“Dog”是“damned”的委婉说法,也就是很隐晦地骂人方式。而有的时候,脱口而出就变成了一种表示惊讶的方式。
dog my cats
1. 非常惊讶An exclamation of surprise or incredulity.
例子:Well, dog my cats! I never thought I'd see you around these parts again!
dog my cats
=God damn my eyes
=Damn my soul
2. A mild, inoffensive oath.脏话的委婉表达形式
例子:Dog my cats if I know what we're supposed to be working on here.
猫是一种很女性化的动物,狗是一种很男性化的动物。所以猫跟狗在一起有的时候指男人和女人的关系。
cat-and-dog life
=Of spouses or romantic partners, a life together typified by arguments, fights, and disagreements.
有的时候猫跟狗相安无事,有的时候猫跟狗就打架。汉语里经常说“猫一天,狗一天”指有的时候关系好,有的时候关系不好。英文里主要用这种方式来形容夫妻和情人之间的生活。
例子:They were so happy together when they first started dating, but after 10 years together, they've started leading a cat-and-dog life.
狗跟猫在一起的时候,狗经常追着猫跑,猫很生气两个人就吵架。
fight like cat and dog (British & Australian)
fight like cats and dogs (British & American)
=总吵架,就好像有仇一样。to argue violently all the time
例子:We get on very well as adults but as kids we fought like cat and dog.
主人养了一只猫一只狗,因为主人上班不在家,猫没有机会展示自己讨好主人的本事,狗被锁在家里也经常无所事事。
cats and dogs
n.价值低的股票;不值钱的或卖不掉的商品slow-selling or undesirable merchandise.
例子:During the Christmas season, the merchants try to get rid of all their cats and dogs.
下雨的时候,猫跟狗都躲在屋檐下避雨,但是雨太大,他们怎么躲浑身上下还是湿透了。
It's raining cats and dogs! (old-fashioned)
It's raining pitchforks (and hammer handles)
倾盆大雨
something that you say when it is raining very heavily It's raining cats and dogs out there! It's a wonder any of the men can see what they're doing!
Take an umbrella. It's raining pitchforks and hammer handles out there! Charlie: Have you looked outside? How's the weather? Mary: It's raining cats and dogs.
英语和汉语一样都有成语,都译成idiom,每个单词你都认识,但是合到一起的意思你不一定知道在讲什么。
除了用法、寓意,有的短语和谚语适合书面说法,有的只在口语中使用,有的涉及比喻,有的源自故事,有的是名人名言,有的英国人说,美国人不说,还有的不同的国家有不同的说法……
所以学短语和谚语是一件很有趣的事。希望你读我的系列文章不仅能够记住这些英文短语和谚语,而且能够从相关的故事中体会到异国文化,一些书本上没有,生活里必知的知识。
本文为原创,未经作者许可,不得转载。谢谢!