與食物相關的成語 FOOD IDIOMS
英文里有大量與食物相關的諺語，有些看起來完全不合邏輯溃肪，但是只要了解了它們的起源免胃，就會非常容易記住呢！
Another complaint form? What's he beefing about now? (complaining)
想不到吧惫撰？beef和complain有什么關系羔沙？目前網(wǎng)上有種說法是這一釋義來自19世紀，當時美國士兵經(jīng)常抱怨牛肉的質(zhì)量和份額厨钻，于是慢慢就演化出"抱怨"的含義扼雏。
She'll have to offer a pretty big carrot to get Ivy to take the job. (promised reward, advantage)
其實更為常見的表達是carrot and stick。不少人都聽說過胡蘿卜加大棒的故事吧夯膀？為了讓驢子走快點兒诗充，人們會在它腦袋上綁一根胡蘿卜，它就會一直追著跑诱建，卻總是追不到蝴蜓。一旦停下來，還會被人用棍棒敲打。這就是中文里常說的“恩威并施”茎匠。
He tried to quit smoking cold turkey. (suddenly, at once)
相當于副詞用法格仲，常常用來表示突然戒掉某個易上癮的東西，比如煙诵冒、酒凯肋、藥物等等。之所以叫做“冷火雞”汽馋，可能來源于另一個諺語“talk cold turkey”侮东，意為直白地談論一些令人不愉快的東西。
I wish she'd learn that you can't cry over spilt milk and go on with her life. (regret what has happened)
中文有個成語叫"覆水難收"惭蟋，意思和這句差不多苗桂，不要再為打翻的牛奶傷心啦，Just let it go!另外告组，spill的過去分詞可以寫成spilt或spilled煤伟，兩種都可以哦。
I didn't go on the trip with them because hiking is just not my cup of tea. (the sort of thing I like)
自從茶葉傳入英國木缝，英國人簡直為之瘋魔便锨。這一短語最早全部以積極的形式出現(xiàn)，比如用來表示親密的朋友我碟，心愛的禮物等等放案，在許多文學作品里都可以看到諸如“She's my cup of tea.” 的語句。但二戰(zhàn)時期矫俺，這個短語開始逐漸出現(xiàn)在否定句中吱殉，我們可以在一篇1944年的專欄里，找到這種否定用法厘托，[In England] You don't say someone gives you a pain in the neck. You just remark "He's not my cup of tea."
I didn't like the deal he was offering — the whole thing sounded fishy to me. (false)
早在15世紀友雳，fishy一詞就作為形容詞出現(xiàn)了。當時只用于形容魚的那種黏糊糊铅匹、滑溜溜的感覺押赊。一百多年后，這個詞開始用于形容變了質(zhì)的食物包斑，直到19世紀流礁，才和人產(chǎn)生聯(lián)系，用于形容一些靠不住的罗丰、可疑的人或事神帅。
He's got another half-baked (not sensible, lacking planned judgement) idea for making money, but I always take what he says with a grain of salt. （to accept it while maintaining a degree of scepticism about its truth)
從字面來看，“烤了一半的”也就是中文常說的“夾生”萌抵，這種食物很難吃枕稀，同樣，如果用來形容一個想法或計劃，那么half-baked就是沒有經(jīng)過深思熟慮的萎坷，可能不太靠譜凹联。
而take sth. with a grain of salt的起源比較有意思。相傳老普林尼在其著作《博物志》中曾提到某種解藥哆档，其藥效翻譯成現(xiàn)代英文如下：
Take two dried walnuts, two figs, and twenty leaves of rue; pound them all together, with the addition of a grain of salt; if a person takes this mixture fasting, he will be proof against all poisons for that day.
也就是說蔽挠，“加點鹽可以減少傷害”。然而瓜浸，直到17世紀人們重新研究古希臘著作的時候澳淑，才慢慢開始注意到這種表達。真正賦予其現(xiàn)代意義（帶著懷疑的態(tài)度接受）的是美國人插佛。美國文學期刊《雅典娜神廟》1908年8月的一期中首次用到這一短語的象征意義：
Our reasons for not accepting the author's pictures of early Ireland without many grains of salt.
在大洋彼岸的英國杠巡，這個短語稍微有些不同，變成了“pinch of salt”雇寇。它最早出現(xiàn)在F.R. Cowell的著作《西塞羅與羅馬共和國》中：
A more critical spirit slowly developed, so that Cicero and his friends took more than the proverbial pinch of salt before swallowing everything written by these earlier authors.
No trouble at all — it was a piece of cake. (easy)
這一短語的起源不可考氢拥，但據(jù)說源自19世紀美國南方。當時锨侯，奴隸主舉辦cake walks比賽嫩海，黑奴兩人一組圍著蛋糕跳舞，跳得最優(yōu)雅的一對可以贏得蛋糕囚痴。奴隸們一邊跳叁怪，一邊做各種滑稽的動作模仿奴隸主的舉止神態(tài)，而奴隸主們被捉弄卻渾然不知深滚。久而久之奕谭，“一塊蛋糕”在奴隸之間流傳開來，成為眾所周之的“非常容易做到的事”痴荐。
She said she was glad that she didn't get the promotion because she really didn't want to leave Vancouver, but I think it was just sour grapes. (the act of pretending to dislike something when it is unobtainable)
源自大家都讀過的一部伊索寓言故事：狐貍夠不到葡萄藤上的葡萄展箱，就說葡萄是酸的，不吃也罷蹬昌。
I thought I saw some big fish from that lake before, but his catch yesterday takes the cake. (is the most outstanding)
與a piece of cake一樣源自黑人社區(qū)里的cake walks，正如之前說過的那樣攀隔，跳得最好的一對可以得到蛋糕皂贩，于是take the cake自然就有了“最出色的”之意。
