知识加油站－词汇天地

061shape







knock something into shape
whip something into shape
lick something into shape
If you knock something into shape or whip it into shape, you use whatever methods are necessary to change or improve it, so that it is in the condition that you want it to be in. In British English, `lick' can be used instead of `knock' or `whip'.

Most experts agree that agriculture can be knocked into shape and be successful.

After a successful career at the Italian central bank, few people doubt his ability to whip the economy into shape.

We were licked into shape by the long-serving departmental managers to whom we reported.

shape up or ship out   
If you tell someone to shape up or ship out, you are telling them that they should start behaving in a more reasonable or responsible way, or else leave the place where they are or give up what they are doing.

Out there, there are people who want to humiliate you. Grind you down, destroy you. You've either got to take all this, you've got to stomach it, join in, or you'll go under. Shape up or ship out.

062sights







have something in your sights
If you have something in your sights, you are aiming or trying hard to achieve it, and you have a good chance of success. If you have someone in your sights, you are determined to catch, defeat, or overcome them. You can use other verbs instead of `have'.

Usually, at this stage of the season, are lying first or second in the table and have the Championship firmly in their sights.

I am studying at university, with good job prospects firmly in my sights.

As Lehmann began to crumble, it was clear Boardman might catch him and, with just a couple of laps left, Boardman had him right in his sights.

Virgin earns just over half its revenues from the business travellers it has kept in its sights since it started in 1984.

set your sights on something
have your sights on something
If you set your sights on something, you decide that you want it and try very hard to get it. Other verbs can be used instead of `set'.

These days not all Russian girls are setting their sights on marriage to the boy next door.

Although she came from a family of bankers, Franklin set her sights on a career in scientific research.

Gareth Jenkins and his assistant, Alan Lewis, have clearly set their sights on winning the championship.

She could now fix her sights on continuing at school for another three years.

If someone has made up their mind to try to get something, you can say that they have their sights on it.

who has not dropped a stroke in 36 and Torrance now have their sights on the ￡111,000 first prize in the first qualifying event for next September's Ryder Cup.

And, proving she's just a kid at heart, she already had her sights on her next goal -- hero Linford Christie's autograph.

You can say that someone sets their sights high when they are trying to get something that is hard to achieve. If you say that someone sets their sights low, you mean that they are unambitious and do not achieve as much as they could.

Women tend to end up in low-status jobs with low pay. Often we only have ourselves to blame. We just do not set our sights high enough.

Don't go expecting Dannii to become a regular TV presenter. She has set her sights on higher things.

A joint study by Ernst and Young and the American Quality has criticized American car makers for setting their sights too low and with being content to build automobiles are merely .

063sitting







at one sitting
in one sitting
at a single sitting
If you do something at one sitting or in one sitting, you do not stop doing it until you have finished it. You can also say that you do it at a single sitting.

does not have to be read at one sitting, but is broken conveniently into self-contained chapters.

Be as complete as possible, but go slowly. Don't expect to fill out these lists in one sitting.

She loved to go through a box of cookies at a single sitting.

064means







by fair means or foul
If someone tries to achieve something by fair means or foul, they are prepared to use any possible method to achieve it, and they do not care if their behaviour is dishonest or unfair.

She never gave up trying to recover her property, by fair means or foul.

He accused company of being hell bent on achieving its cuts by whatever means, fair means or foul, irrespective of the financial and emotional impact.

065straw







draw the short straw
If you draw the short straw, you are chosen from a number of people to perform a task or duty that nobody wants to do. Other verbs are sometimes used instead of `draw'. This expression is used mainly in British English.

Brenner drained his glass with a sense of relief, thankful that it was someone else, probably Hean, who had drawn the short straw.

It sounds very much as though you pulled something of a short straw there, Jim. There's not very much we can do about it, I'm afraid.

the last straw
the final straw
If you say that something is the last straw or the final straw, you mean it is the latest in a series of unpleasant or difficult events, and it makes you feel that you cannot tolerate a situation any longer. Compare the straw that breaks the camel's back.

societies have been under enormous pressure to increase savings rates to get the money they need. But that would mean putting mortgage rates up, and have compelling reasons for keeping them down. an increase now could be the last straw for thousands of borrowers.

The increased hardship caused by water and power cuts appears to have been the last straw and provoked open rebellion.

Mr Elton was already distraught over his mother's death. The final straw came when his attractive wife asked for a divorce.

a man of straw   
a straw man
If you say that a man is a man of straw, you mean that he does not have the ability or the courage necessary to carry out a particular task or fulfil a particular role. This is a fairly formal expression, which is used mainly in British English.

The problem of the Labour Party supposedly radical party, and this is not a is that it is once again firmly in the grip of men of straw without guts and without principles.

You can also talk about straw men. This form of the expression is used in both British and American English, especially in journalism.

These also represent the reflex responses of straw men with straw policies.

the straw that breaks the camel's back
the last straw that breaks the camel's back
You can say that something is the straw that breaks the camel's back when it is the latest in a series of unpleasant or difficult events, and it makes you feel that you cannot tolerate a situation any longer. Compare the last straw.

Last week, I broke my wrist skateboarding. I'm a good skateboard rider and love the sport -- but that was the straw that broke the camel's back as far as my dad was concerned. He I'm cursed and has ordered me to stay away from anything that could get me into an accident.

In British English, you can also say that something is the last straw that breaks the camel's back.

He tried to reassure my father, but said all the wrong things: `I wouldn't worry about it. You've educated your daughter, she can work!' My father went berserk. This was the last straw that broke the camel's back. He ordered him out of the house.

066street







in Queer Street
If you say that someone is in Queer Street, you mean that they are having difficulties, especially financial difficulties. This is an old-fashioned expression, which is used in British English.

Had he spent more time then listening to the educators, he might not now be in Queer Street.

Beneath the glitzy surface, the financial whizzkids of the world are mostly on the road to alcoholism, loneliness, a bedsit in Queer Street, or sometimes all three.

the man in the street
the woman in the street
When people talk about the man in the street, they mean ordinary, average people. Words such as `woman' and `person' are sometimes used instead of `man'.

The man in the street will be able to buy all that he could reasonably need the glaring exception of motor anywhere in Europe.

It was in terms that the more ordinary man and woman in the street could understand.

But how do these massive changes appear to people in the street? The general mood of the population seems to be contradictory.

right up your street
just up your street
If you say that something is right up your street or just up your street, you mean that it is the kind of thing you like or know about. This expression is used mainly in British English. Right up your alley means the same.

There's a real quality and fighting spirit in this squad that's right up my street.

Actor Roy Barraclough has taken on a role that's right up his street -- as Sherlock Holmes' bumbling sidekick Watson.

067wounds







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.

068table







drink someone under the table   
If you say that someone can drink you under the table, you mean that they can drink much more alcohol than you can without getting drunk.

Donna is the only person I know who can drink me under the table.

They arrived back in the hotel room and the drink flowed even faster. His dad opera drank him under the table and a then tucked him up in bed.

on the table
If you put a proposal, plan, or offer on the table, you present it formally to other people so it can be discussed and negotiated, in the hope that it will be accepted.

Most other delegations here said a few days' delay was of no matter -- in any case the Americans and others had not yet put their proposals on the table.

The United States said Europe must put a new offer on the table to save the talks.

The offer on the table at present is part of the long-term movement to align and control indirect taxation within the EU.

under the table
If you do something under the table, you do it secretly because it is dishonest or illegal. This expression is used mainly in American English; the usual British expression is under the counter.

Athletes sometimes cheated, sometimes scalped took money under the table.

distributors are here selling their films at the festival's market but they're doing it under the table.

An under-the-table payment or deal is one that is secret and dishonest or illegal.

Charges flew about and ineligible students and under-the-table payments.

There will be no more press junkets, no more free photocopies and tapes, and above all, no more under-the-table cash.

069teeth







armed to the teeth
Someone who is armed to the teeth is armed with a lot of weapons or with very effective weapons.

They stationed themselves, armed to the teeth, at vantage points near the union hall.

The police are grossly underpaid and underequipped while the criminals are armed to the teeth with the most modern equipment.

cut your teeth
If you do something new which gives you experience and helps you learn how to do more advanced or complicated things, you can say that you cut your teeth doing that thing.

For Dennis, the experience forms part of his plan to cut his teeth on demanding theatre parts before making the break for TV and film.

He cut his teeth in the sixties as director of Edinburgh's Traverse Theatre.

He had cut his editorial teeth on the London Evening Standard.

fed up to the back teeth
sick to the back teeth
If you are fed up to the back teeth with something or sick to the back teeth with it, you feel annoyed, irritated, or tired because it has been going on for a long time and you think it should be stopped or changed. These expressions are used in British English.

I've always been a very strong Conservative but I am fed up to the back teeth with them at the moment.

It also shows how frustrated and sick to the back teeth the US public is of big-time, big-money, slick Washington politics.

get your teeth into something
sink your teeth into something
If you get your teeth into something or sink your teeth into it, you become deeply involved with it and do it with a lot of energy and enthusiasm.

Half the trouble is having nothing interesting to do. We've not had a case to get our teeth into for weeks.

When Jeff came to Britain in 1956 from his native where he was a his welcome was harsh and so he wasted little time in sinking his teeth into combating prejudice.

gnashing of teeth
wailing and gnashing of teeth
weeping and gnashing of teeth
When people become very worried or agitated by something unexpected or unnecessary that has happened, you can say that there is gnashing of teeth or wailing and gnashing of teeth, especially when you want to suggest that they are overreacting or showing their concern in an excessive way. You can also say that there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

In times of widespread strife and much gnashing of teeth, a sense of community is needed to stop everyone plummeting into the dark depths of despair.

It was the biggest earthquake to hit LA in years. epicentre a mere eight kilometres from the San Andreas Radio preachers gibbered about the end of the world. There was a whole lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Without this expert guidance, the gamut of amateur rug repairs often causes weeping and gnashing of teeth among professionals.

gnash your teeth
If you say that someone is gnashing their teeth, you mean that they are showing their anger or annoyance about something in a very obvious way.

If Blythe heard that piece, I bet he was gnashing his teeth.

He naturally gnashes his teeth over the product-liability and number lawsuits that have made doing business in America increasingly expensive and unpredictable.

grind your teeth
If someone is grinding their teeth, they are very angry or frustrated about something, but feel that they cannot say or do anything about it.

Men respond sniping (at the Freeing the Spirit session, a man from East Germany was the that if women are in charge they don't do anything for other women either. The predominantly female audience was grinding its teeth.

You can also talk about grinding of teeth, teeth-grinding, and tooth-grinding.

There has been much grinding of not least in the light of decisions in the European Court of about what is seen by the government as the harshness of the European Community's decisions on the environment in relation to Britain.

When you are a little boy of nine, your father can seem like a hero one minute, only to cause you tooth-grinding embarrassment the next.

grit your teeth
If you grit your teeth, you decide to carry on even though the situation you are in is very difficult.

says that there are no simple solutions, that it's going to take time, that there is going to be hardship, but we have to grit our teeth and get on with it.

We were very tired after Sunday which was understandable and we now face five games in nine days. The players gritted their teeth and kept going.

have teeth
If you say that an organization or law has teeth, you mean that it has the necessary authority or power to make people obey it.

Trade union committees should have teeth, and not be convenient partners for management.

Pro-democracy in complain that the assembly will have no teeth.

This legislation has teeth, but I am getting reports back that magistrates are not imposing the tougher penalties.

lie through your teeth
If you say that someone is lying through their teeth or is lying in their teeth, you mean that they are telling very obvious lies and do not seem to be embarrassed about this.

We ought to be mad that public officials lie through their teeth.

`We were on vacation in Barbados a few years ago and we met Freddie Mercury in a bar,' says Phil, lying through his teeth.

I should have known he was lying in his teeth when he said he would pay more than we were owed.

like pulling teeth
If you say that doing something is like pulling teeth, you mean that it is very difficult. This expression is used mainly in American English.

The whole scene over the last year is that people are just not buying. To get a car sold is like pulling teeth. And it's getting progressively worse.

Identifying excess and duplication is says John Doing something about it is like pulling teeth.

set your teeth on edge
If something sets your teeth on edge, you find it extremely irritating or unpleasant.

He stood and took down the portrait. Something about it had lately been setting his teeth on edge.

His casual arrogance never failed to set my teeth on edge.

There is a long roof above the old body of the church and this roof has been re-tiled fairly recently in hard, livid-red shiny tiles which set the teeth on edge.

show your teeth
If you show your teeth, you show that you are capable of fighting or defending yourself.

The bureaucracy was still showing its teeth, resisting and trying to sabotage our efforts.

We need to show some teeth if we are going to solve the problems we have been experiencing.

070tower







a tower of strength
a pillar of strength
If you say that someone was a tower of strength during a difficult period in your life, you mean that they gave you a lot of help or support and you are very grateful to them for this. You can also say that they were a pillar of strength.

My eldest daughter, Therese, who's six, was a tower of strength for me then. When I was sick she would clean up after me and look after the other kids.

In her terrible sadness has found Charles to be a pillar of strength.