13. CUT SOMEBODY SOME SLACK:to give somebody a break/ not to judge somebody severely
13.放人一马：给人留有喘息的余地，而非咄咄逼人

I was extremely busy last week. Cut me some slack and I’ll finish the report by tomorrow morning.
上星期我简直忙到飞起。给我点喘息的时间，明早我就交报告。

14. BY THE SKIN OF YOUR TEETH:when you do something by the skin of your teeth, you only just succeed/ nearly fail
14.侥幸成功：侥幸成功做某事，差一点失败

I hadn’t studied much, but passed the test by the skin of my teeth.
虽然我准备不多，但侥幸通过了测试。

15. ONCE IN A BLUE MOON:when something rarely ever happens
15.千载难逢：极少会发生某事

We used to see him all the time, but now he just visits us once in a blue moon.
过去我们经常见面，但现在他许久都不来一次。



16. GO DOWN IN FLAMES: to end or fail suddenly
16.毁于一旦：突然失败

She’d wanted to become Managing Director, but her career went down in flames when they found out she’d been leaking information to our competitors.
自从向竞争对手泄漏公司信息的事败露，她成为总经理的梦想便毁于一旦。

17. TAR SOMEONE WITH THE SAME BRUSH: to believe that someone has the same bad qualities as others in a group
17.一丘之貉：相信同组的人没有差别，一样差劲

I don’t think much of that band, but the singer shouldn’t be tarred with the same brush. She’s got a fantastic voice.
我不觉得乐队怎样，但是歌手不该与他们混为一谈。她的嗓音棒极了。

18. COME OUT SWINGING:to be confrontational and strongly defend yourself at the beginning of a debate
18.相互进行攻击：辩论初始，对抗性地、强烈地捍卫自己的观点

Our local MP came out swinging against the current leadership and demanded that the government resign.
当地议员站出来反对当前的领导班子并要求重组政权。

19. HANG IN THERE: wait and be patient
19.坚持下去：耐心等待

I know you’d really like to call him, but I don’t think that’s the right thing to do now. Just hang in there and he will call you.
我知道你想给他打电话，但这并非一个明智之举。在等一会儿，电话就来了。

20. SHOOT FROM THE HIP: to speak directly
20.信口开河：直言不讳

If you want to get on well with your boss, try not to shoot from the hip next time. You don’t want to offend him, do you?
如果你打算跟老板好好相处，下次就别冲他大喊大叫。你不想冒犯他的，对吧？

21. GO THE EXTRA MILE: to make a special effort/try very hard to achieve your goal
21.付出更多努力：极其努力以实现目标

If you want to become proficient in English, you’ll have to go the extra mile and start learning idioms.
要想精通英语，你必须付出极大努力，还要学习习语。

22. RUNNING ON FUMES:to continue to stay awake when feeling exhausted
22.精疲力尽以后继续奋战：极度劳累的状态下保持兴奋

I’m sorry, but I’ve got to go home now. I haven’t slept for twenty hours and I’m running on fumes.
不好意思，我现在必须得回家。我已经连续20小时没有休息了，早就筋疲力尽了。

23. SOLD ME OUT:to snitch on someone, or let their secret out
23.出卖：揭发别人或泄露他人秘密

I asked you to keep it to yourself! I can’t believe you sold me out, I trusted you!
我嘱咐过你一定得保密！没想到你竟然出卖我，亏我那么相信你！

24. YOU SOLD ME (ON SOMETHING): you convinced me of something, because you were persuasive
24.你说服了我（某事）：说服力强，让人信服

OK, you’ve sold me. I’ll go to the match with you.
好吧，听你的，我跟你一起参加比赛。