earthBrE /ɜːθ/ NAmE /ɜːrθ/► SEE ALLbring sb/come (back) down to earth (with a bang, bump, etc.)cost/pay/charge the earthgo to earth/groundhow, what, why, etc. on earth…how, why, etc. in the world…like nothing on earthnothing on earthrun sb/sth to earth/groundto the ends of the earthdisappear/vanish off the face of the earththe four corners of the eartha heaven on eartha hell on earthmove heaven and earth (to do sth)promise (sb) the moon/earth/worldthe salt of the earththe scum of the earthwipe sth off the face of the earth ●bring sb/come (back) down to ˈearth (with a ˈbang, ˈbump, etc.)have to deal, or make sb deal, with sth unpleasant, especially after a time when things seemed to be going well or life was enjoyable（使）回到现实中来；（使某人）心情变坏◆After such a wonderful trip, losing all her money certainly brought her back down to earth with a bump. 刚结束这样精彩的旅行，现在却把钱全丢光了，这让她的好心情都没了。▸ˌdown-to-ˈearth
adjective
(approving) sensible and practical务实的；实际的◆Even though she’s a movie star, she’s still friendly and down-to-earth. 虽然成了电影明星，但她还是很友好，很实在。●cost/pay/charge the ˈearth (BrE, informal) cost/pay/charge a lot of money花／付／索要一大笔钱◆It needn’t cost the earth to refurbish your offices. 重新装修一下你们的办公室花不了多少钱。●go to ˈearth/ˈground (BrE) hide, especially to escape from sb who is chasing you躲藏起来（以免被捉住）；逃避◆His family never saw him again. He went to ground and they heard nothing else of him until he died last year. 他家里人再也没见过他。他躲了起来，音信全无，直到去年他死了，家人才知道。NOTE This expression refers to a fox hiding underground when it is hunted.这个表达法原指狐狸躲到地下逃避猎捕。●how, what, why, etc. on ˈearth…●how, why, etc. in the ˈworld… (informal) used with questions to express the speaker’s surprise, anger, etc.（用于疑问句，表示惊讶或愤怒等）到底，究竟◆How on earth did you know I was coming today when I didn’t know myself until the last minute? 你是怎么知道我今天会来的？我自己都是最后一刻才知道的。◆Why on earth would anyone give up such a good job? 怎么会有人愿意放弃这么好的工作？●like nothing on ˈearthvery ill or unattractive病得很重；难看极了◆After two hours in that tiny boat I felt like nothing on earth. 由于在那艘小船里呆了两个小时，我难受得要命。◆I hadn’t slept for 48 hours. I must have looked like nothing on earth. 我整整 48 小时没睡觉，脸色肯定难看极了。●nothing on ˈearth (informal) absolutely nothing没有任何东西◆Nothing on earth would make me tell anyone our secret. 世界上没有任何东西能让我泄露我们的秘密。●run sb/sth to ˈearth/ˈground (informal) find sb/sth after a long, difficult search（长期搜寻后）终于找到◆I spent years looking for the stolen picture but eventually ran it to ground in London. 我花了多年时间来寻找那幅失窃的画，最终在伦敦发现了它。◆The escaped prisoner was run to ground within a couple of days. 越狱的囚徒几天后终于被抓住了。NOTE This comes from hunting and means to chase an animal to its earth (= its home or hiding place).这个习语源于打猎，指追赶猎物直至其躲入洞穴。●to the ˌends of the ˈeartha very great distance天涯海角；很远的地方◆He would go to the ends of the earth to be with her.就是到天涯海角，他也要和她在一起。●disappear/vanish off the face of the ˈearthdisappear completely彻底消失；从地球上消失◆Keep looking — they can’t just have vanished off the face of the earth.继续找吧，他们不可能一下子就消失得踪影全无。●the four ˌcorners of the ˈearththe parts of the world furthest away天涯海角；世界各地◆People come from the four corners of the earth to attend the annual festival.人们从世界各地赶来参加一年一度的节日庆典。●a heaven on ˈeartha place or situation where everything is perfect人间天堂◆The island is a real heaven on earth.这座岛真是人间天堂。OPPa hell on earth●a ˌhell on ˈeartha place or situation that is extremely bad or unpleasant人间地狱◆Life for the ordinary soldiers was hell on earth.普通士兵的生活真是糟糕透顶。OPPa heaven on earth●move heaven and ˈearth (to do sth) ( move ˈmountains (to do sth)) do everything you can in order to help sb, achieve sth, etc.竭尽全力；尽一切可能◆His friends moved heaven and earth to free him from prison.他的朋友们竭尽全力救他出狱。◆Faith can move mountains (= achieve the impossible).信仰坚定山可移。●promise (sb) the ˈmoon/ˈearth/ˈworld (informal) make very big or impossible promises that you are unlikely to keep作出不可能兑现的承诺◆He promised her the moon, but after ten years of marriage they hardly had enough to live on.他向她作了许多空头承诺，可是结婚十年了，他们几乎入不敷出。●the salt of the ˈeartha very good and honest person that you can always depend on诚实可信的人◆Tim’s the salt of the earth — he’d do anything he can for you.蒂姆这人很可靠，他会为你竭尽所能。OPPthe scum of the earthORIGINThis expression comes from the Bible.这个表达法源于《圣经》。●the ˌscum of the ˈearth (informal) a person or a group of people thought to be worthless, evil or completely without good qualities人渣；社会渣滓◆Drug dealers are the scum of the earth.毒品贩子是社会的渣滓。OPPthe salt of the earthNOTEScum is a layer of dirt on the surface of water. * scum 指水面的一层浮垢。●wipe sth off the ˌface of the ˈearth ( wipe sth off the ˈmap) completely destroy sth使…从地球上消失；彻底消除◆If a meteor hit us, whole cities would be wiped off the face of the earth.如果流星击中我们，整座城市都会毁灭。◆The fall in prices wiped a lot of small businesses off the map.价格的下降彻底击垮了很多小企业。