Those of us who grew up with English as our first language have been exposed to idioms and idiomatic¹ expressions for most of our lives. They may have confused us a little when we were children, but explanation and constant exposure not only increased our understanding of them, but likely drew them into our own vernacular². If you’re in the process of learning the English language, you may come across some of these and not be entirely³ sure what they mean. Here’s a list of 20 that you’re likely to come across fairly often:

对英语是母语的人而言，大部分的时间都会接触到习语和俚语。孩提时，遇到习语和俚语可能会有些迷惑，但是不断的接触会增加对这些词语的理解，并有可能把它们纳入到自己的词汇中。如果你正在学习英语，那你可能会遇到一些习语或俚语，却不是很清楚它们的意思。下面列出了你最可能经常碰到的20个习语或俚语。

20个高频英语习语，你知道几个？

1. A Chip on Your Shoulder

耿耿于怀

No, this doesn’t mean that you’ve dropped part of your snack. To have a chip on one’s shoulder implies that the person is carrying around some grudge⁴ or bad feelings about something that happened in the past… like having walked through the wreckage⁵ of a building, and ended up with a chip of that building stuck to them for years afterward⁶.

这可不是说你掉了一点儿零食。"To have a chip on one's shoulder" 指的是一个人对过去发生的事情怀有怨气或不良情绪......就像是走过建筑物的残骸，而接下来的几年中建筑物的碎屑仍粘在身上。

2. Bite Off More Than You Can Chew

贪多嚼不烂

Like taking a HUGE bite of a sandwich that will fill your mouth up so much that you can’t move your jaw⁷, this idiom implies that you’ve taken on more than you can handle successfully. An example would be agreeing to build ten websites in a week when normally you can only handle five.

就像是你咬了一大口三明治，把嘴填得太满了，下巴都动不了了。这个习语指的是做事情不要超出自己的能力。举个例子，你同意一周的时间建10个网站，而通常情况下你只能建5个。

3. You Can’t Take It With You

生不带来，死不带去

You can’t take anything with you when you die, so don’t bother hoarding⁸ your stuff or not using it except for "special occasions". Live now, because all your stuff is going to be around long after you’re gone.

当你死时，什么东西也带不走。所以不要贮藏东西或只有“特殊场合”才使用某些东西。活在当下，因为在你走了之后，那些东西还会长时间存在。

4. Everything But the Kitchen Sink

一应俱全/无所不包

This implies that nearly everything has been packed/taken/removed. For instance, if someone said: "The thieves stole everything but the kitchen sink!" it meant that they took everything they could carry; it’s damned hard to remove a sink and carry it around.

这指的是无所不包。例如，如果有人说："The thieves stole everything but the kitchen sink!"指的是贼把能搬的东西都搬走了；很难卸下水槽并随身携带。

5. Over My Dead Body

休想

When the only way you’ll allow something to happen is if you’re no longer alive to stop it.

你允许某事发生的唯一方式是你不再活在世上，无法去阻止它。

6. Tie the Knot

喜结连理

To get married. This is left over from the old tradition of handfasting, wherein the hands of the bride and groom⁹ would be tied together with a length of ribbon to symbolize¹⁰ that their lives were fastened together permanently¹¹.

结婚。这是从婚约的古老传统遗留下来的，新郎和新娘的手用缎带系在一起， 代表他们的生活永远地系在了一起。

7. Don’t Judge a Book By Its Cover

不要以貌取人

Things aren’t always what they appear to be at first glance, so it’s a good idea to give something a chance, even if its outward appearance isn’t immediately attractive.

事情并不总是第一眼看上去的样子，所以即使事物的外观不能立刻吸引你，也要给它们一些机会。

*The exception to this might be actual books that have hideous¹² covers: those tend to be terrible all around, and in cases such as these, it’s best to contact the author or publisher and recommend a good graphic¹³ designer.

*例外情况可能是封皮骇人的书籍：那些书无论放在哪里都很吓人，在这种情况下，最好联系作者或出版商，并推荐好的平面设计师。

8. When Pigs Fly

永无可能

This means never. Pigs aren’t about to sprout¹⁴ wings and take flight anytime soon, so if someone says to their kid that they can get a forehead tattoo¹⁵ when pigs fly, it’s not gonna happen.

这意味着不可能。猪不可能在短期内长出翅膀飞起来。 所以如果有人这样对孩子说， 当猪能飞时就能在前额上纹身，意思是这样的事是不会发生的。

9. A Leopard¹⁶ Can’t Change His Spots

江山易改，本性难移

Basically: you are who you are. Just like a leopard can’t concentrate really hard and change the pattern on its skin, people can’t change who they really are at heart.

基本的意思：你就是你自己。就像是豹子很难集中精力并改变皮肤上的图案一样，人们很难从本质上进行改变。

10. Wear Your Heart on Your Sleeve

感情外露

To freely show and express all of your emotions, as though your heart were on the outside of your body.

自由地展示和表达你所有的情感，就像是把你的心放在身体外面一样。

11. Bite Your Tongue!

保持安静

Stick your tongue between your teeth (gently), and then try to speak. You can’t say a word, can you? To bite one’s tongue means to stay quiet: literally¹⁷ to hold the tongue still so it can’t make a sound.

把舌头放在上下牙齿间(轻轻地)，然后试着说话。你一个字也说不出来，是吧？To bite one's tongue指的是保持安静：字面意思是让舌头静止不动，这样不会发出声音。

12. Put a Sock In It

闭嘴

The idea behind this is that if you stuffed a sock in your mouth, you’d be quiet… so if you tell someone to "put a sock in it", you’re telling them to shut up.

意思是如果你的嘴里塞了一只袜子，你就会安静下来......所以如果你对别人说"put a sock in it", 你是告诉他们不要说话了。

13. Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

莫惹是非

If a couple of dogs had been fighting and are now sleeping peacefully, it’s best to just leave them alone. The idea behind this one is to avoid bringing up old arguments so they’ll just be argued about again.

如果几条狗打了一架后现在在安静地睡觉，最好让它们独自呆着。这个谚语背后的意思是，尽量不要提出以前争论过的问题，避免再一次争论。

14. Foam¹⁸ at the Mouth

非常愤怒

To hiss¹⁹ and snarl²⁰ in anger like a rabid dog (whose mouth would be foamy²¹ as he jumps around like crazy and tries to bite people).

像疯狗一样发出嘘声和愤怒的咆哮(疯狗的嘴上全是泡沫，它疯了一样的跳来跳去并想咬人)。

15. A Slap on the Wrist

轻微的惩罚

A very, very mild punishment. To be slapped on the wrist doesn’t hurt much, and isn’t a deterrent²² from misbehaving again.

非常小的惩罚。在手腕上拍一下不会造成伤害，对行为不当无震慑作用。

16. You Are What You Eat

人如其食

This is the idea that everything you eat influences your health and well-being²³. If you eat nothing but junk food, you’ll end up unhealthy and malnourished, so be sure to eat a well-balanced diet.

意思是你吃的东西影响着你的健康和幸福。如果你光吃垃圾食物，到头来，你会不健康和营养不良，所以一定要吃营养均衡的饮食。

17. It’s a Piece of Cake!

小菜一碟

…meaning that it’s incredibly easy. No-one has a difficult time eating a piece of cake, do they?

意思是非常容易。任何人吃一小块蛋糕都很容易，对吧？

18. It Takes Two to Tango

孤掌难鸣

A person can’t dance the tango alone, nor can they fight by themselves either. If an argument has occurred, there were two people involved, so two were responsible.

一个人跳不起来探戈，也不可能和自己打架。如果有争论，肯定会涉及到两个人，所以两个人都应负责。

19. Head Over Heels

神魂颠倒

To be incredibly excited and joyful²⁴, particularly with regard to being in love. Imagine someone so happy that they do cartwheels down the street: like that.

令人难以置信的兴奋和快乐，尤其是在爱情方面。想象某人如此高兴，在街上侧身翻跟斗：感觉就像那样一样。

20. An Arm and a Leg

代价昂贵

When something is so ridiculously expensive that you might have to sell your own body parts in order to afford it, it’s said to cost "an arm and a leg".

当有些东西贵的离谱时，你可能得卖到身体的一些器官才能买得起。这就是说成本是"an arm and a leg".