全通翻譯/翻譯社

學習英語文法及字彙或許有些困難，但試著了解英語的諺語幾乎更是困難了。有些是很難去辨別，還有一些是一點沒有任何意義。這裡有五種讓你每天都可以用到的有趣的英語諺語。要注意如何來正確的使用！

「I'm happy as a clam.」就會想到蛤，不需要做什麼事情。它整天只需要無所事事的在沙灘上或在海底下，不需要工作。聽起來很快樂，不是嗎？如果有人問你：「How are you today?」您可以這樣告訴他們，他們就會知道你的心情有多好。

「I wouldn't touch that (or him/her) with a ten-foot pole.」不覺得像某種東西嗎？也許令人噁心的像是垃圾或腐壞的食物，或某人你不想要和他做朋友甚至和他說話？嗯，意思就是你不是很喜歡他以致於你不想與他聯繫或有很近的接觸 � 甚至你的十個腳指頭！

「I think I went overboard.」如果你曾經想要做某些過度以致於沒有負責能力負擔的事情，這是一個很有幫助的表示方式。「Going overboard」造字面上翻譯是從船上掉落水裡，但是在英文裡就是承認你做了不該有的事情的一說法。還有很多相類似的諺語，像是「I've stepped over a line」及「I've gone too far.」你也可以用在說明某人錯誤事情。

「You don't have a leg to stand on.」不，它不是說明正在和你說話的那個人沒有腿。它的意思是說他們在爭論是不對的。因為他們都沒有任何證據足以立論。這是一個很好的方法告訴某人你認為他們是錯的。

「Break a leg!」這句話的意思就是它的反意。如果你告訴某人這個，你正希望他有好運！它來自於一種迷信就是當說這句話愈大聲，相反的意思就愈會實現。這起源於劇院，通常只使用在祝福某人有很出色的演出。所以也可以用在職場上祝福某人有好的表現或於面試給予好印象。

by Zack Schenkkan 

Learning the grammar and vocabulary of English can be hard enough, but trying to understand English sayings can be impossible. Some are just hard to figure out and others don make any sense at all. Here are five funny English sayings that you can use every day. Just be careful to use them right!

 happy as a clam.?/b> Think of a clam. It doesn have to do anything. It just sits on a beach or on the bottom of the ocean all day every day doing nothing. It never has to work. That sure sounds like happiness, doesn it? If someone asks, ow are you today??you can tell them this to let them know what a great mood youe in.

 wouldn touch that (or him/her) with a ten-foot pole.?/b> Don like something? Maybe it something gross like garbage or rotting food. Or maybe there a person who you don want to be friends with or even talk to? Well, this saying means that you dislike them so much that you don want to touch them or go near them ?even within ten feet!

 think I went overboard.?/b> If you ever to do something that is excessive or irresponsible, this is a handy expression to use. oing overboard?literally means falling off a ship, but, as an English saying, it a way of admitting that youe done something you shouldn have. There are many synonyms for this such as e stepped over a line?and e gone too far.?You can also use it to say that someone else has made a mistake.

ou don have a leg to stand on.?/b> No, this doesn mean that the person youe talking to has no legs. It means that their argument is incorrect. They don have a leg to stand on because they have no facts to support what theye saying. This saying is a good way to tell a person that you think theye wrong.

reak a leg!?/b> This actually means the opposite of what it sounds like. If you tell this to a person, youe wishing them good luck! The saying comes from a superstition that whatever you say aloud, the opposite will come true. Because it originated in the theater, this saying is usually used only for wishing someone good luck in some type of performance. So it nice thing to tell someone who is preparing to make a business presentation or attend an interview where they need to make a good impression.

by Zack Schenkkan