1. a battle of wills 意氣之爭
2. a case in point 最好的例子
3. the straight and narrow 準則
4. throw a spanner into the works 弄砸
5. throw in the towel 認輸
6. throw one’s hat into the ring 投入選戰;宣布參選
7. turn the corner 好轉
8. wear many hats 身兼數職
9. without strings attached 無條件;沒有附帶條件
10. bomb out 大敗
11. chalk up 歸因於
12. cordon off 封鎖
13. cozy up to 向~示好
14. cull 挑選;延攬
15. feisty 脾氣很火爆的
16. hash out 解決
17. pitchman 推銷員
18. ply (v.t.) 行駛
19. slate (vt.)預定
Ex. The national museum is slated to close by year’s end owing to the shortage of finance.
20. slog (vi.)奮力
21. take stock of 考量
22. thrash out 制定
23. tough it out 撐;苦撐下去
24. tussle (n.)競爭
25. all the rage 風行
26. at the eleventh hour 在最後一刻
27. blow-by-blow account(ing) 細目
28. bring down the curtain on something 結束
29. all and sundry 大家 = everybody
30. by leaps and bounds 大幅
31. call someone to account 譴責
32. call the shots/tune 全權作主;主宰
33. clean bill of health 健康証明
34. cry foul 喊冤
35. cut and fried 明確的
36. drop a bombshell 爆出驚人內幕
37. from the word go 一開始
38. get off scot-free 被判無罪
39. get the brush-off 吃軟釘子
40. go along for the ride 湊熱鬧;玩票
41. go into a tailspin 急轉直下
42. gut feelings 直覺
43. hit the bottle 酗酒
44. Hobson’s choice 唯一的選擇
45. hold all the cards/aces 佔盡優勢
46. know the score 知道實情
47. lift a finger 動手
48. not up to snuff/scratch 不夠好;不理想
49. offer an/ the olive branch 釋出善意
50. on the house 免費招待
51. on the mend 逐漸好轉
52. on the same wavelength 有相同的信念
53. One’s heart is in the right place. 心地真好。
54. open a can of worms 惹來一身腥
55. open a Pandora’s box 引發無窮後患
56. over the hump 度過最艱難的危機
57. pass muster 過關
58. pass the buck 踢皮球
59. pull the plug on st. 結束;終結
60. put a damper on st. 影響
61. put the kibosh on something 斷送
62. real McCoy 真品
63. read someone the riot act 將~訓一頓
64. leery 猜疑的;機敏的
65. run someone ragged 讓~疲於奔命
66. run the show 主導一切
67. shape up or ship out 上道一點,否則就滾蛋
68. smoke and mirrors 不實的手法
69. stop short of (doing) st. 並沒有
70. swim against the current/ ride 對抗大環境