CNN主播教你美國最常用的英語慣用語&片語

"一、人際個性
1. 情緒

at one's worst 在自己最糟的時刻
chip on one's shoulder 好爭鬥；易怒
choke up 激動哽咽
fall under sb./sth.'s spell 被……吸引、迷住
get back on one's feet 重新打起精神
head over heels 神魂顛倒
look over one's shoulders 提心吊膽
lump in one's throat 哽咽
on edge坐立不安的
reach boiling point （情緒）即將失控
take comfort 放寬心；感到慰藉
throw sb. off guard 使某人措手不及

2. 態度與行為
as cool as a cucumber 出奇冷靜；泰然自若
cross one's fingers 祈求好運
fall in line 守規矩
fend for oneself 自立自強；照顧自己
get ahead of oneself 言之過早
give sb. the cold shoulder 刻意冷落某人
have one's way 獨行其是；一意孤行
in your face 大膽直接；咄咄逼人
keep one's head down 避免麻煩
let loose 放任；放鬆
not bat an eye 不為所動
push sb.'s buttons 惹怒某人
sit around 閒坐；無所事事
stare down 以目光震懾
tongue in cheek 開玩笑地；說著玩地

3. 個性與特質
a hard act to follow難以企及的典範
A-list 最受歡迎名單；一線的
all talk and no action只說不做；光說不練
beyond one's years有著超齡的……
cut out to be天生適合；有……的才能
feet on the ground腳踏實地；講求實際
have a knack for有本事；有一套
hot air空話；大話
in sb.'s blood天生的；與生俱來的
stand out from the crowd出眾；傑出超群
top gun高手；第一把交椅

4. 人際互動
break bread一起用餐
break the ice緩和氣氛；打破冷場
catch up with sb. 與某人談天、敘舊
get a kick out of由……獲得樂趣
go way back相識已久；存在已久
hit it off一拍即合；投緣
make a fool out of sb. 讓某人出糗
out of step不一致；悖離
partner in crime同夥；死黨
pull fast one欺騙；耍弄
shoot the breeze閒聊；閒談
up close and personal緊密；貼近
word of mouth口碑；口耳相傳
word on the street市井傳言；傳聞

5. 想法與行動
against one's better judgement明知不對（依然去做……）
call to action鼓勵人們採取行動
cross one's mind想起；記起
dawn on sb. 頓悟；突然明白
find one's voice找到個人特色
force one's way用力推進；強行攻佔
hit the road出發；上路
out and about外出走動
set foot in踏進；造訪
take a peek一瞥；一窺
take the stage登台表演；上台
take to the streets走上街頭

6. 表達意見
drive the point home充分表達觀點
give nothing away一點也不透露
hit home正中要害；使意識到
keep one's own counsel不發表意見
make one's point表明看法
put sth. into perspective客觀地衡量
shed light on闡明；解釋
stick to one's guns堅持主張
take it from me相信我說的；聽我的忠告
talk one's way into sth. 以口才獲得某事物
talk sb. through sth. 清楚解釋讓人理解

7. 討論與爭論
at loggerheads爭執；爭吵
bump heads with sb. 與某人意見不合
educated guess有根據的猜測
get down to開始認真（做）
in the firing line易受批評、攻擊
in the loop知曉；掌握狀況
on the table提交討論中
put a spin on加入詮釋
take a shot at批評；抨擊
tip sb. off洩漏消息給某人
turn of phrase表達方式；措辭
up to speed了解最新狀況
weigh in on針對……發表意見

二、做事方式

8. 努力與決心
against all the odds克服萬難
bend over backwards竭盡全力
comb through仔細找尋；徹底檢查
follow through堅持完成；貫徹到底
go all in全心投入
have one's eyes on the prize鎖定遠大目標
have one's sights on決心；立志
make sth. count產生意義；產生效益
not miss a beat沒有遲疑；毫無差錯
once and for all徹底；一勞永逸
turn every stone千方百計；想盡辦法
work one's fingers to the bone拼命工作；苦幹
zero in on瞄準；鎖定

9. 團隊合作
all hands on deck全員出動
call the shots掌權作主；發號施令
go it alone獨立執行
hold sb. accountable使某人負起責任
in the hands of由某人掌控
jump on board加入行列
lead by example以身作則
pick up the slack接手未完成的工作
play one's part盡本分；發揮影響
pull together同心協力；合作
run the show主導；負責
take a back seat退居次要地位
take the blame承受責難
take the helm掌舵；掌權
what one says goes某人說了算

10. 守成與創新
ahead of one's time超越時代；領先時代
blaze a trail開闢新路；做為先驅
break the mold打破窠臼；改變模式
comfort zone舒適圈
follow in sb.'s footsteps繼承衣缽；跟隨腳步
follow sb.'s lead仿效某人；跟從領導
follow suit跟進；效法
game changer改變局勢者；顛覆性產品
get with the program順應潮流；接受改變
out-of-the-box thinker跳脫框架的思想家
push the boundaries挑戰極限
push the envelope發揮最大潛力；突破極限
raise eyebrows令人驚訝；引人質疑
reinvent the wheel做已做過的事；白花力氣
the sky's the limit沒有極限

11. 嘗試與放棄
a leap of faith放手一搏
here goes nothing姑且一試
monkey around搗蛋；胡鬧
scratch the surface抓到皮毛；粗淺瞭解
sit back坐視不管；袖手旁觀
test the waters試探；試水溫
the least one can do盡微薄之力
trial and error反覆試驗；不斷摸索
try one's hand at嘗試；一試身手
walk away from擺脫；一走了之

12. 準備與進行
at play起作用；造成影響
business as usual一切如常
gain momentum勢力增長；發展加速
go strong健康良好；運作理想
in place準備就緒
in the pipeline在計畫中；在醞釀中
in the works在進行中；在準備中
kick in起作用；發揮影響
like clockwork精準地；規律地
live up to達到；符合
make one's way前進；獲得成功
off and on斷斷續續
on target精確；如期
on track進展順利；有望成功
swing into action迅速展開行動
take sth. one day at a time順其自然；從容不迫
work in progress尚未完成的作品

13. 規則與管理
above the law凌駕於法律之上
behind closed doors私下地
checks and balances分權制衡；層層把關
come to grips with勉力對付；努力了解
crack down on制裁；打擊
dos and don'ts原則；準則
get a handle on理解；掌控
give the green light給予許可；批准
keep an eye on注意；監視
keep sth. in check抑制某事物
keep tabs on密切注意；監控
keep track of追蹤；記錄
run afoul of衝突；牴觸
take into effect實行；生效
with no strings attached無附帶條件

三、成敗局勢

14. 競賽
be up against面臨；遭遇
bring it on放馬過來
for the taking唾手可得；待人爭取
in the running參加競賽；有勝算
keep pace with跟上腳步；並駕齊驅
lag behind落後於……
leave sb. in the dust遠遠超越某人
lick one's wounds養精蓄銳；重整旗鼓
neck and neck旗鼓相當；難分軒輊
second in line第二位；排名第二
second to僅次於
smell blood發現有機可乘；乘人之危
take on與某人較量；對抗
up for grabs任人競爭的

15. 勝利
big break重大轉機；時來運轉
bounce back重新振作；捲土重來
bragging rights誇耀的權利
bring home the bacon創下佳績；養家餬口
change for the better變好；改善
make a comeback捲土重來
make the cut過關；符合標準
make waves興風作浪；掀起風潮
pass with flying colors表現出色；高分過關
raise the bar提高門檻、標準
save the day化解危機；挽救局勢
walk away with輕鬆贏得

16. 成功成名
all the rage流行；風靡一時
bring sth. to fruition實現；完成
burst onto the scene突然竄紅
go viral瘋傳
here to stay 獲普遍認可
household name家喻戶曉的人物
live high on the hog過著豪奢的生活
make a splash大放異彩；一舉成名
make history創造歷史
make one's mark嶄露頭角；闖出名號
make one's name成名；出名
make or break成敗關鍵
on everyone's lips廣為談論的
pull off完成任務；成功做到
put sth. on the map使廣為人知
take sth. by storm橫掃；席捲

17. 金錢
a slice of the pie一份好處；分一杯羹
bet big重金下注；下重本
cash cow搖錢樹；金雞母
cash in on利用某事物賺錢
feel the pinch感到手頭拮据
go public股票公開上市
hand over fist迅速大量地（賺錢、賠錢）
live off of依靠……生活
rake in賺取（大把金錢）
set sb. back讓某人花費
strike gold奪金；賺大錢
turn a profit開始獲利
under the hammer被拍賣

18. 失敗失意
dead end死胡同；絕境
die like a dog死狀悽慘
fall to pieces瓦解；無法運作
give way to被……取而代之
go under失敗；破產
have no way out走投無路
lose one's shirt輸得徹徹底底
make do將就著用；勉強
on the rocks觸礁；瀕臨崩潰
on the ropes處於困境；即將失敗
pay the price吃苦頭；付出代價
to no avail無濟於事；徒勞無功
too little, too late成事不足、為時已晚

19. 阻礙與助力
at a crossroads面臨抉擇
be caught up in sth. 身陷某事物之中
break sb.'s fall止住跌勢；減緩衝擊
breaking point爆發點；極限
cast a shadow over使蒙上陰影；使黯然失色
come to terms with逐漸接受；妥協
get in one's way妨礙；阻止
pave the way為……鋪路；促進發展
ride the wave乘勢；順勢
shot across the bow發出警告
stepping stone墊腳石；踏板
the odds are stacked against情勢不利於
walk a tightrope如履薄冰
work around克服；迴避

20. 局勢轉變

a clean sheet of paper重新開始的機會；歸零
a new lease on life重獲新生
a whole new ball game另一種局面
anyone's guess誰也說不準
get out of a jam擺脫困境
moment of truth重要關頭；決定性時刻
out of the woods脫離險境；走出困境
set the tone定調
the big picture大局；全面情勢
there's no telling無法推測；不確定
turn over a new leaf重新開始；改過自新
turn the corner度過難關；好轉
turn the tables逆轉情勢；翻轉局面
turn the tide扭轉局勢；翻轉局面
twists and turns迂迴曲折
ups and downs沉浮；興衰

四、事件事物
21. 開始與結束
back to square one回到原點；重新開始
be done with it了結；結束
bring sth. to a grinding halt使某事突然停擺
call it a day終止；結束
cap off帶出結尾
come to a close結束；進入尾聲
from the get-go打從一開始
from the outset起初；從一開始
from the word go從一開始
go out on a high note急流勇退
make one's debut初登場；首次問世
pull the plug結束；終止
right off the bat立刻；直接了當
seal the deal達成協議；使有定局
stop sth. in its tracks使某事即刻停止
the curtain falls on sth. 曲終人散；結束
tie up loose ends將⋯⋯交代清楚、處理完善

22. 危險與損害
a bitter pill to swallow令人難以接受
a close call千鈞一髮
a wake-up call警告；警訊
at the expense of以……為代價
be short of短缺；缺乏
cut both ways有好也有壞；利弊互見
seal sb.'s fate決定了某人的命運
take a toll耗損；造成損失
take the brunt of首當其衝
the devil's in the detail魔鬼藏在細節中
the lion's den危險境地；虎穴
the tip of the iceberg冰山一角
time bomb定時炸彈
wear and tear磨損；損耗
wreak havoc造成極大傷害

23. 好的、便利的
at one's disposal供某人使用、支配
blessing in disguise因禍得福
come in handy派上用場
fill the void填補空隙
go up a notch往上一級
have it both ways兩全其美
in good hands妥善照顧
music to the ears好消息
off the shelf現成的
out of this world無與倫比的
pros and cons優缺點
third time's a charm一、二、三，好運到
top of the line上等；極佳
turn heads引人注意
worth one's while值得某人去做

24. 重要的
a force to be reckoned with不可輕忽的勢力
first things first要緊事先做
front and center最重要的
loom large顯得突出；變得明顯
on sb.'s radar在某人關注範圍內
speak volumes充分說明；不言自明
the name of the game主要目的
the order of the day常見的；主要的
top of mind首要事務

25. 相同、相異
across the board全面性地
along the lines of類似於……
as different as chalk and cheese天差地遠；迥然不同
black and white非黑即白的；是非分明的
come as no surprise不令人驚訝；意料之中
come with the territory必然的；難免
en masse全部；全體
go hand in hand攜手並進
in sync一致地；同步地
in tandem 同時地；協同地
like no other獨一無二的；絕無僅有的

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