1。 Have kittens 極度的緊張或不安
Sweet， cuddly， cute： what’s not to love about kittens， the most watched animals on the Internet？ But giving birth to them might be a different experience altogether。 Apparently， back in medieval times， a woman who suffered pains during pregnancy would often be advised by the local witch that she was， to her misfortune， carrying kittens， and that the only remedy was a magic potion to destroy the unhappy litter。
作為在互聯網上最受關註的動物，小貓甜美而惹人喜愛。但生下它們的過程可能是壹個完全不同的體驗。顯然，中世紀時期，壹個在懷孕期間遭受痛苦的女人常常被當地的女巫建議，她很不幸地懷著小貓，唯壹的補救方法是喝下魔法藥水摧毀來摧毀腹中的胎兒。
例句：
‘Have you got that report ready yet？ The boss is having kittens！’
妳的報告準備好了麽？老板非常緊張。
‘We’re so late – my mum’ll be having kittens。’
我們遲到了，我媽媽壹定心煩意亂。
2。 All dressed up like a dog’s dinner 穿著特別或招搖的衣服
The Brits love their dogs – they’re the most popular pet in the UK。 Dogs’ dinners， however， are not usually very appealing at all – in fact， the expression a dog’s dinner on its own also means a mess。
英國人愛狗，狗是英國最受歡迎的動物。但事實上，狗的晚餐卻並不吸引人，a dog’s dinner （狗的晚餐）這樣的表達本身的含義確實是負面的。
例如：
‘Where are you off to then， all dressed up like a dog’s dinner？’
妳之後要去哪裏，穿得這麽招搖？
3。 A cold fish 冷漠的人
Dictionary definition： a + adjective + fish： a person who is strange in a specified way.Although in theory any adjective can be put before fish， cold is by far the most common one。
字典定義：a+形容詞+fish：某人在某方面較為特別。盡管在理論上其他形容詞同樣可以放在fish前，但cold是目前最為常用的詞。
If you’re a cold fish， you’re unemotional， and perhaps even unfriendly。 To sound even more British， add a bit of：
如果妳被叫做“cold fish”，妳是有較少感情波動的、甚至是不友好的。為了聽起來更英式化，也會在之前添加“a bit of”
例如：
‘I tried talking to Rachel at the party， but she’s a bit of a cold fish。’
在派對上我試圖和瑞秋說話，但她有些冷漠。
‘What did you think of him？’ – ‘Bit of a cold fish， wasn’t he？’
“妳認為他怎麽樣？”“有壹些冷漠，不是嗎？”
4。 Like a bear with a sore head 形容人易怒
Brown bears have been extinct in Britain for over a thousand years， but， like wolves， they have left their mark in our fairy tales： it seems wise to stay well away from one of the most dangerous animals in the world。
棕熊在英國已經滅絕了壹千多年，但是，像狼壹樣，它們在傳說故事中已經留下了印記：遠離這種世界上最危險的動物才是明智的舉動。
If you’re a like a bear with a sore head， you’re in a very bad mood。 Interestingly， this phrase is more often used to describe men than women。
如果妳是“like a bear with a sore head”，代表妳心情很糟糕。有趣的是，這個短語更多地用來形容男性而不是女性。
例如：
‘I don’t know what’s up with Mike – he’s like a bear with a sore head today！’
“我不知道邁克發生了什麽”？“他看起來心情很糟”。
‘He’s like a bear with a sore head if he doesn’t get his cup of tea in the morning。’
“如果他在早上沒有喝壹杯茶的話，就會心情煩躁”。
5。 Not give a monkey’s 冷漠或不關心
Monkeys are often associated with mischief and defiance in English： maybe your little brother is monkeying around， or your friend’s a bit of a cheeky monkey。 This euphemism – there’s some debate over what the original missing word was （a monkey’s what？） – captures both those characteristics。
Monkey（猴子）在英語中經常和惡作劇以及蔑視相關：也許妳的小弟弟正在胡鬧，也許妳的朋友有點厚顏無恥。這種委婉語都是抓住了這些特征。對於原始詞匯a monkey’s 後面究竟是什麽詞匯也存在壹些爭論。
例如：
‘I don’t give a monkey’s what he thinks – I’m not doing it。’
“對於他怎麽想我並不在意，我並沒有那樣做”。
6。 Like a rat up a drainpipe 形容快速且急切
If you move like a rat up a drainpipe， you move extremely fast。
如果妳的行動like a rat up a drainpipe，表示妳移動速度很快。
Pity the poor rat – a shrewd but shunned animal in Britain， where it’s often said that ‘you’re never more than six foot away from’ one。 Rats are known to be able to squeeze through the tiniest of openings and are often found in sewers， so this expression is， as the Brits would say， spot on。
可憐的老鼠值得同情——在英國老鼠是壹種精明但人類極力躲開的動物，但在英國人們常說，“妳距離壹個老鼠的距離不會超過六英尺”。老鼠因為能夠擠過狹小開口並經常在下水道中被發現而被人類熟知。所以這個表達在英國較為流行，英國人常會使用。
例如：
‘Where did Steve go？’ – ‘I don’t know – he just took off like a rat up a drainpipe。’
“史蒂夫要去哪裏？”-“我不知道，他只是離開得很匆忙”。
7。 Be up with the lark 很早起床
The lark has a special place in British wildlife – its silvery song inspired the piece that， according one recent poll， has become the country’s favourite piece of classical music。 We have long associated the lark with daybreak， even before Shakespeare wrote the lark， the herald of the morn： a person who gets up early is known as a lark， as opposed to an owl who prefers to stay up late。
百靈鳥在英國野生動物有特別的位置——它銀鈴般的歌聲啟發了壹支樂章的譜曲，並且這首樂章在最近的投票中當選英國民眾最受歡迎的古典音樂。在莎士比亞寫雲雀之前，我們便壹直將百靈鳥與黎明聯系在壹起，百靈鳥代表著早晨起床很早的人，相反，貓頭鷹更常用來代表熬夜的人。
例如：
‘We were up with the lark this morning because we had a plane to catch。’
“我們今天很早起床，因為要趕壹趟航班。”
‘On Christmas Day， my sister and I would always be up with the lark。’
“在聖誕節，我和姐姐總是起得很早。”
8。 The lion’s share 事物中最大的壹部分
The lion has been a symbol of England for more than nine hundred years， and traditionally represents bravery and strength。 We see the shadow side of these qualities， however， in Aesop’s fable of this name， which tells the story of a lion， a fox， a jackal， and a wolf who go out hunting together。 After dividing their prey into four equal parts， the lion claims all the spoils for himself。
九百多年來，獅子壹直是英國的象征，傳統意義上代表勇氣和力量。然而，我們總是看到這些品質的陰暗面，伊索寓言中，講述了壹只獅子、壹只狐貍、豺和狼壹起打獵的故事。它們之後將獵物分成四個相等的部分，但獅子占有了所有的戰利品。
The British expression used today has a slightly different meaning： if you get the lion’s share of something， you get most of it （rather than all of it）。
但今天使用的英式表達中含義有輕微的不同：如果妳“get the lion’s share of something”，表示妳獲得了某事物的絕大部分（而不是所有）。
例如：
‘Well， I think you got the lion’s share of the cake there， Pete！’
“好吧，我認為妳得到了蛋糕的絕大部分，彼得！”
‘She’ll get the lion’s share of the payout – the rest of the money will go to charity。’
“她將獲取支出中的絕大部分，剩下的將捐給慈善機構。”