say /seɪ/► SEE ALLas they saybefore you can say Jack Robinsonhave your sayhave something, nothing, etc. to say for yourselfI must sayI wouldn’t say no (to sth)let us say…never say dienot to saysay cheese!say no moresay your piecesay what?say when(just) say the wordthat is to sayto say the (very) leastto say nothing of sthwhat would/do you say (to sth/doing sth)?whatever you saywho can say (…)?who’s to say (…)?he, she, etc. wouldn’t say boo to a gooseyou can say that again!you can’t say fairer (than that)you don’t say!I dare saynot say/hear a dicky birdkiss/say goodbye to sthkiss sth goodbyemean to sayneedless to sayI’m sorry to saysuffice (it) to say (that)…cry/say unclenot/never have a good word to say for/about sb/sth ●as they ˈsay ( as the saying ˈgoes) often used before or after a saying or an idiom（常用于谚语或习语之前或之后）俗话说，常言道◆We can kill two birds with one stone, as they say. 像老话所说的那样，我们可以一石二鸟。◆He was, as the saying goes, as mad as a hatter. 正如俗话说的，他像制帽匠一样疯狂。●before you can say Jack ˈRobinson (old-fashioned) very quickly or suddenly转瞬间；说时迟，那时快◆I’ll do that for you. I’ll have it finished before you can say Jack Robinson. 我来替你做那个，我马上就能弄好。●have your ˈsay (informal) give your opinion about sth发表意见◆You’ve had your say, now let me have mine. 你已经发表了你的见解，现在让我谈谈我的意见。●have something, nothing, etc. to ˈsay for yourself1.be able/unable to explain your actions能／不能解释自己的行为◆I’ve asked him what he was doing here in the middle of the night, but he’s got nothing to say for himself. 我问过他深更半夜在这儿干什么，他无法解释。2.be able/unable to hold a conversation or express your opinions有话／没什么可说◆She seems very nice but she doesn’t have much to say for herself. 她看起来很友善，可是没多少话说。●I ˈmust say (spoken) used to emphasize an opinion（用于强调某一观点）我得说◆Well, I must say, that’s the funniest thing I’ve heard all week. 嘿，听我说，这是我整整一周听到的最滑稽的一件事。●I ˌwouldn’t say ˈno (to sth) (spoken) used to say that you would like sth or to accept sth that is offered（表示想要或想接受某物）我不反对◆I wouldn’t say no to a pizza. 来块比萨饼我倒不反对。◆‘Tea, Brian?’ ‘I wouldn’t say no.’ “喝茶吗，布赖恩？”“好哇。”●let us say…used when making a suggestion or giving an example（提建议或举例）譬如，比方说，例如◆I can let you have it for, well let’s say £100. 我可以把这东西卖给你，价格嘛，100 英镑好啦。●ˌnever say ˈdie (saying) do not stop trying or hoping for sth别泄气；别气馁；决不言放弃◆Never say die, buddy. I’ve been in worse situations than this. 老兄，别气馁。我以前还碰到过更糟糕的情况。◆Billy was an enthusiastic player with the never-say-die attitude that supporters love to see. 比利是位充满热情的球员，他永不言败的态度深受球迷的喜爱。●ˈnot to sayused to suggest that you could, with good reason, use a stronger word to describe sb/sth（表示可以用更重的语气描述）即便不说…，虽不能说…◆He is very difficult, not to say impossible, to understand. 他这人，即便不说不可捉摸，也可说是难以理解。●say ˈcheese!used to ask sb to smile before you take their photograph（用于照相前请人微笑）笑一笑，说“茄子”◆Is everybody ready? Right, say cheese! 都准备好了吗？好，笑一笑！●ˌsay no ˈmore (spoken) it is not necessary for sb to continue speaking because you already understand the situation不用再说了；我知道了◆‘He’s only 21, and he’s marrying a rich old lady of 65.’ ‘Say no more!’ “他才 21 岁，却要跟一个 65 岁的富婆结婚。”“不用再说了！”●say your ˈpiece (informal) say exactly what you feel or think说出心里话；表明意见◆I went to see the boss this morning and I said my piece about our working conditions. He wasn’t very happy about it. 今天早晨我去见了老板，跟他一五一十地说了我们的工作条件。他为此不太高兴。●say ˈwhat? (NAmE, spoken) used to express surprise at what sb has just said（表示惊讶）你说什么◆‘He’s getting married.’ ‘Say what?’ “他要结婚了。”“你说什么？”●say ˈwhenused to ask sb to tell you when you should stop pouring a drink or serving food for them because they have enough（给别人倒饮料或盛食物时说）够了请说一声●(just) say the ˈwordused to show that you are willing and ready to do something as soon as sb asks（只要）下命令；（只要）说一声◆If you need any help, just say the word. 要帮忙的话，就开口。●that is to ˈsayin other words也就是说；换句话说◆We’ll meet again three days from now, that is to say on Friday. 我们三天后，也就是星期五再见。●to ˌsay the (very) ˈleastused to say that you are using the least strong way of saying sth少说也是…；最客气地说◆I’m not very happy with his work, to say the least. 客气点说，我对他的工作不是很满意。●to say ˈnothing of sthand also; not forgetting更不用说；何况◆She is an expert in Chinese, to say nothing of speaking several European languages. 她精通汉语，更不用说还会讲几种欧洲语言。●ˌwhat would/do you ˈsay (to sth/doing sth)? (spoken) would you like sth/to do sth?你说怎么样；你会愿意吗◆What would you say to a weekend in Paris? 去巴黎度周末，你说好不好？◆Let’s eat out tonight. What do you say? 今晚出去吃饭怎么样？●whatever you ˈsay (spoken) used to agree to sb’s suggestion because you do not want to argue（用于因不想争论而同意）随你，由你◆‘Just do it now!’ ‘Whatever you say.’ “现在就动手！”“随你。”●who can ˈsay (…)? (spoken) used to say that nobody knows the answer to a question谁知道（…）◆Who can say what will happen next year? 谁知道明年会发生什么事？●who’s to ˈsay (…)? (spoken) used to say that sth might happen or might have happened in a particular way, because nobody really knows（表示说不定某事是否会或本来会发生）谁说得准（…）◆Who’s to say we wouldn’t have succeeded if we’d had more time? 要是时间充裕，没准我们就已经成功了，谁说得准呢？●he, she, etc. wouldn’t say ˌboo to a ˈgoose (informal) sb is very shy and afraid of upsetting or annoying people为人羞怯（或胆小）◆How could he ever succeed in politics? He wouldn’t say boo to a goose. 他怎么能在政治上取得成功？他连只蚂蚁都不敢踩。NOTE People shout Boo! when they want to surprise or frighten somebody. * boo 指人们用以惊吓别人而喊出的声音。●you can say ˈthat again! (spoken) I agree completely; I know that already我完全赞同；让你说对了；我已经知道了◆‘She’s the most boring person I’ve ever met.’ ‘You can say that again!’ “她是我所见过的最无趣的人。”“你说得一点不错！”●you can’t say ˈfairer (than ˈthat) (BrE, spoken) used to say that you think the offer you are making is reasonable or generous不能出更高的价格了；再公道不过了◆Look, I’ll give you £100 for it. You can’t say fairer than that. 喂，我出 100 英镑买它，这再公道不过了。●you don’t ˈsay! (spoken, oftenironic) used to express surprise（表示惊讶）不会吧，真的吗；（亦表示事实上并不惊讶）我不觉得那奇怪◆‘My brother’s an astronaut, you know.’ ‘You don’t say!’ “你要知道，我弟弟是名宇航员。”“真的吗！”◆‘I was in the Scouts for six years.’ ‘You don’t say.’ (= I’m not interested / surprised.) “我当了六年童子军。”“这有什么。”●I dare ˈsay (spoken) I suppose; it seems probable我想；很可能；大概◆I dare say what you say is true, but it’s too late to change our plans now.我想你说的对，不过现在改变计划太迟了。●not say/hear a ˈdicky bird (BrE, informal) say/hear nothing什么也没说／没听见◆Don’t look at me! I didn’t say a dicky bird.别看我！我什么也没说。◆We haven’t heard a dicky bird from her for weeks.几周以来我们没收到她的任何消息。ORIGINThis idiom is from rhyming slang, in which dicky bird stands for ‘word’.这个习语源于同韵俚语 dicky bird，意为 word （词）。●kiss/say goodˈbye to sth●kiss sth goodˈbye (informal) give up hope of getting sth that you want very much放弃（获得某物的）希望◆You’ll have to say goodbye to your chances of becoming a doctor if you don’t pass the exams.要是通不过考试，你就别想成为医生了。◆After this letter from the bank, we can kiss goodbye to our trip to Australia.收到银行的这封来信之后，我们只能放弃去澳大利亚旅行的希望了。●mean to ˈsayused to emphasize what you are saying or to ask sb if they really mean what they say（用于强调要说的话，或问对方是否真有此意）意思是说◆I mean to say, you should have known how he would react!我的意思是说，你本应料到他会作何反应！◆Do you mean to say you’ve lost it?你是说你把那东西给弄丢了？●ˌneedless to ˈsayas you would expect当然；不用说◆Needless to say, the students who had studied maths before did better in the statistics exam.不用说，以前学过数学的学生统计学考得比较好。◆He got home from the party at 5 a.m. Needless to say, his parents were furious.他参加聚会凌晨 5 点才回家，不用说，他的父母大发雷霆。NOTE If something is needless, it is not necessary. * needless 意为“没有必要”。●I’m ˈsorry to sayused for saying that sth is disappointing（表示某事令人失望）我遗憾地说◆He didn’t accept the job, I’m sorry to say.我很遗憾，他没有接受那份工作。●suffice (it) to say (that)… (formal) used for saying that you could say much more about sb/sth but you do not want or need to…足以说明；只需说…就够了◆I won’t tell you all that was said at the meeting. Suffice it to say that they approved our plan.我不想把会上说的一切都告诉你，只告诉你他们批准了我们的计划就够了。NOTESuffice it here means ‘it is enough’. * suffice it 此处意为“已经足够了”。●cry/say ˈuncle (NAmE) admit that you have been beaten or defeated认输◆They’re determined to make the President cry uncle in the budget debate.他们决定在预算辩论中让总统甘拜下风。ORIGINOriginally, this comes from children’s games in which the child has to say the word ‘uncle’ to admit defeat.这个习语最初源于儿童游戏：儿童说出“uncle”一词后即表示认输。●not/never have a good word to ˈsay for/about sb/sth (informal) not/never have anything positive to say about sb/sth从不说…的好话◆She rarely has a good word to say about her neighbours.她极少说邻居的好话。◆Nobody has a good word to say for the new computer system.没有人说这个新计算机系统好的。OPPpraise sb/sth to the skies