longBrE /lɒŋ/ NAmE /lɔːŋ/► SEE ALLas/so long asas long as your armbe in sth for the long haulfor (so) longgo back a long wayhave come a long wayhave a long way to gohow long is a piece of string?in the long runit’s a long storythe long and (the) short of itthe long arm of the law(pull, wear, etc.) a long facea long haul(be) long in the tootha long shotlong time no seenot by a long chalknot long for this worldover the long haulso long (for now)take a long (cool/hard) look at sthtake the long view (of sth)to cut a long story shortit’s as broad as it’s long(as) happy as the day is long/as a clam/as Larrykick sth into the long grasskick sth into touchin the long/medium/short termgo a long/some way towards doing sth ●as/so ˈlong ason condition that只要；如果◆As long as you tidy your room first, you can go out to play. 只要你先整理好你的房间，就可以出去玩。◆I’ll lend you my car so long as you promise to take great care of it. 只要你保证小心驾驶，我就把车借给你。●as long as your ˈarm (informal) (of a list清单) used to describe a list with many things to do, buy, etc. on it冗长◆I’ve got a list as long as your arm of things I need to buy for the party. 我已经列了一份长得要命的聚会购物清单。●be in sth for the long ˈhaulbe willing to continue doing a task until it is finished愿意坚持到底◆Trust me when I say we’re in it for the long haul. 当我说我们愿意坚持到底时，请相信我。●for (so) ˈlongfor (such) a long time长久地；（这么）长时间◆Will you be away for long? 你要离开很久吗？◆I’m sorry I haven’t written to you for so long. 很抱歉，很长时间没给你写信了。●go back a long ˈway (of two or more people两个或多个人) have known each other for a long time相识很久◆John and I go back a long way, don’t we? 我和约翰相识很久了，不是吗？●have come a long ˈwayhave made good progress and achieved a lot取得很大的进步；大有长进◆The manager has come a long way since she joined the company as a messenger. 她刚进公司时是通信员，因业绩良好一步步做到了经理的职位。●have a long way to ˈgoneed to make a lot of progress before you can achieve sth还有很长的路要走；还有很大差距◆She still has a long way to go before she’s fully fit. 她还需要很长时间才会完全恢复健康。●how long is a piece of ˈstring? (BrE, spoken) used to say that there is no definite answer to a question（表示没有确切的答案）说不准◆‘How long will it take?’ ‘How long’s a piece of string?’ “需要多长时间？”“没准儿。”●in the ˈlong runover or after a long period of time; in the end从长远来看；最终◆Buying your own house is a big expense at first but in the long run it’s cheaper than paying rent. 买房虽然最初花费很高，但从长远来看，还是比租房划算。OPPin the short run●it’s a ˌlong ˈstory (informal) used to say that the reasons for sth are complicated and you would prefer not to give all the details一言难尽；说来话长◆‘So why did you leave?’ ‘Oh, it’s a long story — I’ll tell you some other time.’ “你为什么离开？”“哦，说来话长，我改天再讲给你听。”●the long and (the) ˈshort of itused to say what the basic facts of a situation are总而言之；总的情况◆The examiners discussed your paper for at least an hour, but I’m afraid the long and the short of it is that you have failed. 考官们对你的试卷至少讨论了一个小时，但是恐怕你最后还是不及格。●the long arm of the ˈlawthe ability of the police and the legal system to find criminals and punish them法网恢恢，疏而不漏◆You have to be a very clever criminal to escape the long arm of the law. 再聪明的罪犯也逃不过法律的惩罚。●(pull, wear, etc.) a long ˈface(have) a sad or disappointed expression闷闷不乐；哭丧着脸；愁眉苦脸◆I asked him if he wanted to come out but he pulled a long face and said no. 我问他是否想出来，他哭丧着脸说不想。◆Why the long face? 为何闷闷不乐？●a long ˈhaul (informal) a long and difficult task or journey漫长而艰辛的工作；长途旅行◆It was a long haul doing the degree part-time, but it was worth it. 在职攻读学位虽然费时很长且很辛苦，但是非常值得。◆They started on the long haul back to the camp. 他们踏上了返回营地的漫漫长路。●(be) ˌlong in the ˈtooth (humorous, especially BrE) old年事已高；年岁大了◆I’m a bit long in the tooth for all-night parties. 我年岁大了，不能参加这种通宵聚会。ORIGINThis idiom refers to the fact that some animals’ teeth keep growing as they grow older.这个习语原指某些动物的牙齿随着年龄的增长而一直生长。●a ˈlong shot (informal) an attempt or a guess which you do not expect to be successful but which is worth trying成功机会不大的尝试；把握不大的猜测◆Try ringing him at home. It’s a long shot, I know, but he might just be there. 试试给他家打电话。我知道也许没用，但是也可能他就在家中。◆‘Are you going to apply for the manager’s job?’ ‘I don’t know. It’s a bit of a long shot, isn’t it?’ “你打算应聘经理的职位吗？”“我不知道。成功的希望不大，不是吗？”ORIGINA long shot is a shot fired from a long distance and so unlikely to hit its target. * long shot 指远距离射出的子弹，因而击中目标的可能性不大。●long time no ˈsee (spoken) used when you greet sb you have not seen for a long time好久不见◆Well, hello! Long time no see. 哦，你好！好久不见。●not by a ˈlong chalk (BrE) ( not by a ˈlong shotNAmE, BrE) (informal) not nearly; not at all差得远；绝不；一点也不◆‘Do you think she’s ready to take this exam?’ ‘No, not by a long chalk.’ “你认为她准备好参加这次考试了吗？”“差得远呢。”◆This election isn’t over yet, not by a long shot. 这次选举仍未结束，事实上，还差得远呢。●not ˌlong for this ˈworld (old-fashioned) likely to die soon活不了多久；不久于人世◆She looked extremely ill and I fear she’s not long for this world. 她看上去已经病入膏肓，我担心她快不久于人世了。●over the long ˈhaulover a long period of time长时间；长久◆Over the long haul, shares still remain the best form of investment. 就长远来看，股票仍然是最佳的投资方式。●so ˈlong (for now) (informal) goodbye until we next meet再会◆So long for now. I’ll see you soon. 再会，我们很快会再见面的。●take a long (cool/hard) ˈlook at sththink about a problem or possibility very carefully深思熟虑；慎重考虑◆After taking a long hard look at the cost of employing an extra person, we decided against it. 经过对成本的慎重考虑，我们决定不再另雇一名员工。◆We need to take a long look at the plan before we make a decision. 在作决定之前，我们需要对这个计划进行仔细研究。●take the ˈlong view (of sth)think about the possible future effects of sth rather than its immediate effects从长计议；从长远来看◆You always have to take the long view when you are thinking about spending money on education. 在考虑教育花费的问题时，你需要从长计议。◆If we really want to save the planet, we must take the long view in our energy policy. 如果真想拯救地球，我们必须在能源政策上作长远打算。●to cut a long story ˈshort (BrE) (NAmEto make a long story ˈshort) (spoken) used when a speaker is not going to describe all the details of sth, only the final result长话短说；简而言之◆‘What happened at the meeting?’ ‘Well, to cut a long story short, ten people are going to lose their jobs.’ “会上讲了什么事？”“嗯，简单说来，有十个人要失业。”●it’s as ˌbroad as it’s ˈlong (old-fashioned, BrE, spoken) there is no real difference between two possible alternatives两种选择都一样◆‘Shall we go today or tomorrow?’ ‘It’s as broad as it’s long, isn’t it? You choose.’“我们今天走还是明天走？”“都一样，不是吗？你定吧。”●(as) happy as the day is ˈlong/as a ˈclam/as ˈLarry (informal) very happy非常高兴；欣喜万分◆Grandpa’s as happy as a clam helping the children to fly their kites.爷爷帮着孩子们放风筝，乐不可支。●kick sth into the long ˈgrass●kick sth into ˈtouch (both BrE) reject, remove or stop dealing with a problem拒绝考虑；不再处理◆He tends to deal with disputes by kicking them into the long grass.他处理纠纷的办法就是置之不理。NOTE In rugby and football, if a ball is kicked into touch(= the area outside the lines that mark the sides of the playing field), play stops.在橄榄球和足球运动中，球若被扔到或踢到边线以外的区域（touch），比赛就中止。●in the ˈlong/ˈmedium/ˈshort termused to describe what will happen a long/medium/short time into the future在长／中／短期内◆In the short term, we can send the refugees food and clothing, but in the long term we must do something about the underlying problems.在短期内，我们可以给难民提供衣食；但长远来看，我们必须解决其根本问题。▸ˌlong-ˈterm, ˌshort-ˈterm
adjective
◆a long-term approach长久之计◆short-term problems近期问题●go a long/some way towards doing sthhelp very much/a little in achieving sth（对…）帮助很大／不大◆The new law goes a long way towards solving the problem.新的法律十分有助于解决这一问题。