tip /tɪp/► SEE ALLbe on the tip of your tonguebe the tip of the icebergtip the balance/scalestip the scales at sthtip sb the winktip the wink to sbshow/reveal your handtake your hat off to sbhats off to sb ●be on the tip of your ˈtongueused when you are speaking and cannot remember a word, name, etc. but feel that you will remember it very soon就在嘴边(可是一时想不起来)◆What’s her name? You know, that tall Italian girl…it’s on the tip of my tongue…Claudia, that’s it! 她叫什么来着?就那个高高的意大利女孩…就在我嘴边上…克劳迪娅,想起来了!●be the tip of the ˈicebergwhat you can see of a problem or difficult situation is only one small part of a much larger hidden problem只是冰山一角;只是问题的一小部分◆The 1 000 homeless people in London sleeping in night shelters are only the tip of the iceberg. There are many thousands of homeless people in the capital. 在伦敦夜间收容所里过夜的 1 000 名无家可归者只是冰山的一角,在这个首都还有成千上万名流浪汉。NOTE Only ⅐ or ⅛ of an iceberg can be seen above the water.通常冰山露出水面的部分只有七分之一或八分之一。●tip the ˈbalance/ˈscales ( swing the ˈbalance) be the reason that finally causes sb to do sth or sth to happen in one way rather than another使天平倾斜;使结果向某方倾斜;起决定性作用◆They were both very good candidates for the job but she had more experience and that tipped the balance. 他俩都是这个职位的最佳人选,可是她更有经验,这使她处于更有利地位。●tip the scales at sthweigh a particular amount重量为◆He tipped the scales at just over 80 kilos. 他体重刚刚超过 80 公斤。●tip sb the ˈwink●tip the ˈwink to sb (BrE, informal) give sb secret information that they can use to gain an advantage for themselves向某人眨眼示意;给某人通风报信;暗中泄露消息给某人◆‘How did you know the job was available?’ ‘A friend tipped me the wink and so I telephoned immediately.’ “你怎么知道有这么个工作的?”“一个朋友透露的消息,所以我马上就打了电话。”●show/reveal your ˈhand (BrE) (NAmEtip your ˈhand) do sth which reveals your intentions, plans, etc.摊牌;公开自己的意图◆The problem is that we can’t say anything to the management without showing our hand, and we wanted to be able to take them by surprise.问题是我们无论对管理层说什么都会暴露我们的计划,而我们原本想给他们来个措手不及。◆In court a good lawyer never reveals his hand too soon.一名好律师在法庭上决不会过早摊牌。OPPkeep/hold/play your cards close to your chestNOTE These expressions refer to showing your cards (= your hand) in card playing.这些表达法原指纸牌游戏中亮出自己的牌。●take your ˈhat off to sb●hats ˈoff to sb (both especially BrE) (NAmE usuallytip your ˈhat to sb) (informal) used for expressing admiration for what sb has done向…脱帽致敬;向…表示钦佩(或赞赏)◆I take my hat off to the doctors and nurses of the hospital. They were magnificent.我向这家医院的医生和护士致敬,他们真了不起。◆Hats off to you. That’s the best fish soup I’ve ever tasted.你真行!我从来没喝过这么好的鱼汤。