1. Shoot the Breeze = chat informally

美國人把無目的的閑聊比作是向微風射擊，打風。

范例對話:

A: What are you going to be doing this afternoon?

B: Oh, I don’t have anything in particular in mind.

A: Why don’t you come over to my place? We can listen to some records and shoot the breeze.

B: That sounds OK to me. I’d like to relax listening to music and visit and chat informally until my folks get back from shopping.

2. Bite the Dust = go down in defeat

美國人把輸了比作是頭朝下啃泥土。

范例短文:

Andy did exceptionally well in all of the track events, but bit the dust in the high jump competition. Much to the disappointment of his fans, he went down in defeat, losing to a competitor from the visiting team.

3. Bend Over Backward = try very hard

美國人認為向后傾是要花很大力氣才能做到的事。Bend over backward 表示非常努力去做某事。

范例短文:

When Joan first started teaching she was afraid that she would have a lot of trouble getting used to the kids and to the faculty. Her fears turned out to be unfounded. Since everybody bent over backwards to help her. Everyone tried very hard to help her feel comfortable and adjust to the school.

4. Scratch Someone’s Back = return a favor

美國人認為幫別人撓背就是還禮，對別人恩惠地交換。

范例對話:

A: Hey, Bea. I need some help stacking these boxes. Would you please give me a hand?

B: OK. And I need some help tidying up the house. How about your helping me out after that?

A: OK. If you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.

B: I know you don’t like doing housework, but I’ll help you with the boxes if you promise to return the favor.

A: No problem. I’ll even do the windows.

5. Turn Someone Off = disgust someone

turn off 表示把電源斷掉。Turn someone off 表示讓別人一下子沒了興趣。

范例對話:

A: How was your date with Marty last night?

B: Well, it started off OK, but he really turned me off when we went for a snack after the movies.

A: Did he say or do something to annoy you?

B: Frankly, he disgusted me when he tried to talk with his mouth full.

A: I don’t blame you. That would have really bothered me too.

6. Kick the Bucket = die

死蹺蹺了。

范例短文:

It’s been said that the old man knew of a buried treasure, but he kicked the bucketbefore telling anyone where it was. If the treasure exists, the old man unfortunately took the secret of its location with him when he died.