1 put one's foot in one's mouth 失言、說話不慎
- She really put her foot in her mouth during the job interview by accidentally insulting the interviewer's intelligence.(她在面試中意外地侮辱了面試官的智商,真的說錯話了。)
- I really put my foot in my mouth when I made that inappropriate joke at the dinner party.(我在晚宴上講了那個不恰當的笑話,真的是說錯話了。)
2 對某人事務表達或提出看法:
put in one's two cents 提供自己的意見或建議
- I just wanted to put in my two cents on the new project proposal.(我想就這個新專案提供我的看法。)
【典故】put in one's two cents 這個短語的典故可以追溯到十九世紀的美國,當時硬幣是很普遍的支付方式之一,人們經常會拿出一枚2美分硬幣來支付費用。因此,put in one's two cents 原意指以自己微不足道的一分力量幫助完成某件事情。隨著時間的推移,這個短語的意義逐漸演變成指提供自己的意見或建議。
put one's finger on 說出問題所在
- I can't quite put my finger on it, but there's something not quite right about the situation.(我無法確定問題所在,但這個情況有些不對勁。)
3 對事情的判斷或處理:
put the cart before the horse 本末倒置(先做應該後做的事情,把事情的順序搞反了)
- You can't expect to win the race without training first. Don't put the cart before the horse.(你不能指望沒有訓練就能贏得比賽。不要本末倒置。)
【典故】Put the cart before the horse 這個俚語的典故可以追溯到中世紀時期,當時人們使用馬車運輸貨物。在那個時代,馬通常是用來拉著車子移動的,而不是用來騎行。當人們想要移動貨物時,他們通常會先將馬拴在車前,然後再將車上的貨物裝好,最後才出發。如果把車與馬的順序搞反了,也就是先把車上的貨物裝好,然後再拴上馬,那麼車就無法移動,因為馬無法拉動車子。這就是 "Put the cart before the horse" 這個俚語的由來。
put two and two together 推理,推斷(指從不同的事實或線索中推斷出結論,或者理解一個情況的本質。)
- After hearing about the company's recent financial troubles and seeing all the layoffs, I put two and two together and decided it was time to look for a new job.(在聽到公司最近的財務困境和看到所有的裁員之後,我想通了,決定是時候尋找新的工作了。)
put sth to bed 解決,成功處理(通常指結束一個問題或討論,以便能夠繼續進行下一個步驟。)
- We've been discussing this issue for hours. It's time to put it to bed and make a decision.(我們已經討論了這個問題幾個小時了。現在是時候解決它並做出決定了。)
4 put on airs、put on the dog 裝腔作勢或擺架子、過分裝扮或炫耀
- He's just putting on airs to impress his new girlfriend, but she'll see through it eventually.(他只是為了給新女友留下好印象而裝腔作勢,但她最終會看穿他的真面目。)
- The new restaurant is really putting on the dog with its fancy decor and expensive menu. (這家新餐廳的華麗裝潢和昂貴的菜單讓人感覺很炫耀。)
在「put on airs」這個俚語中,air指的是「風度」或「姿態」,特指某人故意裝腔作勢、假裝比自己更重要或更高貴的態度。源自於18世紀英國上流社會的文化和習慣。當時,那些出身於上流社會的人認為自己比其他人更優越,他們穿著昂貴的衣服、佩戴珠寶首飾,並展現出一種高傲自負的態度。為了使自己看起來更為優越,他們會裝出一些不自然的動作、說話方式和姿勢。這種裝腔作勢的行為就被形容為 putting on airs。 put on the dog 是一個俚語,通常用來表示某人過度地裝扮或顯示財富或社會地位。據說這個短語源自於美國南方的一種狗,叫做“藍色獵狗”(Blue Dog)。這種狗經常被用作狩獵和展覽,其外觀需要經過精心的修飾和打扮。因此,putting on the dog 逐漸成為了一種描述過度裝扮或炫耀富有的方式。
5 put one's feet up 放鬆、休息
- I plan to put my feet up and read a good book this weekend.(我計劃在這個周末放鬆一下,看一本好書。)
The politician was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
這個政治人物生來就命好。
That politician was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
那名政治人物是含著金湯匙出生的。
Brushing your teeth before eating is putting the cart before the horse.
吃東西前刷牙是本末倒置。
Don't expect to get good grades if you didn't study hard.
如果你沒認真唸書的話就別期望得到好成績。
We’ve decided to change the plan.
我們已決定要改變計畫。
I’m sorry, but you’ll have to make a decision quickly.
很抱歉,但你必須趕快做決定。
Diana saw through her boyfriend/s lie and caught him cheating on her.
黛安娜看穿她男友的謊言並抓到他劈腿。
Can you please put a sock in it? I'm trying to concentrate.
你能不能請安靜一點?我在專心做事
Try to put yourself in Andy's shoes since he is also struggling to make that decision.
試著站在安迪的角度想,因為他也很掙扎要不要做那個決定。
Lucas committed a serious crime and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
路卡斯犯下重罪,被判無期徒刑。
The man was put in jail for committing two crimes.
這名男子犯了 2 條罪而入獄了。