2014年2月26日 星期三

with all due respect 無意冒犯

with all due respect

 it means "pardon me". It is used to introduce your contrary opinion that the other person may find a bit offensive.

Bob, with all due respect, I disagree with you. 

get your arms around something 全盤瞭解

get your arms around something
to feel confident that you have a good understanding of something that is complicated There are so many different aspects of the energy situation that it's hard to get your arms around it.

2014年2月25日 星期二

fly the coop 落跑

fly the coop
Fig. to escape; to get out or get away. (Alludes to a chicken escaping from a chicken coop.) I couldn't stand the party, so I flew the coop. The prisoner flew the coop at the first opportunity.

coop someone or something up 限制

coop someone or something up
to confine someone or something in a small place. Don't coop me up. I can't stand small places. We had to coop up the dogs for a while.

out in force 大舉出動

out in force
Fig. appearing in great strength. (*Typically: be ~; come ~; go ~. See also out in large numbers.) What a night! The mosquitoes are out in force. The police went out in force over the holiday weekend.

2014年2月20日 星期四

put the cart before the horse 事情亂掉了

put the cart before the horse
Fig. to have things in the wrong order; to have things confused and mixed up. (Also with have.) You're eating your dessert first! You've put the cart before the horse. John has the cart before the horse in most of his projects.

put one foot in front of the other 小心謹慎

put one foot in front of the other 
1. Lit. to walk deliberately. I was so tired that I could hardly even put one foot in front of the other. She was putting one foot in front of the other so carefully that I thought she must be ill.
2. Fig. to do things carefully and in their proper order. Let's do it right now. Just put one foot in front of the other. One thing at a time. All I need to do is put one foot in front of the other. Everything else will take care of itself.