Idioms / Proverbs / Similes for Essay

IDIOMS / PROVERBS /

SIMILESMEANINGS SENTENCES

a piece of cake simple，简单 Our team is strong, but it won't be a piece of cake to make it to the finals.

a race against time

an attempt to do something when there is little time to do it，争分夺秒

The villagers raced against time to protect their town against the flood.

Actions speak louder than

word

Things that a person does mean more than what is said，行动胜于语言

You keep saying that you'll do the housework. Remember that actions

speak louder than words.

As cheap as dirt Very cheap，很便宜 That piece of bag is a must-buy because it is as cheap as dirt.

As cold as ice Very cold / unfriendly，很冷 / 很冷淡

Come in and get warm, your hands are as cold as ice. / The new teacher was

unpopular because she was cold as ice. She should be friendlier.

As happy as a lark Very happy，很开心 When she heard the good news she was

as happy as a lark.As light as

feather Very light，很轻 I could easily pick you up - you're as light as a feather.

As quick as flash Very fast，很快 As quick as a flash, he snatched the book and ran out of the room.

As strong as a bull Very strong，很大力 非常强 He's one of our best players – as strong as

a bull, with good speed and great hands.bear fruit produce positive results，产生好的效果 Their hard work will bear fruit very soon.

Blood is thicker than water

Family relationships are strong than any others，血浓于水

Nancy will drop everything to help her sister; blood is thicker than water.

born with a silver spoon in

mouthborn into rich families，出生于富裕家庭

James doesn't know anything about working for a living; he was born with a

silver spoon in his mouth.

bright and early early in the morning，一大早 It's a long trip, so we'll have to start out bright and early.

Building a castle in the air Daydream，白日梦

Instead of working hard at her lessons, Mary spends her time building a castle in

the air.Can’t judge a book by its

cover

Cannot judge the quality or character of someone or something just by looking at

the，人不可貌相

She doesn't look very clever, but you can't judge a book by its cover.

Castle in the airplans or hopes that have very little chance of happening，空中楼阁 Your plan is merely a castle in the air.

caught up into become completely involved in

something，完全陷入Wallace is caught up in his work and has

little time for his son, Buxton.

cut one's coat according to one's cloth

To do only what you have enough money to do and no more，量入为出

We would like a bigger house, but we must cut our coat according to our

cloth. / They can't afford a vacation as they have to cut their coat according to

their cloth.Don’t cry over Don't regret what cannot be undone or The papers you wanted went out in last

spilt milk rectified，覆水难收 week's trash, so don't cry over spilt milk.

every cloud has a silver lining

every bad or difficult situation has a positive side，每一个不好或困难的局面

都会有好的一面

As the trip's been cancelled I'll be able to go to the match this Saturday. Every

cloud has a silver lining.

eye-openeran event or situation that proves to be unexpectedly enlightening，大开眼界

This day has been an eye-opener for me as I have seen a lot of interesting

drawings.get on my

nerves irritate me，激怒我 It really get on my nerves when you talk about her.

hale and hearty(especially of old people) healthy and

strong，（尤其老人）健壮After her long disease, I was glad to see

her hale and hearty.

hit the road set out on a journey，上路/出发 We have to hit the road very early in the morning.

hustle and bustle

busy and noisy activity，繁忙和嘈杂活动 / energy and excitement，能量与刺

激

He wanted a little cottage far away from the hustle and bustle of city life. / Some

people like the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping.

in a tight spot a difficult situation，一个困难的局面 Bob's in a tight spot right now because he has fallen behind in his work.

In the limelightin the centre of attention，人们关注的

焦点 /众人瞩目

John loves being in the limelight therefore he will do a lot of silly acts to

attract people’s attention.

in the pinkin very good health and spirits，在非常

良好的身体和精神He recovered completely from his surgery

and has been in the pink ever since.

keep an eye on watching them closely，密切关注着Please keep an eye on the baby. / Will you please keep your eye on my house

while I'm on vacation?

keeps our heads above water

manage to survive / to just be able to continue doing what you do，能够幸存 /

只是能够继续做在做着的事情

The business is in trouble, but we’re keeping our heads above water .

lend a hand / lend a helping

handhelp，帮

Could you lend me a hand with this piano? I need to move it across the room. / Peter is always willing to lend a helping

hand around the house.

Like father, like son

Fathers and sons resemble each other, and sons tend to do what their fathers

did before them，有其父必有其子

I think my son will grow up tall, just like his father. Like father, like son.

Make a mountain out of

a molehill

Exaggerate the seriousness of a problem，夸大了问题的严重性

You're making a mountain out of a molehill. You wrote one bad essay - it

doesn’t mean you're going to fail.

meet up get together，见面 / 会面 / 会合 Let's meet up after the meeting and discuss this further.

Meet up toTo have some required level of quality，

符合一定的质量要求I think our performance will meet up to

your expectations.Mother

Nature /Mother Earth

nature，大自然Look at those trees blown down in the

storm. Just shows you what Mother Nature can do when she gets angry.

once in a blue moon

very rarely，平时很少 Once in a blue moon, I buy a fashion magazine, just to see what people are

wearing.

point the finger at blaming others，责备他人

Don't point the finger at me! I didn't take the money. / When they asked her who

broke the window, she pointed the finger at Tom.

raining cats and dogs Raining heavily，倾盆大雨 I'm not going out in that storm. It's

raining cats and dogs.

second to none better than everything else，最好 Her suggestion was second to none, and the manager accepted it eagerly.

spreads like wildfire spreads quickly，迅速蔓延 The disease spread like wildfire.

the eleventh hour

the last possible moment for doing something / last minute，最后一分钟

She always turned her projects in at the eleventh hour.

throw in the towel / throw in

the sponge / toss in the

sponge

give up，放弃When John could stand no more of Mary's bad temper, he threw in the

towel and left.

time is money Time is valuable，一寸光阴一寸金 I can't afford to spend a lot of time standing here talking as time is money.

To eat like a bird To eat very little，吃很少 Jane is very thin because she eats like a

bird.To eat like a

horse To eat a lot，吃很多 No wonder he's so fat. He eats like a horse.

To fight like cats and dogs

Be continually arguing with one another，经常发生激烈争吵 / 常常吵闹

不休

We used to be best friends when we were kids but now we fight like cats and

dogs.

To sleep like a log / sleep like a

babysleep very soundly，熟睡

Everyone in our family sleeps like a log, so no one heard the thunderstorm in the middle of the night. / Nothing can wake

me up. I usually sleep like a baby.too good to be

trueso good that it is hard to believe，难以置

信The news was too good to be true.

Virtue is its own reward

The reward for acting in a moral way is the knowledge that you have done so and should not expect more，美德是它自己

的奖励

Bill: If I help you, will you pay me?Fred: No! Virtue is its own reward.

What goes around comes

around

The way you behave towards other people will affect the way those people

behave towards you in the future / karma，所付出的终将会回归 / 因果 /风

水轮流转 /善有善报恶有恶报

With him treating his family so badly, he ended up with nobody looking after him. Well, what goes around comes around.

where there's a will, there's a

way

If you truly want to do something, you will find a way to do it, in spite of

obstacles，有智者，事竟成

We'll get this piano up the stairs somehow. Where there's a will, there's a

way.with flying

colours with great success, 很好的成绩 He passed his exam with flying colours.

Yesterday’s news

Someone or something that is no longer interesting，不再有趣的人或事情

That celebrity is yesterday’s news, no one is interested to know what is

happening to him now.