不要省了焦油丟了羊;勿省小而失大;不要省小錢而壞大事。This teaches the folly of false economy; of failing to achieve one’s purpose by trying to save in a small detail; of marring an effect in order to avoid spending a trifling extra amount.A man who buys an expensive new over...[繼續(xù)閱讀]

    貓有九條命。This is another way of saying that a cat is much more likely to escape death than are most animals. It is too wily and agile to be taken by surprise,and even when it falls it manages to come down on its feet,which are sufficiently padded to break th...[繼續(xù)閱讀]

    匱乏者不知法律; 需要面前無法律。The proverb could be used to justify the behaviour of a man who steals food to keep his wife and family from starving. As Cervantes wrote in Don Quixote:‘Necessity urges desperate measures.’這條諺語可用來作為盜竊食物養(yǎng)家糊口行為的辯...[繼續(xù)閱讀]

    楔子的小頭是危險的;小的開端可引起嚴(yán)重的后果。A wedge is a tool used to split logs of wood.The thick end is hammered and the thin end steadily widens the opening until the log falls apart. The proverb means that a small beginning will lead,it is hoped (or more often feared) ,to...[繼續(xù)閱讀]

    做是罪過,不做也是罪過;不該做而做和該做而未做同樣是罪過。Here commission is performance,and omission is nonperformance.You may be acting wrongly in doing a certain thing;you may be equally at fault in not doing a certain thing. For example,the sin of commission is drowning a...[繼續(xù)閱讀]

    盜來的歡樂最甜蜜;求之不得的東西最好。The things we most enjoy doing are those we know we ought not to be doing,such as watching cricket on the television when we should be working. If we had nothing else to do but watch cricket on the television we probably wouldn’t enjoy ...[繼續(xù)閱讀]

    騎虎難下。Whatever the discomfort of his present condition-for nobody really favours this means of transport-it is better than dismounting and being eaten by the tiger. A similar predicament is to have a wolf by the ears; one cannot continue holding on indefin...[繼續(xù)閱讀]

    不要無故加鞭;不要給予不必要的刺激;勿鞭打快牛。A ‘willing horse’ is a person who works well and without complaint (ALL LAY LOADS ON A WILLING HORSE(13)). Don’t urge him on to work harder and faster,for he may then do less,or not be quite so willing.此處“馴訓(xùn)的馬”比...[繼續(xù)閱讀]

    惡棍總是得寸進(jìn)尺。If you grant some people a small favour,it only encourages them to take much more than they are offered.‘I told old Joe to help himself to some strawberries,and when I went out into the garden later in the morning,I found he’d pinched the lot.’‘N...[繼續(xù)閱讀]

    習(xí)慣使我們安于一切; 習(xí)慣成自然。In modern parlance,we can get ased to anything.The longer we have to put up with it,however irksome or unpleasant it may be,the more able are we to adapt ourselves to it. It becomes part of our life and we accept it as such. For example,i...[繼續(xù)閱讀]