知识加油站－词汇天地

lspjy

036limb







out on a limb
on a limb
If you go out on a limb, you do something risky or extreme, which puts you in a position of weakness. If you are left out on a limb or are on a limb, you are left in a position of weakness without any help or support.

It to me that you fear change and would prefer to stay in your present situation even though it seems to be tiresome, rather than go out on a limb and try something completely new.

No company wants to be the first to put its rates up. The companies who have tried have found themselves out on a limb.

She felt on a limb at the ministry Europe and quit the government in October 1990.

tear someone limb from limb
If someone threatens to tear you limb from limb, they are extremely angry with you and threaten you with violence.

Police were lucky they found before I did because they would have been arresting he said. I would have torn him limb from limb.

lspjy

037lines







on the right lines
along the right lines
If someone is on the right lines or is proceeding along the right lines, they are behaving in a way which is likely to result in success. This expression is used in British English. On the right track means the same.

Sometimes all you really require is detached opinion and impartial advice, or even just a friendly voice to tell you that you are on the right lines.

We are, it seems, proceeding along roughly the right lines with government action encouraging more efficient engines, while keeping an eye on developing alternatives.

You can also use this expression to suggest that someone is almost, but not completely, managing to achieve the required result.

The treatment offered so far has been along the right lines, but not successful in curing the condition completely.

read between the lines
If you read between the lines, you understand what someone really means, or what is really happening in a situation, even though it is not stated openly.

If one reads between the lines of their public statements, one is left with the impression that they're just to through the and that the decision to go ahead with mining has already been made.

He was reluctant to go into details, but reading between the lines it appears that the Bank of England has vetoed any idea of a merger between British banks.

You can also talk about the message between the lines.

He didn't give a reason, but I sensed something between the lines.

Mr Major's speech seemed hostile to the idea of a single currency. Yet, between the lines, there was much to suggest that he is not against it for ever.

lspjy

038lions







throw someone to the lions

If someone throws you to the lions, they allow you to be criticized severely or treated roughly, and they do not try to protect you. Throw someone to the wolves means the same.

Tanya isn't sure exactly why she's been thrown to the lions. She traces it back to quotes she made about the business that were reproduced out of context.

The mystique of the film star has been steadily eroded over the years by an increasingly inquisitive press. And so Hollywood, in its desperate need to make money in a world which no longer worships the cinema, has thrown its stars to the lions

lspjy

039look







a dirty look

a filthy look

a black look
If someone gives you a dirty look, a filthy look, or a black look, they look at you in a way that shows that they are very angry about something.

Tony was being a real pain. Michael gave him a dirty look and walked out of the kitchen.

He caught the filthy look his daughter flashed him.

Passing my stall, she cast black looks at the amount of stuff still unsold.

lspjy

040loud







loud and clear
If someone says something loud and clear, they say it openly, unambiguously, and forcefully so that it cannot be misunderstood or ignored.

The message must come across loud and clear from the manager: No matter how hard I ask you to work, I work as hard or harder.

The message coming through loud and clear is that men expect much more of their women than they do of themselves.

In the past we didn't have an African Caribbean voice in the council. Now our views and our voices are being heard loud and clear in the town hall.

You can also use loud and clear before a noun.

The statement said the international community had transmitted a loud and clear message that all expressions of hatred and intolerance are unacceptable to enlightened nations.

lspjy

041lump







like it or lump it
have to lump it
If you say that someone has to like it or lump it, you mean that they will have to accept a situation even though they do not like it, because they cannot do anything to change it. This is an informal expression.

Like it or lump it, Cannes is the place where the entire spectrum of world film has its annual meeting.

If you're a shareholder in the club then you have some sort of say in the way things are run. But as a paying customer you like it or lump it.

You can also say that someone will have to lump it when they have to accept a situation whether they want to or not.

When we pointed out they'd effectively taken part of our garden, they said they hadn't even noticed. We just had to lump it.

a lump in your throat
bring a lump to your throat
If you say that you have a lump in your throat, you mean that you have a tight feeling in your throat because of a strong emotion such as sorrow, nostalgia, or gratitude. You can also say that something brings a lump to your throat. Compare a frog in your throat; see frog.

Meg felt a lump in her throat. She was going to miss Dot, even though the two of them had never been particularly close.

It brings a lump to my throat. We are so proud of her.

lspjy

042wounds







lick your wounds
If you say that someone is licking their wounds, you mean that they are feeling sorry for themselves after being thoroughly defeated or humiliated.

England's cricketers are licking their wounds after being soundly defeated in the second Test against Australia at Melbourne.

The island has never supported a farming community, just a single farm doing the best it can. One by one the farmers have tried, failed and withdrawn to lick their financial wounds.

open old wounds
reopen old wounds
If you say that something opens old wounds, you mean that it reminds people of an unpleasant or embarrassing experience in the past that they would rather forget about. You can also say that something reopens old wounds.

But that afternoon my world was overturned. Ted's diagnosis had opened old wounds and I no longer felt secure.

Jean-Marie Le Pen, leader of the extreme-right National Front, has suggested that it is `not a good idea to open old wounds. The past does not interest the French people, who are more concerned with unemployment, immigration problems, crime and AIDS.'

Our Political Correspondent, Andrew Whitehead, says the row is reopening old wounds among Conservative MPs.