知识加油站－词汇天地

与你同行

231roses







come up smelling of roses   
If someone has been in a difficult situation and you say that they have come up smelling of roses, you mean that they are now in a better or stronger situation than they were before. You usually use this expression to show your surprise or resentment that this has happened.

Edwards, the Lucas managing, who walked out on Monday after a boardroom row, has come up smelling of roses. He has been snapped up by a rival engineering and the word is that his financial package is even healthier.

No matter the manages to wriggle out of it and come up smelling of roses.

everything is coming up roses
If you say that everything is coming up roses for someone, you mean that they are having a lot of success and everything is going well for them.

In the US suddenly, everything is coming up roses, with confidence unemployment on a downward trend and industrial production on the way up.

For Rachel , everything's coming up roses both in her home and her working life.

not a bed of roses
not all roses
If you say that a situation is not a bed of roses or not all roses, you mean that it is not all pleasant, and that there are some unpleasant aspects to it as well.

Life as a graduate is not a bed of roses.

I was angry with the world and with myself, and not without reason: my life had not been a bed of roses.

Inmates who have not considered their financial position are frequently shocked at the problems facing them on their release. The future's never all roses, and we make the men think about that.

lspjy

232say







before you could say Jack Robinson
before you could say knife
If you say that something happened before you could say Jack Robinson or before you could say knife, you are emphasizing that it happened very suddenly and quickly.

The pair of them were out of the door and down the steps before you could say Jack Robinson.

The money they'd sent their son for gold he told them it was easy to get them done in The had gone on booze before you could say knife.

People often change `Jack Robinson' or `knife' to a name or a word or expression that is relevant to the context they are talking about.

But before anyone can say `soup kitchen', let alone open one, the mission gets bogged down in the harsh complexities of the Balkan conflict.

She was on the phone to New York before you could say long-distance.

lspjy

233scales







the scales fall from your eyes   
When someone suddenly realizes the truth about something after a long period of not understanding it or of being deceived about it, you can say that the scales have fallen from their eyes. This is a literary expression.

It was only at that according to his letter to Sir David that the scales finally fell from his eyes and he realised he had made a dreadful mistake.

The scales have fallen completely from her eyes, and like millions of others she's finally grasped the enormity of the lie.

lspjy

234stools







fall between two stools
caught between two stools
If someone or something falls between two stools, they are in an unsatisfactory situation because they do not belong to either of two groups or categories, or because they are trying to do two different things at once and are failing at both. You can also say that someone is caught between two stools. These expressions are used mainly in British English.

Labour says that young people on waiting lists for youth training fall between two stools. They can't get unemployment benefit, nor can they get the allowance for the scheme they're waiting to get on.

Devo's problem remains the same: comes down to the they are caught between the two stools of art and pop, operating on the fringes of both but easily dismissed by both for failing to be, respectively, serious or rampantly commercially successful.

This expression can be varied.

The album has fallen between stools to a certain extent.

The missions so far have fallen between all stools, and are in danger of merely prolonging the conflict.

lspjy

235thorn







a thorn in your side
a thorn in your flesh
If you describe someone or something as a thorn in your side, you mean that they continually annoy or irritate you. You can also say that they are a thorn in your flesh.

has become a thorn in the side of the government since publishing a number of reports pointing out that public cash was being mishandled.

The council doesn't like organisations like ours because we're a thorn in their side.

She was regarded locally as good doctor an undoubted eccentric, and was, apparently, a thorn in the flesh of the Teignmouth police.

lspjy

236trial







a trial balloon
A trial balloon is an idea or plan which is suggested in order to find out about public opinions on a controversial subject. This expression is used mainly in American English.

The administration has not officially released any of the specifics of the president's economic plan, although numerous trial balloons have been floated and have been dropped.

It's hard to say what's a trial balloon and what is a policy in a process of being formed.  

lspjy

237wire







down to the wire
If you do something down to the wire, you continue doing it until the last possible moment. This expression is used mainly in American English.

As Congress down to the wire to reach a compromise, the president lectured a group of White House interns on the budget crisis.

With two days to go, this means the parties will go down to the wire before a victor emerges.

Contract negotiations between General Motors and the United Auto Workers are going down to the wire in Detroit. The strike deadline is midnight tonight.

a live wire
If you describe someone as a live wire, you mean that they are very lively and energetic.

She is a wonderful girl, a real live wire and full of fun.

under the wire
If you get in under the wire, you get in somewhere or do something at the last possible moment. This expression is used mainly in American English.

He has been running ads in publications like the Wall Street Journal, urging clients to get in under the wire.

On first reading it looks like they'll get under the wire because they have a US partner on the team.