英語成語園地-數字篇

Back to The Garden of English Idioms
a baker's dozen
十三。
We ended up with a baker's dozen each of socks and undershirts on our shopping trip. (我們的購物之旅最後每人各買了十三雙短襪和十三件內衣)
The boss selected a baker's dozen of promising employees to attend the international symposium. (老闆挑選了十三個前途大有可為的員工參加該國際研討會)

註：以前麵包師傅售出的麵包若不足法定份量，會受到懲罰，因此他們對售出的每打麵包都會多加一個當作額外奉送，使份量超出法律規定。
a hundred to one shot/chance
成功機會渺茫。
He only has a hundred to one shot at getting the job that he has applied for.
a hundred/thousand/million and one
很多。
I can think of a hundred and one reasons why the new employee is not capable of doing his job.
all in one
兼兩用；兼具數種用途或功能。
I was able to use my car for travelling and sleeping all in one.
all rolled up in one
身兼兩職或數職。
His brother is president and vice-president all rolled up in one.

a nine-day wonder 或 a nine day's wonder
曇花一現的人事物；轟動一時後隨即銷聲匿跡或被遺忘的人事物。
The man was a nine-day wonder but soon was forgotten by most of the people at his former company.
a quick one
匆匆一口喝下的酒。
We stopped for a quick one on the way home but stayed for more than an hour.
a stitch in time saves nine
小洞不補，大洞吃苦；即使處理，事半功倍。
You should try and repair your car before it becomes worse. Remember, a stitch in time saves nine.
at one time
曾經；一度；(過去) 某個時期。
At one time the man had no money but now he is very rich.
at one with someone
與某人看法或意見一致。
The other members of the committee are at one with me over my decision to fire the lazy worker.
at sixes and sevens
亂七八糟；七上八下；雜亂無章；七嘴八舌；眾說紛紜。
Everyone was at sixes and sevens after the announcement that the company was going out of business.

at the eleventh hour
在最後一刻。
Bonnie always turned her term papers in at the eleventh hour. (邦妮老是在最後一刻才交期末報告)
Negotiators reached agreement at the eleventh hour, just in time to avoid a strike. (談判人員在最後一刻才達成協議，及時避免了罷工)
back to square one
退回起點；重頭再來。
We were forced to go back to square one in our efforts to change the name of the company.
be a new one on someone
對 (某人) 是新鮮事；對 (某人) 是前所未見的東西。
My friend's desire to go to London is a new one on me.
cut two/both ways
對雙方都起作用；產生兩種相反效果。
My decision to complain to our boss could cut two ways and cause him to be pleased as well as angry at me.
(I/You/He etc) for one
就拿我 (你，他等等) 來說吧，我....。
I for one do not believe that our president will really change the company policy related to hiring new staff.
for one thing (...(and) for another)
首先... (再者...)；一則... (二則...)；一個原因是... (另一個原因是...)。
It is not possible to use the old building. For one thing it will not pass the fire regulations.
forty winks
(在白天) 打盹，小睡片刻。
As soon as I arrived home I lay down and had forty winks.
give three cheers for someone 或 give someone three cheers
歡呼，喝采。
The crowd gave three cheers for the team after they won the final game.
have one over the eight 
多喝了一杯；醉醺醺。
That guy looks as if he has had one over the eight. (那傢伙看起來好像喝醉了)
He had one over the eight and fell down the steps as he was leaving the party. (他多喝了一杯，當他離開宴會時從台階跌了下來)

註：這成語原指人們相信喝酒超過八杯，就會喝醉。

 
in the seventh heaven 
在七重天；處於無比的快樂中；快樂極了；樂歪了。
She has been in the seventh heaven since she moved to the new department.
in two minds about something
三心兩意；猶疑不決。
My niece is in two minds about whether or not she will come and visit me this summer.
in two shakes of a lamb's tail
馬上；非常快地。
Wait one minute. I will be able to help you in two shakes of a lamb's tail.
kill two birds with one stone
一石兩鳥；一箭雙雕；一舉兩得。
If you take the course now you may be able to kill two birds with one stone and receive credit for it on a future program.
nine times out of ten 或 ninety-nine times out of a hundred
十之八九；幾乎總是。
Nine times out of ten if you have a problem on the computer it is something small that can be easily fixed.
number one (常用於 look after number one/take care of number one)
(只顧)自己。
His attitude is to always look after number one without thinking about anybody else.
on all fours
匍匐著；爬著。
The man was down on all fours in the store looking for the keys to his car.
on cloud nine (or Cloud Nine, Cloud 9)
歡天喜地；樂不可支；喜不自勝；高興得不得了。
My sister has been on cloud nine since she won the new car in the contest.
one and only
唯一的 (人事物)。
The company has been selling the one and only compatible printer in the world.
one and the same
同一個的 (人事物)；完全一樣的。
Doing the job at home or at the company is one and the same to me so feel free to do what you want.
one for the road
臨別前的最後一杯酒。
We decided to stay at the party and have one for the road before taking a taxi home.
one good turn deserves another
投桃報李；禮尚往來；善有善報；好心有好報。
One good turn deserves another so we made a great effort to help those people who had helped us in the past.
one hell/heck of a(n) something
非常...，極其...。
The residents of the town gave the Prime Minister one heck of a welcome when he visited them last winter.
one in a million
了不起的人；獨一無二，無與倫比的人。
He is one of the finest coaches in the world and is definitely one in a million.
one of the boys
某一群體中與其他人打成一片的人。
He always tries to act like one of the boys but in reality nobody really likes him.
one of these days
不久。
One of these days they say that they will open a new movie theater but still we have been waiting many years.
one of those days
諸事不順，什麼都不對勁的一天。
It was one of those days and right from early morning things went wrong.
one of those things
必須接受的事；命中注定的事；不可避免的事。
Her sudden illness is one of those things and there is nothing we can do about it.
one or two
一兩個；幾個；少數。
There were only one or two people at the meeting so it was postponed until later.
one too many
1. 飲酒稍稍過量；足以使人喝醉的一杯 2. 勝過；比 (某人)  厲害；非 (某人) 所能敵 3. (社交場合) 多餘的人。
1. Randy drank one too many so his friends would not let him drive home. (蘭迪多喝了一杯 [有點醉]，所以他的朋友不讓他開車回家)
    Don't drive if you've had one too many. (如果你多喝了一杯就別開車)
2. The criminal is one too many for the police. (警察對付不了那個罪犯/警察拿那個罪犯沒辦法)
    Jack is (one) too many for me. (我不是傑克的對手)
3. I seemed to be one too many at my ex-girlfriend's wedding ceremony. (我似乎是我前女友婚禮上多餘的人)
   John and Mary were two too many at my birthday party because they weren't my friends. (約翰和瑪麗是我生日派對上多餘的人，因為他們不是我的朋友)

註：第 2 義中的 one 可省略；第 3 義的 one too many 是指一個多餘的人，若是兩個或三個多餘的人，則是 two or three too many，其餘依此類推。

one's daily dozen
(每天做的) 健身操；早操。
Doing your daily dozen is good for your health. (做健身操有益健康)
My grandpa's been feeling much better since he started doing his daily dozen. (自從開始做早操以來，我爺爺覺得好多了)
one's lucky number comes up
某人好運當頭；某人交了好運。
My lucky number finally came up when I was chosen to go to Los Angeles in order to represent our company at the conference.
one's number is up
某人將遭殃、受罰；某人將厄運臨頭。
I think that the manager's number is up and he will soon be fired from his job.
one's opposite number
對等人物 (在另一機構、公司等擔任同等職位的人)。
I spoke with my opposite number in the other company but he didn't agree with me about the new sales policy.
one up on someone
略勝 (某人) 一籌；略高或略優 (某人) 一等。
I am one up on my best friend because he is still looking for a job while I have already found one.
pull a fast one
欺騙；詐欺。
They tried to pull a fast one on me at the car repair shop but I stopped them easily.
put two and two together (and make/get four)
(根據已知的事實) 做出正確的推斷或臆測。
We were able to put two and two together and discover who was sending the unwanted E-mail.
six feet under
墓木已拱。
My uncle has been six feet under for over five years now.
six of one and a half dozen of the other
半斤八兩；不相上下。
Whatever you do is no problem for me. It is six of one and half a dozen of the other.
talk nineteen to the dozen
聊個沒完；喋喋不休。
The two friends had not seen each other for ages. When they met they talked nineteen to the dozen about all they had done in that time. (這兩個朋友多年不見了，一見面就沒完沒了地談論這些年來他們所有的經歷)
Whenever I get together with my cousins, we always gossip away nineteen to the dozen. (每當我們表兄弟姊妹聚在一起，我們總是聊個沒完沒了)
Jack was chatting away nineteen to the dozen behind me and I couldn't concentrate. (傑克在我後面嘰哩呱啦說個不停，讓我無法專心)

註：這成語原 義為短話長說，亦經常寫成 to chat/gossip away nineteen to the dozen。
ten to one
大有可能；十之八九；多半會。
I will make a bet that ten to one he comes to work late again today.
the one that got away
未能得到而難以忘懷的寶貴事物；未能把握的成功機會；失之交臂而念念不忘的人。
My father said that he had caught many fish but the biggest one was the one that got away.
the three R's
初等教育的三要素  -- Reading (讀)、wRiting (寫)、aRithmetic (算)。
Many people believe that teaching the three R's is the most important role for schools.
there are no two ways about it
別無選擇。
His boss told him that there are no two ways about it and he will have to change his habits or he will be fired.
there's one born every minute
總會有人受騙上當的；天下不怕沒有笨蛋；笨蛋無處不在
He left a window open and then wondered why he'd been burgled! There's one born every minute, isn't there? (他有個窗戶沒關，卻納悶他家為何會遭小偷! 這個世界永遠不怕沒有笨蛋，不是嗎?)
I sold my old computer to someone who paid me more than double what it's really worth. Well, there's one born every minute. (我把我那部舊電腦賣給人家，他付給我的錢比電腦現在實際價值多了一倍以上。嘿，笨蛋真是無處不在)
three sheets in/to the wind
酩酊大醉；醉得東倒西歪。
Man, he was three sheets to the wind last night, how much did he drink?! (老兄，昨晚他喝得酩酊大醉，他喝了多少?!)
Don't take notice of Sam; he's three sheets to the wind. (不用管山姆了；他喝掛了)
two can play that game
以其人之道還治其人之身。
The employees told the boss that two can play that game and if he was too strict they would also be inflexible at work.
two heads are better than one
三個臭皮匠勝過一個諸葛亮。
Two heads are usually better than one when you are trying to solve a difficult problem.
two's company (three's a crowd)
兩人成伴，三人不歡。
My friend wanted to come along on the date between me and my girlfriend but I told him that two's company and three's a crowd so he stayed home.
two wrongs don't make a right
兩個錯誤並不等於一個正確；以牙還牙於事無補；別人對你所做的壞事並不表示你也可以做相同的壞事。
Two wrongs don't make a right and if someone does something bad to you you should not try and hurt them as well.

[回到英語成語園地]