點擊標題，閱讀成語的詳細說明
to bell the cat 高難度任務
Honestly, someone’s gotta bell the cat and tell the boss about this mistake.
（ 說真的，總得有人主動出面，把這個錯誤告訴老闆。）
to be in someone’s black books 列入黑名單
Ever since I forgot her birthday, I’ve been in her black books.
（ 自從我忘記她的生日後，她就一直對我有意見。）
to give some a break 手下留情
Come on, give him a break—he’s really trying his best here.
（ 拜託，給他一點機會吧—他真的已經很努力了。）
a busman’s holiday 放假不休息
I spent my weekend fixing my friend’s car—total busman’s holiday for me.
（ 我週末都在幫朋友修車，對我來說根本是假日也在做本行。）
be caught with one’s pants down 被突襲得措手不及
I totally got caught with my pants down when the boss called on me in the meeting.
（ 老闆在會議中突然點到我時，我完全沒有準備好。）
be taken to the cleaners 被坑慘了
I really got taken to the cleaners when I bought that used car.
（ 我買那台二手車真的被坑慘了。）
not to have a clue 沒頭緒、沒概念
I didn’t have a clue what they were talking about during that meeting.
（ 那場會議裡他們在講什麼我完全聽不懂。）
to sail under false colors 冒充偽裝
That guy’s totally sailing under false colors—he seems nice but he’s actually super shady.
（ 那個人根本是表裡不一——看起來很好，其實超可疑的。）
to cut someone to the quick 刺痛其心
When you forgot her birthday, it really cut her to the quick.
（ 當你忘記她的生日時，她真的很受傷。）
as dead as a dodo 徹底完蛋
Ever since that app got banned, it’s as dead as a dodo now.
（ 自從那個 app 被禁之後，現在根本沒人用了。）
down-and-out 落魄潦倒
After losing his job, he was pretty down-and-out for a couple of months.
（ 他失業後，有好幾個月都很低落。）
Draconian laws 過於嚴苛的法律
These draconian laws are making life way harder than it needs to be.
（ 這些嚴苛的法律讓生活變得比原本應該要困難得多。）
drop-dead 出色亮眼的、非常的
You look drop-dead gorgeous in that dress tonight!
（ 你今晚穿那件洋裝真是美翻了！）
Dutch courage 借酒壯膽
He needed a little Dutch courage before asking her out on a date.
（ 他在鼓起勇氣約她出去之前，需要先喝點酒壯膽。）
dyed in the wool 根深柢固
My grandfather is a dyed-in-the-wool Yankees fan—he never misses a game.
（ 我爺爺是個超級洋基迷，每場比賽都不會錯過。）
to eat humble pie 認錯道歉
After I messed up the project, I really had to eat humble pie and apologize.
（ 那個專案被我搞砸之後，我只好低聲下氣地道歉。）
a good / bad egg 好人/壞人
Everyone says Jake’s a good egg—you can always count on him to help out.
（ 大家都說Jake是個很不錯的人，你總是可以信賴他幫忙。）
feet of clay 嚴重缺陷
I always looked up to him, but I guess he has feet of clay too.
（ 我一直很敬佩他，不過我現在才發現他也有缺點。）
to fiddle while Rome burns 袖手旁觀
The boss just fiddled while Rome burned instead of helping us fix the problem.
（ 老闆在我們遇到問題時只是在旁邊袖手旁觀，完全沒有幫忙解決。）
to flog a dead horse 徒勞、白費力氣
We’re just flogging a dead horse trying to convince him to change his mind.
（ 我們一直想說服他改變心意，其實只是白費力氣。）
to take French leave 不告而別
He just took French leave at the party—one minute he was there, the next he was gone.
（ 他在派對上悄悄溜走了，前一刻還在，下一刻就不見人影。）
to run the gauntlet 遭受謾罵懲罰
Ever since he messed up the project, he’s really had to run the gauntlet at work.
（ 自從他把那個專案搞砸後，他在公司一直被刁難。）
to cook one’s goose 搞砸機會
He really cooked his goose when he lied to his boss about that project.
（ 他在那個專案上對老闆說謊，真的自找麻煩了。）
to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs 殺雞取卵
If you raise prices too high, you might kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.
（ 如果價格漲得太高，反而可能搬起石頭砸自己的腳。）
to ham it up 誇張表現
He really knows how to ham it up whenever there’s a camera around.
（ 每當有攝影機在，他就特別會表現。）
If you don’t like it, lump it 不喜歡只能忍
If you don’t like the new rule, well, you’ll just have to lump it.
（ 如果你不喜歡這個新規定，那也只能接受了。）
Janus-faced 虛偽兩面
Be careful around him—he’s totally Janus-faced and will say anything to get ahead.
（ 跟他相處要小心——他非常善變，為了自己的利益什麼話都說得出口。）
to / til the kingdom come 直到永遠
I’ll love you till the kingdom come, no matter what happens.
（ 無論發生什麼事，我都會一直愛你，直到永遠。）
to fly a kite 放風箏、測意向
I mentioned the new project just to fly a kite and see their reaction.
（ 我提起那個新計畫只是想試探一下他們的反應。）
a leap in the dark 放手一搏
Quitting my job to start my own business was really a leap in the dark.
（ 辭掉工作自己創業，真的像是在摸黑往前跳一樣。）
left wing 左翼
He’s got some pretty left wing views when it comes to social issues.
（ 在社會議題上，他的立場相當偏向左派。）
at a loose end 無所事事
I was at a loose end this afternoon, so I just watched some TV.
（ 我今天下午沒什麼事做，就隨便看了會電視。）
one’s name is mud 名聲掃地
Ever since he got caught cheating, his name is mud around the office.
（ 自從他被抓到作弊後，在辦公室裡他的名聲就一落千丈。）
to grasp the nettle 果斷面對困難
It’s time to just grasp the nettle and finally have that tough conversation.
（ 是時候鼓起勇氣，和對方坦誠地談一談那個艱難的話題了。）
to paddle one’s own canoe 自食其力
Ever since she moved out, she’s really had to paddle her own canoe.
（ 自從她搬出去以後，很多事情都得自己獨立面對。）
beyond the pale 不能見容
What he said at dinner was just beyond the pale—I couldn’t believe it.
（ 他在晚餐時說的話真是太過分了，我簡直難以置信。）
a parting shot 臨別一擊
Before she left the meeting, she couldn’t resist throwing in a parting shot.
（ 在她離開會議前，忍不住又酸了一句。）
Adam’s apple 喉結
You could totally see his Adam’s apple move when he started getting nervous.
（ 他一開始緊張的時候，明顯可以看到他的喉結在動。）
so long 再見
Well, I guess this is it—so long, hope we see each other again soon!
（ 看來就到這裡了，先跟你說聲再見，希望很快又能再見到你！）
when the chips are down 關鍵時刻
You really find out who your true friends are when the chips are down.
（ 在困難時期，你才會看清誰才是真正的朋友。）
the lion’s share 占多數的份額
She always takes the lion’s share of the credit, even when it’s a team effort.
（ 她總是把大部分的功勞都攬在自己身上，即使是團隊合作也一樣。）
to rub salt in the wound 增添痛苦
She was already upset, and his rude comment just rubbed salt in the wound.
（ 她本來就已經很難過了，他那句無禮的話更讓她雪上加霜。）
to pigeonhole 歸類定型
I don’t want to pigeonhole her just because she dresses a certain way.
（ 我不想因為她的穿著就給她貼上標籤。）
in the pipeline 推進實施中
We’ve got a couple of exciting projects in the pipeline right now.
（ 我們現在手上正在進行幾個令人期待的專案。）
to read the riot act 警告停止搗亂
If you don’t quiet down, Mom’s gonna come up here and read us the riot act.
（ 你們再不安靜一點，媽媽就要上來罵我們了。）
the ring of truth 真實感
What she said really had the ring of truth, so I believed her.
（ 她說的話真的讓人覺得很真誠，所以我選擇相信她。）
to ring the changes 變換做法
Let’s ring the changes and try a new restaurant this weekend instead of the usual one.
（ 這個週末我們來換個口味，試試新的餐廳，不要再去平常那家了。）
in the seventh heaven 欣喜若狂
She was in seventh heaven when she found out she got the job.
（ 她知道自己錄取這份工作時，簡直開心得不得了。）
to give short shrift 置之不理、忽視
I felt like my ideas got short shrift in that meeting yesterday.
（ 我覺得我昨天在會議上的想法沒有受到重視。）
a skeleton in the cupboard / closet家醜、隱情
Turns out, every family’s got a skeleton in the closet they’d rather not talk about.
（ 其實每個家庭都有一些不願提起的祕密。）
