你有沒有留意過和穿著相關(guān)的英語(yǔ)表達(dá)？讓我們看看是否可以即席(off the cuff)說(shuō)出一些即席的意思是不預(yù)先做任何準(zhǔn)備，cuff原意是“袖口”。
　 人們穿著短褲以遮掩身體下部。我們有時(shí)形容緊張不安的人說(shuō)“褲襠里有螞蟻(ants in their pants)”。例如：
　 I have ants in my pants for the coming exam on Tuesday.
　 想到周二就要考試，我真是坐立不安。
　 有的時(shí)候你在做某件事的時(shí)候沒有明確的指導(dǎo)，也缺乏足夠的知識(shí)，只能靠直覺，這時(shí)就可以說(shuō)fly by the seat of one's pants，例如：
　 When Jones started up business in the town, he didn't know anybody, so he had to fly by the seat of his pants.
　 當(dāng)瓊斯在這個(gè)鎮(zhèn)子開始做生意時(shí)，他一個(gè)人都不認(rèn)識(shí)，所以只好全靠自己摸索。
　 有時(shí)，人們可能會(huì)被caught with their pants down，按字面解釋就是一個(gè)人在褲子掉下來(lái)的時(shí)候被人抓到，那樣的情景，該是多么的尷尬啊。作為習(xí)語(yǔ)，它的意思就是“當(dāng)一個(gè)人正在做壞事、做可恥的事情的時(shí)候被人發(fā)現(xiàn)了”。例如：
　 A famous singer was caught with his pants down when he was having sex with a prostitute in the back of his car last night.
　 昨天晚上，一個(gè)著名歌手跟妓女在汽車后座發(fā)生性關(guān)系時(shí)被人當(dāng)場(chǎng)抓住。
　 此外，每一個(gè)家庭都有當(dāng)家人。有時(shí)妻子會(huì)吩咐丈夫怎么做，我們就說(shuō)，她在這個(gè)家里當(dāng)家做主(wears the pants in the family)。例如：
　 It's obvious that it is your wife who wears the pants in your family.
　 看得出來(lái)，你們家你老婆當(dāng)家。
　 褲子通常都有裝東西的口袋，形容一個(gè)人花錢如流水可以說(shuō)“就像口袋上燒了個(gè)洞(burn a hole in your pocket)”。在漢語(yǔ)中，我們也常用諸如“有點(diǎn)錢就燒得難受”、“燒包”來(lái)形容這樣的人，看來(lái)英語(yǔ)跟中文是有很多異曲同工之處的。例如：
　 I am sure he'll spend his wages in a few days because the money is burning a hole in his pocket.
　 我肯定不出幾天他就會(huì)將工資全部花光，因?yàn)樗莻€(gè)有錢留不住的人。
　 如果你一發(fā)工資就花掉了一大部分，那接下來(lái)的日子你就不得不勒緊腰帶(tighten your belt)過日子了。我總是羨慕那些節(jié)省、不大手大腳的人，我真的take my hat off to them(佩服他們)。然而，當(dāng)涉及到自己的錢，我總是立馬(at the drop of a hat)花個(gè)精光。
　 靴子是一種沉重結(jié)實(shí)的鞋。自負(fù)的人(People who are too big for their boots)把自己想得比實(shí)際重要。例如：
　 Since he was made team captain, he's been ordering us all around and generally getting much too big for his boots.
　 自從他當(dāng)了隊(duì)長(zhǎng)，就對(duì)我們指手畫腳，完全是自命不凡，不知道輕重。
　 其實(shí)真正重要的人是難以替代的，你很難fill their shoes(取代他們)。
　 我叔叔就是這樣一個(gè)人，他經(jīng)營(yíng)一家大公司。他總是衣著考究，西裝革履。不了解他的人認(rèn)為他太古板嚴(yán)厲。他們認(rèn)為他愛擺架子(a real stuffed shirt)。但我知道他十分直爽坦率(wears his heart on his sleeve)，他會(huì)直接表明他的感受。而且，他知道如何keep his shirt on(保持冷靜)，從不生氣或興奮過頭。
　 My boss is a stuffed shirt: all he talks about is how important his ancestors are, how he was number one in his class at his university, and the wonderful things he thinks he's done for our company.
　 我的老板老是愛擺架子，吹噓自己。他一開口就是說(shuō)他的祖先的地位有多么重要，他在大學(xué)念書時(shí)又如何成為他們班里的第一名，還自稱對(duì)我們公司作出了多大的貢獻(xiàn)等等。
　 此外，我叔叔在生意場(chǎng)上從未失手過(lost his shirt)，他說(shuō)這是因?yàn)樗偸莚olls up his sleeves(卷起袖子做好大干一場(chǎng)的準(zhǔn)備)。他常常對(duì)問題有特殊的方案或解決方法，在需要時(shí)用得上。他像個(gè)魔術(shù)師。我們說(shuō)他有制勝法寶(a card up his sleeve)。
　 關(guān)于上面短語(yǔ)的用法，再來(lái)看幾個(gè)例子吧！
　 Did you hear what happened to Joe? He's lost his shirt, the poor guy -- invested all his money in a fancy restaurant and it just went out of business.
　 你有沒有聽到關(guān)于喬的事？這回，他可真是丟掉了一切，真可憐。他把所有的錢都投資在一家豪華的餐館里。而這家餐館不久前倒閉了。
　 Well, I'm ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work on these reports.
　 嗯，我已經(jīng)準(zhǔn)備好開始寫這些報(bào)告了。
　 Although the situation seemed unfavourable to him, he looked perfectly self-assured. He must have a card up his sleeve.
　 雖然形勢(shì)看來(lái)對(duì)他不利，但他看上去胸有成竹。他手中一定有王牌。