oldBrE /əʊld/ NAmE /oʊld/► SEE ALLany old howany old thing, time, place, etc.for old times’ sakethe good/bad old daysit’s the (same) old storyof oldof the old school(as) old as the hillsan old bagan old batold boy/girlthe old boy networkan/that old chestnutan old dearan old flamean old fogey/fogythe old guardan old hand (at sth/at doing sth)old hat(have) an old head on young shouldersan old maidold manthe old school tiean old wives’ taleold womana chip off the old blocka dirty old man(there’s) no fool like an old foola/the grand old agea/the grand old man (of sth)have a high old timethere’s life in the old dog yetmoney for old ropepoor old sb/sthreopen old woundsring out the old (year) and ring in the newat/to a ripe old ageat/to the ripe old age of…settle a score/an account (with sb)settle an old score(you can’t) teach an old dog new tricks(as) tough as old boots ●ˈany old how (spoken) in a careless or untidy way随便地；马马虎虎地；不整洁地◆You can’t just dress any old how for such an important occasion. 这么重要的场合你可不能穿得随随便便的。●ˈany old thing, time, place, etc. (spoken) it does not matter which thing, when, where, etc.随便哪一个（或何时、何处等）◆Come on, let’s go out now — you can do the housework any old time. 走吧，咱们现在就出去吧，家务你什么时候都能做。◆We can’t have any old person looking after the kids — it has to be someone reliable. 我们不能随便找个人来看孩子，得找个可靠的。●for ˈold times’ sakebecause of pleasant memories of things you did together in the past看在旧日的情分上；念及老交情◆I saw John Smith today. I hadn’t seen him for years. We had a drink together for old times’ sake. 今天我遇见了约翰 ∙ 史密斯，多年不见了，想起以往的老交情，我们一起喝了一杯。◆I lent him the money for old times’ sake. 念在旧日的交情，我把钱借给他了。●the ˈgood/ˈbad old daysan earlier period of time in your life or in history that is seen as better/worse than the present往昔的好／苦日子◆That was in the bad old days of very high inflation. 那是在极度通货膨胀的困难时期。●it’s the (same) old ˈstorysomething unpleasant or bad which happens again and again又是老一套（表示糟糕的情况以前经常发生）◆He says we haven’t got enough money for a trip overseas. It’s the same old story every year. 他说我们没有足够的钱去海外度假，每年都是老一套说辞。●of ˈold (formalorliterary) in or since past times在往昔；以前◆in days of old 从前◆We know him of old (= we have known him for a long time). 我们认识他很久了。●of the ˈold schoolfollowing old methods, standards, etc.老派；守旧；墨守成规◆He’s one of the old school, a teacher who believes in discipline and politeness. 他是个守旧的老师，仍然以守纪律和有礼貌来教育学生。●(as) old as the ˈhillsvery old; ancient古老；悠久◆That joke’s as old as the hills! 那是个老掉牙的笑话了！●an old ˈbag (disapproving, offensive) an annoying and unpleasant woman讨厌的女人◆Some old bag came in here complaining that we’d charged her too much. 有个讨厌的女人来这里抱怨说我们收费太高。●an ˌold ˈbat (BrE, informal, disapproving) a silly or annoying old person愚蠢（或讨厌）的老家伙◆She never hears what I’m saying to her — the silly old bat. 她从来听不进去我的话，这个讨厌的老家伙！●old ˈboy/ˈgirl (informal) 1.an older man/woman年长的男子／妇女◆There’s a nice old boy living next door. 隔壁住着一位和气的老头儿。2.a former pupil of a school校友；老同学◆He’s one of our most famous old boys. 他是我们最出名的校友之一。◆We have an old girls’ reunion every five years. 我们每五年举行一次女校友的聚会。●the ˌold ˈboy network (BrE, informal) the practice of men who went to the same school using their influence to help each other at work or socially校友关系网；老同学间的互相关照●an/that old ˈchestnut (informal) a joke or story that has often been repeated and as a result is no longer amusing老掉牙的笑话（或故事）◆‘He told us all about the police arresting him for climbing into his own house.’ ‘Oh, no, not that old chestnut again.’ “他给我们讲了那个他爬进自家房子却被警察抓的故事。”“哦，别说了，又是那个陈芝麻烂谷子的故事。”●an old ˈdear (informal) an old woman老太太◆And then this old dear came in looking very ill, so I asked the doctor to see her before the other patients. 这时这位老太太进来了，看起来病得很重，于是我请医生先给她看病。●an old ˈflame (informal) a person you were once in love with; a former boyfriend or girlfriend老相好；旧情人◆My mother has an old flame who sends her a bottle of perfume once a year. 我母亲有个老相好，每年都送给她一瓶香水。●an old ˈfogey/ˈfogy (usuallydisapproving) (usually of an older person) a person with very old-fashioned or traditional views, opinions, etc.守旧的人，老顽固（通常指老人）◆I’m not such an old fogey that I can’t remember what it was like to be a student. 我还没有古板到不记得做学生的感觉。NOTEA young person with old-fashioned views, style of dress, etc. is sometimes called a ‘young fogey’.有守旧思想或穿着保守的年轻人被称为 young fogey：◆He’s one of the young fogies who write for the ‘Spectator’. 他是《旁观者》周刊观点保守的青年撰稿人之一。●the ˌold ˈguardthe original or older members of a group or an organization, who are often against change but whose ideas and ways of working are being replaced保守派；保守势力◆The old guard in European politics is being challenged by fresh new ideas. 欧洲政党中的保守势力受到了新观念的挑战。●an old ˈhand (at sth/at doing sth)a person who is very experienced at sth老手；有经验的人◆Pete’s an old hand at negotiating our contracts — he’s been at the firm nearly twenty years, so he knows all the procedures. 皮特可是合同谈判的老手，他在公司里呆了将近二十年了，熟悉所有的程序。OPP(still) wet behind the ears●ˌold ˈhatsomething that is old-fashioned and no longer interesting过时的东西；陈腐的事物◆This is supposed to be a new method of learning English, but frankly, it’s a bit old hat. 人们认为这是学习英语的一种新方法，不过坦白说，它还是老一套。OPPall the rage●(have) an old head on young ˈshouldersused to describe a young person who acts in a more sensible way than you would expect for a person of their age年轻而有见识；少年老成◆He’s only seventeen, but he has an old head on young shoulders and remains calm under pressure. 他只有十七岁，不过少年老成，面对压力沉着冷静。●an old ˈmaid (old-fashioned, disapproving) a woman who has never married and is now no longer young老处女；老姑娘●old ˈman (informal) a person’s husband or father老公；老爸◆I go to see my old man every month. He’s 77 now, you know. 我每个月都回家看望老爸，要知道，他今年 77 岁高龄了。◆Ask your old man if he can mend it. 问问你家老爷子能不能把它修好。●the ˌold school ˈtie (BrE) an informal system in which upper class men educated at the same private school help each other with jobs, contracts, etc. in their adult lives（上层社会同一私立学校毕业的）校友之间的互助之情◆People say that the bank is run on the old school tie system. 据说这家银行以校友关系来维持。●an old ˈwives’ tale (disapproving) an old idea or belief that has proved not to be scientific不经之谈；无稽之谈；迷信◆When you’re expecting a baby, people tell you all sorts of old wives’ tales. 怀孕的时候，人们会告诉你各种各样没有根据的注意事项。◆The belief that make-up ruins your skin is just an old wives’ tale. 说化妆品会伤害皮肤完全是无稽之谈。●old ˈwoman (informal, especially BrE) 1.a person’s wife or mother老婆；老妈◆Give your old woman a surprise and take her out for a nice meal. 带你老婆出去美餐一顿，给她一个惊喜。2. (disapproving) a man who worries about things that are not important婆婆妈妈（或斤斤计较）的男人◆My boss is a real old woman. He gets so annoyed if I make even the smallest mistake. 我的上司可真婆婆妈妈，犯一点小小的错误都会惹恼他。●a ˌchip off the old ˈblock (informal) a person who is very like one of his/her parents in appearance or character（相貌或性格）酷似父亲（或母亲）的人◆Young Tom’s a chip off the old block, isn’t he? He looks exactly like his Dad!小汤姆跟他父亲简直是一个模子刻出来的，两人长得一模一样！●a ˌdirty old ˈman (informal, disapproving) an older man who thinks too much about sex老色鬼◆Lots of dirty old men stood around looking at pornographic magazines.许多老色鬼站在那里看色情杂志。●(there’s) ˌno fool like an ˈold fool (saying) an older person who behaves foolishly appears more foolish than a younger person who does the same thing, because experience should have taught him not to do it老年荒唐无法可想，没有比老傻瓜更傻的人（指年长者有经验不应该和年轻人犯同样的错）◆Fred is going to marry a woman thirty years younger than him. There’s no fool like an old fool.弗雷德要娶一个比他小三十岁的女人，他真是老糊涂了。●a/the ˌgrand old ˈagea great age高龄◆She finally learned to drive at the grand old age of 65.她最终在 65 岁高龄学会了开车。●a/the ˌgrand old ˈman (of sth)an old man who is very experienced and respected in a particular profession, etc.元老；老前辈◆At eighty, he is the grand old man of the British film industry.八十高龄的他是英国电影业的元老。●have a ˈhigh old time (old-fashioned, informal) enjoy yourself very much玩得很开心◆When I left them they were having a high old time singing and dancing on the tables!我走的时候，他们站在桌上又唱又跳，开心极了！●there’s ˌlife in the old dog ˈyet (humorous) a person is old but is still active and enjoys life人老心不老◆At 70 he’s decided to go round the world. There’s life in the old dog yet!70 岁时，他决定周游世界。真是人老心不老！◆I’m not too old to enjoy myself! There’s life in the old dog yet, you know.我现在还不太老，完全可以享受生活！你知道吗，我人虽老精力却仍旺盛。●money for old ˈrope ( money for ˈjam) (both BrE, informal) money that is earned very easily and with very little effort很容易赚的钱◆All I have to do in my job is answer the phone occasionally — it’s money for old rope.我的全部工作只是偶尔接个电话，这钱赚得容易极了。●ˌpoor old ˈsb/ˈsth (informal) used to express sympathy（表示同情）可怜的，不幸的◆Poor old Mrs Kirk’s just gone into hospital again.可怜的柯克太太又进医院了。◆She sat down to rest her poor old legs.她坐下来让她可怜的双腿休息一下。●reopen old ˈwoundsremind sb of sth unpleasant that happened or existed in the past揭旧疮疤；重提伤心事◆Look, let’s try not to reopen any old wounds this time, OK?嘿，咱们这次别提任何伤心事，好吗？●ˌring out the ˌold (year) and ˌring in the ˈnewcelebrate the end of one year and the start of the next one辞旧迎新●at/to a ˈripe old age●at/to the ripe old age of…at/to a very old age在／到…高龄◆My grandmother lived to a ripe old age.我的祖母活到很大年纪。◆My uncle was still driving a car at the ripe old age of 89.我叔叔 89 岁高龄还在开车。●settle a ˈscore/an acˈcount (with sb)●settle an old ˈscorehurt or punish sb who has harmed or cheated you in the past; get revenge（同某人）算旧账，报宿怨◆I’ve got a score to settle with him after the terrible things he said about my girlfriend.他说我女朋友的坏话，我要和他算账。◆Before he left the school, he wanted to settle an old score with one of his classmates.离开学校前他要先和一位同班同学算清旧账。OPPcall it quits●(you can’t) teach an old dog new ˈtricks (saying) (you can’t) make old people change their ideas or ways of working, etc.（无法）改变老人的想法（或积习等）；老狗玩不了新把戏◆My grandmother doesn’t want a computer. She says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.我奶奶不想要计算机，她说人老不学艺。●(as) tough as old ˈboots (informal) 1. (of food食物) be very tough and difficult to chew硬而难嚼◆This steak’s as tough as old boots.这块牛排跟牛皮一样嚼不动。2.very strong and able to bear pain, criticism, etc. without complaining or giving up坚强；顽强◆Don’t worry, she’ll soon recover. She’s tough as old boots.别担心，她很快就会好起来的，她非常坚强。