1. Dress to Kill = wear one’s finest clothing

衣服漂亮得電死人。

范例短文:

The reception for the new Swedish ambassador at the Jennison’s was quite lavish. Naturally, everybody was dressed to kill. Since it was a formal occasion, everyone was dressed in their finiest, most elegant clothes.

2. Knock Someone’s Socks Off = enthuse and excite

讓人興奮得連襪子都掉了。

范例對話:

A:Hi, John. What’s new?

B: Oh, nothing too much with me, but you ought to see Alfredo’s new car. It’ll knock your socks off!

A: So, he finally got that Italian sports car he’s been dreaming about.

B: He sure did! When you see all the custom features that it has, you’ll get so enthused and excited you won’t know what to do!

A: Boy, I can hardly wait to go for a ride in it!

3. Lose One’s Shirt = lose a great deal of money

連襯衫都輸掉了，表示輸了很多錢。

范例對話:

A: I happened to bump into Doug at lunch yesterday afternoon.

B: What’s new with Doug these days?

A: He wasn’t doing so well. For one thing, he told me he lost his shirt at the races.

B: Doug has always liked to bet on the horses. I’m not surprised that he lost a great deal of money.

A: Yeah. At this rate he’ll never have a penny to his name!

4. Wet Blanket = dull or boring person who spoils the happiness of others

蓋濕毯子當然不舒服，象濕毯子一樣的人，一定是令人厭煩、倒人胃口的人。

范例短文:

James was not invited to go on the outing with the rest of the group because he’s such a web blanket. On many previous occasions he has kept others from enjoying themselves by his pessimism and lack of enthusiasm. It’s understandable that no one wants him around.

5. Dress to the Teeth = dressed elegantly

跟中國成語武裝到牙齒有異曲同工之妙，表示某人費盡心機著裝打扮。

范例對話:

A: Did you see Hilda at the party last night?

B: Yes, I did. She was really dressed to the teeth!

A: Well, she had on her finest, most elegant clothing because she was out to make a good impression on Bill.