知识加油站－词汇天地

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210ways







cut both ways
cut two ways
If something cuts both ways, it has two different effects, usually one good and one bad. You can also say that something cuts two ways.

For Britain, the impact cuts both ways. The immediate effect of cheaper oil is to reduce North Sea oil revenue. But it also produces lower domestic inflation and stronger export markets.

This cuts two ways for the evicted home-owner. When he hands in his keys, he no longer owns the house; but he is still liable for interest on the loan, until the house is sold and the loan repaid.

mend your ways
If someone mends their ways, they stop behaving badly or illegally and improve their behaviour.

seemed to accept his sentence meekly, promising to work hard in prison and to mend his ways.

`At 34 I think I've done a lifetime of drinking. It's been made quite clear to me that if I carry on in this fashion I will die.' When asked if he intended to mend his ways, he told us `I'll try my best.'

Complaining to the Commission does not usually bring a speedy result, but the mere fact that an investigation has begun can force a dominant company to mend its ways.

set in your ways
If you describe someone as set in their ways, you mean that they have very fixed habits and ideas which they are unlikely or unwilling to change.

She knew that if the marriage was going to work it would have to be by her own efforts, her own painful adaptation. He was too set in his ways to make any real changes.

Perhaps you're worried that you may have become set in your ways. It's very easy to develop personal routines and not to accept that other people have other ways of doing things.

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211hip







joined at the hip
If you say that two people are joined at the hip, you mean that they are very close to each other emotionally and that they spend a great deal of time together. People often use this expression when they disapprove of this degree of closeness.

The couple who are almost joined at the hip in their 20s may have become quite different and distant in their 40s.

Though we often work together, we're not joined at the hip, so we see things differently.

If you say that two problems or factors are joined at the hip, you mean that they are very closely linked and cannot be considered or resolved separately.

Trends in world trade and trends in the environment are supposed to be joined together at the hip.

shoot from the hip
fire from the hip
If you say that someone shoots from the hip, you mean that they give their opinion or react to situations very quickly, without stopping to think it through properly. You can also say that someone fires from the hip.

Both men shoot from the hip, talk without self-censure, and speak clearly and feelingly without jargon or cant.

She specifically declared that she did not shoot from the hip. She liked to think hard and long before taking decisions.

He certainly has a tendency to fire from the hip -- to be impulsive. On the other hand, over the years he's shown considerable delicacy and tact in feeling the public mood.

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212bill







bill and coo

If you say that two lovers are billing and cooing, you mean that they are talking to­gether in an intimate and loving way. This is an old-fashioned or literary expression, which some people use to indicate that they think this behaviour is inappropriate.

Jenny decided to end their marriage when she caught Paolo billing and cooing down the phone to an ex-girlfriend.

I just have to stand there grinding my teeth while they bill and coo.

a clean bill of health: 1

If someone is given a clean bill of health, they are told that they are completely fit and healthy.

He had a full medical late last year and was given a clean bill of health.

Great Britain coach Mal Reilly, delighted to receive a clean bill of health for his 19-man squad, names his side today.

a clean bill of health: 2

If something is given a clean bill of health, it is examined or considered and then judged to be in a satisfactory condition.

Fourteen seaside resorts failed to meet the en­vironmental and safety standards, while 43 were given a clean bill of health.

The bottom line of that intensive study was that the chemical industry got an environmen­tal clean bill of health.

fit the bill

fill the bill

If someone or something fits the bill, they are exactly the right person or thing that is needed in a particular situation. You can also say that someone or something fills the bill.

I wanted someone who really knew their way around film-making and I knew that Richard would fit the bill.

Finding somewhere peaceful to paint was the main priority of artists Jenny Partridge and Nigel Casseldine when it came to finding a home - and their 17th-century house perched on a remote hillside certainly fits the bill.

'Tea? Coffee?' 'Coffee would just fill the bill.'

foot the bill

If you have to foot the bill for something, you have to pay for it.

Police will have to foot the bill for the slight damage to both cars.

Though the government is supportive, companies foot most of the bill.

It is increasingly recognised that to expect the insurance industry to foot the entire bill for pollution would bankrupt it.

sell someone a bill of goods

If you have been sold a bill of goods, you

have been deceived or told something that is not true. This expression is used in American English.

I began to realize that I'd been sold a bill of goods, that I wasn't in any way incompetent or slothful.

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213big







get too big for your boots

get too big for your britches

In British English, if you say that someone is getting too big for their boots, you are criticizing them for behaving as if they are much more important or clever than they re­ally are. Other verbs can be used instead of 'get'.

Get too big for their boots, kids these days. Think the whole universe should revolve round them..

Nobody in England will ever allow us to be come too big/or our boots.

I was often accused of being too big for my boots.

◇In American English, you say that someone is getting too big for their britches.

We both know your brother ain't the marry­ing kind. To say nothing of his being too big for his britches since he struck it rich.

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214bike







on your bike

People say 'on your bike' when they are telling someone to go away or stop behaving in a foolish way. This is an informal expres­sion, which is used in British English.

It was a heated game, and when I got Alee I just said something like 'You're out mate, on your bike.' Alee had a few words back and so it went. But it was all friendly in the bar after­wards.

It would be appropriate to say Your Royal Highness first time, then we could call her Ma'am. On your bike, I thought. I'm not hav­ing that. She's only written two books. I've done stacks.

◇This expression is often used to say that someone has been sacked from their job.

By the end of the week Neilsen had been told to get on his bike by new boss Jim Duffy.

'Get us promoted or get on yer bike!' That's Derby's ultimatum to their manager Arthur Cox after their disappointing season.

◇This expression is sometimes spelled 'on yer bike', to represent an informal pronuncia­tion of 'your'.

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215bottle







hit the bottle

If you say that someone is hitting the bot­tle, you mean that they are drinking too much alcohol, usually because something very unpleasant or upsetting has happened to them.

One newspaper even said I'd started hitting the bottle. Complete rubbish.

Teenagers from authoritarian or uncaring families are twice as likely as other youngsters to be heavy drinkers. 'They will hit the bottle to rebel,' said researcher Geoff Lome.

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216boy







a whipping boy

If you refer to someone or something as a whipping boy, you mean that people blame them when things go wrong, even though they may not be responsible for what has hap­pened.

The prime minister may have become a convenient whipping boy for the failures of the old regime.

This is the story of how America's favorite whipping boy became her favorite son.

Businessmen fear that they and the hard-won free-market reforms will be the whipping boys for the economic ills that confront the new ad­ministration.

your blue-eyed boy

your fair-haired boy

If you say that a man is someone's blue-eyed boy or fair-haired boy, you mean that the person has a very high opinion of the man and gives him special treatment. You usually use these expressions to indicate that you think the person is wrong to have this opinion or to treat the man so favourably. 'Blue-eyed boy' is used mainly in British Eng­lish and 'fair-haired boy' is used mainly in American English.

He'd lost interest in Willy by that time - I was the blue-eyed boy.

For ten years you've been everybody's blue-eyed boy. You're one of the best-known magis­trates in the country.

Okay, okay. I won't do anything to hurt your fair-haired boy. And business is business. We'll work together as we always have.