| 释义 |
horse BrE /hɔːs/
NAmE /hɔːrs/► SEE ALL(straight) from the horse’s mouthyou can take/lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drinkput the cart before the horsea dark horseeat like a horseI could eat a horseflog a dead horse(not) look a gift horse in the mouthbe/get on your high horsea hobby horseshut/lock/close the stable door after the horse has boltedback the wrong horse
●(straight) from the horse’s ˈmouth (informal) (of information, etc. 信息等) directly from the person who really knows because they are closely connected with its source 直接的；可靠的◆‘How do you know he’s leaving?’ ‘I got it straight from the horse’s mouth. He told me himself.’
“你怎么知道他要走了呢？”“我的消息来源绝对可靠，他自己告诉我的。” ORIGIN This may come from horse racing and the humorous suggestion that you had heard from the horse itself whether it would win the race. 这个习语或许源于赛马，指一种幽默的联想，即直接从马那里听到它是否能赢得比赛的消息。●you can ˌtake/ˌlead a horse to ˌwater, but you ˌcan’t make it ˈdrink (saying) you can give sb the opportunity to do sth, but you cannot force them to do it if they do not want to 牵马河边易，逼它喝水难；你可以给别人机会，但如果他们不愿意干，就不能强迫他们；牛不喝水不能强按头●put the ˌcart before the ˈhorseput or do things in the wrong order 颠倒顺序；本末倒置；因果倒置◆Don’t plan the menu before deciding how many people to invite — it’s like putting the cart before the horse.先确定要请多少人再拟订菜单，否则就是本末倒置。●a dark ˈhorse (BrE) a person who does not tell other people much about their life, and who surprises other people by having interesting qualities 黑马；深藏不露的人◆You’re a dark horse! I had no idea you could play the piano so well.你可真是真人不露相！没想到你钢琴弹得这么好。 ORIGIN This phrase comes from horse racing. A dark horse was a horse that nobody knew much about and later came to mean somebody who wins a race unexpectedly. 这个短语源于赛马。黑马原先是没有名气的马，后来指爆冷赢得比赛的人。●eat like a ˈhorseeat very large quantities of food 吃得很多；食量大如牛◆My brother eats like a horse but never puts on any weight.我兄弟饭量很大，却从不长肉。●I could eat a ˈhorse (spoken) I am very hungry 我饿极了◆What’s for dinner? I could eat a horse!晚饭吃什么？我都饿死了！●ˌflog a dead ˈhorse (BrE, informal) waste your effort by trying to do sth that is no longer possible 鞭策死马；做无用功；白费精力◆Pam’s flogging a dead horse trying to organize the theatre trip. It’s quite obvious that nobody’s interested.帕姆想组织剧团巡回演出，无疑是白费心机。很明显没有人感兴趣。 NOTE If an animal or a person is flogged, it is/they are hit many times with a whip or a stick, usually as a punishment. * flog 指用鞭子或棍子抽打某人或动物，以示惩罚。 ●(not) look a ˌgift horse in the ˈmouth (informal) (not) find sth wrong with sth given to you free （对送上门的东西）（不）挑三拣四◆He didn’t want to accept the offer of a free meal but I told him not to look a gift horse in the mouth.他不想接受这次免费吃喝的机会，我叫他对送上门的好事不要挑三拣四。 ORIGIN The usual way to judge the age of a horse is to look at its teeth. 判断马年龄的通常做法是察看它的牙齿。●be/get on your ˌhigh ˈhorsebe annoyed because you think that sb has not treated you with enough respect （认为别人不尊敬自己而）愤愤不平◆When they suggested that she might have made a mistake, she got on her high horse and asked them how they dared question her ability.他们提出她可能犯了个错误，她便气呼呼地质问他们怎么敢怀疑她的能力。●a ˈhobby horsea subject that sb feels strongly about and likes to talk about 热衷谈论的话题◆Sorry, I’m starting to get on my hobby horse! (= talk about my favourite subject).对不起，我开始谈自己喜欢的话题了！●shut/lock/close the stable door after the horse has ˈbolted (BrE) (NAmE shut, etc. the barn door after the horse has eˈscaped) take action to prevent sth bad from happening after it has already happened 马跑了才去关厩门；贼走关门◆Last week all their silver was stolen; this week they’re putting in a burglar alarm! That’s really shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.上星期他们的银器全被偷走了，这星期他们才安装防盗报警器！这可真是马跑了才去关厩门。●ˌback the wrong ˈhorse (BrE) support the person, group etc. that later loses a contest or fails to do what was expected 赌马下错了注；押错了宝；选错了人；看走了眼◆I certainly backed the wrong horse when I said United would win the Cup Final.我还说联队会获得足总杯冠军，真是看走了眼。◆Many people who had voted for the party in the election were now feeling that they had backed the wrong horse.很多选举时投票支持这个政党的人现在都觉得自己看走了眼。 NOTE In horse racing, if you back the wrong horse you bet money on a horse that does not win the race. 在赛马中，back the wrong horse指把赌注错下在了失利的马上。 |