Xiaohua: Hello, and welcome to Round Table’s Word of the Week. 這周我們來討論一些跟動物有關的idioms。
John: That’s right. In this week, we will focus on words that have to do with horses or horse like creatures, for example as stubborn as a mule. So mule is especially very stubborn, so if you are as stubborn as a mule, you are very stubborn. Then there is beat a dead horse. It is actually my favorite, because it’s very descriptive actually. So basically it means to continue arguing or continue fighting over something when it has already been settled.
Xiaohua: 馬是人類最早馴養的動物之一，所以英語里也有很多跟馬相關的習語。最簡單比如說as stubborn as a mule，中國人會說他像驢一樣倔，而英國人就說他像騾子一樣固執。Beat a dead horse就有點像是窮追不舍。
John: Champ at the bit, again one of my favorite, because it’s so descriptive. So champ means so like bite very hard on something and the bit is actually the thing that goes inside a horse’ mouth that helps to direct it for the riders to direct where he is going. So champ at the bit is what a horse does when he is excited about something that exactly what champ at the bit means. It means that you are anxious, you are excited and you cannot wait to do something you are champing at the bit.
Xiaohua: Champ是嚼，bit就是馬嚼子。當馬比較激動的時候，主人就會勒住馬嚼子，所以champ at the bit就是非常激動不安、躍躍欲試的意思。
John: Then there is the dog and pony show, not so much about horse, but about pony, a type of horse. But dog and pony show is something you disapprove of, because you think it’s only there to impress you.
Xiaohua: Pony是小馬的意思，dog and pony show一般是動物園或者馬戲團用來哄小孩子的。所以dog and pony show可以指一樣東西沒有實際的價值，只是看上去華而不實而已。
John: And then there is the high horse. You can get off your high horse. You say, you really need to get off your high horse. It means you need to stop being so arrogant. And you can also say someone is getting on their high horse, which means they are becoming arrogant or they are behaving very arrogant or rude.
Xiaohua: 當有人騎上很高的馬的時候，他們通常是高高在上，不搭理別人。Get off one’s high horse就是說不要裝腔作勢了。
John: Yeah, then of course there is hold one’s horses or my grandmother used to say hold your water, referring to women and there before they get birth. But hold your horses and hold your water is the same thing. Just wait or just be patient.
Xiaohua: Hold one’s horses先別著急，別忙，等等。
John: And then there is look a gift horse in the mouth. And so look a gift horse in the mouth means that someone gives you a present and you start complaining about that.
Xiaohua: 有人給了你一匹馬，但是你還要仔細檢查這匹馬的牙口，看看它是不是一匹好馬，所以look a gift horse in the mouth就是說拿到了禮物，還要抱怨禮物不夠好。
John: And then you can put someone or something out to pasture, so basically it just means you retire something or someone and you don’t actually use it any longer, so for example a horse that is too old and you cannot ride it anymore, and you would put it out to pasture and it’s just like you __.
Xiaohua: So you can put a car to pasture?
John: You can put a car out to pasture, you can put a person out to pasture and you can put a hammer out to pasture.
Xiaohua: I see.讓什么人或者是什么東西退休。
John: Then straight from the horse’s mouth, directly from the person who said something, so for example I heard from the horse’s mouth that Xiaohua is quitting tomorrow which means I heard Xiaohua told me that she is quitting tomorrow. But you are not, right?
Xiaohua: No, of course not. 所以當你hear something straight from the horse’s mouth的意思就是你是直接從某人處聽說的這個消息。
John: And there is the put the cart before the horse. Usually the horse is before the cart, and if you put the cart before the horse, that means you are doing things in the wrong order. And the last but not the least, it’s kind of similar lines, you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink. So sometimes people just say, oh, you know, you can lead a horse to water, but they imply but you can’t make it drink, so you can give someone the opportunity, but it’s their responsibility and it’s up to them to take advantage of it.
Xiaohua: Put the cart before the horse其實就是本末倒置的意思，那這里是車和馬的方向搞反了，也就是說做事情的順序完全不對。And lead a horse to water. You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.這有一點像是師傅領進門，修行在個人的意思，也有點像強按牛頭不喝水。So that’s what it means. 如果想要知道更多關于馬的英文習語，可以關注我們的官方微信賬號EZFMroundtable, we’ll put more things out there. And that’s all we have for Round Table’s Word of the Week.
John: Bye bye.
Xiaohua: Bye.