民以食为天，这些有关食物的习语却与吃没关系！
民以食为天，每一种语言都少不了与食物有关的习惯用语。英语也不例外，而且已融入到日常生活的各个方面。
然而，对于英语学习者来说，要完全掌握这些已脱离食物本意的习惯用语，还真是要下一番工夫！
1. Spice things up/增添情趣
You’ve probably guessed by now that to spice things up means to make them more interesting or exciting.
你可能已经猜到，spice things up意为使事情变得更加有趣。
例句：
Instead of just buying Sam a birthday gift, let’s spice things up by taking him out for dinner.
不要只给汤姆买一个生日礼物，我们带汤姆出去吃饭吧，这样会更有趣一点。
2. A piece of cake/轻松的事，小菜一碟儿
A piece of cake refers to a task or job that’s easy to complete or accomplish.
A piece of cake指一件很容易完成的任务或者是工作。
例句：
I expected the English test to be difficult but it was a piece of cake.
我以为英语考试很难，但是不过就是小菜一碟。
3. Cool as a cucumber/镇定自若
Cucumbers have a refreshing taste and leave you with a cool, calm feeling. So if you’re cool as a cucumber, you’re someone who’s very calm and relaxed.
黄瓜口感清爽，让人感觉平静。那么，如果你像黄瓜一样让人感觉平静，那你一定是一个非常冷静和放松的人。
例句：
My friend is nervous about taking his driving test but I’m cool as a cucumber.
我的朋友很担心他的驾驶考试，但是我很冷静。
4. Couch potato/电视迷
A couch potato refers to someone who spends a lot of time sitting on the couch watching TV.
A couch potato指整天坐在沙发上看电视的人。
例句：
After my uncle retired from his job, he became a couch potato.
我叔叔退休后成了一个电视迷。
5. Bring home the bacon/成功，谋生
To bring home the bacon means to make an income or earn a living to support your family.
Bring home the bacon意为赚钱养家。
例句：
Ever since her father was injured, she’s been working two jobs to bring home the bacon.
父亲受伤后，她就做了两份工作来养家糊口。
6. In hot water/有麻烦，陷于困境
When someone is in hot water, they’re in a bad situation or serious trouble.
当某人处于水深火热之中时，说明他陷于困境或者遇到了麻烦。
例句：
My brother is in hot water for failing all his college classes.
我哥哥因挂掉大学所有的 37 27706 37 10427 0 0 6121 0 0:00:04 0:00:01 0:00:03 6119目而陷入麻烦之中。
7. Compare apples and oranges/无法相提并论
Apples are very different from oranges both in looks and taste. It’s hard to compare two things that are so unlike each other. So then, to compare apples and oranges is to compare two very different things.
无论是味道还是外观，苹果和橘子都很不一样。很难去比较完全不同的两种东西。因此，比较苹果和橘子就是比较两种完全不同的东西。
例句：
I’m not sure which I enjoy more—pottery or dancing. It’s like comparing apples and oranges.
我不确定自己更加喜欢哪一个 — 陶艺还是舞蹈。这是两者无法相提并论。
8. Not one’s cup of tea/不喜欢…….
If something is not your cup of tea, it’s an activity you have no interest in, don’t enjoy or don’t do well in.
如果用not your cup of tea来形容某事，这就说明你对某件事并不感兴趣，不喜欢也不擅长。
例句：
Camping is really not my cup of tea so I’m going to visit my friend in New York instead.
我真的不喜欢露营，所以我打算去纽约拜访我的朋友。
9. Eat like a bird/胃口小
How much does a bird eat? Not very much, right? So to eat like a bird is to eat very little.
一只鸟能吃多少东西？吃不了多少，对吧？所以eat like a bird意为吃的非常少。
例句：
Don’t trouble yourself cooking such a big meal. I eat like a bird.
你就不要费劲儿做饭了，我吃的很少。
10. Eat like a horse/胃口大
Now, a horse is much bigger than a bird. So how much do you think a horse eats? That’s right, to eat like a horse is to eat a large amount of food.
马比鸟大得多了。那么一匹马能吃多少东西呢？就是这样eat like a horse说明吃的东西很多。
例句：
My mother has to cook a lot of food when my brother comes to visit. He eats like a horse.
弟弟来我家的时候我妈妈会煮很多食物，因为他的胃口很大。
11. Butter [someone] up/取悦某人
To butter someone up is to please or flatter someone in order to win his or her favor. This separable phrase may be used in the format butter [someone] up or butter up [someone].
Butter someone up意为取悦或奉承某人以赢得他/她的欢心。这个可分短语可以以两种形式出现即butter [someone] up或者butter up [someone]。
例句：
Everyone seems to be trying to butter up the new boss hoping to become her favorite.
似乎每个人都想要取悦新老板以成为她最喜欢的人。
12. Food for thought/引人深思的事情
Food for thought refers to something that’s worth thinking carefully about.
Food for thought指值得仔细思考的事情。
例句：
Moving to another state is food for thought for many of those affected by the recent hurricanes in Texas and Florida.
在德克萨斯州和佛罗里达州，许多受飓风影响的人都认为搬到另一个城市是一件值得思考的事情。
13. A smart cookie/聪明人
Here’s an easy one. A smart cookie is an intelligent person.
这个习语很简单，a smart cookie指聪明的人。
例句：
It shouldn’t be hard too hard for a smart cookie like you to learn Spanish.
学习西班牙语对于你这样聪明的人并不难。
14. Packed like sardines/过于拥挤的
What do you see when you open up a can of sardines? Yes, the fish crammed inside the can. So packed like sardines describes a place or situation that’s very crowded with people (or animals).
打开一罐沙丁鱼罐头的时候，你看到的是什么？是的，里面塞满了鱼。所以packed like sardines用来形容非常拥挤的地方。
例句：
Were you at the football game last night? The stadium was packed like sardines.
你昨晚去看球赛了嘛？体育场挤地像沙丁鱼一样。
15. Spill the beans/泄密，说漏嘴
You accidentally knock over a bowl of beans and they all spill out. Think of this image and you’ll remember that spill the beans means to accidentally or prematurely give out information that’s supposed to be kept secret.
你不小心撞翻了一碗豆子，它们都被洒出来了。想想这幅画面，你就会明白spill the beans意为泄露了本该保密的消息。
例句：
We were planning a surprise birthday party for Joyce this weekend. But this morning, Owen spilled the beans and now it’s no longer a surprise.
我们计划这个周末为乔伊斯举办一个惊喜的生日聚会。但是今天早上，欧文说漏了嘴，这现在已经不再是一个秘密了。
16. A bad apple/坏蛋，惹麻烦
Imagine a basket of apples with one rotten apple inside. This picture will help you remember that a bad apple is someone who creates problems or trouble, or is a bad influence on the other people in a group.
想象一幅画面，一篮子苹果里面有一个坏苹果。这幅画面会帮助你理解a bad apple是指制造问题惹麻烦的人，或者是对小组内其他人产生不好影响的人。
例句：
Instead of focusing on college, he spends his time hanging out with bad apples.
在大学里，他没有把精力集中在学习上，他把时间都花在和一群坏蛋鬼混上。
17. Bread and butter/生计，基本生活资料
Bread and butter is a basic food that many of us eat. So the idiom bread and butter refers to a job that makes the money you need to live and afford basic necessities like food, housing, etc.
面包和黄油是一种基本食物。因此习语bread and butter就是指一份可以赚钱的工作，可以用来提供基本的生活资料，比如食物，房子等。
例句：
Fishing is the bread and butter of the friendly people who I met on the island last summer.
我去年夏天在小岛上遇到了几个非常友好的人，他们以钓鱼为生计。
18. Buy a lemon/买无用的东西
To buy a lemon means to buy something (usually a motor vehicle) that doesn’t work well and is therefore worthless.
Buy a lemon以为买没有用处的东西，因此毫无价值。
例句：
The car looked so new and shiny I had no way of knowing I was buying a lemon.
这辆车看起来很新，闪闪发光，但是我怎么也想不到我买了个这么个没有价值的东西。
19. A hard nut to crack/棘手的问题，难对付的人
A hard nut to crack refers to a person who’s difficult to deal with or to get to know.
A hard nut to crack是指难对付或者难了解的人。
例句：
I tried to be friendly with her but I was told she’s a hard nut to crack.
我试着和她友好相处，但是我却被告知她是个很难对付的人。
20. Have a sweet tooth/喜欢吃甜食
Do you like eating cakes, candy and other sweet-tasting food? If you do, then you can say you have a sweet tooth.
你喜欢吃蛋糕，糖果和其他甜甜的食物吗？如果你喜欢你就可以用have a sweet tooth来形容自己。
例句：
Yes, I definitely have a sweet tooth. I can never walk past a bakery and not stop to buy myself a slice of chocolate cake.
是的，我确实喜欢吃甜食。我每次路过面包店都会停下来给自己买一块巧克力蛋糕。
来源：沪江英语