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EarIy bird catches the worm早起的鸟儿有虫吃
Sue slept overnight in front of the stadium in order to get concert tickets. The early bird catches the worm.
苏为了得到演唱会门票在体育场前睡了一夜。早起的鸟儿有虫吃。
Meaning：A person who gets up early and starts a project ahead of others has the best chance of accomplishing his or her goal.
语义：一个早起、比其他人提前准备项目的人具有完成他/她目标的最佳机遇。
►Origin: Birds like to eat worms. If a bird arrives late where the worms are, it will probably go hungry. But the bird who gets there early is sure to get some food. In the 1600s the proverb“the early bird gets the warm”was written to show that human beings who don't delay in starting an undertaking will most likely get what they want.
►语源：小鸟喜欢吃虫子。如果小鸟晚到了有虫子的地方，它可能会挨饿。但是到得早的小鸟一定会吃到虫子。17世纪，这则习语用来表达：一个尽早开始某项任务的人最有可能得到他想要的结果。
Easy as pie小事一桩
I thought that getting my teacher to raise my grade would be as easy as pie.
我想，让我的老师给我提高点分数应该是小菜一碟。
Meaning：not difficult; requiring practically no effort
语义：没有困难；几乎不需要费劲
►Origin: There are two similar modern idioms that mean extremely easy:“easy as pie”and“piece of cake.”Why should they both relate to baked desserts? Perhaps to the people who coined the phrases, desserts were easier to make than other foods.
►语源：有两个类似的现代习语都表达“非常简单”的意思：“easy as pie”和“piece of cake”。为什么它们都要涉及烘烤的甜点呢？也许对于创造这则习语的人来说，做甜点比做其他食物简单。
Easy as roIIing off a Iog轻而易举
Blanca told me that learning how to work the ceramics kiln was as easy as rolling off a log.
布兰卡告诉我学习如何使用陶瓷窑炉是件轻而易举的事。
Meaning：very, very easy; requiring little or no effort
语义：非常非常简单；需要很少的力气或根本不需要努力
►Origin: In the United States in the 1830s, when this idiom was first used, logs were often floated down rivers from the forests to the lumber mills. Men held contests to see who could stand upright on a floating log the longest. Most men fell into the river because it's extremely difficult to remain standing on a floating log and extremely easy to fall off one. So anything that's effortless is“as easy as rolling a log.”This expression is related to“easy as pie”and“piece of cake.”
►语源：这则习语第一次被使用是在19世纪30年代的美国。砍下来的原木会被放在河中顺流而下送到木材厂。工人们比赛看谁能最长时间地站在漂浮着的原木上。很多人掉进了水里，因为一直站在漂浮的木头上实在太难了，而从木头上掉下来却是轻而易举。所以任何轻松的事都可以用“as easy as rolling a log”来形容。这个习语与“easy as pie”和“piece of cake”意思相同。
Easy come, easy go易得易失
You spent all your birthday money in one morning? With you, it's easy come, easy go.
你一早上时间花掉了所有生日经费？对你来说，真是易得易失。
Meaning：Something that is easily obtained, as money, can be lost or parted with just as easily.
语义：像钱这样很容易得到的东西，同时也很容易失去。
►Origin: This saying goes all the way back to the famous Canterbury Tales,written in the 1300s.The author,Geoffrey Chaucer,was saying that if you get something quickly and easily without really working hard for it, you'll probably spend or lose it just as quickly.
►语源：这则习语起源于14世纪的《坎特伯雷故事集》。作者杰弗里·乔叟说：如果你没有付出就轻而易举得到了某样东西，你很可能同样轻而易举地把它花掉或失去它。
Eat crow被迫认错
I made Jon admit that he was wrong, and now he has to eat crow.
我逼乔恩承认他是错的，他只能忍气吞声。
Meaning：to be forced to do something very disagreeable; acknowledge a mistake or defeat
语义：被迫做一些不愉快的事；承认错误或失败
►Origin: This is a saying from the War of 1812 when an American officer was forced to eat a dead crow. People who have actually eaten a crow say that it tastes horrible. To be forced to“eat crow”is humbling and humiliating, like having to admit that you've done or said something terribly wrong. It's a little like eating humble pie (below).
►语源：这则习语源于1812年战争，当时一位美国军官被迫吃一只死了的乌鸦。吃过乌鸦的人都说乌鸦味道糟透了。被迫“吃乌鸦”是一件屈辱和丢脸的事，就像你不得不承认你做过的事或说过的话是极其错误的。它和下面出现的“eat humble pie”意思有些相像。
Eat humbIe pie忍气吞声
When he finds out how wrong he's been, he'll eat humble pie!
当他意识到他犯下的错误时，只好忍气吞声。
Meaning：to be apologetic or suffer humiliation; act humble or admit guilt
语义：需要向他人道歉或遭受屈辱；卑微行事或认错
►Origin: This expression is very similar to“eat crow,”but it comes from medieval times, when there really was a pie called an“umble”or“numble”pie. Umbles were the heart, liver and entrails of deer and other animals, and only servants ate a pie made out of animal's guts.“Umble pie”was changed to“humble pie,”which means lowly and meek. But in the early 1800s the expression“eat humble pie”meant profusely apologizing for a humiliating error.
►语源：这则习语和“eat crow”类似，但是它源于中世纪，当时的确有被称作为“umble”或“numble”的馅饼。“umbles”是鹿或其他动物的心脏、肝脏等内脏。只有仆人才吃内脏做成的馅饼。“umble pie”后来被改为“humble pie”，意为“卑微，温顺”。但是在19世纪早期，“eat humble pie”的意思是“为羞辱的错误道歉”。
Eat out of your hand听你的话
That kid will be eating out of my hand when I show him my new video game.
我向孩子展示我的新视频游戏的时候，他很听话。
Meaning：to be very cooperative or submissive; believe and obey someone without question
语义：非常合作、顺从；毫无疑问地相信和服从某人
►Origin: This expression, from the 20th century, describes what a tame or trusting animal will do if you treat it right. The person who created this idiom applied the same idea to human beings who trust fully and obey without question. People don't actually eat out of anyone's hand, but they do behave like obedient animals sometimes.
►语源：这则习语源于20世纪，用来描述当你正确对待被驯服或信任你的动物时，动物们的表现。创造这个词语的人将同样的概念应用于非常信任和服从你的人身上。人们不会真的吃某人的手，但是他们有时会像动物一样听话。
Eat you out of house and home吃穷某人
Matias grew four inches, and he's eating his parents out of house and home.
马蒂亚斯长高了4英尺，他快把他的父母吃穷了。
Meaning：to be so expensive to feed and keep that the person paying cannot afford it
语义：让某人支付不起抚养他人的昂贵费用
►Origin: William Shakespeare used this famous saying in one of his plays around the year 1600, but it probably goes back as far as 2,000 years.“House”and“home”mean about the same thing, of course. Using them both in one expression doubles the meaning.
►语源：在1600年左右，威廉·莎士比亚在他的某个剧本中曾用过这则习语，但是它起源于2000年前。“house”和“home”语义相同，把它们放在一起用起到加强语气的效果。
Eat your hat打包票
If we don't win this basketball game by at least twenty points, I'll eat my hat.
我保证我们在篮球比赛中至少能赢过对手20分。
Meaning：a statement made when you are positive that something will happen
语义：当你肯定一些事情会发生时的一个声明
►Origin: Many great writers, including Charles Dickens, have used this expression. The idea behind it is that you are 100 percent certain that some event will take place (or not take place). If the opposite of what you publicly predict unexpectedly happens, you will do something ridiculous like eat your hat. Since you expect your prediction to come true, you feel safe in promising that you'll do something stupid if it doesn't.
►语源：许多伟大的作家，如查尔斯·狄更斯，曾用过这则习语。当你百分之百肯定某事会发生（或不可能发生）时会用到它。如果事情的结果出乎意料得和你的推测背道而驰，你必须做一些像吃掉帽子一样可笑的事情。既然你希望你的论断是对的，你会用一些极端的行为来打赌你的预言会成真。
Eat your heart out心碎，伤心欲绝，心如刀绞
After Serena lost the plane tickets, she ate her heart out over the mistake.
塞雷娜丢了她的飞机票，她伤心死了。
Meaning：to feel extremely unhappy about a hopeless situation; make yourself sick with grief and worry
语义：对于绝境感到极度的悲伤；悔恨与担心折磨着你
►Origin: This expression goes all the way back to the ancient Greeks. The poet Homer used it in his famous epic poem The Odyssey.A person's heart has always been considered the center of his or her emotions. For instance, a person can be“broken-hearted”or have a“heart of gold.”This idiom is saying that if you become thin and weak from sorrow, if your misery is making you sick, then it's as if you are figuratively eating your heart out.The expression can also mean“extremely jealous.”“When Marika got the lead in the school play, Fiona ate her heart out because she wanted it.”
►语源：这则习语追溯到古希腊时代。诗人荷马在他的著名史诗《奥德赛》中曾用过这则习语。人心一直被看做他/她情绪的核心。例如，“broken-hearted”或“heart of gold”都用到心这个字。这则习语表达的意思是如果你因悲哀而脆弱，因痛苦而不安，那就像你在吞噬着你的心。它还有“极为妒忌”的意思。比如：“当玛丽卡成为校园剧主演的时候，菲奥娜非常的妒忌，因为她垂涎已久。”
Eat your words承认错误；收回所说的话
He predicted that I'd fail biology, but I got a D. Now he'll have to eat his words.
他断定我的生物学会不及格，但是我得到了一个D。他得收回他说过的话。
Meaning：to have to take back what you said; admit humbly that you were wrong
语义：不得不收回所说的话；虚心承认错误
►Origin: Words come out of your mouth. Food goes in to be eaten. If you've said something that turns out to be not true, maybe you wish you could take back those wrong words, put them back into your mouth, and eat them. A similar expression is“eat crow”, but“eat your words”makes more sense.
►语源：话是从嘴里说出来的。食物要吃进嘴里。如果你说了一些被证实是错误的话，也许你希望你能收回这些错误的话，把它们收回到嘴里，吃掉。和短语“eat crow”意思相同，但是“eat your words”更贴切。
Egg on your face非常尴尬；丢尽颜面
When Doug found out he had scored a touchdown for the other team, he had egg on his face.
当道格发现自己为其他队触底得分之后，他非常尴尬。
Meaning：to be very embarrassed or humiliated for something foolish that you did or said
语义：说或做了非常尴尬、愚蠢的事
►Origin: This American saying is probably from the 1950s. It could have come from the image of a sloppy eater, humiliated because he or she has food, like egg, on his or her face. Or it could have come from the custom of rude audiences in the old days throwing raw eggs at performers they didn't like. To be standing on a stage in front of an angry crowd with egg on your face must have been mortifying.
►语源：这则美国习语源于20世纪50年代。它大概从一个吃相邋遢的人身上衍生而来，他/她因为脸上粘着类似鸡蛋的食物而丢脸。或者源于昔日观众向他们不喜欢的表演者扔生鸡蛋的粗鲁习惯。脸上粘着鸡蛋站在舞台上面对一群愤怒的观众一定是奇耻大辱。
EIbow grease卖力工作
Put a little elbow grease into that job. Polish that car until it shines!
再用点劲儿，把那辆车擦到发亮！
Meaning：hard, energetic manual labor
语义：辛苦的、需要大量精力的体力活
►Origin: In Britain in the late 1600s people were using the term“elbow grease”to jokingly refer to the sweat worked up by strong, fast-moving work with one's arms, such as rubbing, polishing, and scraping.
►语源：在17世纪末的英国，人们用“elbow grease”开玩笑地指那些依靠高强度快速的肘部运动来完成的工作，例如擦、抛光和刮。
EIeventh hour最后关头
At the eleventh hour, just seconds before the curtain rose, Sybil finished
painting the scenery.
就在拉开帷幕的前几秒这一紧要关头，西比尔画完了风景。
Meaning：at the latest possible time, just before the absolute deadline
语义：在最后期限前的最后的一小段时间
►Origin: This idiom comes from the Bible. The eleventh hour is the last hour before the end of the world. In the Bible, it was the last hour of sunlight with the twelfth hour bringing darkness. Some people delay so much, they sometimes finish a project at the last minute, or even the last second, just before the deadline passes.
►语源：这则习语源于《圣经》。第十一个小时是世界结束前的最后一个小时。在《圣经》里，这是在带来黑暗的第十二个小时前、最后充满阳光的一个小时。这个短语用来形容有些人拖延很长时间，在最后期限的最后一分钟甚至最后一秒才能完成项目。
Every cIoud has a siIver Iining．塞翁失马，焉知非福。
Pamela missed the school bus, but every cloud has a silver lining. She also
missed the math test.
帕梅拉错过了校车，但是塞翁失马，焉知非福。她也逃过了数学考试。
Meaning：There is something good in every bad situation.
语义：糟糕的状况也会有好的一面。
►Origin: This expression of hope was used by the English Poet John Milton in 1634. He must have noticed that if the sun is behind a dark cloud, light shines out around the edges like a silver lining. With this idiom, Milton said that even the worst situation (“cloud”) has something hopeful or more positive about it (“silver lining”).
►语源：1634年，英国诗人约翰·弥尔顿曾用过这则关于希望的习语。他一定注意到了如果太阳被乌云遮挡，光线仍可以在乌云的边缘形成一道银光。弥尔顿用这则习语来表达即使在最坏的情况下（“云”）也会有某种希望或是积极的一面（“银光”）。
Every Tom, Dick, and Harry每一个人
I wanted this to be a small, private party, but Victoria invited every Tom, Dick, and Harry.
我想办一个小型的私人派对，但是维多利亚邀请了所有的人。
Meaning：every person possible, especially very ordinary people
语义：每个人，尤指很普通的人
►Origin: William Shakespeare used a phrase like this in one of his plays around 1600, but the last of the three names he used was Francis. In the early 1800s a lot of men were named Harry; that name replaced Francis and joined Tom and Dick, also common names, to stand for anybody and everybody, including ordinary people of low social status.“Tom, Dick and Harry”is a put-down, usually spoken by a person who thinks that he or she is better than other people.
►语源：在1600年左右，威廉·莎士比亚在他的某一剧作中用到过与此类似的词组，但他所用到的三个名字中最后一个是Francis。在19世纪早期许多人叫哈利；这个名字取代Francis加入到了Tom和Dick的队伍（Tom和Dick也是很常见的名字），来代表每个人，包括社会地位低的普通民众。“Tom, Dick and Harry”是贬低别人的话，通常出自那些自我感觉良好的人之口。
Everything but the kitchen sink所有事物；鱼目混杂
When Eric went away to college, he took everything but the kitchen sink.
当埃里克去上大学时，他把能带的都带上了。
Meaning：practically everything there is; every possible object whether needed or not
语义：几乎所有一切；每个可能的东西，不论需不需要
►Origin: This expression was born in the early century and became popular after World War Ⅱ (the late 1940s). The kitchen sink is heavy, connected to pipes, and usually bolted down, so its not easily movable. But if you took everything but the kitchen sink, you'd be taking virtually all there was. Related sayings are“from soup to nuts”and“from A to Z.”
►语源：这则习语出现在20世纪初，第二次世界大战后（20世纪40年代末）开始流行。厨房水槽非常重，并由管道连接，用螺栓固定，所以不容易移动。但是如果你带了除了厨房水槽的每样东西，你就几乎带走了所有的东西。类似习语有“from soup to nuts”和“from A to Z”。
Eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth以眼还眼，以牙还牙
Amanda took Gene's bicycle after he took her skateboard. That's what I call an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
吉恩拿走了阿曼达的滑板之后，阿曼达骑走了吉恩的自行车。所以我说这就叫以眼还眼，以牙还牙。
Meaning：revenge or punishment exactly like the original crime or offense
语义：对已经犯下的罪行或错误的报复或处罚
►Origin: This idea appears in the Old Testament of the Bible (Exodus 21:23) and is often used to sum up its stern code. This idiom suggests that every crime or injury should be punished or paid back with an equal exchange of hurtful actions.
►语源：这则习语出自《圣经·旧约》（《出埃及记》21章23节），而且经常被用于概括其苛刻的教条。它告诫人们每项犯罪或伤害都会受到相应的惩罚。
Eyes in the back of your head眼观六路
My teacher always knows when we're passing notes. He must have eyes in the back of his head.
我的老师总是知道我们什么时候偷偷传纸条，他真是眼观六路。
Meaning：ability to sense what is happening outside of one's field of vision;ability to know what happens when one's back is turned
语义：能够感知视野外所发生的事情；能够感知身后所发生的事情
►Origin: Peoples' eyes are on the front of their faces, but there are people who seem to know what's going on behind them, as if they had eyes in the back of their heads.
►语源：人们的眼睛长在脸的前部，但是有些人似乎知道他们身后发生了什么，就好像他们脑袋后边有眼睛一样。