ELISA ENGLISH's Blog 英語園地

Don’t patronize me! 别把我當傻瓜 - 每日一辭(英) 

鑽牛角尖 - 每日一辭(英)  

鑽牛角尖

敷衍, 草率, 馬虎 , 掛在嘴上說說 - 每日一辭(英)  

敷衍了事,草率做事

愚民政策

Chinese Communist, KMT government and Ma are all masters in the art of obscurantism to achieve such ultimate control of their people.

What is “Obscurantism”? It is an art to deliberately restrict knowledge (withhold knowledge from the public) and deliberate vagueness in an attempt to obscure the facts.

同謀, 幫兇

An abettor

An accomplice in crime

裝模做樣, 做作   - 每日一辭(英)  

put on an act = to pretend, especially to deceive or to show off.

Achilles' heel

Achilles heel

致命要害 (阿基里斯的脚踵)

Pierian Spring

靈感之泉

A fly in the ointment

貓哭耗子假慈悲

To cry crocodile tears

To shed crocodile tears

巧婦難為無米之炊

You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. 

As I was watching the snowy scene (yes, we broke our mega snow record and we are still having snow in May), I thought this seemed a good time to think of something gloomy, something that I didn't like.  Yuck!  Rats!  I just hope that we don't skip spring and head right into summer.      

一粒老鼠屎，壞了一鍋粥

庸人自擾 - 每日一辭(英)

Much Ado About Nothing

The phrase 'much ado about nothing' comes from Shakespeare's play “Much Ado About Nothing”. The word “ado” means busy activity, bustle or fuss.

 Break a leg is usually said to people who peform in plays before they go on the stage. It is to wish them good luck, tell them to get on the stage and do a great job in the play.

For example:

For me to pick up the pen to write is hard, as I lack the motivation, which is hard to come by. It is also hard to find time to write juggling between work and family, especially with two little kids. I have recently set up a Facebook page for my blog, hoping to find motivation and inspiration within. I mentioned in my Facebook page that maybe I could start with posting a phrase each day. It was a thought but maybe it could serve as an incentive for me to write again. Here is the phrase for the day.

Casting pearls before swine - 對牛彈琴

What is the meaning of “at play”?

Other than the meaning of engaged in playful activity, it can also mean:

Pales by comparison (with something)

Pales in comparison (with something)

Recently I used a phrase in my article: "It fareth between thee and me as it doth between a player at the chess and a looker on, for he that looketh on seeth many draughts that the player considereth nothing at all."  I like this phrase a lot.  The phrase seems to originate from William Fullonius's Latin play, The Comedy of Acolastus.  In plain English, the stander-by sees more than he who plays.  In Chinese, it means "當局者迷，旁觀者清".

For example:  please click on the link to my article.  http://elisaenglish.pixnet.net/blog/post/40322797

拍馬屁

Suck up <verb>

Kiss ass <verb>

露出馬腳, 露出原形自己, 露出本性, 露出狐狸尾巴