第34篇：Idioms for the New Year

Let's hope for the "Wind of Change" for good in 2021

Wind of change, 1990

by the "Scorpions" 

(a West German rock band)

 

Whether you are taking some time to reflect on the year past or trying to set new goals for the coming new year, these are some idioms you can use to talk about it.

 

BLOW/CLEAR AWAY THE COBWEBS

扫除阴霾、晦气、霉运

释意：make one feel more mentally alert and lively when he/she had previously been feeling tired, to refresh oneself from a state of sluggishness(呆滞、糊涂、迟钝). Cobweb is usually referred to abandoned spider webs.

例句：a walk on the South Downs to blow away the cobwebs.

 

RING IN THE NEW YEAR

庆祝、迎接新年

释意：to celebrate the new year.

例句：“How did you ring in the new year?” which means “In what way did you celebrate / How did you celebrate?”.

We had a big party on the rooftop to ring in the new year. 

 

KICK A(THE) HABIT 

戒除(坏)习惯

释意：to stop a habit, to quit doing something you often do, to overcome an addiction, like cigarettes.

例句：

• He can’t seem to kick his habit of eating chocolate every night.

• What is a habit you have that you would like to kick? Which habit is difficult to kick for you?

相关成语：go/quit cold turkey. 

例句：was it hard to give up smoking. No. I went/quit cold turkey. Just quit. Check out 第27篇：Gobble up some Thanksgiving idioms to get over w/ food coma for more.

 

TURN OVER A NEW LEAF

翻开新的一页、篇章

释意：to start again with a new/better attitude or perspective.

词源：LEAF is the old word for PAGE in a book. People still use the phrasal verb "LEAF through a book" which means "turn over the pages (usually, without reading them much)."

例句：

• I’ve wasted my life playing too many video games. It’s time to turn over a new leaf and get a new hobby!

• Even though he lost his job, this year Tom decided to turn over a new leaf, and look for something new.

• While I was waiting for the doctor, I leafed through a couple of magazines.

相关阅读：第31篇：内布拉斯加民主党参议员Ben Sasse说高法的决定"closed the book on"川普想推翻大选结果的努力

 

A CHANGE IS AS GOOD AS A REST

释意：a change can be just as relaxing as having a rest.

例句：He seems so much happier since he started his new job! A change is as good as a rest, as they say.

 

MAKE A CLEAN BREAST OF SOMETHING

承认/坦白错误、过失

释意：confess/admit fully one's mistakes or wrongdoings, speak openly and honestly about (something that previously has been lied about or kept secret), to tell the truth about something, to make a full discourse, to confess.

词源：the 'breast', in earlier days, means the seat of the one's emotions and secrets, one's 'heart'. To disclose the breast openly was to clean one's heart of impurity. In nowdays, breasts  are more likely to be a reference to the 'soft protuberances'. Therefore, people are more liable to use 'get something off our chest' for the same meaning.

例句：

• I decided to make a clean breast of it/things and admit that I was to blame.

• Julia finally made a clean breast of it and admitted that she had stolen the money.

• He pressed him... to make a clean breast, and tell him all.

相关成语：get sth off one's chest 去除心病(压在心头的石头)

释意：to tell someone about something that has been worrying you or making you feel guilty for a long time:

例句：I had spent two months worrying about it and I was glad to get it off my chest after the talk.

 

START WITH A CLEAN SLATE

新的开始

释意：start freshly and not connected to things past.

词源：SLATE (石板) is a type of stone, black or dark grey in color, which can be split into smooth, flat sheets. They are used for roof/floor tiling, and in the past, were used for writing with cholk. A clean slate means a clean piece of slate for writing. 

例句：He is starting this year with a clean slate and a positivite attitude.

同义成语：START ANEW， START WITH A CLEAN SHEET

 

OUT WITH THE OLD AND IN WITH THE NEW

全换、全新、簇新

释意：We’re changing everything.

例句：Shall we get rid of these curtains too? Yes. Out with the old and in with the new.

 

BREAK NEW GROUND

开创/启新的(模式、样板、潮流等)

释意：it expresses the feeling of newness when something revolutionary and different takes place – it means that it’s not like anything else that came before it. Groundbreaking 开辟新天地的，开创性的，创新的.

例句：The director’s latest film really breaks new ground – it’s the first time a film has been made in this way.

 

BITE OFF MORE THAN YOU CAN CHEW

承担力所不及的事, 不自量力, 力不从心

释意：To accept too many tasks and responsibilities, more than one can handle.

例句：I think she’s biting off more than she can chew by taking three jobs and studying full time!

相关成语：check out "Eyes Bigger Than Your Stomach" at 第27篇：Gobble up some Thanksgiving idioms to get over w/ food coma

 

GET THE BALL ROLLING

开始(行动)

释意：To begin a process. To start taking action.

例句：I felt so much better once we got the ball rolling on the project and everything was happening.

 

NOTHERING VENTURED, NOTHING GAINED

不入虎穴焉得虎子

释意：Sometimes doing something new and different means taking a bit of a risk into unknown territory, and this can be quite frightening! This idiom gives a great boost of motivation if you find yourself in that position. It means that without taking a bit of a risk or facing a challenge, you can’t expect things to change or improve.

例句：I decided to take horse-riding lessons, even though I’d never ridden a horse before. After all, nothing ventured, nothing gained!

相关成语：no pain, no gain. 没有付出就没有收获。

 

MEND ONE'S WAYS

改良行为、方式，改邪归正

释意：Improve your behaviour.

例句：If you don’t mend your ways, you’re going to end up in court with a driving ban.

 

SHAKE THINGS UP A BIT

做出调整、改变

释意：Change habits, plan, or routine.

例句：We’re just stuck in a rut, Albert, doing the same things. Let’s shake things up a bit in the new year! OK, Barbara. What about flying to Rio?

 

GET BACK INTO THE SWING OF THINGS

恢复正常、日常、正轨

释意：return to normal.

例句：After the long Christmas break it took me a while to get back into the swing of things at work.

 

BURY THE HATCHET

刀枪入库、马放南山

原谅、言归于好

释意：To make peace, stop argument, end a quarrel or conflict, forgive each other and make friends again. It is an allusion to the figurative or literal practice of putting away weapons at the cessation of hostilities. Hatchet 小斧头(喻意武器).

例句：You really should bury the hatchet with your Auntie Joan in the new year.

相关成语：ax 斧子，撤消、裁减、砍掉

• an ax(e) hanging over (someone or something): the threat of being fired. There's definitely going to be an axe hanging over me if the boss finds out that printing error was my fault.

• give/throw (one) the ax(e): to dismiss one from one's job; to fire one.

 

WIND OF CHANGE

变化的(山雨欲来风满楼的)风

释意：a feeling of anticipation referring to a major change that will happen soon.

例句：

• After the student protests were shown online, you could feel the wind of change all over the country.

• A famous song "Wind of Change" is a power ballad by the West German rock band Scorpions, recorded for their eleventh studio album, Crazy World (1990).

 

THREE SHEETS TO THE WIND

烂醉如泥、醉醺醺

释意：very drunk.

词源：derived from sailing ships, the 'sheet' in the phrase uses the nautical meaning, of a rope controlling the trim of sail. A sail (usually a jib sail) is said to be sheeted to the wind, when it is set to backfill (set to the opposite side of the ship from normal use). 'three sheets to the wind' has been used to describe a highly inebriated person who is no longer in control, and is in danger of upending and falling over. Check out more at

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/three_sheets_to_the_wind. 

Should not be confused with the idea of sheets IN the wind, which has totally different meaning.

例句：Paul was three sheets to the wind at the new year’s eve party last night.

 

A few self-explanatory ones:

不言自明的

Recharge one's batteries. 充电

There’s no place like home.

Practise makes perfect. 熟能生巧

The early birds catch the worms.

早起的虫儿有鸟吃

No pain, no gain.

Tighten one's belt 

缩紧裤腰带、减少(开支)

Today is the first day of the rest of your life.

When one door closes, another opens.

Make headway / make progress.

Blaze a trail 开辟新的道路.

Live the life to the full/fullest. 活出精彩

 

Start from the scratch.

Back to the drawing board.

Go back to square one.

The origin of "square one" is uncertain.

(承认前面的失败、不成功)从头开始、重新再来