (one = candy)
The restaurant owner said to me, "Take the dessert on me." (餐馆老板对我说:「尝尝我的甜点吧!」)
Please take these pencils on me.(取用一些我的铅笔吧!) (也许铅笔上刻有名字,做为宣传之用而免费。)
可见 take 后面的 it,是指 something,而 on 的后面通常不指别人,所以多半也只用在第一人称单数 me。
(假如夫妇在一起,也可以说:Take it on us.)
4. I am from Missouri.
这句话有时后面要加一句:「I need to be shown.」或「You have got to show me.」,意思是 Missouri 州的人很固执 (stubborn),不太信任别人,一定要人家「证明一下」(prove it to me),所以密苏里州也被称为「The Show Me State」。
据说这句话所以流行 (尤其在美国中西部) 是因为美国一些名人都住过密苏里州,包括 Harry Truman, Mark Twain, Walt Disney 等。后来老外不轻易相信别人时,就使用这句话。(也有半开玩笑性质) 例如:
He is not easily convinced because he is from Missouri. (他是来自密苏里州,所以不容易说服他。)
Don't try to fool me; I am from Missouri.(You have got to show me.) (别愚弄我,我是来自密苏里州。)
We are all from Missouri; we need to be shown.
As Mr. Smith is a tough guy; he must be from Missouri. (Smith先生是位倔强的人,他一定是来自密苏里州。)
(主词可用任何人称代名词 you, he, she, we, they 等
[这个贴子最后由jennifer-jin在 2001/12/21 08:40am 编辑]
美国口语俚语(1)
1.clock in 打卡
Don't forget to clock in,otherwise you won't get paid.
别忘了打卡,否则领不到钱。
2.come on to 对...轻薄;吃豆腐
Tanya slapped Bill after he came on to her.
Tanya在Bill对她轻薄之后打了他一巴掌。
3.come easily 易如反掌
Languages come easily to some people.
语言学习对有些人来说易如反掌。
4.don't have a cow别大惊小怪
Don't have a cow! I'll pay for the damages.
别大惊小怪的!我会赔偿损失的。
5.push around 欺骗
Don't try to push me around!
别想耍我!
美国口语俚语(2)
1.keep one's shirt on保持冷静
Keep your shirt on. He didn't mean to offend you. That's just the
way he talks.
保持冷静。那只是他说话的惯常方式,他并非有意要冒犯你。
2.cool it冷静一点
Cool it. You are making me mad.
冷静一点。你快把我逼疯了。
3.joy ride兜风
Let's go for a joy ride.
让我们去兜兜风。
4.rap说唱乐
Do you like rap music? I have trouble understanding the words.
你喜欢说唱音乐吗?我听不太懂其中的歌词。
5.red-letter day大日子
This is a red-letter day for Susan. She made her first sale to a very
important client.
今天是susan的大日子。她和一个非常重要的客户做成了第一笔生意。
美国口语俚语(3)
1.go up in smoke成为泡影
Peter’s vacation plans went up in smoke when a crisis arose in the office.
办公室出了问题,peter的假期泡汤了。
2.hit the road上路
We should probably hit the road. It’s going to take us two hours to get home.
我们可能该上路了吧?到家的两个小时呢!
3.shape up表现良好,乖
You’d better shape up if you want to stay on.
如果你还想留下来的话最好乖一点儿。
4.scare the shit out of someone吓死某人了
Don’t sneak up behind me like that. You scared the shit out of me.
不要那样从后面突然吓我。你吓死我了。
5.pull strings运用关系 (源于“拉木偶的线”)
He pulled some strings and managed to get us front row seats for the concert.
他运用关系替我们拿到音乐会前排的位子。
美国口语俚语(4)
1.come again 再说一遍
Come again? I didn't quite understand what you said.
再说一遍好吗?你刚说的话我不明白。
2.come clean 全盘托出,招供
The criminal decided to come clean.
罪犯决定供出事实。
3.spring for 请客
Let me spring for dinner.
我来请客吃饭吧。
4.spill the beans 泄漏秘密
Don't spill the beans. It's supposed to be a secret.
别说漏了嘴,这可是个秘密哦!
5.stick in the mud 保守的人
Cathy is such a stick in the mud. She never wants to try anything
new.
Cathy真保守,她从不想尝试新事物。
美国口语俚语(5)
1.john厕所
I have to go to the john. Wait for me in the car.
我要去厕所。在车里等我一下。
2.keep in line管束
He needs to be kept in line. He's too wild.
他太野了,要好好管束一下。
3.jump the gun草率行事
Don't jump the gun. We have to be patient for a while.
不要草率行事。我们应该耐心等一会儿。
4.jump to conclusion妄下结论
Don't jump to conclusion. We have to figure it out first.
不要妄下结论,先把事情搞清楚。
5.lemon次
This car is a real lemon. It has broken down four times.
这辆车真次,已经坏了四次了!
美国口语俚语(6)
1.fishy 可疑的
His story sounds fishy. We should see if it's really true.
他的故事听起来可疑。我们应该看看到底是不是真的。
2.flip out 乐死了
Chris flipped out when I told him that we won the game.
我告诉克里斯我们赢了比赛时,他乐歪了。
3.fix someone up 撮合某人
I think Xixi and Macaulay would make a perfect couple. Let's fix them
up. (Haha,just kidding:)
我想习习和macaulay会是理想的一对,我们来撮合他们吧。(呵,开个玩
笑,习习和macaulay不会生气吧?:)
4.take a shine to 有好感
He really likes you. There are very few people he takes a shine to
right away.
他真的喜欢你。他很少对人一见面就有好感的。
5.third wheel 累赘,电灯泡
You two go on ahead. I don't want to be a third wheel.
你们两个去好了,我不想当电灯泡。
美国口语俚语(7)
1.ripoff 骗人的东西
What a ripoff! The new car I bought doesn't work!
真是个骗人货!我买的新车启动不了!
2.rock the boat 找麻烦
Don't rock the boat! Things are fine just the way they are.
别找麻烦了,事情这样就够好了。
3.blow it 搞砸了,弄坏了
I blew it on that last exam.
我上次考试靠砸了。
4.in hot water 有麻烦
He is in hot water with his girlfriend recently.
近段时间他跟女友的关系有点僵。
5.put one's foot in one's mouth 祸从口出
Wally is always saying such stupid thing. He has a real talent for
putting his foot in his mouth.
沃力尽说这种蠢话。他真有惹是生非的本事。
美国口语俚语(8)
1.flop (表演、电影等)不卖座,失败
The movie was a flop. Nobody went to see it.
这部电影卖座率奇低,没有人去看。
2.drop in/by/over 随时造访
Feel free to drop in anytime. I'm usually home and I'd love the
company.
欢迎随时来坐坐。我通常在家,也喜欢游人做伴。
3.drop a line 写信
Drop me a line! 给我写信!
4.duck 躲闪,突然低下头
Remind little Bobby to duck his head when he crawls under the table
so he won't hit his head.
提醒小波比爬到桌下时要低头才不会受伤。
5.go with the flow 随从大家的意见
Sharon is an easy-going person. She just goes with the flow.
沙伦是个随和的人。人家怎么说,她就怎么做。
美国口语俚语(9)
1.act up 胡闹,出毛病
The children started to act up as soon as the teacher left the room.
老师一离开教室,孩子们就闹起来了。
2.ad lib 即兴而作,随口编
The comedian ad libbed most of his routine.
那个喜剧演员大多是即兴表演。
3.blah-blah-blah 说个不停
All she does is go "blah-blah-blah" all night.
她整夜说个不停。
4.hit it off 投缘,一见如故
They hit it off instantly and have been good friends ever since.
他们一见面就很投缘,从此成了好朋友。
5.zit 青春痘
Why is it that every time I have a hot date, I break out with a big zit
on my face?
为什么每次我有重要约会时,脸上都会冒出一个很大的青春痘呢?
美国口语俚语(10)
1.put someone on the spot 让某人为难
Don't put me on the spot like this. You know I can't give you
confidential information.
别这样让我为难,你知道我不能给你机密资料的。
2.racket 非法行业,挂羊头卖狗肉
The police are determined to break up the racket.
警方决定打击这个非法行业。
3.have it good 享受得很
She really has it good. Everybody caters to her every need.
她真是享受得很,大家都依着他。
4.don't knock it 不要太挑剔
Don;t knock it! You won't be able to find another job that pays so
well.
别挑剔了!你未必可以找到另外一个待遇这么好的工作!
5.pig out 狼吞虎咽
We pigged out on potato chips and cookies until our bellies ached.
我们大吃薯条和曲奇,吃到肚子撑到痛为止。
美国口语俚语(11)
1.down in the dumps垂头丧气
The players were down in the dumps after their team lost the
championship game.
球员输掉决赛哪一场后个个垂头丧气。
2.horse around嬉闹
We've horsed around long enough. It's time to get to work.
我们闹够了,该去工作了。
3.pass something up放弃某事物
You can't pass up this job. This kind of opportunity comes only once
in a lifetime.
你不可错过这个工作。这种机会一辈子才有一次。
4.go whole hog全力以赴
She went whole hog in planning he New Year's Eve party.
她全心全力筹办新年晚会。
5.shoo-in长胜将军
There's no way he can lose. He's a shoo-in.
他不会输的,他是位长胜将军。
美国口语俚语(12)
1.get the ball rolling开始
Let's get the ball rolling.让我们开始吧。
2.get on the ball用心做
If you hope to keep your job, you'd better get on the ball and meet
the deadline.
如果你还想要你的那份工作,你最好用心做,赶上最后期限!
3.lady-killer帅哥
He's a real lady-killer. 他是个不折不扣的帅哥。
4.lay off停止,解雇
Lay off! I don't need you to tell me what to do!
别再讲了!我不需要你告诉我怎么去做!
5.knock it off=cut it off停止
Knock it off! I'm trying to get some sleep.
别吵了!我正想睡觉呢!
美国口语俚语(13)
1.have a passion for钟爱
I have a passion for blue dresses.
我钟爱蓝色的衣服。
2.pep talk打气,鼓励的话
The coach gave his team a pep talk at half time, hoping to lead them to victory.
教练在半场时候给球员们打起,希望将他们引上胜利之途。
3.pick someone’s brains请教某人
I don’t understand any of this medical terminology. Do you mind if I pick your brains since you’re so knowledgeable in this area?
我对医学术语一无所知。你在这方面如此在行,我能不能请教你一下?
4.pass out醉到了
He passed out after three beers.
喝了三杯啤酒后他就醉倒了。
5.way back好久以前
We’ve been friends since way back.
我们老早就是好朋友了。
美国口语俚语(14)
1.hit someone with a problem让某人面对问题
I’m sorry to hit you with this problem. I don’t know who else to turn to.
很抱歉把这个问题抛给你,我不知道还可以找谁求助。
2.have it bad for狂恋
He really has it bad for her, but she has no ideas.
他狂恋着她,而她却不知道。
3.hung over宿醉未醒
Don’t disturb him. He’s still hung over from last night.
别吵醒他,他宿醉仍未醒。
4. has-been过时的人或物
Lisa is a has-been. No one will hire her any more.
丽莎已经过时了。没人会再雇佣她。
4.have a bone to pick with有账要算
I have a bone to pick with you. You still owe me the fifteen dollars you borrowed.
我有账跟你算。你向我借的十五美金还没还呢!
美国口语俚语(15)
1.let the cat out of the bag 泄漏秘密
I won't let the cat out of the bag.
我不会泄漏秘密的。
2.in the market for 想买,积极物色
People are always in the market for something new and different.
人们总想买点新奇的且与众不同的东西。
3.meddle in 干涉,搅和
Harold asked his boss stop meddling in his personal life.
哈罗德要求老板别再干涉他的私生活。
4.screw loose脱线,神经不对头
Bill must have a screw loose somewhere; he's acting really strangely.
Bill一定是哪根筋不对,他的行动真奇怪。
5.sell someone on 以...说服某人
She sold me on her idea. I think it will work.
她用她的看法说服了我,我想那行得通。
美国口语俚语(16)
1.hang in there忍耐一下
Hang in there. Things will look up soon.
忍耐一下。事情很快就会好转的。
2.hands-off无为而治,顺其自然
He takes a hands-off approach when it comes to raising his children.
他用无为而治的方式教养小孩。
3.gag me with a spoon我快吐了
Gag me with a spoon! Please don’t tell me such disgusting stories any more.
我快吐了!请别再说这么恶心的故事了。
4.get a move on赶快
Get a move on. You can’t park your car here.
赶快!你不能在这儿停车。
5.cook up想出
He cooked up a wonderful way to surprise his wife on her birthday.
他想出一个在他太太生日时让她惊喜的妙法。 (呵,女人心中的好丈夫!)
美国口语俚语(17)
1.roll with the punches逆来顺受
You have to roll with the punches if you want to survive in this business.
如果你想在这一行生存下去的话,就得逆来顺受。
2.right off the bat立刻
I was all prepared to put up a fight, but he gave in right off the bat.
我正准备和他大打一场,但是他马上就投降了。
3.get one’s feet wet参与,开始做
It’s not good to concentrate all your efforts on just writing. You should get your feet wet and trying painting or dancing.
单单写作对你不好。你应该涉猎一下绘画或舞蹈。
4.get after盯着,责备
Ann’s mother gets after her to hang up her clothes.
安的妈妈盯着她,要她把衣服挂好。
5.pan out成功,奏效
Unfortunately, the deal did not pan out. I lost a thousand dollars.
这笔生意不幸没有成功,我损失了1,000美元。
美国口语俚语(18)
1.screw someone over欺负某人
After working in the office for ten years, Alice was fired for no apparent reason. How can they screw her over like that?
爱丽斯工作了十年之后,无缘无故被炒鱿鱼。他们怎么可以这样欺负她呢?
2.down to the wire等到最后一刻才开始做事
Peter always waits until the last minute to do his work. I could never leave it down to the wire like that.
彼得总是等到最后一刻才开始做事。我从不想他那样等到最后一刻才开始干。
3.buck抗拒
You can’t buck the system.
你无法抗拒整个制度。
4.blockhead笨蛋
Arnold is a blockhead if I ever saw one.
阿诺德是我见过的最笨的人。
5.blow the lid off揭发(丑闻)
That newspaper story blew the lid off the Senator’s illegal business deals.
报纸的报道揭发了参议员的非法勾当。
美国口语俚语(19)
1.round up集合
Round everybody up. It’s time for our business meeting.
叫大家集合,开会时间到了。
2.put someone up留宿某人
I can put you up for a couple of days. My apartment is big enough for two people.
你可以在我这里住几天。我的公寓可以住两个人。
3.take care of business负责
Who’s going to take care of business while I am away?
我不在的时候谁负责?
4.take out on拿…出气
Don’t take your frustrations out on me.
别把气出在我身上。
5.hot stuff大人物
He thinks he’s hot stuff. But everybody else thinks he’s a jerk.
他自以为了不得,但其他人认为他是个傻瓜。
美国口语俚语(20)
1.nitty-gritty细节,基本情况
Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty. I want to hear what happens next.
让我们来认真了解详细的情况,我想知道后来发生了什么。
2.no good很糟
This typewriter is no good. Every time I use it, the ribbon falls out.
这台打字机很糟。每次已用,色带就掉下来。
3. have someone’s number清楚某人的底细,看穿某人
She dare not do anything to me, I have her number.
她不敢对我怎么样的,因为我对她的底细一清二楚。
4. hot number新鲜、迷人的人或事务,尤物
Tom thinks Sherry is a hot number.
Tom认为Sherry是个尤物。
5. off the hook逃脱,溜掉,不受罚
I’ll let you off the hook this time, but don’t do that again.
这次不罚你,下次不要这样干了。
美国口语俚语(21)
1.hunky-dory没问题
Everything here is hunky-dory. Don’t worry.
别担心,这里一切都没问题。
2.I kid you not我不骗你
I kid you not. I saw this woman talking to her hand.
我不骗你。我看见这个女人跟她的手说话。
3.pop one’s cork大发脾气
I’ve never seen Teresa pop her cork before. I always thought she was a very laid-back person.
我从来没见过Teresa发脾气。我原来一直以为她是个好好小姐。
4.poke one’s nose into something多管闲事
Gladys is always poking her nose into other people’s business. I don’t see how she has time to take care of her own affairs.
格拉迪斯总是爱管闲事,我不知道她怎么会有时间处理她自己的事。
5.pull a fast one欺骗
He tried to pull a fast one on us, but we caught on before he got away with it.
他想要欺骗我们,但在他阴谋得逞之前我们就知道了。
美国口语俚语(22)
1.beats me我不知道
Beats me. We haven’t learned that.
我不知道。我们还没学过那个。
2.beat it走开
Beat it! I’m busy right now.
走开!我现在正忙着。
3.beat a dead horse白费口舌,白费力气
I’ve already made up my mind. There’s no sense beating a dead horse.
我已经下了决心,不要再白费口舌了。
4.John Hancock签名
Put your John Hancock right here.
请在这里签名。
5.keep it under raps保密
Don’t tell anyone about the party. Let’s just keep it under eraps.
不要吧晚会的事告诉任何人。这件事情不要泄漏出去。
美国口语俚语(23)
1.kick around讨论;多考虑一下
Let’s kick around a few more proposals before we come to a final decision.
我们最后决定之前多考虑几个方案吧。
2.junkie吸毒者
The junkie stole money in order to buy more drugs.
这名吸毒者为了买更多的毒品而偷钱。
3.put away大吃大喝
I’ve never seen anybody put away so much food and still look so thin.
我从未见过这么能吃的人还这么瘦。
4.put a move on挑逗
He tried to put the moves on her, but she turned him down.
他想要挑逗她,但她拒绝了他。
5.put one’s ass on the line两肋插刀,不惜一切
I put my ass on the line for you. I know you’ll do the same for me someday.
我为你两肋插刀,我知道有朝一日你也会为我这么做。
美国口语俚语(24)
1.drag讨厌
What a drag! There’s nothing to do here!
真是讨厌!这里没什么可干的!
2.a drop in the bucket沧海一粟
The amount of money Mr. Howell spent on a new Rolls-Royce was just a drop in the bucket compared to his annual salary.
豪威尔先生卖一辆辛劳斯莱斯汽车的钱和他的年薪相比不过是沧海一粟。
3.drop dead去死
Suzy told Mike, “Drop dead!” when he kept teasing her about her weight.
麦克不停的取笑苏齐的体重时,苏齐说:“你去死吧!”
4.down and out穷困潦倒
Sarah was down and out after losing her job and her apartment.
萨拉丢掉工作和房子后变得穷困潦倒。
5.all that jazz诸如此类
He only cares about basketball, TV, girls, and all that jazz.
他只关心篮球、电视、女孩这一类事情。
美国口语俚语(25)
1.know-it-all万事通
Grace is always correcting other people. She thinks she’s a know-it-all.
格雷斯总是在纠正别人,她觉得自己是万事通。
2.kooky古怪的
That man is really kooky. He has fifty-three cats!
那个人真怪。他养了53只猫!
3.let someone have it让某人好看
Next time I see Rick, I’m going to let him have it.
下次我看到李克时要他好看。
4.a leg up占上风
All Jeff’s hard work is paying off. He’s a leg up on the rest of his competitors.
杰夫的努力是有报答的。他在竞争对手中占了上风。
5.low-life落魄潦倒的人
Chris is such a low-life. He sleeps on the park bench and drink booze all day.
克利斯真是落魄潦倒。他睡在公园板凳上而且整天喝酒。
美国口语俚语(26)
1.call it quits不干了
After being in the used car business for 40 years, Harry finally called it quits.
做了40年旧车生意后,哈利终于洗手不干了。
2.chip in出钱
We all chipped in to buy Jennifer a going-away present.
大家都出钱买一个送别礼物给Jennifer.
3.a chip off the old block一个模子印出来的;酷似(父母的人)
Scott certainly is a chip off the old block. He reminds me so much of his father when he was that age.
斯克特酷似他爸爸。他让我想起他爸爸在他这年龄时的许多事。
4.clean up one’s act信心革面,重新做人
You’d better clean up your act if you want to go to a good school.
如果你想金好学校就要洗心革面,奋发图强
5.cliffhanger吊人胃口的东西
TV series like Dallas usually end the season with a cliffhanger.
象《达拉斯》这样的电视连续剧经常以吊人胃口的方式结束一个时节。
美国口语俚语(27)
1.bullheaded顽固,牛脾气
Terry is so bullheaded; he won’t listen to anybody else’s opinion.
特利这么顽固,他听不进别人的意见。
2. bum rap责骂
Louise got a bum rap for taking sides with Richard.
路易斯因为偏袒理查德而受到责骂。
3.bummer令人恶心的经历
That show was a real bummer.
那场表演令人倒尽胃口。
4.burn someone up激怒某人
It burns me up when people don’t do their job right.
有人没把份内的事做好就令我生气。
5.catch on to突然了解
It took Cindy a long time to catch on to what Bill was saying.
辛迪许久以后才突然明白比尔所说的话。