知识加油站－词汇天地

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155gentle







gentle as a lamb   
If you say that someone is as gentle as a lamb, you mean that they are kind and mild.

Brian was as gentle as a lamb and wouldn't hurt anyone.

Verdy was as gentle as a lamb off the field but a raging lion on it.

lspjy

156know







know something inside out
know something inside and out
If you know something or someone inside out or know them inside and out, you know them extremely well.

Liam has played for and against some of the greatest clubs in Europe and knows the game inside out.

I used to think I knew my daughter inside out, and I still find it hard to understand what she has done to me.

He knows the house inside and out, you know, having stayed there so often when Dolph's aunt and uncle were alive.

not know whether you are coming or going
If you don't know whether you are coming or going, you feel very confused and are unable to think clearly. This expression is used mainly in spoken English.

We worked 16 hours a day during the Gulf war and the Falklands. By the end of the week you didn't know whether you were coming or going.

You wanted to fire him from the minute you laid eyes on him. And he knew it. He's not dumb. You had him so scared he didn't know if he was coming or going.

The truth is I'm so excited that I hardly know whether I'm coming or going.

lspjy

157bay







keep something at bay
hold something at bay
If you keep something at bay or hold it at bay, you keep it from attacking you or affecting you in some other way. You can also keep people at bay or hold them at bay.

By salting the meat, bacteria were kept at bay, preserving the meat for future use.

Gretchen felt the intense regret that she had kept at bay for so long well up inside her.

Tooth decay can be held at bay by fluoride toothpaste and good dentistry.

A dozen American soldiers hold the crowd at bay until the helicopter lifts off.

lspjy

158waterfront







cover the waterfront   

If you cover the waterfront, you cover a very wide range of things, or cover every aspect of something. This expression is used mainly in American English.

We have three partners and five employees looking after this whole category. They cover the entire waterfront: oil, real estate, high-tech, and everything else.

We wanted to cover -- without covering the waterfront -- as many issues we

lspjy

158waterfront







cover the waterfront   

If you cover the waterfront, you cover a very wide range of things, or cover every aspect of something. This expression is used mainly in American English.

We have three partners and five employees looking after this whole category. They cover the entire waterfront: oil, real estate, high-tech, and everything else.

We wanted to cover -- without covering the waterfront -- as many issues we

lspjy

160king







live like a king   
If you say that someone lives like a king, you mean that they have a luxurious and very comfortable lifestyle.

Although he lives like a king, he manages it without provoking resentment.

It was no lie. executives lived like kings. The top thirty-one executives were paid a total of 14.2 million dollars, or an average of 458,000 dollars.

lspjy

161game







ahead of the game
If someone is ahead of the game, they are well prepared to deal with any change that happens in the activity which they are involved in.

We're always looking at new technologies to keep ahead of the game.

The way scientists keep ahead of the game is to use a combination of molecular analysis and careful judgement to predict what strain, or strains, of virus will cause the next outbreak.

beat someone at their own game
If you beat someone at their own game, you do something more successfully than they do, although they have a reputation for doing it better than anyone else.

The East is said to be beating the West at its own game. Its business conglomerates, which lay in ruins only a few decades ago, now outperform those of Europe and America.

Who do these New Yorkers think they are, coming out here and beating us at our own game?

the game is up
If you say that the game is up for someone, you mean that they can no longer continue to do something wrong or illegal, because people have found out what they are doing.

, once the game was up, freely admitted using steroids, human growth hormone and testosterone.

He narrowed his eyes as the blue lights of the police car filled the cab. Sensing the game was up, he pulled over.

Michael's game is up when Kimberly catches him in bed with

a game plan
Someone's game plan is the things that they intend to do in order to achieve a particular aim.

So few people stick to their game plan. I stuck to mine. I had always wanted to be a millionaire from a very early age.

There was and remains no overall game plan, and no agreed objective for Western policy.

Couples often have different game plans when they enter relationships.

give the game away
If someone or something gives the game away, they reveal something which someone had been trying to keep secret.

Johnson had intended to make his announcement in a forthcoming feature in The Times The Sun, by News International) but the gave the game away by advertising the feature a week before publishing.

Twelve stowaways have been caught the Spanish on board a boat bound for Italy. eight men and four were detected inside two sealed containers when they gave the game away by screaming for help after being cooped up for seven days.

She looks every inch a Beverly Hills native as she leans against a palm tree. Only the rather English accent gives the game away.

new to the game
If you say that someone is new to the game, you mean that they have no previous experience of the activity that they are taking part in.

We remember thinking at the time we were getting far too much exposure in the press and trying to do too much. But we didn't do anything about it because we were fairly new to the game and just did what our record company said.

Don't forget that she's new to this game and will take a while to complete the task, so you need to be very patient.

not play the game
If you accuse someone of not playing the game, you are accusing them of behaving in an unfair and unacceptable way. This is an old-fashioned expression, which is used mainly in British English. Compare play the game.

that research grants should all be the same and some got more than others. they told her this was Well, wrote to Sir who then called us all together and berated us for not playing the game.

the numbers game
If you say that someone is playing the numbers game, you mean that they are using amounts, figures, or statistics to support their argument, often in a way that confuses or misleads people.

He'd noticed before now how rarely statistics in support of an argument were ever countered by statistics demolishing it. If one side started playing the numbers game, the other insisted on arguing in human terms.

derides the numbers game which automatically argues that an exhibition receiving 5,000 visitors each day is better than one receiving 3,000.

the only game in town
If you say that someone or something is the only game in town, you mean that they are the best or most important of their kind, or the only one worth considering. Other adjectives can be used instead of `only'.

He's the only game in town, and I am hoping that he can show some real leadership strength.

is the only game in town that may lead to a durable and viable peace, for the alternatives are too awful to think about.

on the game
If a woman is on the game, she is working as a prostitute. This is an informal expression, which is used in British English.

How can anyone with kids think of going on the game?

play someone at their own game
If you play someone at their own game, you behave towards them in the same unfair or unpleasant way that they have been behaving towards you.

It used to bug me when men used to come in the office and I never used to get introduced. So I've started playing them at their own game. When I had clients to come and see me, I'd never introduce the men either.

play the game
If you have to play the game, you have to do things in the accepted way or in the way that you are told to by your superiors, in order to keep your job or to achieve success. Compare not play the game.

In order to survive and to prosper in the political system, they have to play the game.

The two official opposition also play the game by rules.

a waiting game
If you play a waiting game, you delay making any decisions or taking any action, because you think that it is better to wait and see how things develop.

I propose to play a waiting game, and hope that a few of the pieces of this puzzle will soon begin to fit together.

The seems more inclined a week ago to lay aside the contingency plans for air attack and play the waiting game.