"bite the bullet"or doing something unpleasant, comes from when soldiers would bite a bullet when they were being operated on without anesthetic.

“咬子彈”(bite the bullet)，即做令人不愉快的事。這一習語來源于過去士兵們做手術不打麻藥，只能咬子彈忍痛。

There is some debate over whether or not this is true. Thephrase has been in use since 1796 and has always meant to have a "stiffupper lip" before doing something you don’t want to do.

關于這一來源是不是真的還存在爭議。這一短語從1796年就開始使用了，總是用來指在做不愿做的事情時咬緊牙關(have a stiff upper lip)。It may have come from a belief that people can derive couragefrom biting a bullet, according to researchers.研究者稱，這也許來自于一種信仰，認為人們能從咬子彈中獲得勇氣。

【例句】Many economists argue that China still needs to bite the bullet and let the Yuan appreciate so itseconomy depends less on exports and more on domestic demand.

很多經濟學家說，中國仍需要咬緊牙關讓人民幣升值，這樣中國的經濟就可以減少對出口的依賴，而更多地依靠內需。

Judas’s kiss

According to the Synoptic Gospels, Judas identified Jesus to the soldiers by means of a kiss.This is the kiss of Judas, also known (especially in art) as the Betrayal of Christ, which occurs in the Garden of Gethsemane after the Last Supper, and leads directly to the arrest of Jesus by the police force of the Sanhedrin (Kilgallen 271). More broadly, a Judas kiss may refer to "an act appearing to be an act of friendship, which is in fact harmful to the recipient.

根據馬太福音的記載，猶大跟警察約定，他親吻誰，誰就是耶穌。猶大之吻在基督教中意味著“背叛”說明一個背叛朋友而又假裝得十分親熱的叛徒嘴臉,比喻可恥的叛賣、變節行為

【例句】 People considered that what he had played on that occasion was no more than a Judas kiss .

人們認為他在那種場合所表演的不過是猶大之吻──居心險惡。

Pandora’s Box

A "Pandora’s box" has come to signify the source of endlesscomplications or trouble, one whose genesis is deceptively simple. The phrasecomes fromancient Greekmythology, specifically a set of epic poems by Hesiod, theTheogony and Works and Days, from the SeventhCentury B.C. The poet relates the creation of Pandora, the first woman, and agift given to her by Zeus, which ultimately ends the Golden Age of humankind.

“潘多拉的盒子”用來代指惹事的根源，也指罪惡的來源，也指災難的來臨。希臘神話中宙斯用粘土做成的地上的第一個女人，作為對普羅米修斯盜火的懲罰送給人類的第一個女人。眾神亦加入使她擁有更誘人的魅力。根據神話，潘多拉出于好奇打開一個“魔盒，釋放出人世間的所有邪惡——貪婪、虛無、誹謗、嫉妒、痛苦等等，當她再蓋上盒子時，只剩下希望在里面。

【例句】Money brings us happiness but sometimes it is a Pandora’s Box.

金錢給我們帶來了快樂,但有時候它也是災禍之源.

win hands down

If you"win hands down," you’re winning without a great effort.

如果你“垂著雙手取勝”(win hands down)，說明你輕而易舉地贏得了勝利。

In horse racing, a jockey who’s winning by a wide margin doesn’tneed to whip his horse to go faster, and can win with his "hands down."The phrase soon caught on outside the sporting world.

在賽馬中，如果一名騎手覺得自己勝券在握，就不需快馬加鞭，而是可以“垂著雙手”就贏得勝利。這句習語迅速在體育圈之外流行了起來。中文中也有“唾手可得”的成語，某種程度上，中西方想到了一起~

【例句】I’m sure you can win the game hands down.

我確信你能輕而易舉地贏得這次比賽。

kangaroo court

A"kangaroo court" means that there has been a fast and unfair legalprocedure. It likely comes from during the Gold Rush when American courts wouldskip procedures for quick sentencing.

“袋鼠法庭”(kangaroo court)指的是美國潦草而不公正的審判程序。這句話有可能來源于淘金熱時期，因為那個時期的法庭為了快速判決會省略掉一些程序。

Even though Kangaroos are native to Australia, this phrase datesback to the 19th century Gold Rush in America.

盡管袋鼠是澳大利亞獨有的動物，但這句話始見于19世紀美國淘金熱時期。

The most likely origin of the phrase, according to researchers,is that people who saw the quick sentencing in American courts during this timelikened it to kangaroos hopping or skipping.研究者稱，在淘金熱時期，人們在法庭上會經常見到快速潦草的審判，而袋鼠是蹦跳著走路的，因此人們把袋鼠的蹦跳比作法庭省略程序的做法。

【例句】The office looked like a kangaroo court.

這間辦公室看起來像是一個私設的公堂。

separate the wheat from the chaff

If you’re "separating the wheat from the chaff," you’re distinguishing between quality and worthlessness. The phrase actually comes from the Bible.

如果你在“把糠從小麥里篩出來”(separatingthe wheat from the chaff)，那么你就在甄別精華和糟粕。這個習語其實來源于《圣經》。

Chaff is the protective casings of the seeds of cereal grain.Humans can’t eat it, but livestock can. It’s not as important as, say, wheat.

糠是保護谷物種子的外殼，人不能吃，但牲畜可以。它只是沒有小麥等谷物那么重要而已。

In Matthew 3:12, John the Baptist says, "His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

在《馬太福音》第三章第12節中，施洗約翰說道：“他手里拿著簸箕，要揚凈麥場，把麥子收進倉里，卻用不滅的火將糠秕燒盡。”

【例句】It can be hard to separate the wheat from the chaff when the qualifications for a social mediamanager are so nebulous.

那么，合格的社交媒體管理員應具備哪些資質? 這實在很難界定，因此，要慧眼識珠，實在是件很難的事。

carry your heart on your sleeve

We can thank Shakespeare for committing the phrase "Carry your heart on your sleeve" —or being transparent — to paper. Iago famously says itin "Othello."

我們應該感謝莎士比亞，因為是他將“把心戴在袖子上”(carry your heart on your sleeve)寫在紙上，意思是輕易表露感情，是《奧賽羅》中伊阿古的名言。

In Othello Act 1 Scene 1, Iago says “But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve…”meaning he would be exposed.

《奧賽羅》第一幕第一場，伊阿古說：“但是我會把心戴在袖子上”，意味著他會敞開心扉。

Aside from Shakespeare’s genius brain, other possible originsinclude the tokens knights would wear from ladies during jousting matches and amarriage festival from the Middle Ages.

除了天才的莎士比亞，這句話還有可能來源于中世紀馬上長矛比武中貴婦贈與騎士令牌，或婚禮場合，等等。

【例句】He always wears his heart on his sleeve so that everyone knows how he feels.

他總是毫不掩飾的吐露心聲，所以所有人都知道他是怎么想的。

skin of your teeth

If you do something by the "skin of your teeth," you’re barely managing todo it. One of the first recordings of this phrase is from the Bible.

如果你通過“牙齒的皮膚”(skin ofyour teeth)來做某件事，這說明你勉勉強強有能力做這件事。這個短語最早出現在《圣經》中。

In Job 19:20, Job says, "My bone clingsto my skin and to my flesh, / And I have escaped by the skin of my teeth."

在《約伯記》第19章第20節中，約伯說：“我的皮肉緊貼骨頭，我只剩牙皮逃脫了。”

Teeth don’t have skin, so it was likely an allusion to somethingsmall or so thin that it was insubstantial.

然而牙齒并沒有皮膚，所以這一說法可能代指小、纖薄而不重要的東西。

【例句】I woke up late and I had to run to the station. I made it by the skin of my teeth.

我睡過頭了，跑著去車站，差一點就趕不上火車了。