I have a misunderstanding with English

1. "Sofa" or "So far"

When studying in the United States, many students from non-English speaking countries will take ESL (English as Second Language), which is English as a second language. . A week before the end of the course, the teacher followed his usual tradition of holding a graduation party at his home. The students brought their own food to the party. The teacher even took the opportunity to let us introduce the ingredients and cooking methods of food in English. When it was my turn, the teacher suddenly changed the topic and asked me to talk about my views on the ESL course. He asked: "How do you like it, so far?"

I was stunned for a moment, and then asked him: "Your sofa is made in Italy, isn't it?" Sofa) is made in Italy, right?) As soon as he finished speaking, everyone burst into laughter.

2. A horse pill

Mrs. Leuis was a patient who had just undergone surgery. When she was given narcotic painkillers, she looked at the pills and said: "This is a horse pill." I thought she thought I had given the wrong medicine, so I quickly explained: "This is not a horse's pill, This is your pain pill which doctor prescribed." Mrs. Leuis smiled and said to me that she knew this was Her painkiller, and by "a horse pill" she meant that the pill was too big. We Chinese describe people as tall and powerful, but Americans compare big pills to "horse pills."

3. A shower in a restaurant

I remember that when I first arrived in the United States, I did a work-study program. I used my spare time to work in a restaurant next to the school, answering the phone and handling takeout. In the first month or two, the English I learned from books really made a lot of fun. One day, I received a call: "Do you have a room for shower?" I thought to myself, this person is really strange, how come he can take a shower in a restaurant? So I replied: "Our restrooms are big and comfortable, but they are not allowed for shower."

Later I mentioned this to my friend, who laughed and explained that the shower here does not mean shower. Bath, shower, but refers to a gift-giving party (held for a certain woman on a specific occasion), that is, they want a quieter room to hold a baby shower (held to celebrate the birth of a baby by a new mother) bridal shower) or bridal shower (bridal shower).

4. All thumbs

The neighbor Mr. and Mrs. Smith are very healthy and energetic, but the strange thing is that the old man never interferes in the work in the front and back gardens, only the old lady Everything is done with one hand. One day, the old lady and I happened to be at the back garden fence, each of us tidying up the garden. I was about to raise a question that was difficult to express, but the old lady took the initiative and said: "My husband is all thumbs when he comes to gardening."

Hahaha! I almost burst out laughing. All thumbs refers to someone who is clumsy in doing things. It is so vivid and humorous to say that my husband has ten thumbs. I hurried home and had a good laugh.

5. Baby kisser

One day, Belle’s nemesis Sally came to our office to discuss business matters. Sally greeted every colleague enthusiastically. Belle curled her lips disdainfully and muttered: "She is such a baby kisser!"

"Aren't people who kiss babies good people?" I was wondering.

A colleague later explained to me that in order to gain votes during the election campaign, American politicians, whether sincerely or hypocritically, like to kiss babies in the arms of voters in public places and show a people-friendly image to please them. People, so it is called "Baby Kisser". Simply put, "Baby Kisser" refers to those people who love to flatter others and are hypocritical.

6. Bachelor?

Not long ago, I wrote to my brother, who has lived in the United States for a long time and I haven’t had contact with him for a long time, asking about his work and life. Soon, I received a reply from him saying that he had just gotten married and was living a happy life. He also sent a photo of his sister-in-law, which made the whole family very happy. Unexpectedly, six months later, my brother wrote again. In the letter, he said that he was currently a "Bachelor" and worked in a university, and he hoped to change his working environment. After reading the letter, the whole family was shocked. How come the younger brother became a bachelor again? He finally found the person he liked and got married, so why did he get divorced in less than a year?

Although I didn’t want to interfere too much in my brother’s personal affairs, I couldn’t help but write to him in the end to ask him why his marriage failed so quickly. Soon, my younger brother wrote back and said that he had obtained a Bachelor's degree after graduating from the University of Michigan and now wanted to continue his studies. It turns out that Bachelor means "bachelor".

7. Black sheep

If you literally translate it as "black sheep", it would be a joke. However, the phrase does originate in connection with sheep. According to Webster's dictionary, the meaning of this phrase is: a recessive black-fleeced individual in a flock of normally white-fleeced sheep. The Chinese meaning is: in any group of white sheep, there are black sheep mixed in. . But why are people so interested in black sheep that such a phrase appears?

In Western countries, black sheep's wool is considered less valuable than white sheep's wool. At the same time, black sheep mixed among white sheep can easily frighten the white sheep. Another reason is that people think black represents evil, not only in Western countries, but also in China. For example, people often use "white and crystal clear" and "a heart of ice in a jade pot" to describe purity. The expression "black-hearted" is used to describe sin.

Nowadays, people use this phrase to mean: a member of a group that stands in conspicuous and unfavorable contrast to the other members. In Chinese, it is often associated with the meaning of "black sheep, scum"

8. Bookkeeper

A few days after arriving in the United States, I wanted to find a job to increase my family income. There were many advertisements in the newspapers for bookkeepers. I thought it was very simple── Bookkeeping member. So I picked up the phone and called the other party and said that I was interested in this job. I had worked as a librarian in China before and had experience. The other party asked me what I did specifically. I said that I organized books and classified them according to their categories. Editing method... Before I could finish speaking, he said: "Miss, we are looking for a Bookkeeper, not a Librarian.

"

At that time, I didn't understand the difference between these two words. When my husband came back in the evening and asked, I found out that Bookkeeper is accounting work. Here "book" refers to "account book, account book", and "bookkeeper" "It means "bookkeeper, accountant, accountant", which is completely different from "librarian".

9. Brown nosing

And several Americans A friend went to Carol's house for a party. As soon as he entered the door, Kevin yelled at Carol and said, "You are so beautiful today." I glanced at Carol and saw that she was only wearing a white T-shirt and denim shorts. , why is he making such a fuss? Seeing my puzzled look, Carol said: "He's brown nosing"

I looked at Kevin and saw that his face and nose were all red from the sun, and asked again. Carol, said, "You're saying Kevin's tanned too much, right?" " Then it was Carol's turn to be confused.

It turns out that brown nosing means flattery, especially when used between subordinates and superiors. It is equivalent to the meaning of "patronizing" or "equaling" in the proverbs. Next If you see someone flattering your boss, you can say "He's brown nosing". Of course, this is a joke among friends.

10. Bus boy

Join the friend King. At a birthday party at a high-end western restaurant, when everyone was about to raise their glasses and sing happy birthday, I accidentally knocked over the ice water glass. Everyone's tableware was damaged and the whole table was in a mess.

Just when I was almost dying of embarrassment, the waiter came over and said: "The bus boy will take care of it right away."

Who will come from the bus station to help me clean up the mess? I've heard of the Beach Boys, who is this Bus Boy?

Seeing my confused look, King immediately explained to me: "Bus Boy is responsible for clearing dishes in the restaurant. , cleaning staff, assistants to waiters in restaurants, also known as waiters and waiters. "

Oh! That's it. What bus boy? I really got distracted.

11. Cast pearls before swine

A friend of mine is a He is a long-time smoker and has been smoking for 11 years. Although I tried my best to persuade him to quit smoking and provided him with various methods to quit smoking, he still couldn't quit smoking.

Once, another friend, Carmen, comforted me and said: "Don't waste your time and breath. It's not worth casting pearls before swine!" "I couldn't help laughing after hearing this. No matter what, I can't describe that person as a pig.

Carmen hurriedly explained to me that she did not mean to be sarcastic or belittle the person, "cast pearls before "swine" is an English idiom, meaning "to make useless efforts", which is similar to the Chinese idiom "playing the piano to a cow".

12. Caught red-handed

One night I made an appointment with my friend Carmen to go to the movies, and we arranged to meet at the entrance of the movie theater. Unexpectedly, I waited for her at the door for an hour but she still wasn't there.

Just when I was worried, Carmen ran over to me with a panicked and angry face and told me that she had encountered a robbery in a convenience store. She said that the robber had a gun in his hand and ordered the people in the store to kneel down, otherwise Just shoot.

I was very frightened after hearing this, and quickly asked her how she escaped. She sighed and said, "After struggling with the police for half an hour, the robber was caught red-handed at last." I couldn't help but feel frightened when I heard "red-handed", and what I thought of in my mind was "hands full of blood." The gangster asked her how many people had been injured by the robbers.

Carmen replied inexplicably that no one was injured in the robbery. I couldn't help but wonder, and asked her why the gangster's hands would be red if no one was injured? Carmen suddenly understood and explained to me with a smile: "Caught red-handed means being arrested on the spot. It is not as scary as you think with hands full of blood."

13. Cheap skate

The company's performance is not good this year, so although there is a lottery activity in this year's Christmas Party, it has indeed been severely reduced. It is not like in previous years where everyone gets a prize. I only heard my deskmate Steve say: "Only 12 prizes?! Our boss is really a cheap skate!" I know Steve was complaining that there were too few lottery prizes, but why was it "cheap skate"? Isn’t “skate” skates?

After asking Steve later, I found out that "Cheap skate" means "cheap skate", not cheap skates!

14. Chew the fat

Last semester, I co-wrote a Reading Repor with my American friend Luke, and I read a sentence in the book, "…then they just sat and chewed the fat for an hour." I was puzzled and had no choice but to ask Luke for advice.

Luke told me after reading it: "This sentence means the people just sat down chatting randomly, and engaged in idle conversation."

Haha! I bet the word "chewing fat meat" means "chatting leisurely and contentedly", just like the old Beijing saying of "chewing one's teeth"!

15. Churchill

When Beany Babies were popular, my colleague Mary gave me a Sharpei Beany Dog. I was very happy, but when I opened the dog tag and saw that the name on it was Churchill, I couldn't help but asked strangely: "Why is Churchill's name used on a dog?"

Mary explained : "Because this dog's face looks very similar to British Prime Minister Churchill, so it's funny to name him!" It suddenly dawned on me that foreigners can actually make fun of national leaders like this!

16. Cyber ??squatter

TV is reporting a news about "cyber squatter". "cyber squatter"? It sounds like the name of an animal from the cartoon "Bichuka".

The younger brother sitting next to him said to his elder brother: "The problem of cockroaches on the Internet is really rampant!"

I was startled and kept shouting: "Where are the cockroaches? Why didn't I see them?"

The elder brother and the others suppressed their laughter and quickly explained to me: "They are not real cockroaches! Cyber ??squatters are the so-called 'cyber cockroaches'. They refer to those who use other people's names to register domain names on the computer network first, from which People who make profits or sell at high prices, this is an emerging illegal industry that infringes on intellectual property rights.”

17. Dressed turkey

I remember when I first came to the United States, I was catching up. American traditional holiday Thanksgiving. One day, I went to the supermarket to buy groceries and heard a Chinese man pointing to the label on the turkey shelf and asking another companion: "Look at dressed turkey, why is it called dressed turkey?" At that time, I was also very confused. After I checked it out in the dictionary at home, I found out that the word "dressed" in "dressed turkey" does not refer to clothing here. It should mean "shedded", which means "bare turkey".

So I thought of the "suit chicken" in the wet market that is familiar to Beijing residents. This kind of chicken is slaughtered, stripped, disemboweled, decapitated, and then sold in plastic bags with the words "suit chicken" printed on it. It is very popular. But most people probably don’t know why a naked chicken with its feathers shed is called a “suit chicken.”

I think the problem is that the merchant literally translates "dressed chicken" as "dressed chicken". If it is more westernized, wouldn't it become a suit chicken?

18. Drug Free Zone

When I first arrived in the United States, I was afraid of showing my cowardice, so I was always shy about asking questions. One time I went to school for an adult education class and saw three big words "Drug Free Zone" near the school gate. I knew these three words, so I took them out of context and interpreted them as "drug-free areas." At that time, I thought to myself that America was really a paradise, even buying medicines was free.

Unexpectedly, I later learned that the word drug also means drug. I couldn't help but be shocked. I didn't expect that drugs were openly sold in the school.

The next day I finally couldn’t help but ask an American friend for advice, and I realized that the “free” in the slogan meant “forbidden”, not “free”. Just like "Smoke Free", it is not "free smoking", but "no smoking". Therefore, "Drug Free Zone" should mean "no drugs".

19. Eating humble pie

Every time I go to Sandy’s house to learn how to arrange western flowers, I can see her lively and adorable five-year-old son chasing his puppy around the house. play. Last Saturday was uncharacteristically quiet in the house, so I curiously asked Sandy if she hadn't seen little Tom? She angrily said to me: "He is eating humble pie in his room." I like to make different flavors of pie, but I am very unfamiliar with humble pie, so I immediately asked Sandy for a recipe. She just told me that my son was confessing in his room at the moment. This "Humble Pie" cannot be made with hands, but must be done with sincerity.

20. Final straw

Once, my little cousin dressed up beautifully and went out on a date. Unexpectedly, I saw her running home angrily not long after. She yelled that she would never talk to her boyfriend again. She said: "That guy is always late for every appointment and has a lot of excuses for being late. Repeated warnings are of no use.

He was like this again today, causing me to wait for him for more than two hours in the cold wind. I was so angry that I told him: 'That's it! This is the final straw! We are over! ’”

I said with sympathy: “That’s right! This person is real. He knows he is wrong, but he still should buy a bouquet of flowers to make you happy. What is the use of giving him straws and straws? "

After listening to my words, the little cousin who was originally furious was made to burst into laughter by me: "Cousin, are you kidding me? ‘Final straw’ means that my patience has reached its limit. Even something as light as a straw or a feather can crush me, so he didn’t bring any straw or straw to give me! ”

21. Full of hot air

I remember going to a political speech a few years ago. Two candidates running for city council were going back and forth on the stage, talking to each other. Attack, and at the same time made many promises to the audience, the scene was very lively.

After the speech, some audience members were still talking about it. One audience member said: "Mr. Smith is full of hot air." Mr. Smith was one of the two candidates. I thought to myself, how could this Mr. Smith have anything to do with hot air or hot air balloons? Another listener followed up the previous listener and said, "Mr. Smith never keeps his promises." ."At this time, I realized that full of hot air does not mean hot air or hot air balloon. When I got home and looked up the dictionary, I found that full of hot air turned out to mean braggadocio. In English slang, hot air means empty talk, big talk.

22. Get your mind out of the gutter

Once, several of our colleagues were chatting together, and Joe told a somewhat dirty joke. Everyone laughed, but I didn't understand, so I had to say: "I don't get it." Unexpectedly, they burst out laughing even more and Dalar said, "Her mind is not in the gutter." ". I thought to myself, isn't my mind with you?

It turns out that "mind in the gutter" means bad thoughts and evil intentions. In other words, Dalar was explaining to me just now , saying that the reason why I didn't understand Joe's joke was because I didn't think as crookedly as they did.

So if you want to say that someone has a bad mind, you can say that person's "mind in." the gutter", and asked him not to do that, just say "Get your mind out of the gutter." Although I didn't understand the joke, I learned an idiom, which can be regarded as a gain.

23. Give me five?

I remember when I first came to the United States to study, I was walking on campus one day to get acquainted with the new environment. On the way, I met a white American student who suddenly approached me and said, "Come on!" Give me five!"

I was shocked at the time and thought he was going to blackmail me for money. I quickly told him that I didn't have five yuan, but he left very upset.

Later I went back to the dormitory and told my senior about what had just happened. He smiled and said to me: "This person is not asking you for money, but he may have just finished handing in a report or taking an exam, and he came out in a good mood. I want you to clap his hands and celebrate or be happy for him! "Now that I think about it, I really made a fool of myself!

24. Give you a ring

I have just started studying in Canada. In the first semester, I took chemistry experiments. We were in pairs. A male classmate and I had the same last name. Beginning with letters, they are grouped into groups. Once, the experiment lasted for a long time and exceeded the three hours scheduled. However, I had classes next, so I had to leave first and let the male classmate finish the finishing work. He knew that I needed the results and data of chemical reactions to write a report, so he kindly told me not to worry, and then added: "I'll give you a ring tonight."

"Give me a ring." "I guess I am not familiar with this boy. I was stunned at that time. Before I could answer, he said, "Oh! I don't know your phone number yet." Actually, he just wanted to call me to tell me about the experiment. Just data.

When I was studying in Taiwan, my understanding of English was still at the stage of literal translation. I thought "Give you a ring" means "Give you a ring." Little did I know that this is a daily colloquial expression, which means "make a phone call." To you" means.

Only then did I come back to my senses. I thanked him and quickly packed up my notes and manuals and left the laboratory.

25. Go ahead!

Our tour guides are very entertaining and humorous when traveling through the western states of the United States. He said that when he was a child, he studied in an American school in Hong Kong, where students were required to speak in English in the classroom. One time, a new classmate came to the class. His English listening skills were relatively poor. One day he was in a hurry to go to the bathroom, so he reported it to the teacher. The teacher replied: "Go ahead!" After hearing this, the classmate quickly returned to his seat. A classmate asked him, the teacher has given permission, why don't you go? He replied: "Didn't the teacher tell you to take off your head?" This sentence caused the whole class to burst into laughter.

It turned out that he had misunderstood. "Go ahead" here means that the teacher has promised him to go to the bathroom. It turns out that "Go ahead!" is commonly used in English to mean allowing or encouraging someone to do something.

26. Go into the woods

Once, I participated in a mountain climbing excursion organized by a new sports club. After we walked for more than two hours, we decided to take a rest by the side of the path. We sat on the ground and talked casually about the nearby scenery. At this time, three or four female members suddenly stood up and said, "We are going into the woods." I thought they must be going to a very interesting place. So, I stood up and said, "I am going with you folks!" As soon as I finished speaking, the other male members laughed and said, "No, you are not!"

I was confused and hurriedly Ask why. It turns out that there are no toilets in the wild. What the female members said by "Go into the woods" actually meant finding a deserted place in the woods to serve as a toilet, which also means "convenient".

27. Go Street or Go Straight!

My friend came to the United States not long ago, and I took him to take his driver’s license test. Unexpectedly, it was his turn to enter the examination room, but he and the examiner stopped at the entrance of the examination room and drove towards the street. I was just wondering when I saw him stop the car. The examiner got out of the car angrily, threw the fail form to his friend, and walked towards an examinee without looking back. I hurried over and asked my confused friend what was going on.

He said aggrievedly: "I don't know, she (the examiner) asked me to 'go street', and I was wondering why she asked me to go on the road without taking the test. She repeated 'go street' again, I had to turn and drive towards the street, but she yelled 'Stop! Stop!' Just like that, what was wrong with me? "

It turned out that he heard "go straight" as "go". street". A slight difference, a thousand miles lost. How can the examiner understand the difficulties of these newcomers?

In addition, "go straight" is also used to refer to a criminal's "reform".

28. Hang up or hang on

That day, my mother called the doctor to ask if she would accept medical attention. The nurse on the phone replied: "Let me ask the doctor, please hang on." Mom hung up the phone and asked me suspiciously: "Why did she say she was going to the doctor and then asked me to hang up?"

Me Said: "She asked you to hang up?" Mom said: "It's not that clear!" I guessed: "The nurse asked you not to hang up, but you did. She said hang on, not hang up!"

"Hang on" means to hold on, which here means to wait. The difference between the word and "Hang up" (hang up the phone) means that the meaning is completely different.

29. Have a turkey on one's back

Everyone gathered at the house of my American friend Bob on Thanksgiving Day. Bob and his wife invite relatives and friends to their home every year. Everyone is very familiar with each other. If someone does not come, everyone will ask why. There is a friend Audun who can eat, drink and speak, and everyone likes him very much. But this time Audun has not arrived. I suggest you make a phone call to hurry up. Bob said no need, "He's got a turkey on his back."

I was puzzled. Isn't Bob already roasting turkey? Why does Audun need to carry another turkey? It turned out that Bob had already called and knew that Audun had drunk too much that day and might not be able to come.

It turns out that "Have a turkey on one's back" means being drunk or addicted to drugs. Of course we all know that Audun is just a drinker and he will not take drugs.

30. He has a window?

After school started, a neighbor’s tenth grade boy found a job in a store and went to work at five o’clock every afternoon. I asked my neighbor if get out of class doesn’t finish until after four o’clock and I still have to go to work. Is it too late?

The neighbor replied: "It's OK. He has a window."

"There is a window?" I thought to myself, what does this have to do with the "window"?

The neighbor smiled and explained that he meant that there was a gap of about 30 minutes between the time the child finished school and when he went to work. "He had time," the neighbor said. "Window" originally meant "empty time".