執筆者 Modern English | 2014年07月23日 | Idioms
“We’ve agreed on the basics, but we need to hammer out the details.” Hammering something out suggests working hard on something and getting it finished quickly. Imagine a blacksmith hammering at a piece of metal. He has to work hard, and he must work quickly before...
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年07月16日 | Idioms
“Would you go to the dance with me?” “Not for all the tea in China!” This is a colorful way to say “no”, “absolutely not” or “never”. Tea originally came from China, so naturally it would have the most tea. At one time, tea was unusual and rare in the rest of the...
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年07月09日 | Idioms
“Could you quiet down a bit? I’m trying to study.” “Ah, but did you listen when I asked you to keep it quiet before my big test last week? Now the shoe is on the other foot!” When a situation has reversed and someone is experiencing something that another person...
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年07月02日 | Idioms
“Wow, I haven’t been here in ages! Everything looks different!” “In ages” just means “in a very long time”. In the dictionary, an age is a long period of time, such as the Stone Age or the Bronze Age. We are exaggerating quite a lot when we use “ages” to mean a few...
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年06月25日 | Idioms
“I’m looking forward to my vacation. I’ve been working like a dog all month to get this project done on time.” Dogs work very hard. When we work hard, we compare ourselves to dogs. Working dogs might herd sheep or search for people, such as survivors of a disaster or...
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年06月18日 | Idioms
“Although some smaller companies went bankrupt, most were able to ride out the storm until the economy improved.” “Riding out the storm” is surviving a difficult situation until things get better. When a storm comes, if you can keep yourself safe and wait, the storm...
