· the black sheep of the family有辱門楣的人

　　He lost everything in gabling and was called the black sheep of the family by this relatives.

　　· take a shine to someone一見就中意

　　She is an animal-lover. She takes a shine to whatever animal she meets.

　　· give someone the shirt off one‘s back為某人慷慨解囊，毫不吝嗇的接濟(jì)某人

　　He works in the charity organization and strongly believes that he who gives others the shirt off his back will be blessed by the God.

　　· lose one‘s shirt輸?shù)镁?/p>

　　The man didn‘t leave Las Vegas until he lost his shirt.

　　· know where the shoe pinches知道問題所在

　　A wise leader should be one who knows where the shoe pinches and knows what to do with it.

　　· a shot in the dark瞎猜

　　I didn‘t know which button was for TV. I pushed one, and TV was turned on. It was mere a shot in the dark.

　　· give someone the cold shoulder冷待某人

　　I hate going to expensive hotels. The receptionist always gives me the cold shoulder when she sees my plain clothes.

　　· steal the show喧賓奪主

　　Cinderalla stole the show in the Prince‘s party.

　　· side with someone與某人站在一起，支持某人

　　I‘m your friend, but I‘m afraid I won‘t side with you on that issue.

　　· have a memory like a sieve記性太差

　　I think a computer notebook will be of great help for me, since I‘ve got a memory like a sieve.

　　· out of clear blue sky意料不到

　　Yesterday, out of a clear blue sky, My landlady gave me a one-day notice, asking me to move out.

　　· .make a slip of the tongue說走嘴

　　The class burst into laughter when the teacher made a slip of the tongue. He meant to say "Good morning" to students, but he said "Good afternoon".

　　· be on the sly辦事狡猾

　　The boy was smoking in the corner when his father caught him on the sly.

　　· for a song以級低的價錢，廉價地

　　I got the rare edition of the book for a song in the flea market.

　　· sound someone out試探某人的意見

　　Have you sounded the principal out on postponing the final examination?

　　· call a spade a spade有什么就說什么

　　We are good friends. Call a spade a spade. Don‘t tell me in a round-about way.

　　· spick and span干干凈凈

　　The housewife always keeps her kitchen spick and span.

　　· go for a spin出去兜風(fēng)

　　The city dwellers like going for a spin to the country on weekends.

　　· spine-chilling令人毛骨悚然

　　He likes horrible films. Those spine-chilling pictures to us are pleasant to his eyes.

　　· The spirit is willing; but the flesh is weak.心有余而力不足

　　A: How many times have you tried quitting smoking? B: It‘s not that the spirit is not willing, but that the flesh is weak.

　　· win one‘s spurs受到獎賞

　　She won her spurs as a popular writer immediately after her first book became a best-seller.

　　· put the squeeze on someone對某人施加壓力

　　The new situation is putting the squeeze on all companies engaged in this business.

　　· stand up to someone與某人大膽對抗

　　The soldier stood up to the officer and was place in confinement.

　　· thank one‘s lucky stars感到萬幸

　　I should thank your lucky stars that you missed the plane which crashed into the sea.

　　· get off to a flying start來了開門紅

　　Our kindergarten got off to a flying start by having 100 children to sign up in the first month.

　　· go steady with someone 與異性穩(wěn)步發(fā)展關(guān)系

　　Mary and Tim got married after going steady with each other for two years.

　　· watch one‘s step當(dāng)心

　　You‘re better watch your step when you go out with John. He is a trouble-maker.

　　· a stick-in the-mud老古董

　　He is a stick=in-the-mud and will never invest his money in stock.

　　· be a stickler吹毛皮的人

　　I don‘t like to go to her home. She is a stickler for neatness.

　　· turn someone‘s stomach令人作嘔

　　Her sweet voice turned my stomach.

　　· fall between two stools雞飛蛋打

　　Tying to straddle two boats, he took up two jobs with two salaries. At last, unable to do either well.

　　· weather the storm度過難關(guān)

　　The wooden house weathered the storm.

　　· harp on the same old string老調(diào)重彈

　　He really gets on my nerves. He always harps on the same old string by promising us a paid holiday., but he never keeps it.

　　· have someone dancing on a string任意擺布某人

　　Betty is a housewife and no income. Her husband has her dancing on a string.

　　· pull strings for someone為某人走后門，幕后操作

　　In the material world, money pulls the strings.

　　· be stuck on someone迷戀上某人

　　Tom was stuck on the girl at the first meeting although it was a blind date.

　　· to sweet-talk someone into （out of ） doing……甜言蜜語地讓某人做（不做）……

　　The accountant sweet-talked the boss out of checking her account.

　　· be in full swing達(dá)到高潮，全面展開

　　China has opened its door to the outside world for twenty years. Reforms in every walks of life are in full swing.

　　· be asleep at the switch玩忽職守

　　The goal-keeper was asleep at the switch and let the rival team goal at the last minute.

　　· suit……to a T對……再適合不過了

　　This new job suits me to a T.

　　· turn the tables扭轉(zhuǎn)局勢

　　Don‘t worry, your husband knows how to turn the tables and crack down on those guys.

　　· drink someone under the table把某人灌醉

　　He has a hollow leg. He can drink all of us here under the table.

　　· keep tabs on something/someone掌握情況,密切關(guān)注

　　He has subscribed ten newspapers in order to keep tabs on the new developments in market management.

　　· keep someone down a notch挫某人的傲氣

　　The monitor likes to order us around. He needs to be kept down a notch.