wall /wɔːl/► SEE ALLdrive/send sb up the wallgo to the wallhave your back to the walloff the wallbe/come up against a brick walla fly on the wallbe banging, etc. your head against a brick wallnail sb to the walltalk to a brick wallthe writing (is) on the wall ●drive/send sb up the ˈwall (informal) make sb very annoyed; drive sb crazy激怒；把某人逼疯◆That noise is driving me up the wall. 那噪音快把我逼疯了。●go to the ˈwall (informal) fail because of lack of money（因缺少资金）走投无路，陷于绝境◆Smaller companies are always the first to go to the wall in an economic recession. 发生经济衰退时，小公司总是最先破产。●have your ˈback to the wallbe in a difficult situation with no easy solution被逼得没有退路；处于困境◆Inflation and unemployment have risen this year and the Government has lost a lot of support. The Prime Minister really has his back to the wall now. 由于今年的通货膨胀和失业率都有所增长，政府的支持率大大下降。现在，首相的处境十分困难。●off the ˈwall (informal) unusual and amusing; slightly crazy异常奇妙；有点怪诞◆Some of his ideas are really off the wall. 他有些想法真是十分出奇。◆They’ve both got a rather off-the-wall sense of humour. 他们俩都蛮会搞怪逗乐。●be/come up against a brick ˈwall ( hit a brick ˈwall) be unable to make any progress because there is a difficulty that stops you遇到难以逾越的障碍◆Since he had no more money to spend on the project, he was up against a brick wall.他拿不出更多的钱投资这项工程，为此陷入了困境。◆Plans to build a new road around the town hit a brick wall when local residents protested.由于当地居民反对，修建新环城公路的计划遇到了难以逾越的障碍。●a fly on the ˈwalla person who watches others without being noticed不为人觉察的旁观者◆I’d love to be a fly on the wall when the committee is discussing the report I wrote!在委员会讨论我写的报告时，我真希望能暗中在一旁听一听！◆fly-on-the-wall documentaries (= in which people are filmed going about their normal lives as if the camera were not there) 反映真实生活的纪实片●be banging, etc. your head against a brick ˈwall (informal) try for a long time to achieve sth, persuade sb to do sth, etc. without success徒劳无益；枉费心机◆I realized they weren’t even listening to my protests. I was just banging my head against a brick wall.我意识到他们压根儿没有听我的抗议，我不过是在白费劲。●nail sb to the ˈwall (informal) punish sb and/or make them suffer because you are very angry with them狠狠教训某人；严惩某人◆I’m going to nail him to the wall for what he’s done!他做得太过分了，我要狠狠惩罚他！●talk to a brick ˈwall (informal) used when sb refuses to listen to your advice, ideas, explanations, etc.（用于指某人听不进他人意见、解释等）像对墙说话，白说◆Talking to him is like talking to a brick wall. He just won’t listen.跟他讲话只是白费口舌，他就是不听。●the ˌwriting (is) on the ˈwall (NAmEthe ˌhandwriting (is) on the ˈwall) (saying) used when you are describing a situation in which there are signs that sb/sth is going to have problems or is going to fail（看出）厄运临头的预兆，不祥之兆◆The writing is on the wall for the club unless they can find £20 000.这家俱乐部就要大难临头了，除非他们能筹到20 000英镑。◆The President refuses to see the handwriting on the wall (= that he will soon be defeated).总统不肯直面自己面临的失败局面。ORIGINThis phrase comes from the Bible story in which strange writing appeared on a wall during a feast given by King Belshazzar, predicting his death and the end of his kingdom.这个短语源于《圣经》故事，伯沙撒国王大摆酒宴时，墙上出现了奇怪的字迹，预言伯沙撒的死亡及其王国的覆灭。