black and white=something which is extremely clear 像黑與白一樣“黑白分明的,明確地”
He told her in black and white that she couldn’t leave the house while he was out.
他明明白白地告訴她,他不在時,她不得離開這座房子。
dos and don’ts=the rules 哪些能做(dos)哪些不能做(don’ts),指“規則,規定”。
There are various do’s and don’ts about driving in the UK.
在英國開車有很多規定。
haves and have nots = people who are rich and those who are not 窮人和富人
In London you can find the haves and have nots of the population.
在倫敦有窮人也有富人。
ins and outs = the details 細節問題
I don’t know the ins and outs of the situation, so I can’t really advise you.
我不了解具體情況,所以不能給你建議。
odds and ends = small pieces of various items 剩余物,零星物品。odd, end都有“剩余的”意思。
She made a stew with the odds and ends she found in the fridge.
她燉了燉在冰箱里找到的剩余食物。
rights and wrongs = all the good points and bad points of a situation 優缺點
Regardless of the rights and wrongs of company policy, you need to give a month’s notice.
且不論公司政策的好壞,你至少要提前一周給出通知。
ups and downs 沉浮,興衰
ups and downs = very good times and very bad times 沉浮,興衰
They have a lot of ups and downs in their relationship.
他們的關系幾經波折。
come and go = use somewhere as your base 來來去去
Feel free to come and go as you please!
你可以來去自如。
back and forth = not to stay still, but to keep travelling between two places 來回地,往復地
I’m so glad I’m moving. I was getting sick of going back and forth every day. Now my journey to work will be a lot quicker.
真高興我要搬家了,我已經受夠了每天要來回上班。現在去上班要近多了。
cat and mouse = doing something in the same way that a cat plays with a mouse
The guerillas played a cat and mouse game with the much better-equipped army.
游擊隊和裝備精良的軍隊玩起了貓捉老鼠,搞得他們暈頭轉向。
trial and error = to do something new by making experiments and occasionally failing 反復試驗,不斷摸索
The new computer system has been installed. But it’s a bit trial and error at the moment – nobody really knows how to use it.
新的計算機系統裝上了,但還在不斷摸索中,沒有人真正懂怎么使用。
flesh and blood = your family 一家人,如同血與肉
I have to help him if I can – he’s my flesh and blood.
如果能我會幫助他,他是我的家人。
adv. 偶爾地