不要省了焦油丢了羊;勿省小而失大;不要省小钱而坏大事。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...[继续阅读]

    猫有九条命。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...[继续阅读]

    匮乏者不知法律; 需要面前无法律。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.’这条谚语可用来作为盗窃食物养家糊口行为的辩...[继续阅读]

    楔子的小头是危险的;小的开端可引起严重的后果。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...[继续阅读]

    做是罪过,不做也是罪过;不该做而做和该做而未做同样是罪过。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...[继续阅读]

    盗来的欢乐最甜蜜;求之不得的东西最好。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 ...[继续阅读]

    骑虎难下。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...[继续阅读]

    不要无故加鞭;不要给予不必要的刺激;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.此处“驯训的马”比...[继续阅读]

    恶棍总是得寸进尺。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...[继续阅读]

    习惯使我们安于一切; 习惯成自然。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...[继续阅读]