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· 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

He is somebody in the small town, but he is a nobody in the capital city.

· lead someone around by the nose牵着别人的鼻子走

All nations should exercise their own judgment. They shouldn't be led around by some big countries.

· poke one's nose into something乱打听别人的私事

I hate those journalists who poke their nose into people's private life.

· be a notch above someone略胜一筹

In study, we are neck and neck; but in sports, he is a notch above me.

· sit up and take notice of something/someone对......刮目相看

He used to know nothing about chemistry. Now he talks like a chemist, I have to sit up and take notice of him...

· have someone's number知道某人的底细

Don't waste your tongues with him. I've got his number. What he is trying to do now is to set a trap and let us jump into it.

· be quick to take offense特别爱生气

I don't think he is a quality leader. He is too quick to take offense.

· have one too many喝多了

The bridegroom had one too many at the wedding ceremony and was shooting cats.

· be on the outs with someone与......失和

For some reason, the two countries have been on outs for a long time.

· a pain in the neck使人讨厌的事

Working for VIPs was an honor for me, but now it has become a pain in the neck. I don't know how to balance the relationships.

· grease someone's palm贿赂，给某人好处

It is reported that Sydney has greased the palms of someone members of IOC for the right to hold 2000 Olympic Games.

· get peanuts微不足道的钱

He gets paid peanuts although he often works extra hours.

· cast pearls before swine对牛弹琴，明珠暗投

My boss is an idiot. Working for him is just like casting pearls before swine.

· feel like a square peg in a round hole感到格格不入，不适合

After graduation, I remained as a teacher in college. Whenever our former classmates have a get-together, I always feel like a square peg in a round hole. All they talk about are ways to make money, expensive hotels, luxurious entertainment, things I have no experiences to share with them.

· pinch pennies节俭

Though he is a tycoon, he pinches pennies in daily life.

· rob Peter to pay Paul拆东墙，补西墙

You borrow money from me to pay the bank loan. It is like robbing Peter to pay Paul.

· be no picnic不是件轻松的事

To learn one foreign language is possible. But to be a bilingual is no picnic.

· sugar the pill给人一点甜头安慰一下

Sonia didn't want to work extra hours quite often, but the manager sugared the pill by promising her a trip abroad at the end of the year.

· be on pins and needles坐立不安

He is a very modest man. When others praise him, he feel on pins and needles.

· put that in your pipe and smoke it你好好考虑考虑吧

此句常用于祈使句

Don't take it out on me. It is he who makes you lose so much money. Put it in your pipe and smoke it!

· play up to someone拍某人的马屁

The young actress played up to the director, hoping to get a role in the TV series.

· take the plunge踌躇一段时间后断然决定去干......

The commander finally took the plunge and launched the final attack.

· play possum装糊涂，装傻

He often quarrels with his wife. When he comes to me for advice, I can do nothing but play possum.

· drop something like a hot potato赶紧抛弃，放弃

He has been dreaming of owning his own car. But when he knew a car would cost ten years' of his salary, he drop the idea like a hot potato.

· sing someone's praises颂扬某人

The lawyer is quite successful. His clients sing his praises to others.

· be past praying for不可救药

When I sent my cat to the vet, he said that it was past praying for.

· be sitting pretty享受安乐生活

Our company survived the economic crisis and now we are sitting pretty.

· pocket one's pride放下架子

The laid-off workers from the state-owned enterprises should pocket their pride and seek for re-employment.

· put someone up to...唆使某人去......

How dare you to have lodged a complaint against me with the director? Who put you up to it?

· pop the question求婚

Can you tell me how you popped the question to your wife? Maybe I can learn something from you.

· call it quits作罢

Mary and Tom had been in love for several years. But these days, they began to realize that they had very little in common. They decided to call it quits.

· chew the rag闲聊

chew the rag也有争吵的意思

If they have time, these wives are always sitting together and chewing the rag.

· fly into a rage大发雷霆

The old father flew into a rage when his daughter didn't obey his will.

· break ranks with someone与......分道扬镳

反义词为：close ranks with someone

People within one party gradually had conflicts on some political issues. Some of them decided to break ranks with others and set up a new party.

· smell a rat察觉可疑

He is a well-known miser. I smell a rat when he invites me to his home for dinner. I was wondering if he is asking favors of me.

· beat a hasty retreat急忙撤退

The hoodlum was about to dully the lady when he saw a patrolman coming towards them. He beat a hasty retreat.

· take someone for a ride欺骗某人，玩弄某人的感情

They were taking us for a ride. I turned out that the tickets they sold us with low price were invalid.

· rip someone off敲某人竹杠

The local villain rips us off by collecting 100 yuan for protection charge every month.

· be on the rocks陷入困境，完蛋

The foam economy was struck by the Asian financial crisis. Japan's economy was on the rocks.

· rub it in哪壶不开提哪壶

Would you please talk in Chinese? You know I'm a pretty bad English speaker. You don't have to rub it in.

· give someone the runaround敷衍搪塞

My washing machine broke down, When I went to the repair shop, they gave me the runaround.

· be in a rut千篇一律，一筹莫展

His life is in a rut. Office, library, and home are the three places he goes everyday. It is time he had a holiday for a change.

· play it safe小心谨慎

Our car works very well. But to play it safe, we will bring a spare tire.

· safe and sound安全无事

He came back from the battlefield safe and sound.

· the salt of the earth好心肠的人，没有坏心眼的人

The taxi driver who saved the drowning boy from the river is the salt of the earth.

· take something with a grain of salt听话打折扣，不能轻信

He is a braggart. Take his words with a grain of salt.

· tip the scales扭转局势

In the boxing ring, the two sides were evenly matched. But the short break seemed to tip the scales in favor of the boxer in red.

· throw someone off the scent转移某人的视线

The murder wrote a last letter for the victim and left it in the site, hoping to throw the police off the scent.

· start from scratch从零开始，白手起家

There are so many spelling mistakes. I have to write it again from scratch.

· talk sense into someone开导某人

I've tired to talk sense into him, but he still chose to work in the countryside.

· an open sesame法宝，秘诀，关键

Having connections with VIPs is not an open sesame to success.

· the lion's share最大的一份，绝大多数

He designed the most important part of the machine. So he deserves the lion's share of the award.