1. a storm is brewing

意思： 暴风雨即将来临（有不好的事情会发生）

例句： She decided to go ahead with their wedding, even though all they’ve been doing lately is arguing. I can sense a storm is brewing.

2. calm before the storm

意思：暴风雨前的平静

例句： The strange quietness in town made her feel peaceful. Little did she know, it was just the calm before the storm.

3. weather a storm

意思：渡过难关

例句： Last year, they had some financial difficulties when her husband was fired. Together, they weathered the storm and figured out how to keep going.

4. when it rains, it pours

意思：屋漏偏逢连夜雨（形容坏事接连发生）

例句：First he was made redundant, then his wife got into a car accident. When it rains, it pours.

5. chasing rainbows

意思：夸父追日（总是追求一些根本无法实现的目标或梦想）

例句： His paintings have neither style nor imagination, but he insists on being a professional painter. He’s always chasing rainbows.

6. rain or shine

意思：风雨无阻

例句：I’ll see you at the airport, rain or shine.

7. under the sun

意思：在这个世界上，现存的

例句： Gili Trawangan must be one of the most beautiful islands under the sun.

8. once in a blue moon

意思：非常罕见、少有

例句： He used to call his grandma once in a blue moon. Now that she has passed away, he regrets not making more of an effort to keep in touch.

9. every cloud has a silver lining

意思：黑暗中总有一丝光明

例句： Don’t worry about losing your job. It will be okay. Every cloud has a silver lining!

10. a rising tide lifts all boats

意思：水涨船高

例句： When the economy showed the first signs of recovering, everyone started investing and spending more. A rising tide lifts all boats.

11. get into deep water

意思：深陷困境

例句： He got into deep water when he borrowed a lot of money from a loan shark.

12. pour oil on troubled waters

意思：平息风波、和稀泥

例句： She hated seeing her two best friends arguing, so she got them together and poured oil on troubled waters.

13. make waves

意思：捣乱，故意惹麻烦

例句：She likes to make waves with her creative marketing campaigns. They get a lot of attention from customers.

14. go with the flow

意思：顺其自然、随大流

例句： Quite often in life, good things happen when you don’t make plans. Just go with the flow and see what happens!

15. lost at sea

意思：感觉迷茫、不知所措

例句： I am lost at sea with this new system at work. I just can’t understand it.

16. sail close to the wind

意思：冒险、打擦边球（指在法律或社会可接受的范围内采取行动，以突破界限。）

例句： They fired their accountant because he sailed too close to the wind.

17. make a mountain out of a molehill

意思：小题大做

例句： She shouted at him angrily for being five minutes late, but it really didn’t matter that much. She really made a mountain out of a molehill.

18. gain ground

意思：普及、取得进展

例句： As Airbnb gains ground in many cities all over the world, many locals complain that they can no longer find a place to live. Landlords would rather rent their places out to tourists and earn more money.

19. walking on air

意思：空中漫步（指非常兴奋或高兴）

例句： She’s been walking on air since she found out that she’s pregnant.

20. many moons ago

意思：很久以前

例句：Many moons ago, we used to be two very close friends. Now we’ve gone separate ways and lost contact.

21. castle in the sky

意思：天空之城、海市蜃楼（指不切实际的白日梦）

例句：World traveling used to be a castle in the sky for most people a few decades ago, but with cheap flight tickets and the global use of English, many youngsters are living that dream.

22. down to earth

意思：脚踏实地

例句：It’s a stereotype, but Dutch people are known for being down to earth.

23. salt of the earth

意思：社会中坚（指为人诚实善良）

例句：My father is the salt of the earth. He works hard and always helps people who are in need.

24. the tip of the iceberg

意思：冰山一角

例句：Exceptionally long drought periods are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the global impact of climate change.

25. break the ice

意思：破冰（指打破尴尬气氛、主动交流等）

例句：He made a weather joke to break the ice.

26. sell ice to Eskimos

意思：把冰卖给爱斯基摩人，通常形容某人有很强的说服力

例句： He’s a gifted salesman, he could sell ice to Eskimos.

27. bury your head in the sand

意思：把头埋进沙子里

例句：Stop burying your head in the sand. You haven’t been happy with him for years, why are you staying together?

28. let the dust settle

意思：待形势明朗、尘埃落定之后

例句：You just had big news yesterday, let the dust settle and don’t make any decisions yet.

29. clear as mud

意思：完全模糊

例句： He’s a great scientist, but I find his explanation of bacteria and microbes as clear as mud.

30. as cold as stone

意思：心静如水（指人非常冷静、没有情绪）

例句： In the Victorian times, many women were told to suppress their feelings and, thus, appeared as cold as stone.

31. between a rock and a hard place

意思：在岩石和硬地之间（左右为难）

例句：I can understand why she couldn’t make up her mind about what to do, she’s really between a rock and a hard place.

32. nip something in the bud

意思：防患于未然、扼杀于萌芽之中

例句：When the kid shows the first signs of misbehaving, you should nip that bad behavior in the bud.

33. barking up the wrong tree

意思：攻击错目标，白费力气

例句： If you think she’s going to lend you money, you’re barking up the wrong tree. She never lends anyone anything.

34. out of the woods

意思：脱离险境（指形势依然很严峻，但最困难的部分已经过去了）

例句：The surgery went very well and he just needs to recover now, so he’s officially out of the woods.

35. can’t see the forest for the trees

意思：一叶障目（指过于关注某个细节而忽略了整体大局）

例句：He’s worried because the flowers haven’t all arrived, but everyone says the wedding has been perfect and beautiful. He just can’t see the forest for the trees.

36. to hold out an olive branch

意思：抛出橄榄枝

例句：After years of rivalry with her cousin, she decided to hold out an olive branch and go have fun together.

37. beat around the bush

意思：旁敲侧击、绕圈子

例句：I don’t have much time, so stop beating around the bush and tell me what actually happened.

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