最近我有一次机会登上一艘豪华游轮观光。我在酒吧台拿了两杯鸡尾酒回房间享受，途中遇到一位女士，她看看我后笑着说：
"You have matches?"
我一愣，回答说：“很抱歉，我十五年前就戒烟了，所以没有火柴。”
她立刻会意到我误解了她的意思，好像是有点抱歉地说："It's a joke."
然后，除了尴尬就没有然后了。
事后和朋友在吃晚饭的时候聊天，我趁机向一个美国朋友请教白天的那句话，他解释说：“因为她看你两手都占着，就故意开玩笑跟你要火柴，这是个非常普通的笑话，其实是想问你需不需要帮忙。”
2. Turn the table
一位亲戚和妻子失和到了要离婚的地步。几天前接到亲戚电话，说他们在走进律师楼之前，先去求助于心理和婚姻问题专家。夫妇俩心平气和地坐下来谈了好多次，互相之间多了份理解，少了一份猜疑、埋怨，结果化干戈为玉帛。说简单也简单，就这么拯救了这场婚姻。我打心眼里为他们高兴，把这一消息告诉了同 样也认识他们的一位美国朋友。这位朋友很激动，还补了一句：
"He turned the table"。
这话让我心里很不舒服，她是指我亲戚动粗吗?直到朋友以另一种方法向我解释，她是说我亲戚“扭转了局面”，那table和我想到的“桌子”根本无关。
turn the tables (on someone) = to suddenly take a positionof strength or advantage that was formerly held by someone else(反败为胜，转弱为强)
例句：
She played badly in the first set, but then she turned thetables on her opponent and won the match。
3. Wearing two hats
同事朋友聚会，少不了相互介绍。先生在向我介绍他的同事Larry时，说他可是个大忙人：
"He is wearing two hats".
开什么玩笑，他根本就没戴帽子?
原来，先生是指Larry在医院某一部门担任要职，除此之外，还有自己的生意，就是说Larry身兼两职，而不是真的戴了两顶帽子。
4.With a grain of salt
一次吃饭的时候，好友Allen和他的中国籍太太坐在餐桌旁大谈最近流行的一种草药，说它能包治百病。 Allen说了一句：
"I'd like to take it with a grain of salt"。
他太太笑道：“你以为它是蔬菜啊，还要加点盐再吃。健康专家可没有说过要加盐。”Allen愣了一下，然后大笑不已，解释道
"Take something with a grain of salt"是“对某事有保留、持怀疑态度”的意思。而不是说要“放些盐再吃”。
5. You are in for a treat!
这天，同事们正在讨论为我和 Rhonda 开生日 party的事情，为了尊重寿星，大家让Rhonda和我选择一家中意的餐厅。Rhonda建议去镇上一家叫做BBQ的美国餐厅。我从来没有去过那里，于是就问她那里有什么特色。Rhonda便开始滔滔不绝地介绍他们的招牌菜，听得我十指大动，直咽口水，Rhonda便笑着说：
"You are in for a treat!"
我愣了一下，以为Rhonda要请我去那里吃饭，心里十分不好意思，试探着问过她之后，Rhonda 笑着解释说："You arein for a treat means you'll like it !"
6.Knife and fork
朋友D说日前在某大酒楼饮茶，见邻桌有青年夫妇和大概是他们在外国结识的老太太一起饮茶。老太太对操作筷子很感兴趣，在那里学用chopsticks夹虾饺。D说他有个美国朋友，曾花了一些时间学习正确使用筷子的方法，每有机会就要表演一下，还说用筷子是一种艺术，是古老的中国文化的表现。
中国人吃饭用筷子，洋人进餐用刀叉。其实洋人从前没有knife and fork,用的是木片削成的叉子。这种木叉从意大利经伊斯坦堡传到英国，是两刺的肉叉(two-prongedfork)。在此之前，人们吃肉用手，因此对于改用肉叉有人说是“对赐人五指之神的侮辱。”
7. Skeleton in the closet
一天朋友谈及一则大爆“名人”家丑的八卦新闻，说那些家族中人以搬弄"skeleton in thecloset"为乐事，难道这些名人家的壁橱中真的有骷髅?
他说的skeleton in the closet(英国人则习惯说成skeleton in thecupboard)现在的意义并没有那么可怕。
不过据说当年这个习语产生的时候的确指那些有钱人家谋杀了一个人，把骸骨暗藏在壁橱中，不让外人知道，从此 skeleton inthe closet 就成了那家人的秘密，后来这个短语用来指不可或不愿外扬的家丑，简称作family skeleton。
例句： Many old families have a number of skeletons in theirclosets which they are loath to discuss
许多古老的家族中有很多秘密，他们不愿谈及这些话题。
8. Skin off one's nose
Joe很热心公益，每周固定有一天去做义工。在他的影响下，我也参加了几次。有一次跟他提起如果能到附近的剧院做义工的话，也许会比较有趣。有一天他拿了一份报纸，上面就有剧院要找义工的消息，我打算下班后过去看看，可是不巧碰上那天身体不舒服，下了班躺在床上就不想动了。第二天碰到Joe，问 我有没有去，我把实情跟他解释。他听完后说："No skin off my nose". 我不懂，回家查了俚语词典，才知道skin off one'snose是与某人有关的意思。Joe是在说我去不去其实“不关他的事”，他只是顺便问一下罢了。
注：no skin off sb.'s nose 也可说成 no skin off sb.'s teeth
9. Small beer
Small beer是“小啤酒”的意思吗?
其实，在英国small beer指的是口味比较淡啤酒，但是在美语中则是“少量啤酒”的意思。
比喻用法中说的small beer指规模或者格局不大的事物。自以为了不起，不是小人物的人：He thinks nosmall beer of himself。
Be small beer常用作与人比较的表现。
口语中常用small beer作形容词，因此开快餐店的朋友可以说：Ours is a small-beerfast-food joint beside McDonald。
10. Speaking of the devil
几个同学聚到一起聊天，大家都到齐了，唯独不见Wayne. 其中一个说今天好像没见到Wayne，另一个接着说他的女儿放暑假，东西要从宿舍里搬出来，他大概帮忙去了。正说着，只见Wayne从外面走过来。Joe于是说
"speaking of the devil"。
speaking of thedevil是一条成语，相当于中文的“说曹操，曹操到”。我不禁惊诧于语言的共通性，因为曹操不是也有“奸雄”的称号吗?中英文在这一成语上有着这样惊人的异曲同工之处。
中国成语故事《玩火自焚》中英文版
During the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), prince Zhou Xu of the State of Wei killed his brother and became the new emperor. Zhou Xu was a tyrant. He oppressed his people and indulged in wars of agGREssion. By launching wars, he tried to divert the people's attention and reduce their discontent with him in order to consolidate his dictatorship.
The Duke of the State of Lu leant about Zhou Xu's usurpation of state power and his ambitious plan, he asked a senior official, "What do you think about Zhou Xu's move? "The official answered, "He indulges in wars , bringing his people much disaster. He won't get their support. And he's capricious, so few of his close friends follow him. He can never achieve his success. In addition, war is like fire. If one launches wars endlessly without restraint, he'll eventually burn himself. "
Sure enough, the people of Wei with the help of the State of Chen overthrew Zhou Xu and killed him in less than a year.
Later, people use it to mean that those who do evil will finally ruin themselves.
春秋时期，卫国的王子州吁杀死了他的哥哥卫桓公，成为了卫国的国君。州吁是个暴君，他压迫百姓，到处侵略别的国家。他想利用战争来分散百姓的注意力，减少人们对他的不满，巩固他的专政。
鲁国的君王知道州吁篡夺了王位，还想吞并其他国家，就问他手下的一名官员："你认为州吁的目的能达到吗？"那位官员说道："州吁到处打仗，给人民来了灾难。人民不会支持他。他这个人又反复无常，身边没有什么亲信。他不可能实现自己的野心。而且，战争就象火。无休止地打仗，最后，火会烧到自己身上。 "
果然，不到一年，卫国人民就在陈国的帮助下推翻了州吁的统治，并处死了他。
后来，人们用这个成语来比喻干害人的勾当，最后受害的还是自己。
中国成语故事《四面楚歌》中英文版
At the end of the Qin Dynasty(221-206 B.C.) the State of Chu and the State of Han fought for control for the country. Xiang Yu, the king of Chu, was besieged（包围） at a place called Gaixia by the Han army led by Liu Bang. Xiang Yu was in a desperate situation, with little food and only a few soliders. At night, the surrounding Han troops started to sing Chu folk songs. Xiang Yu was very surprised at this, and said:"Has Liu Bang occupied the whole of Chu? How can he have drafted so many Chu people into his army?" Then he fled together with the remainder of his forces.
This idiom is used metaphorically to mean to be in a helpless and critical situation, surrounded by the enemy on all sides.
项羽和刘邦原来约定以鸿沟（在今河南荣县境贾鲁河）东西边作为界限，互不侵犯。后来刘邦听从张良和陈平的规劝，觉得应该趁项羽衰弱的时候消灭他，就又和韩信、彭越、刘贾会合兵力追击正在向东开往彭城（即今江苏徐州）的项羽部队。终于布置了几层兵力，把项羽紧紧围在垓下（在今安徽灵璧县东南）。这时，项羽手下的兵士已经很少，粮食又没有了。夜里听见四面围住他的军队都唱起楚地的民歌，不禁非常吃惊地说：“刘邦已经得到了楚地了吗？为什么他的部队里面楚人这么多呢？”说看，心里已丧失了斗志，便从床上爬起来，在营帐里面喝酒，并和他最宠爱的妃子虞姬一同唱歌。唱完，直掉眼泪，在一旁的人也非常难过，都觉得抬不起头来。虞姬自刎于项羽的马前，项羽英雄末路，带了仅剩兵卒至乌江，最终自刎于江边。
以后人们就用“四面楚歌”这个词，形容人们遭受各方面攻击或逼迫，而陷于孤立窘迫的境地。凡是陷于此种境地者，其命运往往是很悲惨的。例如某人因经常与坏人为伍，不事生产，游手好闲，但后来却被那些坏人逼迫得无以为生，而求助于别人时，别人又因他平日行为太坏，绝不同情理睬，这人所处的境地便是“四面楚歌”。
中国成语故事《不合时宜》中英文版
In the State of Lu, there was a couple of husband and wife, the former being an expert shoemaker and the latter a skilled hand in wearing taffeta. One day after consultations they decided to go to the state of Yue to earn a livelihood. The neighbors advised them not to go when they learned about their plan. "Don't go there," said one neighbor, "If you go, you can never earn a livelihood."
"We cannot understand you," interrogated the couple, "We have a find command of our art, how could we not earn our living with our work? Don't make a fool of us, please."
"Indeed, you have your skill," explained the man, "But have you taken notice of the fact that shoes are made for people and the silk taffeta are for hat-making? The people of Yue don't wear shoes, for they are barefooted. Again, they like to have their hair spread out over their heads and they never use hats. To whom should you sell your shoes and hats then?" Experienced though you are in the arts, yet the arts you have mastered are useless there."
After this explanation, the husband and wife now understood that anything that was not adaptable to the objective world would be useless and unpractical.
鲁国有对夫妻，男的是鞋匠，鞋子做的很好；女的`是织绢能手。有一天，他们商量想到越国去谋生。消息传到四邻后，有人对他们说："不要到那儿去！否则你们一定无法生存的！"那对夫妇说："我们不明白你的意思， 我们都有一套手艺，怎么 会生活不了呢？别胡说了！" 那人说："对呀，你们虽然都有一套手艺，可是你们要知道，鞋子是给人穿的，但越国人都赤脚不穿鞋子，你们织的丝绢原是做帽子用的，但越国人喜欢披着头发，不戴帽子，你们的本领虽大，手艺虽高，但你们做的鞋子、帽子去卖给谁呢？那对夫妇这才明白，凡事如果不合时宜，不适合客观环境就不中用了。
中国成语故事《南辕北辙》中英文版
Going South by Driving the Chariot North
Once a man wanted to go to the south, but his carriage was heading north. A passer-by asked him:"If you are going to south, why is your chariot heading north?" The ma answered, "My horse is good at running, My driver is highly skilled at driving a carriage, ad I have enough money."The man didint consider that the direction might be wrong; the better his conditions were, ther further he was away from his destination.
The idiom derived froim this story indicates that one's action was the opposite effect to one's intention.
南辕北辙
从前有个人要到南方去，他坐的车子却向北方行驶。过路人说：“你去南方，车子怎么向北行驶呢?”他回答说：“我的马很能跑路，我的车夫驾车的技术也很高明，加上我又带了充足的路费。”这个人没有考虑到，方向弄反了，他的条件越好，离他要取得地方就越远。
后来人们就把这个故事概括为“南辕北辙”。比喻一个人的行动和他的目的正好相反。
中国成语故事《邯郸学步》中英文版
Imitating Another without Success and Losing What Used to Be One'sOwn Ability
Tradition has it that more than 2,oooyears ago,there lived a young man in the Shouling area of the State of Yan.As his name is not known ,we just call him Shouling young man for convenience's sake.
self confident He was at a loss as to how to behave all the time.
His family members advised him to overcome this shortcoming,but he thought they were fond of poking their noses into his business and were unwilling to provide him with tuition fee.His relatives and neighbours sneered at him,saying that he would never be able to learn anything.Asthe days went by,he even began to doubt whether he should walk the way he did,for he felt more and more that his walking gestures were too clumsy and awkward.
One day,he met some people on the road who werechattingand laughing.One of themsaid that people in Handan walked most gracefully.And thatwas just what he was most concerned about,so he hurreed towards themand wanted to make further inquiries.To his surprise,when these people saw him,they stalked off laughing.
He could not picture to himself in what way their walking gestures were graceful,no matter how hard he racked his parents one day.He went to Handanwhich was far away to learn how to walk.
As soon as he arrived in Handan,he was dazzled to find that everything was novel.He learned from the children there how to walk,because he thought that the children's walking gestures were lively and pleasing to the eye.He learnd from the old people there how to walk,because he thought the old people's walking gestures were steady .He learnd from the women there how to walk,because he thought the women' swaying walking gestures were beautiful.That being the case with him ,in less than half a month he even forgot how to walk.As he had already used up his traveling expenses,he had to crawl back home.
Thisstory come from the article"Autumn Water"in The Works of Xhuang Zi(Zhuang Zi was a famous ancient Chinese philosopher of about 300B.c.).Later the set phrase"initating another without success and losing what used to be one's own ability"is used to refer to acts of copying others mechanisally in disregard of specififc conditions.
相传在两千年前，燕国寿陵地方有一位少年，不知道姓啥叫啥，就叫他寿陵少年吧！
这位寿陵少年不愁吃不愁穿，论长相也算得上中等人材，可他就是缺乏自信心，经常无缘无故地感到事事不如人，低人一等——衣服是人家的好，饭菜是人家的香，站相坐相也是人家高雅。他见什么学什么，学一样丢一样，虽然花样翻新，却始终不能做好一件事，不知道自己该是什么模样。
家里的人劝他改一改这个毛病，他以为是家里人管得太多。亲戚、邻居们，说他是狗熊掰棒子，他也根本听不进去。日久天长，他竟怀疑自己该不该这样走路，越看越觉得自己走路的姿势太笨，太丑了。
有一天，他在路上碰到几个人说说笑笑，只听得有人说邯郸人走路姿势那叫美。他一听，对上了心病，急忙走上前去，想打听个明白。不料想，那几个人看见他，一阵大笑之后扬长而去。
邯郸人走路的姿势究竟怎样美呢？他怎么也想象不出来。这成了他的心病。终于有一天，他瞒着家人，跑到遥远的邯郸学走路去了。
一到邯郸，他感到处处新鲜，简直令人眼花缭乱。看到小孩走路，他觉得活泼、美，学；看见老人走路，他觉得稳重，学；看到妇女走路，摇摆多姿，学。就这样，不过半月光景，他连走路也不会了，路费也花光了，只好爬着回去了。
指鹿为马－中国成语故事中英对照
Calling a Stag a Horse 指鹿为马
In the reign of Emperor the Second of the Qin Dynasty (221-207 B.C.), the prime minister Zhao Gao, obsessed with ambitions, was planning to usurp the throne day and night. But he did not know how many of the ministers in the court were allowed to be ordered about by him and how many of them were his opponents. So he thought out a way to test how high his prestige among the ministers was and also to find out who dared to oppose him.
秦二世时，丞相赵高野心勃勃，日夜盘算着要篡夺皇位。可朝中大臣有多少人能听他摆布，有多少人反对他，他心中没底。于是，他想了一个办法，准备试一试自己的威信，同时也可以摸清敢于反对他的人。
One day when court was held, Zhao Gao let someone bring a stag to the court and, with a broad smile on his face, he said to Emperor the Second of the Qin Dynasty:"Your Majesty, here is a fine horse I'm presenting to you." Looking at the animal, Emperor the Second thought that it was obviously a stag and that it couldn't be a horse. So he said smilingly to Zhao Gao:"Mister Prime Minister, you are wrong. This is a stay. Why do you say it is a horse?" Remaining calm, Zhao Gao said:"Will your Majesty please see more clearly? This really is a horse that covers a thousand li a day." Filled with suspicion, Emperor the Second looked at the stag again and said:"How can the antlers be grown on the head of a horse?" Turning around and pointing his finger at the ministers, Zhao Gao said in a loud voice:"if our Majesty do not believe me, you can ask the ministers."
一天上朝时，赵高让人牵来一只鹿，满脸堆笑地对秦二世说：“陛下，我献给您一匹好马。”秦二世一看，心想：这哪里是马，这分明是一只鹿嘛！便笑着对赵高说：“丞相搞错了，这里一只鹿，你怎么说是马呢？”赵高面不改色心不跳地说：“请陛下看清楚，这的确是一匹千里马。”秦二世又看了看那只鹿，将信将疑地说：“马的头上怎么会长角呢？”赵高一转身，用手指着众大臣，大声说：“陛下如果不信我的话，可以问问众位大臣。”
The nonsense of Zhao Gao made the ministers totally at a lose, and they whispered to themselves: What tricks was Zhao Gao playing? Was it not obvious whether it was a stag or a horse? But when they saw the sinister smile on Zhao Gao's face and his two rolling eyes which were gazing at each of them, they suddenly understood his evil intentions.
大臣们都被赵高的一派胡言搞得不知所措，私下里嘀咕：这个赵高搞什么名堂？是鹿是马这不是明摆着吗！当看到赵高脸上露出阴险的笑容，两只眼睛骨碌碌轮流地盯着赵高脸上露出阴险的笑容，两只眼睛骨碌碌轮流地盯着每个人的时候，大臣们忽然明白了他的用意。
Some of the ministers who were timid and yet had a sense of right eousness did not dare to say anything, because to tell lies would make their conscience uneasy and to tell the truth would mean that they would be persecuted by Zhao Gao later. Some ministers with a sense of justice persisted that it was a stag and not a horse. There were still some crafty and fawning ministers who followed Zhao Gao closely in ordinary times. They immediately voiced their support to Zhao Gao, saying to the emperor:"This really in a horse that covers a thousand li a day."
一些胆小又有正义感的人都低下头，不敢说话，因为说假话，对不起自己的良心，说真话又怕日后被赵高所害。有些正直的人，坚持认为是说明书而不是马。还有一些平时就紧跟赵高的奸佞之人立刻表示拥护赵高的说法，对皇上说，“这确是一匹千里马！”
After the event, Zhao Gao punished by various means those ministers with a sense of justice who were not obedient to him, even with whole families of some of those ministers executed.
事后，赵高通过各种手段把那些不顺从自己的正直大臣纷纷治罪，甚至满门抄斩。
This story appears in "The Life of the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty" in The Historical Records written by Sima Qian. From this story people have derived the set phrase "calling a stag a horse" to mean deliberately misrepresenting some thing and misleading the public.
故事出自《史记·秦始皇本纪》。成语“指鹿为马”比喻故意颠倒是非，混淆黑白。
基本解释
◎ 蹩脚 biéjiǎo
(1) [inferior]∶质量低劣的
蹩脚的家具
(2) [clumsy]∶不老练的或不圆滑的
蹩脚的外交手腕
(3) [be disappointed]∶失意潦倒
他早忘了蹩脚时候过的是什么日子
近义词
乏味
英文翻译
1.[方] (质量不好) inferior; shoddy; poor; incompetent; knock-kneed; cheap
详细解释
(1).跛脚。 鲁迅 《南腔北调集·<萧伯纳在上海>序》：“于是各人的希望就不同起来了。蹩脚愿意他主张拿拐杖，癞子希望他赞成戴帽子。” 徐兴业 《金瓯缺》第十七章二：“ 耶律大石 不带一个随从，自己迈着蹩脚的大步走进来了。”
(2).方言。质量低劣;能力低下。 鄢国培 《漩流》第十四章：“ 张阿德 笑着说：‘你那蹩脚香烟暂时收起，我口袋里是大炮台。’” 钱锺书 《围城》六：“也许明天 高松年 不认我这个蹩脚教授。”
(3).方言。潦倒失意。 杨朔 《北线》：“大家一看是 龙起云 ，大脸通红，五冬六夏用冷水洗脸，叫冷风一吹，脸色显得格外新鲜。他摆着手走过来笑道：‘想想早先那个蹩脚劲，笑话多的多呢!’”
(4).不足之处;破绽。 周而复 《上海的早晨》第三部十七：“ 郑兴发 是老工人，技术高，情况熟，更不可轻视。他生怕 郑兴发 戳他的蹩脚，凝神地一字不漏地听 郑兴发 说。”
造句
1、谎言是一种毒品,让人越陷越深;谎言是最蹩脚的表演,令人不断喝倒彩;谎言,需要更多的谎言进行掩饰。
2、今天,一个优秀的建筑师和一个蹩脚的建筑师的区别在于,蹩脚的建筑师屈从于每一种诱惑,而优秀的建筑师则予以抵制。维特根斯坦
3、人们宁愿去关心一个蹩脚电影演员的吃喝拉撒和鸡毛蒜皮,而不愿了解一个普通人波涛汹涌的内心世界……路遥
4、蹩脚的旅行者只知道“到此一游”,蹩脚的读者只知道书的结局。
5、不存在太完美这么一说,只能说这个世界充斥着蹩脚的化妆师罢了。
6、我走向麦克风,为我蹩脚的普通话道歉,并做了一个简短但似乎有些不知所云的致辞:"我是美国人,我的这些朋友是中国人,我们组成了一个乐队。"。
